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Struggling Cannabis Plants Any Suggestions?

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Struggling Cannabis Plants Any Suggestions?

ShadowKhan 24 Replies 3,306 Views
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ShadowKhan

ShadowKhan

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Hey guys! My name is Shadowkhan and this is my first time growing cannabis :). I thought it would be something fun to do, and I've enjoyed the sticky icky for quite a while now so I thought to myself "Why not give it a shot?" I'm making this post in the hopes that I can get some pointers into the right direction regarding my grow.


My girlfriend & I decided to go with a whole setup, we bought a 4x4 grow tent at a decent price, with intake fans, exhaust fans, carbon filters, just the essentials. Originally we started out with three bag seeds (no idea if they are male or female) and put them under a blue light as shown in the picture below. We have a couple of other plants in the grow tent, and have been watching these seedlings grow for roughly 3-4 weeks. Originally the light was set too high, and 2 of the 3 plants had to be replanted because they had stretched too much and were becoming thin and frail. This seemed to fix many issues with these 2, until maybe a week and a half later, more details later on in the post.


Struggling cannabis plants any suggestions


Currently, the plant is on a 16/8 day, night cycle. (16 hours of light from 10:20 P.M to 2:20 P.M and then dark all the way up until 10:20 P.M, repeating) The lights are (as well as the space heater we are using) are set to turn off and on at those intervals automatically. After burying those 2 plants deeper, we lowered the light so that it is roughly 24 inches away from the top of the red solo cup the girls (hopefully) are in.

Struggling cannabis plants any suggestions 2


As I had stated before, we originally had 3 plants. Everything seemed fine besides a little overstretching due to the light not being close enough. However a 2 or 3 days ago, 2 of the girls without warning completely toppled over, one minute they were standing semi-straight and tall, the next day I open the tent and they are just toppled over. Originally my girlfriend and I took a look at the soil, and discovered a little tiny bug roaming around in the soil. Concerned with what it might be, I had gone out and bought Neem Oil, and my girlfriend sprayed the plants. This is when a day or two later, the 2 plants toppled over. I suspect too much Neem Oil as the culprit here, but again that's why I am here. The plant you see above is the sole survivor out of the 3 we have planted so far. These plants have had no nutrients, the only thing we have been doing is watering. Making sure the water is damp but not so much that the plants would suffocate and die.


We haven't been checking Ph levels of the water, and as I had stated before, no nutrients. Just water, making sure the temp stays between 69-72 degrees, and keeping a relative humidity level of 45% to 55% (I know that is low but our humidifier seems to struggle to reach 60%. Right now as I'm typing this it is 9 in the morning on 4/4/2023). Based off of the research I had done, the general rule of thumb seemed to be no nutrients until the plant itself had grown 3-4 sets of true leaves, as the nutrients in the soil would take care of the seedling until veg stage. We weren't planning on checking Ph until the plants had reached veg stage, but a second opinion is always nice.

I suppose my main question is, what gives? Is the plant in the picture above where it needs to be in its grow cycle? Every bit of research I have done has shown that photoperiod plants should be more farther along in the cycle then this one is. Also, how come those 2 other plants within a span of just a day or 2 completely toppled over? Any tips or tricks for a new grower like me would be fantastic, and anyone willing to help can request any information as needed such as pictures or what have you. Thank you all for your help, and may mother nature bless your future grows.
 
Don't use any neem on seedlings. (or ever imo but) the plant is fine but needs stronger light. You can put a popsicle stick or pencil to support it lightly with a pipe cleaner or something until it roots out more. Add any light you can for now.
 
I agree with the comment above. You need alot more light and not a blue light,a proper led light would be good for you to start with. You will see the growth take off once you get a good light in.
 
Any drain holes in the bottom of the cup. Maybe you’re not letting it dry out enough between watering’s. Watering too often? Or keeping its environment warm enough? Agree the light looks questionable. If the light isn’t too hot, I would think about slamming it right down on top of it. And see what happens. Good luck.
 
Any drain holes in the bottom of the cup. Maybe you’re not letting it dry out enough between watering’s. Watering too often? Or keeping its environment warm enough? Agree the light looks questionable. If the light isn’t too hot, I would think about slamming it right down on top of it. And see what happens. Good luck.
Oh of course good question! Yes there is, I poked holes in the bottom of the cup
 
Don't use any neem on seedlings. (or ever imo but) the plant is fine but needs stronger light. You can put a popsicle stick or pencil to support it lightly with a pipe cleaner or something until it roots out more. Add any light you can for now.
Excellent, any suggestions on which lights?
 
Any drain holes in the bottom of the cup. Maybe you’re not letting it dry out enough between watering’s. Watering too often? Or keeping its environment warm enough? Agree the light looks questionable. If the light isn’t too hot, I would think about slamming it right down on top of it. And see what happens. Good luck.
Oh of course good question! Yes there is, I poked holes in the bottom of the cup

Let's look deeper at your watering habits. Starting with "my" definition of over watering - Watering too frequently. And "my" definition of underwatering - Not giving the plants enough water per watering cycle. If I were to take a guess, your seedling is suffering from both.

You're watering too frequently with insufficient amounts of water. What should be happening is a good soil soaking followed by a "dry-back" before watering again. The trick is doing this with seedlings in a solo cup. Even a solo cup holds too much moisture for a seedling to dry back in a few days. To resolve this, purchase a cheap analog moisture meter, preferably one with a scale of 1 through 10. Don't water until the reading is in the dry zone. A very young seedling might not need watered again for 7or more days in a solo cup. Granted, this should change as the plant fills the soil with its roots.

P.S. I frequently use a small paper Dixie cup for seedlings. It's easier from the sense that they dry back quicker due to their small size.
 
Let's look deeper at your watering habits. Starting with "my" definition of over watering - Watering too frequently. And "my" definition of underwatering - Not giving the plants enough water per watering cycle. If I were to take a guess, your seedling is suffering from both.

You're watering too frequently with insufficient amounts of water. What should be happening is a good soil soaking followed by a "dry-back" before watering again. The trick is doing this with seedlings in a solo cup. Even a solo cup holds too much moisture for a seedling to dry back in a few days. To resolve this, purchase a cheap analog moisture meter, preferably one with a scale of 1 through 10. Don't water until the reading is in the dry zone. A very young seedling might not need watered again for 7or more days in a solo cup. Granted, this should change as the plant fills the soil with its roots.

P.S. I frequently use a small paper Dixie cup for seedlings. It's easier from the sense that they dry back quicker due to their small size.
We have a 3 in 1 meter. However we couldn't seem to get it to work.
 
We have a 3 in 1 meter. However we couldn't seem to get it to work.
Let's look deeper at your watering habits. Starting with "my" definition of over watering - Watering too frequently. And "my" definition of underwatering - Not giving the plants enough water per watering cycle. If I were to take a guess, your seedling is suffering from both.

You're watering too frequently with insufficient amounts of water. What should be happening is a good soil soaking followed by a "dry-back" before watering again. The trick is doing this with seedlings in a solo cup. Even a solo cup holds too much moisture for a seedling to dry back in a few days. To resolve this, purchase a cheap analog moisture meter, preferably one with a scale of 1 through 10. Don't water until the reading is in the dry zone. A very young seedling might not need watered again for 7or more days in a solo cup. Granted, this should change as the plant fills the soil with its roots.

P.S. I frequently use a small paper Dixie cup for seedlings. It's easier from the sense that they dry back quicker due to their small size.
Sorry, double reply. Maybe we are just using the meter wrong but it doesn't seem to move at all.
 
We have a 3 in 1 meter. However we couldn't seem to get it to work.
Does it have a battery? If so, I wouldn't trust it. The ones I'm talking about run about $10 or less and they only measure moisture.
 
Not enough lighting, you need a proper lighting setup for strong plants. Invest in a grow light specifically targeting cannabis. One of our sponsors here has an excellent selection to choose from. your seedlings are stretching for more light. I personally can't stand those colored lighting, blue, purple, blurples, an abomination to grows. Get a full spectrum lighting system asap. You get what you pay for with this so get ready to dig into your pockets, worth every penny.
 
Not enough lighting, you need a proper lighting setup for strong plants. Invest in a grow light specifically targeting cannabis. One of our sponsors here has an excellent selection to choose from. your seedlings are stretching for more light. I personally can't stand those colored lighting, blue, purple, blurples, an abomination to grows. Get a full spectrum lighting system asap. You get what you pay for with this so get ready to dig into your pockets, worth every penny.
A change in lighting would certainly help. However it's only one of several things going on. It's essential to understand that the plant needs to go from wet feet to dry feet before being watered again.

As for lighting, a 6500k led shop light throwing off about 5000lm is sufficient at that plant's small size. This gives a small window of time to decide on an LED grow light purchase. Buy the light that best fits the space and budget. Use the dimmer and hanging heights for finer adjustments.
 
I this solo cups are the hardest to get right. I personally only let my plants stay in them for 3weeks. And only that long so the roots hold the soil together for easy transplant.
My wife just got me 15 .5gallon bottom watering pots for dollar tree for 1.25$ each I told her to empty the shelf 🤣🤣🤣
 
I this solo cups are the hardest to get right. I personally only let my plants stay in them for 3weeks. And only that long so the roots hold the soil together for easy transplant.
My wife just got me 15 .5gallon bottom watering pots for dollar tree for 1.25$ each I told her to empty the shelf 🤣🤣🤣
Able to post pictures of your find? I might just have to add some to my toolkit?

I agree on the solo cups. It's very hard to get the watering down just right. It's why I switched to Dixie paper cups. I think they hold about 5-6oz in volume.
 
Able to post pictures of your find? I might just have to add some to my toolkit?

I agree on the solo cups. It's very hard to get the watering down just right. It's why I switched to Dixie paper cups. I think they hold about 5-6oz in volume.
I will when I get home from work.
 
A change in lighting would certainly help. However it's only one of several things going on. It's essential to understand that the plant needs to go from wet feet to dry feet before being watered again.

As for lighting, a 6500k led shop light throwing off about 5000lm is sufficient at that plant's small size. This gives a small window of time to decide on an LED grow light purchase. Buy the light that best fits the space and budget. Use the dimmer and hanging heights for finer adjustments.
I agree with everything said here, these ladies might be past the shop lights already. I'd be looking for a decent light asap.
 
Able to post pictures of your find? I might just have to add some to my toolkit?

I agree on the solo cups. It's very hard to get the watering down just right. It's why I switched to Dixie paper cups. I think they hold about 5-6oz in volume.
Here they are
 

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Here they are
Thanks, I think I might have to go look to see if my local Dollar Tree has them.

I agree with everything said here, these ladies might be past the shop lights already. I'd be looking for a decent light asap.

A seedling that small still has a week minimum and more likely 2 where an LED shop light would do fine. I believe the OP stated they purchased a 4' x 4' tent size. Phlizon, Spider Farmer, and ViparSpectra ... all forum sponsors ... have reasonably priced lighting that would do very well in a tent that size. About 450w-480w of light would work very well.
 
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