Droopy plants

[Lottobeats]

It’s been over 3 weeks since transplant the pots have not been watered since I never had this problem they are in 20 gallon containers 1 in a 10 gallon smart pot They have yet to perk up and take off Ive lost a month of veg time already wtf is going on!!! I’ve had successful outdoor seasons before so I’m not a newbie thanks. FYI the pots are still on the heavy side that’s why I have yet to water them until the pot is light, also when I transplanted in the 10 gallon smart pot the fresh soil was very moist almost wet that I didn’t water it after I transplant I didn’t want to over water and suffocate the plant if that makes any sense?

 

[Mastrmasn]

Looks like it's a root issue. What's your PH when you water?
Let's see if @Emilya can help out. She's very knowledgable when it comes to this stuff.

 

[Lottobeats]

Looks like it's a root issue. What's your PH when you water?
Let's see if @Emilya can help out. She's very knowledgable when it comes to this stuff.

My pH is between 6.4 to 6.8

 

[DaddyKush]

Looks like a potassium deficiency. It shouldn't be locked out at your pH range so just make sure you're feeding properly. Also, the trouble with transplanting is that there are not enough roots to use the water so over-watering becomes a possibility as the soil takes forever to dry out.

 

[Nunyabiz]

If you haven't watered for 3 weeks even in the fabric pot then your soil must be mud.

 

[Emilya Green]

This is a curiosity to be sure... you say the 10g smart pot was wet when you transplanted, so you didnt add any more water, was it the same situation with the 20 gallons too?

When we transplant into fresh soil it is possible to confuse the plant by sitting it on top of all that new soil and not "merging" the soils by watering completely. I can see how your old rootball just sat there, not realizing that there was a whole world of new soil beneath and to the sides of her, and since she was dry, she has mostly gone into hibernation. Another possible scenario, the old rootball was sat down in a pool of wed soil, with so much moisture and so little earlier root development that the plants just didn't know what to do with all that water, and after being submerged for some time, have gone into survival mode.
I really don't know what is happening, but it points to having a weak root system. These plants should have all taken off and really thrived in all that soil, but it looks to me like they have stunted, and because of the light outdoors have moved right into bloom mode before getting a good root system established. Now they are in stretch and soon bloom will begin in earnest, and the root system will mostly be done developing, or at least as rapidly as it would in veg.
If I could, I would extend veg a bit on these plants for now by adding some extra light hours and I would work on getting a better root system under them. You may not have that time to afford due to your local growing season, so this might not be an option, and you may just have to go with what you have.
The next time you transplant, it is very important to merge the soil regions by watering properly. After that saturation, then it is appropriate to wait for them to dry out again, but not so enthusiastically that you put the plants into hibernation while you wait for it to happen. There is a top and a bottom root system in our weeds, and even while you wait a week or more for the big feeder/tap roots at the bottom to use up all of that water, to keep the plant going and its metabolism high, it is totally appropriate to water the top roots every 5 days or so with approximately 1/3 of what you would normally give to saturate the container. This amount will be readily used by the plant and it won't contribute to the level of the water table down below.

 

[Lottobeats]

This is a curiosity to be sure... you say the 10g smart pot was wet when you transplanted, so you didnt add any more water, was it the same situation with the 20 gallons too?

When we transplant into fresh soil it is possible to confuse the plant by sitting it on top of all that new soil and not "merging" the soils by watering completely. I can see how your old rootball just sat there, not realizing that there was a whole world of new soil beneath and to the sides of her, and since she was dry, she has mostly gone into hibernation. Another possible scenario, the old rootball was sat down in a pool of wed soil, with so much moisture and so little earlier root development that the plants just didn't know what to do with all that water, and after being submerged for some time, have gone into survival mode.
I really don't know what is happening, but it points to having a weak root system. These plants should have all taken off and really thrived in all that soil, but it looks to me like they have stunted, and because of the light outdoors have moved right into bloom mode before getting a good root system established. Now they are in stretch and soon bloom will begin in earnest, and the root system will mostly be done developing, or at least as rapidly as it would in veg.
If I could, I would extend veg a bit on these plants for now by adding some extra light hours and I would work on getting a better root system under them. You may not have that time to afford due to your local growing season, so this might not be an option, and you may just have to go with what you have.
The next time you transplant, it is very important to merge the soil regions by watering properly. After that saturation, then it is appropriate to wait for them to dry out again, but not so enthusiastically that you put the plants into hibernation while you wait for it to happen. There is a top and a bottom root system in our weeds, and even while you wait a week or more for the big feeder/tap roots at the bottom to use up all of that water, to keep the plant going and its metabolism high, it is totally appropriate to water the top roots every 5 days or so with approximately 1/3 of what you would normally give to saturate the container. This amount will be readily used by the plant and it won't contribute to the level of the water table down below.

When they’re in the shade they perk up lightly when the sun hits them they droop sorry for the pic quality they from my home cameras (not home at the moment) thanks for the help

 

[Emilya Green]

yes, without a healthy root system and the ability to move a lot of water, the hot sun is going to cause them difficulty. Keep attempting to dry the containers out before watering, but put a little bit in the top each day just to keep them going. They will work out of this in time since the roots never really stop growing.

 

[Lottobeats]

yes, without a healthy root system and the ability to move a lot of water, the hot sun is going to cause them difficulty. Keep attempting to dry the containers out before watering, but put a little bit in the top each day just to keep them going. They will work out of this in time since the roots never really stop growing.

Thanks will do... I lifted the containers this morning and they seem to be drying out only the bottom of the pot is wet I’m wait it out till this Friday hopefully the pot is completely dry and light so I can water them with some kelp for the stress.

 

[DaddyKush]

Fabric pots are a great way to avoid/prevent this in the future. Might be worth looking into if you're interested.

 

[Lottobeats]

Fabric pots are a great way to avoid/prevent this in the future. Might be worth looking into if you're interested.

I have smart pots and unfortunately the clone is doing the same as the other ones in plastic pots thanks though.

 

[Emilya Green]

its funny how we can think things that sound perfectly logical at the time, like I don't want to drown my plants, especially if we are stoned and ponder on it for quite a while, and then it ends up being this exact thing that bites us in the end. I have done this too, so don't feel alone.
What a learning experience though! We rarely get to see such a fine example of why it is important to merge the soils after transplant. Your plants will have eventually been able to figure things out and send roots down into the muck, as I believe they are doing right now, and with successive wet/dry cycles they would have gotten on with things, but alas, the sun has its own schedule and you were forced into bloom. This won't be as big of a yield as it could have been, but you are still going to do ok... don't despair.
In the future, It is all about teasing the roots to follow the water. If nothing is coming in from the top, the water table is sitting down below and is slowly evaporating and dropping even further, and the intrepid and heroic original rootball is just sitting there dry with no idea that there is water that can be chased... nightmares are made from these sorts of situations. I am just glad we were able to figure it out!
You are solidly on track now, knowing that you needed to wait till bottom feeder roots took out all the stagnant water in that pool down there and in the middle of the cloth sack, and now that the root system has had to grow and struggle to do this, the next watering is going to cause a massive surge in activity using all those new roots. It is going to be a joy to behold; please do keep us apprised.

 

[Lottobeats]

its funny how we can think things that sound perfectly logical at the time, like I don't want to drown my plants, especially if we are stoned and ponder on it for quite a while, and then it ends up being this exact thing that bites us in the end. I have done this too, so don't feel alone.
What a learning experience though! We rarely get to see such a fine example of why it is important to merge the soils after transplant. Your plants will have eventually been able to figure things out and send roots down into the muck, as I believe they are doing right now, and with successive wet/dry cycles they would have gotten on with things, but alas, the sun has its own schedule and you were forced into bloom. This won't be as big of a yield as it could have been, but you are still going to do ok... don't despair.
In the future, It is all about teasing the roots to follow the water. If nothing is coming in from the top, the water table is sitting down below and is slowly evaporating and dropping even further, and the intrepid and heroic original rootball is just sitting there dry with no idea that there is water that can be chased... nightmares are made from these sorts of situations. I am just glad we were able to figure it out!
You are solidly on track now, knowing that you needed to wait till bottom feeder roots took out all the stagnant water in that pool down there and in the middle of the cloth sack, and now that the root system has had to grow and struggle to do this, the next watering is going to cause a massive surge in activity using all those new roots. It is going to be a joy to behold; please do keep us apprised.

Yes I absolutely will keep you guys updated thanks for all the help and support.