Need help - Plants drooping - Am I over watering?

[Cannasauce]

Hey everybody, I'm a first time grower and I''m not sure why my plants are drooping over. I think it's form over watering.

I am on day 11 of my grow, I try to water every 2 days but sometimes it seems my soil dries out faster.

Last night they were drooping a little, watered earlier in the day. But today I was looking at them some of the smaller plants were still a little droopy, and the soil tops were dry, even crusty. On the edge of the cup I worked my finger down to first knuckle and the soil was darker, I want to say it was damp, but then again I'm not sure how damp damp is for soil. But I swear the soil was so dry and the cups were so lite I just went ahead and watered. 4 hours later they are all drooping.

Here is my set up:
Strain: Unknown (from a mix of saved seeds sometimes found in bud)
Medium: Soil, currently in a organic seed starter mix, looking to transplant into Sunshine #4 or Pro Mix (I'm still on the fence)
Light: For now, 2 cheaper model 270W LED UFOs (they had decent reviews)
Schedule: 18 hours on / 6 hours off - Try to water every 2 days - feed every water
I have great ventilation and circulation, temps average 80, 35% humidity.

Nutrients: - Advanced Nutrients - @ 1/2 rec dose -
Sensi Grow A
Sensi Grow B
Bud Candy
Voodoo Juice


Did I f*** my plants up??? How would I fix this and further prevent it? Thanks!


Cups 1-4

Cups 1-4

Cups 5-8

Cups 5-8

 

[6ofOne]

Do you have drainage holes in your cups?

I would say you are watering too much, every 2 days is a lot. That stage you could go 4-5 days without water. Remember you want your roots to seek the water out to build a strong root network. If you keep the water close to the roots they will not be strong
( the biggest one may need it ever 3 days as the root ball will be bigger. See below)

What you need to do is fill same size cup with the same planting soil you are using and make sure it is dry. Feel how heavy it is. Do not water again until your cups with the seedlings feel close to that weight. Now if your cups feel that light 1-2 days after watering it's time to move them to a bigger pot as your roots are sucking up all available water

Do this weight comparison throughout your entire grow. This way you know when you are ready to water. Plus it allows you to see signs in your plants that they may need water. It helps your learn as your plants grow

Also you do not need to feed every feeding. Especially at that young of an age.

Last, try and get your humidity up a little more. They will enjoy that.

Save the knuckle test for your other activities

And no you didn't fuck em up. They look really good.

I hope this helps

 

[fanleaf]

Every 2 days is way too much. Every 5 days at that size maybe. The "first knuckle" way is total shit. Go by weight. Theres nothingcwrong with the top ogf the soil getting crusty. Wait until you have no doubt theres no water weight left in the pot then flood it until its draining from the bottom. Rinse and repeat.

Sent from my VS980 4G using 420 Magazine Mobile App

 

[mistaSmoka]

first knuckle is for bigger pots. make sure drainage is ample. and like the others said weight is key with solo cups. i tend to water when soil looks completely dry on top. no moisture. then check weight really quick.

 

[Cannasauce]

Do you have drainage holes in your cups?

I would say you are watering too much, every 2 days is a lot. That stage you could go 4-5 days without water. Remember you want your roots to seek the water out to build a strong root network. If you keep the water close to the roots they will not be strong
( the biggest one may need it ever 3 days as the root ball will be bigger. See below)

What you need to do is fill same size cup with the same planting soil you are using and make sure it is dry. Feel how heavy it is. Do not water again until your cups with the seedlings feel close to that weight. Now if your cups feel that light 1-2 days after watering it's time to move them to a bigger pot as your roots are sucking up all available water

Do this weight comparison throughout your entire grow. This way you know when you are ready to water. Plus it allows you to see signs in your plants that they may need water. It helps your learn as your plants grow

Also you do not need to feed every feeding. Especially at that young of an age.

Last, try and get your humidity up a little more. They will enjoy that.

Save the knuckle test for your other activities

And no you didn't fuck em up. They look really good.

I hope this helps

I appreciate that info, it helps a lot.

Today I discovered something odd, or maybe its normal, I have never seen the grow process.

I'm growing a total of 8 plants, I noticed some of the cups were extremely dry today. Last time I watered was yesterday, before my first post. I water every cup the same, I add water until it starts dripping through the holes on the bottoms of the cups.

Here is the dried out cup, A.

Dry as a bone

You can see the little root development, yet the cup is dry in a day.

But then I noticed the bigger plants soil look damper, so I decided to check it out:

I noticed roots poking through the holes, does that mean root bound?

How does the soil stay damp with so many roots???

What are your thoughts? Should I water the dried out cups now and transplant all to gallon pots tomorrow? I'm being recommended for my first grow to use Pro Mix BX mixed with Perlite at a 85/15 ratio. (Someone even said mix 50/50 to solve over watering)

 

[6ofOne]

That's very strange, especially with that little of root development. Are you sure you didn't skip water on that one? I know you said you did the same that's about all I can think of

Is the soil type the same in each cup?

How much lighter are the dried ones from the damp ones? Huge difference? The dry ones maybe just dry on the outside but still holding moisture on the inside. Again it's all about weight. How do they compare weight wise?

If it was me, I would water the dried ones if they felt much lighter than the damp ones. I would also get them out of those cups and into a bigger pot. Remember to feel the new pot weight before you add water to it. So you know what a dry pot feels like.

I've never used the soil you are transplanting to. I'm a fox farm fan boy

 

[mistaSmoka]

Transplant. Roots circled the bottom a few times. Plus sounds like plants are sucking the soil dry quick. 50-50 is too much perilite imo. I use ffof and don't add anything. But new growers always over water. I did. If the soil looks dry and it's light weight then water. Also plants are individuals. Even clones. Some grow faster than others and some drink more water.

 

[improvise]

yes i certainly over watered my early grows.
i too have missed watering a pot back then.

transplanting - i like to give them a little bit water before taking it out of the pot, settle it in the new pot and feel the weight of the pot before finally watering the plant in, in which case i tend to water round the edge of the plant where it meets the new soil mix, assuming the new mix already has water moisture content so i don't drench till run off, this works for me.

i agree every plant in its own pot performs differently especially seeds.

must say they look like some proper indica genes there judging by those fat leaves i like.

good practice anyway for when you purchase a known variety.

roots. yes those roots that are going round the bottom of pot could have been going down, it will love its new pot.

onwards and upwards. regards

 

[mistaSmoka]

^^^ good advice. Watering around where the soils meet helps the roots spread out into their new environment and explore.