How do these look for 7 days old - Water OK but bottom leaves hanging

[kviertwintig]

Also top left one has a bit of tiny upward curling wrinkles towards top but watering etc is fine. Bottom one has leaves that kinda look too heavy or something. But to me they look like theyre healthy. Wanted some second opinions.

 

[Dan Ultra]

Let that soil dry out COMPLETELY before watering.

Aside from looking a little overwatered, they look fine. I would expect to see more vigor in the growth once they have a wet/dry schedule.

The more roots the plant produces at this stage, the faster it will grow above ground. If you keep the soil moist all the time, the roots stay stationary and don't actively search to find a water source. This causes the plant to remain a bit more dormant than if you were to let the soil get pretty dry before lightly moistening the soil again.

Welcome to

 

[kviertwintig]

Let that soil dry out COMPLETELY before watering.

Aside from looking a little overwatered, they look fine. I would expect to see more vigor in the growth once they have a wet/dry schedule.

The more roots the plant produces at this stage, the faster it will grow above ground. If you keep the soil moist all the time, the roots stay stationary and don't actively search to find a water source. This causes the plant to remain a bit more dormant than if you were to let the soil get pretty dry before lightly moistening the soil again.

Welcome to

Hello Dan, thanks for replying. I usually water them until top soil looks powdery and is easily moveable up until 2 knuckles deep. I have a new pic of how they look today, you can definetly see a lot of difference compared to yesterday:

 

[Dan Ultra]

Do those pots have plenty of drainage?

Do you have another pot you can fill with just soil and "feel" how light the pot is when it's dry? This will give you an idea of when to water. It looks like those pots don't have much drainage and might be holding water near the bottom. You say you water when it's dry on the top 2 inches, but the whole pot needs to be dry before you water.

At this stage, you shouldn't be watering the entire pot either. Just a little bit of moisture in the soil around the seedlings.

Also, try and make a humidity dome out of a clear 20 oz or 2liter. It will help to regulate humidity and moisture around the seedlings.


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[Mpfstc]

They don't look bad. I agree with the comment above. I let my soil dry out between waterings and make sure I when I do water that I distribute the water through out the whole pot.

 

[Major PITA]

Looks too wet to me.
IMO the finger test doesn't work. Lift the pot. If it feels completely empty, it is time to water. Not before.
Soil can be bone dry at the top while the PWT at the bottom can drown young plants.

 

[ODtheGreat]

Looks too wet to me.
IMO the finger test doesn't work. Lift the pot. If it feels completely empty, it is time to water. Not before.
Soil can be bone dry at the top while the PWT at the bottom can drown young plants.

Truth. If you let it dry and leave it dry for a bit your plants will grow more roots to search for moisture. More roots bigger fruits.

 

[Mpfstc]

Truth. If you let it dry and leave it dry for a bit your plants will grow more roots to search for moisture. More roots bigger fruits.

I learned this the hard way my first few grows. I would just water at the base of the plant. After I harvested when emptied the pot there would only be a small root ball. A buddy told me spread my watering over the whole pot and it made a world of difference in plant health and how much I harvest.

 

[fuglyman]

Major you put that link for watering in your signature.

 

[Major PITA]

Major you put that link for watering in your signature.

This one?

 

[kviertwintig]

Do those pots have plenty of drainage?

Yes they have plenty of drainage completely filled em with water and water never lies on top and drains out after pot is satisfied.

Do you have another pot you can fill with just soil and "feel" how light the pot is when it's dry? This will give you an idea of when to water. It looks like those pots don't have much drainage and might be holding water near the bottom. You say you water when it's dry on the top 2 inches, but the whole pot needs to be dry before you water.

At this stage, you shouldn't be watering the entire pot either. Just a little bit of moisture in the soil around the seedlings.

Also, try and make a humidity dome out of a clear 20 oz or 2liter. It will help to regulate humidity and moisture around the seedlings.


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Ok I have another 4th pot which contains the same amount of soil mixture. This weighs on a scale 1080g. This soil is bone dry and hasnt been watered for a week. So it's safe to let them drop to total dryness? Normally when top 2 inch are dry and I water them they weigh around 1350 -1250g. I will try this out then. How long can they safely be without water before plants die off? Or just let them get to totally 0 water in pot and then fill them up again?

For humidity i'll try putting a glass of tapwater or 2 next to the plants on bottom.

 

[Major PITA]

They can't go completely dry...but close to it. You will see the difference in the plants well before it is too late (as long as you are able to keep an eye on them).

Did you look at the pictures in the link above with the piggy dank? Seriously, if I was to start seeds in 1 gallon pots, I think it would take at least a month before another drop hit them - probably more. If you water, and the plants are actually thirsty, you will see the difference immediately. I can watch mine move and perk up in a matter of a few minutes.

The other key to proper watering is to DRENCH those suckers. I put my pots inside a slightly larger pot. I water from the top until they won't take another drop and the pots are surrounded/submerged in water. They sit there a few minutes and I can see/hear bubbles percolating up through the soil. Every potting mix is a little different but I can usually get about 25%+ water for the size of the pot. My 7 gal pots take about 2 gallons of water. After drenching, remove and drain well by tipping the pot to reduce the PWT. Now wait. Wait. Wait....

 

[kviertwintig]

Okay I'll aim for 1180grams then. Lowest I had em is 1350 maybe. But I'll try looking at them first. But imho they r still doing way better then my first grow. I think that's also the reason why one of em is bigger due to not watering them that much at all when they were just above ground and think that one pushed his roots hardest. And since it has bigger root system it's doing better. Mistake I made was even tho other 2 are smaller and probably less roots I was anxious about thm drying out and watered them until same weight. But from now on I'll let them wait longer inbetween watering and keep an eye on them.

So basically:

Water them when stems start bit of bending over right?

 

[Major PITA]

Water them when stems start bit of bending over right?

Each strain acts a little differently - but yes, as long as you are able to keep an eye on them.
The only reason I hedge at all is, I'm not familiar with how they have been watered in the past, or anything about your soil.

I don't want you to go too far in the other direction. When really small, like the plants in your pictures, too dry can mean death quickly. Mine are watered really well in the beginning so I KNOW I don't need to worry about them for at least a couple of weeks. By then, they are bigger and have developed a strong root ball. They can take a little dryness with no problems. I am also able to keep a close eye on them. If mine got dry at the size of those in your pictures above, I'd be screwed. The piggy dank plant is about the size I expect after a couple of weeks and is also when I would be watching very closely for needing water.

 

[kviertwintig]

I'll play it safe and use my scale and my judgement then. Last grow I really messed up and knew they would die anyway, but didn't water them at all when they were dieing. When I took them out whole pot was full of root so I understand bit of underwatering is good for them.

Or if im unsure I'll just put a photo of them on here.

 

[Major PITA]

Perfect!

It probably doesn't help, but my comfort zone is this: I put seeds directly into soil in solo cups that have been drenched as described > two to four days later they are above ground and I start the clock > two weeks later they are ready for transplant and a drink > I move them to 1 gal pots and drench completely in the new pots > another two weeks m/l and they are again ready for transplant and water > move to 7 gal pots and drench.

Until they are in the 7's I rarely have to water anything other than when I transplant. YMMV.

 

[Major PITA]

I hesitate to throw out numbers like this, but...
I thought of something that might be of marginal help. When full of soil, my one gallon pots hold about 1 liter of water when I drench them = 1,000 grams additional weight.

 

[kviertwintig]

Okay, now pots weigh about 1060g. Totally dry is 980g. This is few photos of them now:


The plant on last photo's right leaf feels a bit " crunchy" not that it's falling apart but not very watery either. They weigh all about 1060g.

Dry is 980g so thats 80ml water left. Should I water them? And was thinking about adding some vegging nutes at 1/8 recommended strength maybe.


And I must say I have the idea of seeing white wires coming through the draining holes. I assume this is not fungus so maybe the plants already have found their way to the bottom?

EDIT: Just decided to water them. This time I used the bucket method, added in some veg nutes (not much, 1/8 manufacturer recommendation), and soaked them from bottom. Top is still bonedry but they weigh MUCH more now. Since I saw some roots coming down from bottom I assume they have developed a decent root system around the whole height so I'm sure they'll keep on growing strong. Curious to see what the nutes will do. Plan on nuting every other watering at really low doses like 1/8th.

Another problem I just figured is the water was quite cold lol and this supposedly is extremely bad for plants? Hope they dont die used a blowdryer to make th sides bit hotter but I'm sure this'll work out

 

[Major PITA]

I wouldn't use cold water, but no big deal. Excess chlorine could be an issue, but again, a one-off isn't going to matter. I would have watered from the top. The top should be wet too. That's where the "feeder" roots are. The "water" roots are what you are seeing at the bottom. The roots are (should) always bigger than the plant until they fill the container.

What are you using for light and how close is it?

 

[kviertwintig]

138w of 2700k cfls, about 2inch above them