Complete Newbie

I would not add nutes to such a young plant... the soil is all she ever could need or want at this point and you really risk harming her if you start adding chemicals to her at this point. Please read the very last lines of my signature stuff for my very best advice in this matter.
 
What time should I start adding nutes I am concerned that it has lack of nitrogen or something there's been no more browning of the leaves that I can tell of anyway so I gather it would just be better to leave the nutes till a later date
 
Highlander30 said:
What time should I start adding nutes I am concerned that it has lack of nitrogen or something there's been no more browning of the leaves that I can tell of anyway so I gather it would just be better to leave the nutes till a later date
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yes, you need to wait. Most soils are fine while in veg, and usually you can get by just fine until about the 3rd to 5th week of flower without nutes. Most of us however start giving nutes as soon as we start in flower, just to change over from nitrogen based life to the potassium and phosphorus that they need in flower.

the only exception to this is if you are outside, or under big lights and lots of airflow, so that the plant is able to use the nutes that you provide to supercharge growth. Don't make the mistake however of thinking of nutes as food... the plant's food is in the soil for now, plenty of it. Your job is to create the conditions so that your plant can get to it... not overload her with more food than she could ever use. Think of nutes as supplements, to put into hyperdrive an already thriving plant. New or struggling plants do not need nutes... they need TLC and proper nutrition, and they get that from a gardener who puts them in good soil, up-pots regularly and properly waters at the correct pH.
 
I don't know what I'm doing wrong but the edges of my leaves are starting to droop I havnt added any nutes and only water once a week and my light is about 4-5 inches from the plant
IMG_20151115_162950.jpg
 
looks like a happy plant to me. Just keep doing what you are doing and not doing. Keep watering correctly and trust your soil to give her what she needs. Plants will droop some and then lift up again, in response to the light timing... its all normal. Don't let her stress you out.
 
20151120_163925.jpg

Week 3 or 4 I think and plant dosnt really seem to be growing much so hoping for a growth spurt whend would be the best time to switch from vegitave stage into flowering stage
 
Being in week 3 or 4 means very little if you have had some problems before getting to this point. Your plants are still tiny and have been stunted because of their rough start. You might want to veg for a a few more weeks and get some bulk on that plant before switching to flower. If you go too early, your final harvest will only be measured in grams, but waiting a few weeks you could up that to an ounce or more of final product. It is totally up to you... there are no rules here.
 
what should be the height for there age I think the whole stunred growth has come from me uprooting them to soon if I leave it for a few weeks more in vegy stage will it getter bigger than what it is now?
 
Highlander30 said:
what should be the height for there age I think the whole stunred growth has come from me uprooting them to soon if I leave it for a few weeks more in vegy stage will it getter bigger than what it is now?
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again, there are no rules on this, but I will say that by this point my plants are usually 3 to 4 times bigger than yours because I water correctly from day one and carefully successively up-pot 3 or 4 times before the end of veg. Proper techniques really do make a huge difference, as you will also learn over time. And yes, the longer you leave them in veg, the bigger they will get and the more harvest you will achieve. I veg my plants for about 2 months and range between 2-4 oz per plant consistently, depending on what goes right and wrong before getting to that point.
 
I only water once a week or when the pot is alot lighter I havnt bothered with any nutes as not sure about what sort of nutes to give them and I've only uprooted them once into a bigger pot as I read somewhere that you shouldn't move them too many times as it will shock the plants is that what you mean by up potting?
 
Highlander30 said:
I only water once a week or when the pot is alot lighter I havnt bothered with any nutes as not sure about what sort of nutes to give them and I've only uprooted them once into a bigger pot as I read somewhere that you shouldn't move them too many times as it will shock the plants is that what you mean by up potting?
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yes, that is what I mean, and if you do it correctly there is no reason at all for it to shock the plant. You probably need to read a little further on this and find that all you got to do is make a hole the size of the container you are in and drop it right in... no stress... none.

If you are watering on the dot, once a week, then you are not paying attention to your roots. The job of the roots is to drain the water in the container. When the plant is new it may take 4 or 5 days to do this, but as the roots get more robust, this time steadily decreases until the plants are needing water daily. Of course that means that it is time to put it in a larger container, but my concern is this:

If you are only coming along once a week, and the plants are not able to drain the water in your container before then, something is wrong. Most likely this was because since they were small you have had them in too big of a container and the plant simply can't use all the water in that time that you arbitrarily assigned to your water. But, what happens in a week between waterings?

Did you know that there are two sections to your roots? The upper roots are more of a fine mesh of roots designed to grow laterally throughout the area under the plant to get the maximum surface area of roots in contact with the maximum amount of soil. A lot of the plant's nutrition comes from this mesh of fine roots. Then you have the lower feeder roots, that are designed to go deep and search for water.

If you wait a week between waterings, the lower roots are underwater most of that time and since gravity drops all of the water out of the top half of the container pretty fast, the upper roots dry out between your waterings. Not only is this not optimal, but because of this situation your roots are not being able to grow as they would in a normal 3-5 day wet/dry cycle. This is why your plant is growing so slowly, because you put it in too big of a container early on and since then you have been unable to water both sets of roots correctly.

The first grow is a time of learning. Next time, you will be more knowledgeable about these things and your plants will grow much better for you because you will be using better techniques.

Regarding nutes... your tiny plants should be able to get everything that they need and more from the soil you are now in, if they had a robust root system. Nutes will not help much, because your root system wouldn't be able to uptake many of them yet, and your plant is not showing signs of robust growth that would demand higher nutritional demands. Nutes are wasted on sick and struggling plants. Fix the problems that you are having first... nutes can come later, but they are not a band aid that can fix larger problems.

So how do you fix this?

Since your containers are not crazy big, the problem is not as bad as a lot of new growers get into, and it is my belief that with proper watering practices you can quickly get these plants back on track. When you transplant next time, be sure to use the entire container too, and fill it up to 1/2" from the top. There is no good reason to just use half of a container.

When you water, water completely and soak that soil to the point of runoff. Water slowly to get to this point, actively trying to use the soil like a sponge to soak up and retain as much water as it will hold. After this, sit back and wait for the plant to use this water. It sounds like you are trying to use the lift method, so trust that method and wait until the container becomes feather light... not just lighter. Keep track of how long it takes to get to this point, and watch for each watering to take less and less time. Pay more attention to your roots and what they are doing... and stop watering by the calendar and stop trying to determine how much water she might need, just soak that soil every time. Listen to what your plant is trying to tell you and stop making the decisions for her and she will grow like a weed.
 
it means it is ready, but by no means does it mean that you must put it into bloom mode. Keep the lights the way they are and you can veg as long as you like. Each week spent in veg making the plant bigger will simply add more to the harvest at the end.
 
You are a good human and you have fund the right forums for help, might i suggest following the link in my signature to learn about the plants use of nutrients and how to grow the highest quality plants.
 
So I've invested in a pH tester and horrified to learn my soil in both tubs is reading 3.5 which Google says is highly acidic and ideal range should be about 6.5 how do I fix this I've only given them water and have been careful not to over do it when watering
 

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