Ima Noob And I need help!

[CCS]

I have been growing for the last week and a half from seeds and I am having no problems there. They look great, not too long from soil top and they are getting bigger.

My problem is with my clones. I purchased 4 clones from a dispensary, they didn't look super hot to start out, and three of them are trouble some.

I transplanted them into my medium which is B'cuzz Coco (Atami)/I added 33% big and chunky per-lite, which was not presoaked. I watered and tested the soils PH and saw that is was an astonishing 9.1!

I immediately (hopefully I was correct) flushed with water with a ph of about 5.2 to hopefully lower the ph of the soil. I did this 2 times 1 day a part. The third day they looked a little better, then started looking worse. I moved them under a 400w 36 inches over night and gave them a nutrient ( very low dosage of house and garden veg line) and they look even worse.

The top soil ph is 6.5 and the run off is still 7.2

I am suspecting that there is more than one thing going on here. I am thinking that because coco holds so much water they may be over watered.

I havent the clue and all of the pictures in my garden saver book look they same. Maybe I'm just in freak out mode and can't concentrate on the differences.

Any way, I have attached some pics. Taken from iphone, best I could do sry. Does anyone think they can help me figure this out?

I should add I am on well water which comes from an aqua-fer

Please help! I would like to also understand what I did wrong here so not to do it again.

 

[Tobor the 8th Man]

They just have the wet coco look. Just let them dry out now and then water. Wait for them to unclaw. I really think if you do that they will get perky again.

They aren't bad at all right now. Just a bit of a claw going on.

 

[Von]

Ya they have that just watered look. Since you flushed they are most likely over watered. Let them dry out a bit and see then. Usually over night is good.

I also get that sometimes when the water is too cold.

V

 

[CCS]

Thanks a lot guys, I was hoping that this wasn't a disaster. I am going to change my mix to 50/50 perlite incase this happens again. any suggestion on a specific perlite?

I was also wondering about some of the yellowing of the plants and if I needed to worry.

Thanks again for you quick replies. I feel so much better.

 

[danko]

mine were just doing the same thing bro! they stressed hella cause i had to drive them 900 miles home!!! i was in desperate need! lol.... they stayed that way for a week till i transplanted in bigger (from cups to the same size pot as yours) pots...got the ph right let the dry up a bit and they started to perk!! it was probly 3 days after i transplanted and adjusted that the started to perk up! once the soil dried out a bit...

 

[CCS]

Thanks danko,

I have done 2 foliar feeds with the regular nutrients today and some of the yellow has begun to fade.

I did a little more reading and I found out that with the coco, I should flush with mag/cal and ph the medium to 5.8. Then let is sit and dry before I pot. Then pre-water with nutes.

I also read about different hydroton/perlite implementations that will increase drainage. Some were saying to put 1 inch hydroton in the bottom of the pot (limits coco escaping). Others were placing a layer of hydroton on top for a more even dry/water as the entire medium would dry rather than just the top.

And last I read that some were mixing 30% perlite 10% hydroton and 60% coco coir for a 60/40 mix.

I would like to try the hydroton or increase perlite to 50/50 as the coco takes so long to drain.

What are your thoughts?

 

[altitudefarmer]

Increase your perlite in your mix, for one thing. That will help with drainage. I never mix hydroton in with my soil mixture, but I do put a 2-3" layer on the bottom of every container; usually with wicking felt or a 1' layer of loose rockwool to separate the soil mix from the expanded clay pellets.
Your cal/mag deficiencies will be solved and your pH will be stable (right around 6) if you add dolomite lime to your soil mix. Buy the finest mix available- the "flour" works the best, and the gravel-sized stuff is almost worthless. I mix about 1 cup dolomite lime to 1 gallon of soil mix. It's too late to mix it in your little containers, but a minute layer on the top of your soil will help. Make sure you do it when you transplant, and you'll see good results! :)

 

[CCS]

Hey altitudefarmer,

thanks a lot for your help as well! I will definately get the lime and will definately get some hydroton and rockwool.

Do you have any issues with the roots being too dry when the reach the hydroton?

 

[altitudefarmer]

The hydroton holds lots of moisture; even when it looks dry. I have never had an issue.

 

[CCS]

Sweet! I think that will be my best bet. My watering schedule is limited to 200ml per 1 gallon pot every 3 days right now. I need to get some goodies to these girls to get them to cloning height!

Thanks again all of you for all of your help!

I have about 2inches in growth since the start of this thread and the clawing is much better. Looking bigger bushier and greener by the day.

 

[GroHi]

Watch that DL... think AF missed you're in coir vs soil.

Surprised you got such a high pH out of the Atami... mine usually comes in very low, but I'm also running RO water through them... sounds like you may have been running straight tap? The only thing I can think that would have originally thrown your pH so high...?

w the Atami to chunky perlite of 70:30, that should be plenty fine for your drainage. I would imagine that if you slow poured a 1L amount of solution through the top, it wouldn't pool up before draining out the bottom. Used to mix at these rates & 500ml would flow immediately out the bottoms in a 2L pot, so...

You really can't overwater coir, unless you are multiple feeding per day while they are small. And lots of run-off is your friend right now... drain to waste. Coir has a lot of air for the roots.

The problems are likely due to the very high pH of the coir... shoot for 5.8~6.2, higher at the beginning. Also, you will need to establish a proper cation balance, but Atami comes preconditioned... just kinda high on the ppm's (if recirculating). I wouldn't worry on the latter but if you add 1ml/gal of CalMag+ in addition to your veg program, it will be fine.

My coir usually comes in a consistent .2pH lower at run-off vs my feed mix. I would flush the coir w as much solution as necessary to get this type of balance... or to match your initial solution pH. Shoot for a 6.2 to start & work it down to 5.8 during bloom.

After this, feed as normal, but go w a lot of run-off (25-50%). This is perfectly great in coir~ no issues w pH drift or ppm accumulation. It just runs easy this route. Wait till the tops dry a little between feeds, or if the plants look hungry (def show), then increase frequency of feeds. Drain to waste, this is the easiest route.

Peace CCS & glad they are improving!

 

[tokinblackguy]

GroHi, i've noticed you've been giving a lot of help to others lately. While i have no experience with cocoa, i have no idea if its good or bad advice, but the efforts you've been making to help others is commendable. if i ever see you nominated for member of the month, you sure as hell got my vote!

k+ bro, keep it up

 

[GroHi]

Thank you brother, I appreciate that... though I'm probably early on in the learning curve compared to a lot of the farmers on this site, but thank you!

Hopefully it can help~ i just try to temper it to things I've actually screwed up & then tried/retried... Every situation is different, so...?

Peace & greenest of vibes ;-))

 

[CCS]

Well,

I have learned a lot from actually doing this past month. I have realized that it was overwatering with nute lockout due to PH as you guys stated.

I wish my camera was working because you wouldn't believe how they look now!

The mango has 13 tops! holding out for flower just a bit longer.

As for my findings:

The hydroton addition works as I thought it would except I have compared it side by side to the coco with 40% perlite and the coco beats it out by almost 4 inches of faster growth.

well, it was a good idea. and as for not being able to over water the coco, that is true but not until the plant developed a healthy root system.

I can't believe how much more you learn from just watching/listening to what your plants tell you than reading books!

Some stuff you just can't explain in a book, you just have to figure it out. My tallest plant in those pictures is now 35" tall and almost 28" wide. I have been rotating the plants in different directions for light spread and have learned to manipulate the direction in which new heads form by just changing the lights direction/source.

Thanks again for your help guys and I just wanted to update you all.