S.O.S for my Cannabis

[cloudyhelads]

Yea. The thread is called “how to water potted plants”. And there is great info in both the initial post and the subsequent comments. Dudes talk about watering all the time here. It’s what we do.

 

[Growing_Garbage]

Lots of good notes in here whoa. Less water more often is what worked for me in soil. Didn't really think about the overwatering, I haven't had that in a while in hydro... Def would get you that yellow on top and bottom making you chase random deficiencies. They don't look that bad. Read up, dry down, looks like you'll get it sorted.

I'm no good at soil indoors anyway haha

 

[CannabisCultivator]

Thanks for the help everyone I’m gonna put all this knowledge to work! y’all are great!

 

[CannabisCultivator]

Fox farms products are kind of hot right out of the bag, and combining it with compost won't cool it off any. I use tap water for my calcium ad magnesium... it isn't terribly hard, around 225 or so, I think. With the soil you have and compost, I would think you have plenty of nutrients to last you for a while. I use Promix, which is buffered to offset the natural acidity of most nutrients as well as the peat that is used to make it. It drains great but is lacking in most nutrients. Fox Farms is ready to go, but might be susceptible to a pPh swing unless it is buffered. Check your Ph... I like to keep mine at 6.5 to 6.7 in Promix, watering daily. I only feed about every 12-15 days when growing max.
I use wood ashes to provide additional buffering as well as micro/macro nutrients... just about everything except Nitrogen. The possible downside is raising your Ph too much from using too much ashes (or if you were already Ph high). This is the same risk from using too much cal-mag... the calcium raises the Ph, locking out the magnesium... Ph control is pretty important but not a problem if kept in the proper range for your growing medium. Hydro takes a more acidic Ph range, while Soils are anywhere in between 7.5 for specialty growing to 5.0 for acidic plants. But I have digressed...
You should be fine with what you have currently. Check PPMs and maybe add some, but not too much, cal-mag if the Ph iss OK. You should be good to go! FWIW, I water about 1 to 1.5 gallon water/day per 5 gallon bucket when over 4 weeks old, but I use Promix, which drains well. I get a slight drainage out the bottom, which insure minimal buildup of salts and fertilizer excesses.

When I’m watering should I only feed every once in a while with nutrients? Or should I water with nutrients every time?

 

[Beachwalker]

Thank You for the last couple sentences. I never water to run off. However I do feed than water to prevent build up!!!

Have to get some runoff out of that soil every now and then or your pH is going to drop and that's possibly why you're showing the Magnesium issues that I showed you in the picture back on page one

Try a 'feed, water, feed, water-to-runoff' cycle & see how that works for you, and post your readings when you take the run off

 

[cloudyhelads]

You will not have to deal with the runoff thing because you are not feeding salt based nutrients. I looked up urb, it is a microbial product. Molasses is microbial food. Liquid seaweed, well a little in between. You do not need to provide this stuff every watering. You are trying to create a “living soil”. You are, in the words of the old adage “feeding the soil not the plant”. This is a great thing. Welcome to the club. Check out my thread “Reset and Restart living soil grow”, I’ve been running the same soil for over a year now. In this method it is very important that you keep the soil moist enough for the microbes to proliferate and yet dry enough so that the roots don’t drown/rot. This is easier with bigger containers but possible at your size. IMO you are on a great path. Don’t get thrown off by the hydro peeps and the salt nutrient dudes. You are doing your own thing. I highly recommend (YouTube). Herbin Farmers last couple of runs. Joshua Steensland, Rascal farmer. These are living soil guys. Check it out and welcom again to the rabbit hole.

 

[CannabisCultivator]

You will not have to deal with the runoff thing because you are not feeding salt based nutrients. I looked up urb, it is a microbial product. Molasses is microbial food. Liquid seaweed, well a little in between. You do not need to provide this stuff every watering. You are trying to create a “living soil”. You are, in the words of the old adage “feeding the soil not the plant”. This is a great thing. Welcome to the club. Check out my thread “Reset and Restart living soil grow”, I’ve been running the same soil for over a year now. In this method it is very important that you keep the soil moist enough for the microbes to proliferate and yet dry enough so that the roots don’t drown/rot. This is easier with bigger containers but possible at your size. IMO you are on a great path. Don’t get thrown off by the hydro peeps and the salt nutrient dudes. You are doing your own thing. I highly recommend (YouTube). Herbin Farmers last couple of runs. Joshua Steensland, Rascal farmer. These are living soil guys. Check it out and welcom again to the rabbit hole.

Thanks for the information. You helped with allot of confusion on my part. This is my first time growing especially doing an organic grow. So I was confused with the salt based nutrients when I was sure I didn’t need them. What do you propose I do to bring my plants back? Do I just need to water without URB, Seaweed and molasses?

 

[Beachwalker]

Thank You for the last couple sentences. I never water to run off. However I do feed than water to prevent build up!!!

That's a good question? Lol I respectfully disagree with the advice not to water to run-off every so often, but we all have our own grow style, and you'll develop you own as well, and a slurry test will always tell you exactly what you're working with, to take away the guesswork, good luck!

 

[cloudyhelads]

Thanks for the information. You helped with allot of confusion on my part. This is my first time growing especially doing an organic grow. So I was confused with the salt based nutrients when I was sure I didn’t need them. What do you propose I do to bring my plants back? Do I just need to water without URB, Seaweed and molasses?

Absolutely. It’s my pleasure. I don’t know about URB. But with microbial stuff you can’t really overdo it. To much lactobacillii is not toxic to the plant. It’s a waste of URB but not harmful. To bring the plants back, make sure that the soil is getting sufficiently dry. You’re trying to keep the roots from drowning and also from the bacteria colonies from going septic or anaerobic. If you added compost to the fox farm I hope you added extra aeration in the form of perlite or something. If not you have to be extra, extra careful with the watering. When you water or feed, try to do it slowly and sparingly. Try the “heft” method. It’s definitely a zen thing. But the plant will bounce back. If I was I zen master I would say: you can drink a couple of gallons of water in a day if you really try. You can survive on a pint a day. A pint of water in your lungs would drown you. Go from there cannabiscultivator-San.

 

[cloudyhelads]

That's a good question? Lol I respectfully disagree with the advice not to water to run-off every so often, but we all have our own grow style, and you'll develop you own as well, and a slurry test will always tell you exactly what you're working with, to take away the guesswork, good luck!

Ha. No need to be respectful for my sake. Everyone’s got a style for sure. Aren’t we practically neighbors? I’m down the cape. Best to you Beachwalker.

 

[Jimster]

When I’m watering should I only feed every once in a while with nutrients? Or should I water with nutrients every time?

That's a matter of preference.. I use Promix and I water daily, about 1 gallon/day in a 5 gallon bucket. I feed about every 12 days or so. This is my "style" but others feed with every watering, as well as feed/water multiple times daily. I don't think there is a right or wrong way as they all have their pros and cons, not to mention the growing medium used since different mediums are typically treated differently. As long as the plants are happy and thriving, then you are doing the right things.

 

[CannabisCultivator]

You will not have to deal with the runoff thing because you are not feeding salt based nutrients. I looked up urb, it is a microbial product. Molasses is microbial food. Liquid seaweed, well a little in between. You do not need to provide this stuff every watering. You are trying to create a “living soil”. You are, in the words of the old adage “feeding the soil not the plant”. This is a great thing. Welcome to the club. Check out my thread “Reset and Restart living soil grow”, I’ve been running the same soil for over a year now. In this method it is very important that you keep the soil moist enough for the microbes to proliferate and yet dry enough so that the roots don’t drown/rot. This is easier with bigger containers but possible at your size. IMO you are on a great path. Don’t get thrown off by the hydro peeps and the salt nutrient dudes. You are doing your own thing. I highly recommend (YouTube). Herbin Farmers last couple of runs. Joshua Steensland, Rascal farmer. These are living soil guys. Check it out and welcom again to the rabbit hole.

Since I don’t have a RO water filter. What would be the best store bought I could use for my plants?

 

[cloudyhelads]

Since I don’t have a RO water filter. What would be the best store bought I could use for my plants?

I use tap water. I let it sit out for a day. I’ve never had a ph pen. Or ppm for that matter. I’m lucky, have good water. You’ll break yourself buying water. You can get a report of your town,s water online if you look. It will tell you what’s up to a degree.

 

[Edinburgh]

I cant turn off my heat, my rh is 16, im lightly watering every day and there fine, under normal conditions i stick my index finger into the side of the pot if it's dry i water, that was taught to me but i have been doing this so long it's just 2nd nature. Pics critical day 63 no problems.

 

[Hidd3nGr0w]

Since I don’t have a RO water filter. What would be the best store bought I could use for my plants?

I use tap water as well. You can buy test kits for your water from Lowes or Home Depot, swimming pool or hot tub water litmus paper testers to see whats in your water as well as checking run off. I use General Hydro ph drops to test my water ph. Like @cloudyhelads said I let my jugs sit open for a day before use.

 

[CannabisCultivator]

I started watering using that “heft” method. I think that zen thing really works. I began to water way less and Let My pots dry out. Here’s a little before and after. pic she’s bouncing back!

 

[CannabisCultivator]

Here’s a pic of the whole set up. I never thought growing a plant could be so fun

 

[Jimster]

Since I don’t have a RO water filter. What would be the best store bought I could use for my plants?

Unless your water is damn near toxic (Like miami city water!), tap water should be fine. It supplies the minerals that RO removes and cal-mag tries to replace. My setup uses about 40 gallons or more a week (in Promix), so you would be paying $20 or more a week using purchased water. Even if you water was too high in Ph or PPMs, you could always "cut" it with RO or purchased water, keeping costs a little lower.

 

[cloudyhelads]

Great. I’m glad she turned around for you.

 

[TheWizardOfOz]

I don't think that plants in soil should be ruled out as needing cal/mag. Some strains are just straight up eaters of the stuff.

Just looking at the pic chart you can see it's possibly nitrogen deficient, many, many others have said they look hungry. Further, imo a dose of epsom/mag would not hurt in this situation. If it is related to a mag def, you will need to up the levels gently over numerous feedings. A foliar spray will get you the fastest improvement possible but is really a band-aid until you figure out whats happening (or not happening) at the roots...and al of course, assuming those nutrients are the ones needed :)