First grow - help needed

[Theurbannomad]

Hey guys, I've been lurking here for a while trying to glean tips for my first grow... but I feel things may be going awry for my plants so I need some advice. I'm growing in soil, some organic Pro-Mix from Rona (the only garden center open during a Manitoba winter), although I germinated in rockwool cubes on the advice of a man at the hydroponics store, and just put the rockwool cubes in soil after germination. I've watered every 3-4 days, and added a half-strength hydroponic nutrient solution twice at 10 and 18 days (maybe too early?). The plants are under four 2' Sunblaster t5 fluorescent lights. I haven't been keeping on top of ph'ing my water, and just realized today the distilled water I use has a ph of 8.1, and a ph of 6.5 for the nutrient solution, so that could be a concern. Basically my plants are not growing very quickly at all. 22 days in vegetative state and both are only 2.5 inches high. Any thoughts/advice?

 

[Mike Wright]

Yeah, I found out the hard way that that distilled water needs to be ph downed to. And any stress can definitely slow growth. My current grow the seedlings popped upside down and the root grew out of the soil so I basically lost a week. I suggest sorting out your ph issues. Also from what I read, that particular promix has a lot of peat and will pack, so you need to be generous with the perlite. It's not clear, but I think it also has nutes. If it were me, I would probably transplant into a more known soil with good drainage and see if the plants revive.

 

[CronicHempHog]

the plant doesn't look overfed it kinda looks like it needs some nitrogen by the lighter almost yellow color of the lowest leaves
the soil you are using is weak in nutrients?
and I wouldnt use nutes for soil if the one you are using is strictly for hydro
theres some amendments you may be able to top dress your soil with like worm castings and bat guano
may help you on the nitrogen end
I myself only grow in soil for mothers or if I don't wanna throw away a rooted clone
I don't usually add any nutes unless I can see signs of deficiencies
and dependent on the soil your using if you have to or not
I find fox farms ocean forest doesn't need much especially in veg I just use plain water I don't ph it my tap is 7.0-7.2 ph
also the soil should be able to adjust ph on its own good soil should have a ph of about 6-7
ive used another soil that I did have to add nutrients too but as it was a mother plant my only objective
was to keep her nice and green
and 10 days from sprout is a little early for nutes figure give it at least so many nodes before you even use a half dose of nutes

Welcome to Nomad
Might be good to start a journal a lot of people look for new journals to sub to and youll get a lot of help

How to Make a Grow Journal

im sure theres at least 2-3 other people who will chime in by the end of the day lots of help here

 

[Theurbannomad]

Thanks for the advice guys. I'm fairly sure soil quality is a problem, but as I said it was the only thing I could pick up in Winnipeg, and I don't think I can get Fox Farm soil in Canada unfortunately (unless I pay heavy shipping prices). I figured the hydro nutes might not be a great idea with soil, though my searches led me to believe that at least some have used them with success.

 

[KingJohnC]

I use peat moss, perlite, vermiculite and mycorrhizae for my plants. With Pro-Mix HP you would only need to add vermiculite and mycorrhizae. Your plant is ready for a 1/4 strength dose of nutrients. You want pH 5.8 for hydroponic and soiless (peat moss and coco coir) and pH 6.5 for soil. I use General Hydroponics Flora series 3 part nutrients that can be mixed for all stages of vegetative growth and flowering. General Hydroponics Flora series can be used with hydroponic, soil and soiless mediums.

https://generalhydroponics.com nutrients flora series

https://www.horticulturesource.com general hydroponics gh flora series performance pack


Here is a nutrient availability chart