New Member

[Emilya Green]

Hello. I took your advice and transplanted today. I wore nylon gloves to avoid contamination but they would not come out of the clay pots so I had to break them but there were roots everywhere and of course they got disturbed. The roots were bright white but I hope the disturbance to the roots will not kill them. I should have broken them from the beginning. Only time will tell.

I am of the opinion that roughing up the roots a bit on transplant is a good thing. It might shock the plants for a day, but then they take off with those roots like they were recovering from an attack, totally forsaking the pattern they had grown into in the previous container.

 

[clrwatrtom]

wow! something to learn on every grow. there is so much to learn and i am feeling a bit old.

 

[fatboy578]

Wow. That is completely the opposite I have read. That is why everything you read is not correct. I read do not use Miracle Gro. I did not want to but I needed to help those seedlings immediately, I could not wait to order the correct soil so I used what I had and they took off. Do the plants usually wilt quite a bit? I like to know what might happen.

 

[clrwatrtom]

they are trying to tell you what they want. @Emilya can point you in the right direction. Read her post on properly watering potted plants. if you can get used to making mistakes, this forum @Emilya will help you see the light!!!!!

 

[Backlipslide]

Looking healthy! Would love to see some photos after transplant. I agree with elmilya, I like to break the roots up as well when transplanting.

 

[Emilya Green]

Wow. That is completely the opposite I have read. That is why everything you read is not correct. I read do not use Miracle Gro. I did not want to but I needed to help those seedlings immediately, I could not wait to order the correct soil so I used what I had and they took off. Do the plants usually wilt quite a bit? I like to know what might happen.

you said it... you can not trust everything that you read, especially on online forums. The wilt is most likely due to improper watering. As advised, please read my thesis on watering, it will help. Regarding soil... I heard that about MG, so I tried it... a couple of times actually, once for the very reason you just stated. I found that it was indeed possible to get a great start using MG, and I still use it outside in my veggie garden.
Question everything, test what you can. - Wee'zard

 

[Greenlizard]

One thing that I have adapted to doing when transplanting is using a spray bottle. If moisture is always present the roots won't get shocked nearly as much. If you just remove a dry root ball from a pot and plunk it into a hole or fill in around it with dry material the roots hate that. It's best to never let your roots come into contact with dry material. I fill my spray bottle with lukewarm ph'ed water and mist the root ball once I remove it from the previous pot. Then I mold the new hole with an empty pot of the previous size. I add a little water around the edge to help the hole hold the shape once the pot is removed. (kind of like building a reverse sand castle). Then once I remove the empty pot that I used as a mold I mist the inside of the hole fairly heavy ensuring to moisten all the side walls. Now when I set my root ball into the hole they hardly skip a beat.

 

[fatboy578]

Everything you say is correct. I used the spray bottle, incredible.

 

[fatboy578]

I need some help please. I transplanted 2 days ago from a clay pot to a 3 gallon fabric pot. Watered it thoroughly until water seeped out the bottom and was it heavy. I just looked in on it and after checking it, it is dry, my meter and finger test came up the same. I read that if you need to water every day or 2 you need to transplant. I do not know what to do with it. Thank you

 

[Greenlizard]

Sound like a temp spike? Has it been really hot as of lately? Also don't go by meters and fingers. @Emilya has a great article on watering that you should have a peek at. It helped me when I started. It's all about the weight of the pot.

 

[Greenlizard]

Here is the link: The Proper Way To Water A Potted Plant

 

[fatboy578]

Sound like a temp spike? Has it been really hot as of lately? Also don't go by meters and fingers. @Emilya has a great article on watering that you should have a peek at. It helped me when I started. It's all about the weight of the pot.

Yes it is hot, I am in Florida and would never have grown in the summer but this was my first grow and was to excited. The temperature inside the tent never goes below 84 degrees and that is with it open, paddle fans, it is just to hot in the summer. I have been concerned about this but there is nothing I can do to correct it. I did read the article and when I picked up the handles it felt like I was lifting up nothing it was so light so I knew right then it was dry.

 

[Greenlizard]

I don't think going up in pot size will solve this. I was going through the same thing until I got a larger tent. Be sure to flush with just water every 3rd watering to avoid over feeding. Maybe even every second watering. Watch for leaf tip burn.

 

[fatboy578]

I don't think going up in pot size will solve this. I was going through the same thing until I got a larger tent. Be sure to flush with just water every 3rd watering to avoid over feeding. Maybe even every second watering. Watch for leaf tip burn.

Unfortunately, I am stuck with this size tent. I did find out that I was keeping the LED lights way to close. I had them at 15 inches and now there are at 24 inches. That is what the instructions say. I had put them lower as someone on Leafy said that LED lights do not put out the heat as other lights which is true but he was wrong. I did damage some lower leaves but will never go against the manufacturers levels. I also am not giving anymore nutrients. There is no extended fertilizers but there is compost. I gave it just water today but lowered the ph to 5.0 as the soil is a little high on the ph scale. When I do my last transplant I have Happy Frog soil standing by.

 

[Backlipslide]

Your in Florida, and you don’t have air conditioning!! It may be time to bite the bullet and maybe get your self a small portable AC unit for your room, if possible. For the plants sake this is anyways

 

[Backlipslide]

Yes the reason the manufacturers give directed heights because I’m sure they test the light with a par meter and determine the best heights for said light. Buddy’s light was prob diff then yours and all lights will give different par meter readings then others. Best to just go with the manufacturers directions at height. Unless you’ve already experimented and figured out what height has the best reading in the environment said person is working with

 

[Emilya Green]

Unfortunately, I am stuck with this size tent. I did find out that I was keeping the LED lights way to close. I had them at 15 inches and now there are at 24 inches. That is what the instructions say. I had put them lower as someone on Leafy said that LED lights do not put out the heat as other lights which is true but he was wrong. I did damage some lower leaves but will never go against the manufacturers levels. I also am not giving anymore nutrients. There is no extended fertilizers but there is compost. I gave it just water today but lowered the ph to 5.0 as the soil is a little high on the ph scale. When I do my last transplant I have Happy Frog soil standing by.

Soil is supposed to be high on the pH scale... it is that which allows for the drift that you need to see the entire range with your nutes. Do not try to compensate by watering at the incorrect pH or you are going to lock out vital nutrients. Water correctly at 6.3 pH with every fluid that hits your soil, and let the soil do its thing.

 

[No Pain]

I wanted to say Hello. Just had my first grow and it ended in disaster. Will post next time I try.

it happens and now you are in the right place ...welcome aboard . browse through some grow journals ..

 

[Pbass]

I did read the article and when I picked up the handles it felt like I was lifting up nothing it was so light so I knew right then it was dry.

As long as this happens I am successful! I even let them go to wilting, I'm there enough to watch for it. It's pretty dang cool to be able to watch them take up the water and fill up again!

I checked my water ph a long time ago with a pool tester kit, it was about 7 so I use 4tsp of vinegar to bring it down. Since I did that there never seemed to be any issues. I think the soil in my first grow was ph hot but the stuff I'm using now (no name brand, no fert potting soil) started at 7ish too so it works good.