Trouble in paradise

[Emilya Green]

Yes, that lower yellowing looks to me to be the first signs of overwatering by watering too often. PLease let the containers dry out, all the way to the bottom before watering. You can use that moisture meter to determine where the water table is in your containers... just keep poking it deeper until the meter pegs out all the way to the right, indicating wet. Wait for that water table to drop down into the last inch of the container before watering.

 

[HighestLove]

Yes, that lower yellowing looks to me to be the first signs of overwatering by watering too often. PLease let the containers dry out, all the way to the bottom before watering. You can use that moisture meter to determine where the water table is in your containers... just keep poking it deeper until the meter pegs out all the way to the right, indicating wet. Wait for that water table to drop down into the last inch of the container before watering.

I've been scared of leaving them dry. How long should I go between waterings? I've been checking the meter every day and watering every 2nd or 3rd day.

 

[Emilya Green]

Examine just what the meter told you? That it is moist? The only useful thing that meter does is to tell you where the water table is... that lake of stagnant water that exists in the bottom of your container. You need to let that lake fall down to the last inch of the container. This is the ONLY way that oxygen is able to be pulled down to those bottom roots, because of the suction that the top of the lake causes (diaphragm effect) and it is necessary for those roots to periodically see oxygen. If they stay under water the roots have no choice but to try to protect themselves from the flood waters, and they enclose themselves in a protective covering until it dries out. When this happens, a good amount of the root's ability to uptake water and nutrients is shut down, just trying to survive. This lack of nutrition is what these bottom leaves are showing you... the Nitrogen needed by the plant for all the new growth is now lacking because those feeder roots are being compromised, so it is drawing it from the storehouses in those lower leaves.

Your watering every 2nd and 3rd day before the plant is able to use all of that water sitting in there simply raises the level of the water table again, keeping the lower roots under water. While this is harming the lower roots, this is a weed, and being such it has two sets of roots, and the top spreader roots are now taking prominence and are getting most of what the plant needs into the plant. I bet they perk up a bit when they get this watering, but then 12 hours later they are drooping again. You are getting to the point where the only active roots will be the upper ones, and when that happens you will lose all of your lower leaves... it is an ugly process and we need to stop this now so you don't get to that point.

Learn to use the lift method. Lift up a similar sized container filled with dry soil and note its light weight. Now lift your plant. If your human senses can discern that there is water weight in there as compared to the dry pot, it is NOT yet time to water. Let the plant use all of the water in the container before you reward it with more water. This will cause the roots to expand out tremendously between waterings, looking for that water. A healthy plant reaches up toward the light, while these powerful roots develop the water pressure necessary to do such a powerful thing. It will amaze you how a planter that feels so light and obviously is as dry as the Sahara, can hold such a happy plant, but this plant is most happy when it is almost so dry it is to the point of wilting, while a coddled and constantly moist weed will be an unhappy and lazy one with a feeble root system. Weeds need a little bit of adversity to thrive. You must be cruel to be kind... and all that. Don't be afraid to let it dry out. If it takes more than 4 days to get totally dry, give it a little tiny drink, just watering the top roots and no further down than 3 inches... give just enough water to give the top roots a little drink but not add to the water table down below.

Develop a clear wet/dry cycle, where you can see the roots getting stronger with each cycle. At first it will take 5-7 days to drain a container of all the water you can get the soil to hold. As the roots develop, that time between waterings goes down a bit each time, and when the plant can drain every drop in 24-36 hours, it is time to uppot, and start this root building process again.

Check out my watering article for many more thoughts on this process and how it modifies as the plant matures.

 

[Scottylikesbud]

That bit got me hooked. I promise to read your watering article before I drop a seed in soil. As in my past experiences I didn’t know tf I was doing with watering. And I do find plenty of others pointing your article out for watering. Just haven’t read it yet as I gave up on soil a while back thinking there was no possible way for me to grow out this plant with all this bro science dung being shoved upon me by friends. but with this website and members like you dispelling this bro science. I am going to give it another go. In baby steps lol. Going to use a peat based soil.
And if that works out well. Maybe I’ll try a peat based super soil. And if that works out I would like to step it up to the LOS I’ve been reading and hearing so much about. So yeah I guess these would be my goals for the next couple of years. I pray that I achieve them someday

 

[HighestLove]

I will absolutely take all of this in and apply it to my little green girls. Thank you for taking the time to write all that, and I promise it was not wasted time. I learn more every day. Starting my first grow from seeds has been quite an experience. My goal is to get these plants big enough for clones so I dont have to start from seeds again. Hopefully I get it right, this time.

 

[The Celt]

That bit got me hooked. I promise to read your watering article before I drop a seed in soil. As in my past experiences I didn’t know tf I was doing with watering. And I do find plenty of others pointing your article out for watering. Just haven’t read it yet as I gave up on soil a while back thinking there was no possible way for me to grow out this plant with all this bro science dung being shoved upon me by friends. but with this website and members like you dispelling this bro science. I am going to give it another go. In baby steps lol. Going to use a peat based soil.
And if that works out well. Maybe I’ll try a peat based super soil. And if that works out I would like to step it up to the LOS I’ve been reading and hearing so much about. So yeah I guess these would be my goals for the next couple of years. I pray that I achieve them someday

You keep following and learning from members here, you will get to LOS growing. Some use kits and premade soils and recipes, and some of us build from scratch, but it all works pretty much the same and is really not that hard.

I run organic supersoils that only get water start to finish with the odd AACT when I have time to make some, which the current grow is not likely to see lol I grow this way because I can be gone for days or weeks at a time with my work and can’t tend plants regularily.

This grow I am around, because of C19, which is working out well because the pump I had set up for automatic watering wasn’t capable of supplying water to the new 18 plant setup.

 

[HighestLove]

You keep following and learning from members here, you will get to LOS growing. Some use kits and premade soils and recipes, and some of us build from scratch, but it all works pretty much the same and is really not that hard.

I run organic supersoils that only get water start to finish with the odd AACT when I have time to make some, which the current grow is not likely to see lol I grow this way because I can be gone for days or weeks at a time with my work and can’t tend plants regularily.

This grow I am around, because of C19, which is working out well because the pump I had set up for automatic watering wasn’t capable of supplying water to the new 18 plant setup.

I've read about the supersoils. Do you make your own? I normally travel for work, as well, and am away for a week at a time. I started this grow, knowing I'd be grounded to tweak everything as needed, but future grows wont have this attention. Since I overwater, this may be a good thing. Lol

 

[The Celt]

For soils yes, I have refined my recipe over the years and this current mix is spot on for giving the girls the maximum required nutrients so far, 4 weeks into flower. Another 3 or 4 weeks to go and I will know if I need to adjust anything but not expecting to.

I start from scratch using 2 bales of peat, 25 kg (55lbs) of alfalfa pellets, bone meal, blood meal, kelp meal, Epsom Salt, hydrated lime, LABs, worm castings when I think of it (just a handful) and KNO3 for the potassium which once I run out will be replaced with molasses. Oh near forgot, a generous dose of diatomaceous earth for Si.

I use 15”x15”x12” DIY fabric pots which will hold about 11gal (40+ L). These pots raised off the floor are harder to over water and when I get a new pump, will have a metered watering system again. My current pump can’t keep up with 18 pots, was fine for 5 pots.m