Looking for help with my grow

Fotzenschlaeger · Jan 7, 2026

Hey everyone I'm beginner and I'm looking for advice. My 2 plants are same sort from same package, they are both in same soil and I feeding them both equally. My question is why the leaves on the right plant look a bit withered/why are they facing down a bit? It grows so there is no grow stunt but I'm worried about the leaves. I checked for pests but it seems to be none. Also I didn't notice any sick looking leaves like from overwatering or overfeeding. Thanks

Galgrows · Jan 7, 2026

What strain? How old are they? To me it looks under watered. Why did you take leaves off already? How strong is that light, how close is it from plants?

Fotzenschlaeger · Jan 7, 2026

Galgrows said:
What strain? How old are they? To me it looks under watered. Why did you take leaves off already? How strong is that light, how close is it from plants?

It's Fruit Spirit and they are 5 weeks old. I topped the plant above 5th node and removed lower stems as I'm planning to do manifold. Its 240w LED at 80% intensity and it's about 47cm away from plants. Last time I did overwatering so I wanted to be more cautious this time. If it is underwatering how come only one plant looks like that and the second one seems to be normal? I will try to water more then, next watering I want to flush them with clean water only.

Grownsince95 · Jan 7, 2026

Don't just water so close to the stem. Make a ring around the whole pot. Plants are individuals like people, some are more fit than others. Your fear of over watering is probably causing you to water less and more frequently which can be just as bad. I don't know what your medium is so it's hard to give advice. What I can say is: If it's soil, give it a good soaking and have the patience to let it dry back, if it's coco, that's a whole other story.

Galgrows · Jan 7, 2026

Yes bring the water out as far as the leaf ends. Auto or photoperiod? I lift the pot for water weight, lots use a meter.

Fotzenschlaeger · Jan 7, 2026

Grownsince95 said:
Don't just water so close to the stem. Make a ring around the whole pot. Plants are individuals like people, some are more fit than others. Your fear of over watering is probably causing you to water less and more frequently which can be just as bad. I don't know what your medium is so it's hard to give advice. What I can say is: If it's soil, give it a good soaking and have the patience to let it dry back, if it's coco, that's a whole other story.

It's universal garden soil and yes, I've been watering only around the stem about every 3rd day. Next time I will soak the whole area, thank you

Fotzenschlaeger · Jan 7, 2026

Galgrows said:
Yes bring the water out as far as the leaf ends. Auto or photoperiod? I lift the pot for water weight, lots use a meter.

They are photoperiod. Do autoflowers require different style of watering? Sorry I'm no native English speaker so I hope that sentence makes sense next time I will soak the whole area, thank you.

Ninjadogma · Jan 7, 2026

Fotzenschlaeger said:
They are photoperiod. Do autoflowers require different style of watering? Sorry I'm no native English speaker so I hope that sentence makes sense next time I will soak the whole area, thank you.

Watering is the same technique applied but they are fast growers and can require more frequent waterings than a photo, but the plant will let you know.

Based on where the drip line is on that plant, you should be putting your water in around the outer rim, and make sure all of the medium gets properly moistened with some water coming out the bottom. If you don't do this, nutrients settle in the soil unevenly and causes issues down the road. The general rough look it's currently showing, the stomata are closed and it's struggling to transpire. There's several things that can cause it but in this case I suspect uneven watering is causing some EC stress.

Fotzenschlaeger · Jan 7, 2026

Thanks for advices everyone I'm gonna let you know how it's going in few weeks

Phyto · Jan 7, 2026

Good info above, you water at the drip line and out, you want to force the roots to follow the water and fill the whole container.

Galgrows · Jan 7, 2026

Fotzenschlaeger said:
Thanks for advices everyone I'm gonna let you know how it's going in few weeks

Best luck with those plants, I'm glad they are photoperiods they are more tolerant to easy mistakes. Your plants will be fine

LoveGrowingIt · Jan 7, 2026

Fotzenschlaeger said:
Its 240w LED at 80% intensity and it's about 47cm away from plants.

Too much light for early vegetation. 25% at 60 cm would be better. The Photone app for phones is helpful for setting the light level.

Fotzenschlaeger · Jan 13, 2026

LoveGrowingIt said:
Too much light for early vegetation. 25% at 60 cm would be better. The Photone app for phones is helpful for setting the light level.

I was following manufacturer info on the lamp. Isn't 25% too little? The lamp guide says 50% for germination 80% for vegetative phase and 100% for bloom phase. Also I hanged the lamp a bit higher as the manufacturer recommends. Lot of guides say the best is to follow instructions on the lamp. Wouldn't the light burn mean that the tips of the leaves are turning yellow? This isn't happening in my case.

crimsonecho · Jan 13, 2026

Fotzenschlaeger said:
I was following manufacturer info on the lamp. Isn't 25% too little? The lamp guide says 50% for germination 80% for vegetative phase and 100% for bloom phase. Also I hanged the lamp a bit higher as the manufacturer recommends. Lot of guides say the best is to follow instructions on the lamp. Wouldn't the light burn mean that the tips of the leaves are turning yellow? This isn't happening in my case.

no, that level of light is intense especially when your plant is not thriving. so dial it back down to 40-50% at least.

JIMKSI64 · Jan 13, 2026

Manufacturers recommendations are poor guidelines at best. There are a few ways to run your lights.
A lot of older growers can look at plants and tell what the light level should be from experience and previous runs of cannabis.
A lot of growers run light with technology. They purchase tools to measure the energy and set the power levels accordingly.
I use a hybrid system with a lux meter as the tool of choice. Lots of folks use a par meter that measures more accurately than a lux meter.
When using a lux meter you are just collecting data on the power output of the lights as you change them.
I will adjust the lights up at certain points in the grow ( not early veg or seedling ) and raise the energy level until I get a negative presentation from the plant. Taco, curling, trying to lower its light gathering footprint by turning fans sideways or pointing up. At this point you are at the light saturation point in the grow AT THAT TIME
Now when you measure in lux you have a number that you know is too high for the present time. Back off the lights to the previous setting and now the fun starts.
Let's for arguments sake say the plant started to complain at 35,000 lux. So the top highest energy level reading on any part of the plant should be 33,000 lux.
But here is the thing. Your plants are not going to stay level and your light was prolly not very level anyways.
So now the fun. You use your tool to boost plants at low light levels up into the lights. I use wood blocks, buckets, whatever works. By rasing the plant it is closer to the light and more energy on the plant.
Now let's say you have a tall flower. You can check your energy readings and move the plant to a lower light energy spot keeping the plant tops balanced.
I call this light bumping where you keep adding till you find the spot. I do it multiple times in a grow as the plant will take more energy as it gets bigger and has proper environment and nutrition support.
Hope that helps

Grownsince95 · Jan 13, 2026

Always keep your lights as bright as you can. 500 umols from 24" away is not the same as 500 umols at 48". It's all about the inverse square law. My lazy stoner brain didn't want to do too much typing this morning so I asked Gemini for help.

Let's look at your 12" tall plant under two different light setups, both dialed to hit exactly 500 umol at the top canopy.

Scenario A: Light at 24" (Dimmed or Lower Power)
Distance to Top: 24 inches (Intensity = 500\ \mu\text{mol})
Distance to Bottom: 36 inches (The 24" gap + the 12" height of the plant)
The Math: \left(\frac{24}{36}\right)^2 = (0.66)^2 \approx 0.44

Light at Bottom: 500 \times 0.44 = 222 umol

Scenario B: Light at 48" (Full Power)
Distance to Top: 48 inches (Intensity = 500\ \mu\text{mol})
Distance to Bottom: 60 inches (The 48" gap + the 12" height of the plant)
The Math: \left(\frac{48}{60}\right)^2 = (0.80)^2 = 0.64

Light at Bottom: 500 \times 0.64 = 320 umol

The Verdict: 44% More Light at the Bottom
By hanging the light higher and running it at a higher power (Scenario B), the bottom of your plant receives nearly 100 \mumols more light than it does in Scenario A—even though the "top" of the plant feels the exact same intensity in both cases.

JIMKSI64 · Jan 13, 2026

Grownsince95 said:
Always keep your lights as bright as you can. 500 umols from 24" away is not the same as 500 umols at 48". It's all about the inverse square law. My lazy stoner brain didn't want to do too much typing this morning so I asked Gemini for help.

Let's look at your 12" tall plant under two different light setups, both dialed to hit exactly 500 umol at the top canopy.

Scenario A: Light at 24" (Dimmed or Lower Power)
Distance to Top: 24 inches (Intensity = 500\ \mu\text{mol})
Distance to Bottom: 36 inches (The 24" gap + the 12" height of the plant)
The Math: \left(\frac{24}{36}\right)^2 = (0.66)^2 \approx 0.44

Light at Bottom: 500 \times 0.44 = 222 umol

Scenario B: Light at 48" (Full Power)
Distance to Top: 48 inches (Intensity = 500\ \mu\text{mol})
Distance to Bottom: 60 inches (The 48" gap + the 12" height of the plant)
The Math: \left(\frac{48}{60}\right)^2 = (0.80)^2 = 0.64

Light at Bottom: 500 \times 0.64 = 320 umol

The Verdict: 44% More Light at the Bottom
By hanging the light higher and running it at a higher power (Scenario B), the bottom of your plant receives nearly 100 \mumols more light than it does in Scenario A—even though the "top" of the plant feels the exact same intensity in both cases.

I have an empty tent. I have a 400 watt panel.
I will verify this with a lux meter in the next few days.
Will do easy maf.
Both tops at 45000 lux. Panel at 50% and 100 %
Measure down 12 inches.
Will not take long but I am cleaning mode now.
Now I feel all sciencey......

Grownsince95 · Jan 13, 2026

JIMKSI64 said:
I have an empty tent. I have a 400 watt panel.
I will verify this with a lux meter in the next few days.
Will do easy maf.
Both tops at 45000 lux. Panel at 50% and 100 %
Measure down 12 inches.
Will not take long but I am cleaning mode now.
Now I feel all sciencey......

You can save yourself the trouble of doing the math because it's a law of physics. It's the reason why the bottom of a 15' tall outdoor plant gets the "same" umols as the top. The distance to the source is 93 million miles. The last 15' is mathematically insignificant. Adjust those numbers to reflect our situation, going from 24" to 48" is a 50% difference. The math definitely checks out.

GNick55 · Jan 13, 2026

Grownsince95 said:
You can save yourself the trouble of doing the math because it's a law of physics. It's the reason why the bottom of a 15' tall outdoor plant gets the "same" umols as the top. The distance to the source is 93 million miles. The last 15' is mathematically insignificant. Adjust those numbers to reflect our situation, going from 24" to 48" is a 50% difference. The math definitely checks out.

the sun is no way in hell 93 million miles away, but anyhoo,..

Phyto · Jan 13, 2026

Grownsince95 said:
The distance to the source is 93 million miles.

Closer to 150 million miles, but I understand what you're saying, and it's correct.

Looking for help with my grow

Looking for help with my grow

Fotzenschlaeger

Galgrows

Fotzenschlaeger

Grownsince95

🤘😆👍

Galgrows

Fotzenschlaeger

Fotzenschlaeger

Ninjadogma

Fotzenschlaeger

Phyto

Galgrows

LoveGrowingIt

Fotzenschlaeger

crimsonecho

Self-Proclaimed Don Quixote

JIMKSI64

Grownsince95

🤘😆👍

JIMKSI64

Grownsince95

🤘😆👍

GNick55

Phyto

Looking for help with my grow

Looking for help with my grow

Fotzenschlaeger

Galgrows

Fotzenschlaeger

Grownsince95

🤘😆👍

Galgrows

Fotzenschlaeger

Fotzenschlaeger

Ninjadogma

Fotzenschlaeger

Phyto

Galgrows

LoveGrowingIt

Fotzenschlaeger

crimsonecho

Self-Proclaimed Don Quixote

JIMKSI64

Grownsince95

🤘😆👍

JIMKSI64

Grownsince95

🤘😆👍

GNick55

Phyto

Privacy & Transparency

Privacy & Transparency