Clones dying at random

[halopros10]

Well first I would like to say hi. Im new here but have been reading for a while, my problum is interesting to me was looking for some ideas of what is going on.
So i have some clones there all about 25cm or 10 inches tall there realy healthy and dark green but about 1 clone a week just decides that it has had enough and wilts up and dies. From start of wilting to death takes like 6 hours. I grow everything in 1" rockwool cubes then I transplant into soil. Well my idea is that there is something wrong with the soil and its killing them, soil doesent seem to drain fast enough so I was thinking of just dumping all of it and starting with new soil from fox farms instead of the super soil mix that I made.
I dont have all the info that most of u have, I would give picture but dont know how. Well any advice would be realy appreciated thanks alot everyone.

 

[heater]

You might look into Light warrior by Fox Farm maybe add some perlite for added drainage and air.
FF ocean forest cut with light warrior is good add perlite.
I use FFOF with 30% perlite for seedlings with no problems but the light warrior may be just the ticket for young clones.

 

[Jalisco Kid]

If they are wilting that quick I think something is attacking the root zone. I am not a dirt farmer but if my girls get an overdose the leaves will twist,turn up,turn colors,something along those lines. wilting is the lack of water moverment and transpiration. I would soak some coir in kelp and benies and transplant or soil if there is something you feel comfortable with right now. JK

 

[blueleaf]

are they fed with any nuts ?

 

[halopros10]

Well all good advise I think that im just gonna dump the soil that im using now and got to foxfarms ocean forest that is what my buddy uses and no problums there for him.

Heater, you said you use a mix i will look in to that as well.
Jalisco Kid, There is definetly something going on the one i pulled yesterday the roots in the rock wool were bright white and smelled like brussel sprouts but the roots outside the rockwool were brown and smelled horrible so looks like root rot to me. The frustrating part is that this soil mix is being used for over 70 clones and only like 5 have done this with no notice or signs just go out to do my morning talking to my garden and Bam a dead one. Super frustrating for me since this soil thing is new and I did it cause my buddy was having so much luck with it.

 

[DaddyzCrazy]

It sounds like too hot of a mixture to me!!!

 

[Jalisco Kid]

Maybe set the rockwool on top of your dirt so it has a chance to dry out. I would treat all my girls like they have phythium. You wait too long and it could turn into one of those learning experiences we all love to hate. JK

 

[halopros10]

So Jalisco you would remove them from there containers, then let them sit out with the roots exposed to the open air? Thought that would kill the roots for sure.

I was gonna remove them from there containers then rinse them with fresh water and put them in a new mixture of foxfarm dirt. The more I think about it I keep thinking that the super soil I used is the cause. Either way this is not fun at all, also sry for the run on sentences.(previous post)

Also was wondering if everyone mixes there soil like Heater does and what is everyone elses advice.

Before this soil fiasco I was putting 1" rockwool in to 4" rockwool and then in to clay pellets and that was just Awesome had no problums at all but it was getting kinda costly so I thought I would cut out the 4" cube and clay and go to dirt. But starting something new always has its draw backs and I was prepared for losses just not like this.

 

[Jalisco Kid]

I meant remove them for inspection so you can check out the roots. I would add some benies to your cure just for protection and to help the plant grow later on. Bio-organics.com JK

 

[heater]

To clarify i use straight FF ocean forest with 30% chunky perlite as my soil (1st. grow ) this was a regular recomendation.
I mentioned the FF light warrior mix with ocean forest because that has also been recommended if the FFOF seemed to hot for seedlings. This was also recomended by several growers with more experience than i have.
I havn't experienced any problems so far with FFOF.
Sorry if i caused you any confusion.

So Jalisco you would remove them from there containers, then let them sit out with the roots exposed to the open air? Thought that would kill the roots for sure.

I was gonna remove them from there containers then rinse them with fresh water and put them in a new mixture of foxfarm dirt. The more I think about it I keep thinking that the super soil I used is the cause. Either way this is not fun at all, also sry for the run on sentences.(previous post)

Also was wondering if everyone mixes there soil like Heater does and what is everyone elses advice.

Before this soil fiasco I was putting 1" rockwool in to 4" rockwool and then in to clay pellets and that was just Awesome had no problums at all but it was getting kinda costly so I thought I would cut out the 4" cube and clay and go to dirt. But starting something new always has its draw backs and I was prepared for losses just not like this.

 

[halopros10]

Well Thanks for all the info but last night I god pissed at my self for causeing this problum and decided that i wanted to know what the problum was. So i dumped all my plants out of there containers and took a look some were Awesome roots going around the bottom of there containers roots that were in the dirt were all white and healthy.

But i got to a couple cups and i was shocked, some were soaking wet... roots all rotted plant was living off the 1" cube :( i felt horrible. So i mixed up some new soil with better drainage i used FFOF with some perlite and ill be adding some grow big in like 2 weeks.

Went out this morning to see if there were any dead from shock or what have you and no they were All super healthy all purked up and looking better than ever. So just want to say thanks to everyone for the input, I was mainly worried about doing the wrong thing and wanted some reassurance. Thanks For all your help :)

 

[heater]

Good news halopros10 looks like your back on track. If you think your soil mixture was good but did not drain well you can remix adding 30% perlite to promote good drainage and try another plant in it.

 

[halopros10]

Thanks for the info I think im gonna just practice diffrent mixes with a variety of diffrent strains and try to learn what im doing.
I realise now that the mix didnt have good enough drainage that is what was causing all my problums.

Had another question for you Heater if I have fresh soil how long should I wait before adding nutes, and should I add nutes every watering or like every other? Just wondering your system so I have something to refrence. Dont want to get them back on track then cause another problum for myself.

Thanks :)

 

[heater]

I am at week five (remember first indoor grow for me).
1. My goal was to keep it as simple as possible to complete a cycle. All plants are same strain to simplify.

So i'm using all FF soil and their 3-pack formula basically follow their feeding guide here..
Nutes..
I start out using 1/2 strength and gauge the plants reaction,(checking PH regularly) when increasing i feed 1 plant new strength and again watch plant before feeding all.
At week 4 noticed slight N shortage so plants went full strength and all is good.
The thing about FF i have read is the Cal- Mag shortage going into mid flower so i will keep a eye on that,i have a bottle of cal-mag handy.
2. Cloneing (i feel that is the most important skill to master).
I will be cutting on wed. on the sexed female so my cloneing lesson shall begin.

2 things i have been looking at is Humboldt Nutes and root stimulators.

link to what others say about FF nutes

Keeping my eye on this one..

 

[Smoking Gun]

Thanks for the info I think im gonna just practice diffrent mixes with a variety of diffrent strains and try to learn what im doing.
I realise now that the mix didnt have good enough drainage that is what was causing all my problums.

Had another question for you Heater if I have fresh soil how long should I wait before adding nutes, and should I add nutes every watering or like every other? Just wondering your system so I have something to refrence. Dont want to get them back on track then cause another problum for myself.

Thanks :)

Good to see that the problem appears to be solved. If you hadn't solved the problem I would have said it was pythium as well. This is unfortunately a problem I have often seen with rockwool, one reason I avoid it.

As for feeding your plants, in soil you have to really learn to listen to your plants. They will tell you when they want food and when they have had to much. If your soil mix is really good you probably won't have to feed them for a while. Soil is not an inert growing medium like many of us growers like to use. Soil contains the nutrients needed for life to thrive. So essentially proper soil mixes do not need any additional feedings, they can survive on thier own soil. When growing in pots this theory doesn't work exactly, as many nutrients can be used within 30 days in pots, especially with Cannabis as it uses any nutrients available to it. So I would wait a while to start feeding them additional nutrients. If they seem like they need the additional nutrients feel free to administer them, but I would start at half strength.

As for how often to feed them once you do start a nutrient regiment, I would say every other day is sufficient. I personally don't even feed them that often, I will usually only feed my plants 3 days out of every 7, and that is usually the max, unless my plants are really looking for the nutrients. I also like to give my plants a good flush every 2 weeks or so. I do not want to risk nutrient salt build-ups in my soil. Hopefully this has been a little helpful. Good luck on your first soil run, if all goes well I have a feeling you won't be switching back.

 

[dr.jellybean]

i used to have very little sucess with cuttings , then switched to an aro cloning unit , pretty easy to build , now i have 100% sucess rate , its worth thinking about . . . .root growth is amazing and quick . . . .then in to a lightly fertalized soil mix . . . . .

 

[halopros10]

Well Smoking Gun that is just what i was thinking as far as the watering and feeding, just wanted make sure that someone who has done it at the early stages was thinking the same thing. So thank you for that

As far as cloners go im trying to design my own, I have seen several diffrent designs out there and i think i have chosen the best one for me. It is alot like a "Raft rooter" or "Bubble Cloner" the cool thing is that my local hydro store sells 2" Neoprene plugs for there E-Zcloner that come in a neoprene sheet. So i can buy the plugs and then use the sheet they come in, and just float them in water with air in it.

I will be building a fixture in the tub lid that will house the light and make it so that i can store my cloning unit where ever i want without anyone knowing about it.

It will be like a stealth bubble cloner.:)

The only question i have is does anyone use a bubble cloner and what do you add to your water, if anything?

Well thanks again everyone realy appreciate all the information.:)

 

[thinman]

"If you hadn't solved the problem I would have said it was pythium as well. This is unfortunately a problem I have often seen with rockwool, one reason I avoid it." SG

what are the symptoms of pythium as seen in cuttings? and how can it be treated? also, can pythium be present in donor plants and transferred to cuttings?

 

[Smoking Gun]

what are the symptoms of pythium as seen in cuttings? and how can it be treated? also, can pythium be present in donor plants and transferred to cuttings?

Pythium is root rot, and I am not sure if there is any way to stop it once it sets in. I do not believe it can be transferred from a mother plant to a clone, mostly because plants don't usually survive root rot. But also clones have to throw out fresh roots, so their root zone should be intact, even if the mom is having problems.

The symptoms, are wilting leaves, and plants suddenly dying off. its somewhat easy to spot. One way to check is to smell the root zone of your plants, if it smells bad, or like rotting plant matter, it could very easily be pythium.

 

[Alekiboy]

I have found root rot to be a big problem with our humidity over here on the islands...