Pale, weak plants, slow growth from seed

[rolnik1]

Hi guys I have this problem for many years now although in the beginning it wasn't so much of a problem i guess. Plants are light green, have purple stems, main stem starts to get fat maybe 3 weeks in... they get yellow from the bottom quickly.
I always use lc mix with minor vartiations (coco, wormastings, myco for seedlings and then i use blood bone and kelp meal) i had some decent results but usually this problem is there at the start, then plants seem to grow out of it but are still weaker than should be until the end.
For seedling conditions are quite ok maybe low humidity of around 50%.Temps 25-30C, I use compact cfl bulbs. Water is hard 340 ppm ph from 7-8, tests different.

coco + wormastings + lime id say 2-3 weeks, so very small

full lc mix again very slow from start these are autos 5-6 weeks...

first time years ago, started growing after some time and ended with very nice harvest.

once it was like that 35 days few days after switch.

Pale colors slow growth and purple stems occur in some standard potting soil as well, tried different mixes and it's the same all the time. Plz guys help me figure this out.

 

[troutman]

Needs a just a little more nutrients and maybe a transplanting into a bigger pot that's all.

 

[rolnik1]

Never rootbound. As for nutrients - mix i 30% castings and 70 coco, can there be so big difference in castings? For older plants it full lc mix, nutes are there, after some time it smells really good like proper fertile soil, not hot at all.

same mix few yars back - castings + coco + lime, 7 days old...I'm pretty sure i haven't yet tried bottled water then.

 

[rolnik1]

Ph of full mix is 6,7 but castings slurry shows 8(i keep them in open container adding little water and stirring sometimes) can this be a problem? Also i rinsed the coco best i could, still showed 450ppm(350 from water).

 

[troutman]

pH 7 is kind of high. pH 8 is way too high.

Bring in it to a 6.2-6.6 range with a little pH down if you can.

 

[MountainBudz]

Simply over watering my friend. Trust me on this one.

 

[MountainBudz]

And maybe a bit nutrient deficient. Specifically nitrogen.

 

[rolnik1]

Thought about overwatering and it's possible imo, I use small pots for seedlings and with temp and dry conditions they get light quickly but it can still be too much water. Can it block nutrients somehow, I bet there's more than enough N in worm castings(or some random cheap potting soil) for these small plants so there must be a reason they don't get it? I also tried full mix on seedlings wieth very similiar results.

 

[MountainBudz]

Yes, over watering can definitely cause lockout and many other nasty problems along with it. Give them time to dry out well, really well. More plants are killed over watering vs under watering. I have had plants (although not recommended) wilt completely to the point of death and they sprang right back up like a spring chicken in just minutes.

I have had luck dealing with locked out plants due to over watering by mixing a chemical fertilizer like jacks classic for example, at 1/4th strength and giving them a good foliar spray/feeding every day, once a day till the medium drys back out and the roots get back on track. Even though the root saturation is disabling them from taking up nutrients (also depleting and sealing off oxygen to the roots) the plant can absorb nutrients through the leaves, pay attention to spraying the undersides of the leaves as well. Good luck!

 

[MountainBudz]

If you decide to take my advice, mix and absorb a bit of epsom salts in that foilar brew as well. I "feel" like they would be happy with a little magnesium in their diet... just my opinion.

 

[MountainBudz]

Also, I see that you mentioned lime. What type of lime did you use? Look at the back of whatever package or bag it came out of and look at the analysis of contents.

 

[rolnik1]

Powdered dolomite. I stopped watering and also transplanted medium plants to slightly bigger pots with full lc mix, we'll se what happens. Mix is around 3 weeks old, not hot, smells very nice and seems to be perfectly moist.

 

[MountainBudz]

Sounds like the steps you are climbing are headed in the right direction. Give it a few days to settle in and let me know how she is functioning. Hopefully she will explode with growth but if any other problems arise, get back with me either way and we will try and figure something out. I have a lot of compassion when it comes to Mary J and would do anything to help a fellow green thumb.

Don't get impatient with her and water her to soon, especially right now. Let her show you she needs a bit of water, you can feel it if you feel her. I'm telling ya bro, either lightly foilar feed her with a small dose of diluted nutes with epsom salts, or mix a bit in during the next watering and tell me how she likes that.