Help! i'm wilting

[doublejointed]

my plant is wilting...it was fine sunday but yesterday(monday) when i got home from work it looked like it was slumping...in the past when it got this look i watered it and it perked right up...but when i looked at it today it looked worse.
i have 2 plants in the same grow box and they get everything the same water, light, fertz, and the other is fine, perky & happy.

heres pics one from 3-24 and one from today 3/27

 

[QueenTokelove]

Re: HELP !! i'm wilting

Wow, what a difference indeed. How often are you watering? I couldn't tell from your picture but do you have a fan in there? Some plants are light eaters or just finicky.

 

[doublejointed]

Re: HELP !! i'm wilting

2-3 times a week depending on how dry the soil feels or how the plants look....i'm trying not to freak out...but i'm freeakin-out!...lol

 

[bobulak]

Hi DJ

Those look like 5g buckets. Do they have holes drilled in the bottom to allow drainage? Also you'll want to let them dry out a bit before you water. That will allow O2 to get to your roots. Also are you feeding every time you water? Like QTL said some plants are finicky.

 

[QueenTokelove]

Re: HELP !! i'm wilting

2-3 times a week depending on how dry the soil feels or how the plants look....i'm trying not to freak out...but i'm freeakin-out!...lol

Are you lifting your pots to see how heavy they feel? If they feel light then it's time to water/feed. Try not to freak out too much. When was the last time you watered them? Was it recent? I agree with Bob about placing extra holes in your pots if needed. I put holes on the bottom and the sides of my 1 gallon pots. And also about letting it dry out a bit before you give it anything else.

I really think you have a finicky plant on your hands or a light eater like I said in the beginning. You're giving both identical nutes, etc but one is droopy and the other isn't. I was curious to what your temps are and air circulation.

 

[doublejointed]

i do have holes in the buckets, and have very good drainage...i watered them and fed them on monday.i feed them once a week and water when they look thirsty or the soil feels dry...i did add more lights on saturday i had 2 300 & 1 150 watt and i added 3 more 150's the temp did go up inside the box but only from 75 to 90 F . but i have done that with my last 2 crops and had no ill effects and last summer the temp was about 100 every day (in the grow box) and didn't seem to bother those plants...i stumbled upon a new 200 watt CFL today it's 6500K all my old CFL's were 2700K

today when i got home from work the soil felt really dry(i had just gave it 5 pt's on monday) so i installed the new lights and gave her a quart of water...keeping my fingers crossed

 

[doublejointed]

i meant 65 watt with the equivalent of 200 watts...lol

 

[bobulak]

Hi Dj

Well Id say that's to hot. Different plants, different temperature thresholds. Do you use a fan? Also when you water do you water enough so that there is runoff? This is important because the extra water will help wash away salts and unused nutes from the soil and root system. This is why I let my soil plants dry a bit then give them a good water. Do you test the ph of the runoff? Your looking for approximately 6.5 for plants grown in soil.

Hope this helps

 

[QueenTokelove]

I thought your temps were running a bit hot...I was told that it shouldn't get past 85. I am with Bob about the fan. I sure hope you have one in there with those kind of temps.

 

[SweetJane]

I use a moisture probe. Bond makes one that is adequate and inexpensive. Now is a good time to look for them, as the stores are putting out their garden supplies. I found mine for 3 bucks in my local grocery store. I'm getting better at trusting myself with the pot lifting method, but I had so many watering issues when I got started I still prefer to use the probe.

The dollar stores sell small fans, I have 3 of them in my tent, one near the plants and two above my lights to keep the air circulating.

Nice looking plants, btw

 

[QueenTokelove]

The dollar store is a great place to find things...I never have bought a probe yet. I was thinking of the 3 in one kind that checks moisture, ph and something else.

 

[Vampire]

I'm in with thinking its got heat stress.

 

[doublejointed]

well that was a stressful 2 days...it must have been heat stress, thank you all for ur input . after changing lights and another watering she is happy and perky again...me too!!...lol. today when i got home i checked temp and it was a comfy 80 F in the growbox ...here is a pic of her today

 

[doublejointed]

Hi Dj

Well Id say that's to hot. Different plants, different temperature thresholds. Do you use a fan? Also when you water do you water enough so that there is runoff? This is important because the extra water will help wash away salts and unused nutes from the soil and root system. This is why I let my soil plants dry a bit then give them a good water. Do you test the ph of the runoff? Your looking for approximately 6.5 for plants grown in soil.

Hope this helps

thanks bob...i guess i learned something new today, i thought because one plant looked fine and the other was wilting it was the plant not environment of the growbox... and yep i do water until there is run off...but i have a turkey baster and put the water back into the bucket.is that not a good idea? i check the run off for ph but my ph meter is not very accurate so all i know is my ph is within the "ideal range" ....ideal for what i have no clue...lol. in the past to control heat i would lift the growbox off the floor 12" and lift the lid 6" creating an air rise (AKA) chimney effect, that worked really well last summer...but because it's still cold here and my apt doesn't get above 60 i haven't done that yet