Why are my plants so small and bushy

[Good Vibes]

The plants are now at 1 month and 2 wks old. I put them under LED 2 days ago and still making stupid mistakes i put the led on them literally 2 inches away and scorched them. The leaves on the bottom are turning yellow, some leaves have downward curling, and leaves feel dry. Not to mention they don't seem to be getting any taller and the leaves are short and compact. The tallest plant is only 3". I'm using the full line of h&g and have the plants under a blackstar 500 w led 18/6 in a flood and drain setup, pump fills up every 4 hrs. Roots look good. I didn't have any A/C in the room and the plants were suffering from heat stress in the 90's the first 2 weeks since sprouting. pH is kept at 5.8 to 6.3, ec 1.6, water temp 70. Can anybody help me to fix these stunted plants. Tried looking at the deficiencies but they all look the same. Could it be zinc, potassium, boron, or nitrogen deficiency?

 

[silverhaze]

Lockout of some variety. I personally wouldn't chase the micro nutrients too much, it'll drive you crazy. My best advice would be to simplify. Back off the nutes to at least 50% and slowly increase the intensity as you see progress. Keep the temps in check and good luck. That's a pretty long time to veg for only 3". Good luck.

 

[Good Vibes]

since they've been vegging so long should i just keep vegging them until they get bigger or just start fresh with another batch? Is it possible to get clones from these little plants or will they be stunted like the mother? If so, when should I start taking clippings - they're so small. . . ?

 

[silverhaze]

I don't think you will have any success cloning those plants. If it were me, I would grab new clones and start again. Your new clones should be taller than that the moment you get them and you could be on your way tomorrow. If you take a snapshot of your next 10 weeks it may look more promising to start fresh. If you've only made 3" in six weeks, how long until they're big enough that you can flip? Too long I think. Just my opinion but sometimes you just gotta cut your losses and start fresh. You should feel positive about it, I'm sure you learned something and just turn the page. I've had to start over too, we all have. Good luck and good vibes!

 

[Good Vibes]

thanks for responding. i'm glad somebody cares enough to throw in their 2 cents. I spent too much on these seeds. I really don't want to just throw them away. If their deficiencies are corrected is it possible they'll bounce back to life and gain some size? I am not in a state where I can get clones so easily. Also I don't know anyone that has a medical mj card. And yea you were right - trying to figure out the deficiencies is fucking ludacris. I have looked at so many sites which have different descriptions and pictures of each. It looks like my plants are suffering from nitrogen, boron, zinc, magnesium, and phosphrous. On a side note can i take cuttings from the plants now? and if i do will they all be stunted just like the moms?

 

[baba G]

stop feeding them early flower strength of food...1.6ec is like week 2 of flower if you ask me or even week 3...
Your in early veg, try an ec of 1 :)

 

[mr_rodzilla]

i would flush those lil plants really well --- and feed only RO water and maybe cal/mag or liquid karma in light doses! You said roots look good so I would also treat with Neem oil for some unseen parasite! You should pick up ---------- some strains are also notorious for slow veg ---- but not that slow. You have some kind of lock out! FLUSH --- FLUSH ______ FLUSH!

 

[Good Vibes]

Cool thanks guys. Will flush out today and dilute the nutrients down to 1. Was trying to follow the manufacturer's nute schedule, but i can see its better to go half strength. Such a waste of nutes! Aargh!! If I flushed them could I still use the nutes if i dilute. I have a 27 gal rez with week 3 of full line of h&g nutes. So much money. . . .

 

[Good Vibes]

since they're just in rapid rooters can i just wash off the hydroton then put the plants back in the net pots filled with the hydroton and just hand water them without nutrients for 3 days or until they show improved growth. Then give the nutrients again at 1/4 concentration to start? Or do i need to move them to another medium like soil or keep them in recirculating water? Need help asap!!!! THanks!

 

[vaporedout]

i used H@G for a while and i gotta say go low on what they tell you... do you have the H&G roots?? that is amazing during veg.

 

[Cort]

Im not a hydro guy, I do coco, that being said....

Is flood and drain every 4 hours with hydroton enough? I see people doing that with rockwool

 

[Good Vibes]

i used H@G for a while and i gotta say go low on what they tell you... do you have the H&G roots?? that is amazing during veg.

That product is amazing. Roots started shooting out the first day of use.

Im not a hydro guy, I do coco, that being said....

Is flood and drain every 4 hours with hydroton enough? I see people doing that with rockwool

I was wondering about that myself. I searched tons of posts and found the majority of people recommended 4 floods per day so the plants have some time in between for oxygen to get to the roots.

 

[Good Vibes]

So i flushed the plants with distilled water and they actually look a little better or I could just be convincing myself they do. Anyways I was going to just leave them in the washed off hydroton for a couple more days and continue to hand water them. They're still in the flood and drain, but the pumps are shut off. Quick question: Is it ok if I continue to use the nutrients still in the rez if i dilute it down significantly? The nutes were expensive and i just don't want to dump it yet, especially since the nutes are only 5 days old. My ec was somewhere around 1.6 and I was thinking about diluting it down below 1 then increasing the ec as the plants start looking better. Anybody agree/disagree with this plan of action?