frustrated and ready to give up

[DarkGreen]

I am so frustrated! I started some new seeds. I grew them for three weeks, and now they are starting to die. This is after I killed off 18 plants by accident a few weeks ago. I am having some bad luck. So I started 10 Chronics, 11 Pot of Golds, 3 Skunks, and 1 Hashberry. They are under a total of 240 watt flouros for 24 hours a day. I've been using Peter's plant food, which is pretty basic 20/20/20. The plants started to look really lush, so I backed off it 100%. It seems that everytime I go to transplant the plants into a larger container, they start to wilt really bad. And then they die within a week. I use a spray bottle, and just lightly spray the soil to get it evenly moist, and I do this everyday. I thought that it might have been overwatering, so I stopped watering for 5-6 days ago. When I started to transplant, the soil was still moist. I used styrofoam coffee cups to germinate. The plants' roots were barely touching the side walls when I was transplanting. Now the plants are in bigger pots. I know that I gave them too much fert, since they were a little too green. So I stopped the ferts. Some are showing yellow/orange/reddish spots on the leaves. I have one larger Hashberry that is stunted from too much N. It was growing like crazy until I put in lockup! Should I flush the bigger Hashberry plant? Do I need some micronutrients to go with the my plant food?

I am really upset now. This is my second indoor try now. I am ready to give up. I've had better luck just throwing them outside, but I want to try the indoor methods. I thought that MJ was a tough plant and could handle almost anything. I wish I could provide a pick. But if you know it is overwatering, how the hell do you know when to water it again?

I keep reading the archives for what to do with my plants. I have a few books like the Cannabis Bible. I am about to cry!

 

[sackoweed]

first, when you transplant be careful when handling the rootball try to prevent tearing roots. Spoon yer way around the roots. and put into already mosit soil. then you can water lighty maybe with a lil cloneing solution.. and place into a more dim lit area for a bit.. thats always worked for me.. I usually transplant at night outdoors... hope it helps some.. peace..

edit: ohh 18 dead plants isnt crap dude, when i 1st got here and was learning how to really grow a plant during the process i murder, death, killed 26 plants altogether. And that is no lie. nephew and i were the suspects.. hehee Its one big learning process. even the big dogs will tell ya they are still to this day learning.. one thing i can say is find your own groove and go with that. I followed so many others and not that it was bad advice it just didnt work for me. Growing conditions nute amounts, lots of factors that make all growers grows different and or successful or unsuccessful.. So stick with and just read
and learn get ideas try em. Again find what works for you and stick with.. lots o trial and error. Good luck.. hope it helps a lil bit man.. peace..

sack

 

[JJScorpio]

I think you may be transplanting to quick. Are you starting them in 16 ounce cups? Leave them right in there for 2 to 3 weeks, until the cup is full of root. Also, the peters is a pretty strong chemical fert. How old were they when you started? There is no need to fert until between 2 and 3 weeks, and then at half strength.

 

[DarkGreen]

I have some 2 liter bottles with the top 1/5 of it cut off. I was thinking about starting some seeds in those since they are nice and tall so the roots can stretch downwards(wont have to transplant for awhile too). So for 2-3 weeks I shouldn't fert, and then use half or 1/4 strength then? I feel like I am wasting all this money on seeds by accidently killing them.

The cups I am using are the smaller 12oz coffee cups.

Will the plants bounce back? Should I keep them going or forget about them? How can I save them?

The older plant that is overferted, should I give the soil a good flush in my bathtub? Should I use Britta water or would the tap water work well for flush?

 

[JJScorpio]

You are better off starting the seeds in small peat pots with seed starter soil and then transplant into clear 16 ounce cups. They are smaller and easier to control the moisture. If you use a soda bottle the soil in the bottom will just stay wet. Leave them in clear cups so you can see the rootgrowth and moisture levels. What are you using for soil?

Let the plant that is overferted dry out. Then take it out, lightly tap the soil away and transplant into 70 percent potting soil with 30 percent perlite and 2 tbs of powdered dolomite lime per gallon of soil.

 

[bartender187]

Take a deep breath and just analyze the situation. life can get worse before it gets better. no need for self pity wont get you anywhere with your plants... Take this all as a learning situation. I cant count how many times I killed/ripped/hermied my plants out before I got some decent smoke.

Now lets get you fixed up...

A lil more info will be help us out in correctly diagnosin your problem.

Type of water?
What type of soil? Brand?
How often have you been watering? How often have you been ferting them?

Like JJ has mentioned... that peters stuff is a pretty strong fert... Now im not the normally the one to knock ppls growth styles or nute choices, but you might want to think about purchasing a 1-part veg nute.. Floranova, PBP, or GH veg are all good choices.

Rule of thumb, I always go by the fert water water fert rule in soil....

Brita water is a poor substitute for filtered water. If that is all you have access to I would just leave my tap water sit out over night and deal with that.

my .02

 

[DarkGreen]

For grow medium I am using Miracle Grow Seed Starting Soil. I got 100% germ by just putting them in there right off the start.

I was misting/spraying them everyday with the water mixed with the Peter's mix. I would just mist the soil to get it evenly wet. The last time on Saturday, I misted the tops of the plants heavily with just water only.

How can I save my little seedlings? Will be able to be saved? Some of them are really wilted, other are in between, and some are just starting to wilt. I def overferted and overwatered them. How can I keep the somewhat better ones from getting worse? It seems like they are getting worse, and I completely stopped giving them water and food after I noticed the problem. I wish I was more patient, I am too high strung and running out of weed.

 

[ethereal]

what kind of soil are you using?

1. when you transplant have the medium saturated before doing so.

2. you dont have to baby the rootball as sacko said above,
that is an old wives tale and only applies in reality when the plants are very young and tender.

3. when you water...WATER! buy a watering can and lightly water the top surface of the soil evenly.

4, look for schultz all purpose plant food, its better suited for MJ. peters is strong as JJ said.

5. again as JJ said you dont need to fertilize until the plants start to show signs of deficiency (yellowing/red veins)

6. buy a pH test kit. do not buy the cheapo 'meters' they sell at the hardware store. get the strips.

so again i ask, what kind of soil are you using?

 

[southpaw]

Take JJScorpio's advice, try some fresh soil. I'd also water with plain tap and a weak B1 solution (less than a tbsp per gallon) ONLY for a week or two until they recuperate. For god's sake, don't use Peter's at full strength on seedlings and young plants, start them out at 1/4 or 1/3 strength and see how they respond. The yellow and orange spots are proof you're burning the f*ck out of them.

Don't water with a spray bottle man. Drench the soil to light run off, wait for the soil to dry out (usually about 3 days for seedlings in a beer cup, you have poked holes in the bottom right?), rinse, repeat. Nothing fancy at all. If you only water to a depth of a couple inches, you will get no root mass, which then sets you up for nute burn with that 20-20-20 crap, because the plant is already stressed.

I'm lucky in the sense that I grew all kinds of sh*t before the lightbulb went off and I realized I could grow bud. My fifth grade science project growing lettuce with a cabinet fixture was a biiiiiig success. You'll figure stuff out man, just learn from your mistakes.

 

[Brian1975]

JJ is on the money with his advice to give their roots more time to form in the cup. As far as soda bottles go, I am experimenting with them. 16 ounce bottles. Longer plug of roots to insert into bigger pot. Helps to eliminate empty space, so I am figuring. Make sure to cut the bottles down both sides when you remove the plant though. The roots bind themselves into the molded bottom of the bottle.

 

[DarkGreen]

thank you

thank you

I would like to thank you guys for helping me out. Sackoweed, JJScorpio, Bartender187, Ethereal, Southpaw, and Brian1975...thanks for the help.

I acquired some Schultz all purpose food, ph strips, a few bags of Miracle grow perlite, GardenPlus top soil, more seed starting soil(Mircacle Grow), dolomite lime, a few bags of Sta-Green potting soil, and a few dozen 6 inch pots.

Eight plants died, but I have several that survived. I took a soda or water bottle, and I drilled very small holes on the cap. I now use this as my water bottle. I let my water sit out for a few days to let it aerate the chlorine ions. I water the plants with about 500ml of water every three days. I place 1-3 drops of Shultz All Purp food in the bottle for mild fert. Every other watering I add in 1/8 teaspoon of dolomite and a 1/2 teaspoon of sugar per half gallon of water. The plants seemed to respond very well to this. The Skunk#1 seems to have taken off very fast, with the Chronic and POG right behind. I hope to start a few more seeds soon....

Again...thanks of all the help.

 

[Guest]

Dark,,

If it was easy, EVERYBODY would do it.

Don't give up. - it's not as hard as it appears - especially with good help.

And a few extra plants help. If three die and all you have are three, it's a bad bad day; if you had twenty and three die,,, -- that's not a big problem

 

[Brian1975]

What is the NPK in that food? What other micronutrients are there? I like Schultz's line for what it is worth. During my main veg. I use a urea free orchid food(20-10-20) from Home Depot that I also like but Schultz's line makes up the rest.

 

[VanGrow]

whats your enviornment......temp,air, humidity ?

 

[Guest]

These are my observations and suggestions from my experience compared to yours.

Mandala plants don't need a lot of ferts during their vegging life span. Hashberry is incredibley happy without nutrient supplementation up to about 4-5th week. If your soil has some mild nutrients in it already it can feed off of that for many weeks. I have only encountered one Speed Queen that showed any nutrient defficiencies on this feeding schedule (Nitrogen) and it was when I switched the lights to 12/12 at the 5th week.

Your seedlings could use some seedling mix to start in if you are straight planting them and NO 20-20-20 ferts added to it. This wilting you are describing along side your feeding schedule and nutrient strength tells me you are burning them up. Lay off giving the seedlings ferts and let them get established.

I agree with the forementioned comment that you are transplanting too soon. Wait for a healthy rootbal before you go into bigger pots.

Don't bother with the 2 liters, space for roots isn't your issue. Small cups for the first couple weeks, like 12-16oz Solo plastic 'beer' cups. Cut some holes in the bottom for drainage and plant your seedlings.

And to keep things in perspective: I have been growing for years, but I consistantly fuck up. I lost 24 high-end seeds to mold and seed rot this current grow. Last grow I got ALL MALES. So, yes it can be frustrating trying your hand at growing, but in time you will dial it all in... or rather dial it in mostly and continually learn as you experiment with growing techniques.

Great Grows and good luck.

 

[DarkGreen]

thanks

thanks

Temps: around 70 degF
humidity: 60%


the plants are taking off!!! Especially the skunk#1's. They are growing out too tall vertically. Those internodes are so long. The skunks are touching my veg lights. I think I may need to take them outside to finish. Is there a way you can alter a plant's node structure with lights. I read that a more blue light will lessen the node stretching.

The POG's and Chronics are perfect! They have a nice tight node structure.

 

[Blackvelvet]

Check to make sure the shultz food has all 6 micros: iron, manganese, zinc, copper, boron and molybdenum. Shultz liquid 10-15-10 is missing boron, copper and molybdenum

If you added dolomite lime to your mix for calcium/magnesium and the shultz food has all the micros, you still will need sulfur. You might try an occassional application of 1/4 teaspoon epsom salts per gallon of water along with the regular shultz feed. This contains 13% sulfur.

Pinch the tops if there getting too tall.

You don't add dolomite lime to your water. You mix it into the soil or topdress the pot. Watch your ph, its climbing with repeated dol. lime applications.

 

[Guest]

DarkGreen, - what kind of lights are you using?

Sounds like 75 watt incandecent.

 

[D-teKX]

Hi Darkgrreen,

It seems that your soil was way to moist (roots won't get oxigen and rot), especially in the first weeks it can better be dry than moist. The root will look fot water if it is dry and will grow much faster. Make sure that your humidity in the room is about 90% in the first weeks. I would also suggest that you do not use Peter's 20-20-20, this is way too high for a seedling.

Peace

 

[Guest]

Check the bags for the perlite and seed starter that you're using, most Miracle Grow products have time release ferts in them. Also, I never mist my plants, there is no real need to unless you live in a very dry enviorment.