Over or underwatered?? First time grower

Camdog3936 · Dec 15, 2025

Please help! First grow for me here and I thought I was doing well until 2 days ago the plant on The right started drooping… I thought it was underwatered since the soil was really dry so I watered it with 32oz. I’m at day 22 since sprout. the one on the left is still thriving which is confusing me…same strain, same amount of water. Soil is a 50/50 mix of fox farms OF and HF. 400 watt VIVOSUN light. Been watering when the top 2” of soil gets dry. Been ramping the watering up gradually every time. Last water was 32oz. Any ideas??

Week4Bytch · Dec 15, 2025

Camdog3936 said:
Please help! First grow for me here and I thought I was doing well until 2 days ago the plant on The right started drooping… I thought it was underwatered since the soil was really dry so I watered it with 32oz. I’m at day 22 since sprout. the one on the left is still thriving which is confusing me…same strain, same amount of water. Soil is a 50/50 mix of fox farms OF and HF. 400 watt VIVOSUN light. Been watering when the top 2” of soil gets dry. Been ramping the watering up gradually every time. Last water was 32oz. Any ideas??

how do they feel when you pick up the pots? Heavy or light?

LoveGrowingIt · Dec 15, 2025

They look like they're overwatered. The leaves should appear flat and smooth, not bloated. They also look like they are getting more light power than they need to grow taller. How much light power are you giving them and how far is the light from the plants?

It's usually okay during the vegetation stage to let them dry to the point of wilting. That encourages the roots to grow deep. It'll also inform you about how frequently to water them.

To dry soil, a fan can be pointed toward the pots. Also, loosening (aerating) the top inch of the soil will increase evaporation and improve gas exchange with the atmosphere. The roots need oxygen.

LoveGrowingIt · Dec 15, 2025

Also... It can help to cut off leaves that are touching the soil.

GNick55 · Dec 15, 2025

yep incorrect watering,
you need to makesure all the medium gets wet by watering 500-1000ml at a time with 10-15 min intervals in between until medium is wet,. than your not letting it dry out enough before watering again,.
what size bags are those?

Camdog3936 · Dec 15, 2025

Week4Bytch said:
how do they feel when you pick up the pots? Heavy or light?

They seemed light before I watered them… been waiting till the first 2 inches of soil is dry before watering

Camdog3936 · Dec 15, 2025

GNick55 said:
yep incorrect watering,
you need to makesure all the medium gets wet by watering 500-1000ml at a time with 10-15 min intervals in between until medium is wet,. than your not letting it dry out enough before watering again,.
what size bags are those?

3 gallon bags. And I’ve been watering around that much each time I water which is every 2-3 days..

Camdog3936 · Dec 15, 2025

LoveGrowingIt said:
They look like they're overwatered. The leaves should appear flat and smooth, not bloated. They also look like they are getting more light power than they need to grow taller. How much light power are you giving them and how far is the light from the plants?

It's usually okay during the vegetation stage to let them dry to the point of wilting. That encourages the roots to grow deep. It'll also inform you about how frequently to water them.

To dry soil, a fan can be pointed toward the pots. Also, loosening (aerating) the top inch of the soil will increase evaporation and improve gas exchange with the atmosphere. The roots need oxygen.

Hmm I did actually just raise the light intensity a little the day before this happened… it’s around 500 PPFD at the canopy now… too high? Light is around 24” away at 64% intensity. I do have fans pointed at the soil basically now. At speed 4 out of 10

grayoldnproud · Dec 15, 2025

Camdog3936 said:
3 gallon bags. And I’ve been watering around that much each time I water which is every 2-3 days..

Just to be clear. 3 gals of water ea, every other to every third day?

Camdog3936 · Dec 15, 2025

grayoldnproud said:
Just to be clear. 3 gals of water ea, every other to every third day?

Last watering was 32oz of water to each plant, the pot itself that the plant is in is a 3 gallon fabric pot

grayoldnproud · Dec 15, 2025

Camdog3936 said:
Last watering was 32oz of water to each plant, the pot itself that the plant is in is a 3 gallon fabric pot

I thought you mentioned 32oz which is why I was confused. I give mine more than that but less often. 1/2 to 5/8 gallon in a 4 gallon bag every 4-6 days.

ArtfulCodger · Dec 15, 2025

They both look over-watered to me, based on leaf texture, thickness, and plant shape. The finger test isn't the best way to gauge when to water in OF and HF. In those soils, I water slowly to saturation, only when the pots are very light in weight. That usually takes between a quarter and a third of the pot volume. With plants that small in pots that big, it will likely be a week or more between correct waterings. If you want to know for certain, let them dry back until you see straight-down droop in the lowers. When you see that, water immediately. Then make a note of how long that took, and water a day or two earlier, next time. Note that over-watering is watering too often, not giving too much at once.

LoveGrowingIt · Dec 15, 2025

Camdog3936 said:
Hmm I did actually just raise the light intensity a little the day before this happened… it’s around 500 PPFD at the canopy now… too high? Light is around 24” away at 64% intensity. I do have fans pointed at the soil basically now. At speed 4 out of 10

I'd say the light is too intense. I look at how the plants are growing, because the light affects how tall they grow. Those are quite compact. I like to see more height. 24" is about right, but 64% is probably too much. They don't need as much when they're that young.

I don't think the fans pointing at the pots need to be set very high. Mostly, just keep the air moving. Moisture leaves the soil in only a few ways: transpiration and respiration, and evaporation from the exposed soil or through the sides of the fabric pots.

Over or underwatered?? First time grower

Over or underwatered?? First time grower

Camdog3936

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Over or underwatered?? First time grower

Over or underwatered?? First time grower

Camdog3936

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Loyal To The Soil

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