What’s wrong with my buildasoil grow (newbie)

greetings

This is my first grow all organic no till.
My plants are about 3 weeks from seed in solo cups, using “buildasoil” soil version 1(basically coots mix) along with the buildasoil complete bundle with the organic food and feeding schedule. I added root inoculate a tiny bit of yucca and aloe Vera flakes to my water feed from the very beginning, along with a negligible amount of nitrogen 2 of weeks later . I started off watering every 3-5 days and progressively more often up until one every two-3 now or until it’s dry at the top and bottom. I’m sure that over and/or underwatering isn’t the problem. My cups have plenty of drainiage at the bottom and the roots are super white and healthy looking. I made a 1 gallon solution to water it with and every time I water my plant, I feed it that. I haven’t fed it plain water once since seed. A850D7DB-F2DD-4D02-B584-0308BF2D1356.jpeg A850D7DB-F2DD-4D02-B584-0308BF2D1356.jpeg BD8C8E18-D721-4AEA-94B8-E06B5A156CD4.jpeg C71B1E42-1EE3-46E5-8300-78B1DBD3DC6D.jpeg A750F9FB-6169-46D4-BFEF-A5FF2894A858.jpeg 3CF1BACA-E417-4103-AD0C-98C33702F82E.jpeg So there’s maybe a quart left. 2 days ago, my plants started dropping and rapidly growing brown on the leaf margins starting from the outside in with yellow spots on the leaves starting from the botttom and gradually spreading up the plant slowly. I’m using a 600 watt Cree cxb 3590 at around 50 percent strength in a 4x4 tent. I have pictures attached. Could anyone help me out?
 
Thanks, I’m gonna transfer to 15 gallon smart pots after the super bowl...the pics make cups look small, but they’re 16 oz cups. Are those too small for 3 weeks organic no till, I checked the roots and they’re filling out the cup and pale healthy white. Thanks for the rapid response
 

Uncle Reefer

Well-Known Member
Thanks, I’m gonna transfer to 15 gallon smart pots after the super bowl...the pics make cups look small, but they’re 16 oz cups. Are those too small for 3 weeks organic no till, I checked the roots and they’re filling out the cup and pale healthy white. Thanks for the rapid response
I take clones out of red solo cups after 1-5 days and put them in 2-gallon smart pots. 13-day cycle: clones root in 8-12 days and get moved to cups till space is available in the veg area. Any longer in cups and they root bind really quickly. I do not like roots that spin around the edges
 
Ok thank you for your input, I’m definitely transferring tonight. One more, and probably the most important question. Do you think “that” is the reason the plants are locking out nutrients or showing deficiencies? Basically I’m asking do you think the cup is the reason behind this. Or do you think something else is behind this? Thx a lot
 

Uncle Reefer

Well-Known Member
Ok thank you for your input, I’m definitely transferring tonight. One more, and probably the most important question. Do you think “that” is the reason the plants are locking out nutrients or showing deficiencies? Basically I’m asking do you think the cup is the reason behind this. Or do you think something else is behind this? Thx a lot
I will say 95% yes as far as I can tell and from what I know from over here. Those cups are a short temp soution, they get hot , they let light though they dont breath well.... A root bound plant tends to look like yours
 
I will say 95% yes as far as I can tell and from what I know from over here. Those cups are a short temp soution, they get hot , they let light though they dont breath well.... A root bound plant tends to look like yours
Thank you so much, I will transfer tonight and report back shortly. How long after I’m done should I expect to see a bounce back?
 

ShLUbY

Well-Known Member
i agree with previous poster, they're def ready for transplant. you should see improvement. soil moisture looks good.

As for lockout... you'd have to assess the pH of the soil to figure that out. But I would start with a transplant, and i wouldn't put them in anything bigger than 2 gal. my solo's go to 1 gal and then i go to notills or 7-10 gal fabrics after that, depending on what i have available at the time.
 
8B710507-ED40-467F-880C-CF9FBCDE838E.jpeg 28CC1764-42F7-43B8-8FF4-C20472EA72C7.jpeg E7B5EB28-7E41-4B9A-AC79-3741DAC6AB2B.jpeg 0864EA89-6B93-4674-A5EA-ADC2CCFD57C9.jpeg Ok, I’ve now transplanted them into 15 gallon fabric pots, no till. They’ve been there about 12 hours. The pics are above. The soil has been prepared/inoculated, the plants have been transplanted, plants were watered, then the proper buildasoil top dressings were added. Should I water after I add the clover crop, top dressings and barley etc or wait until the next watering then water everything at once? Also, thoughts and suggestions on my plants after being transplanted for 12 hours? Thanks
 

ShLUbY

Well-Known Member
leave it the fuck alone (LITFA) and see what happens. it takes time for them to respond. The new growth is what you should be paying attention to. and be careful to not overwater them in those big pots. that's a lot of soil for such a small plant. this is why i typically go from solo to 1 gal, and then to no-till. when you do water, water around the outer portion of the container for the most part, and every now and then water the plant directly. this will make your plant send out roots to search for the water rather than watering them directly
 
leave it the fuck alone (LITFA) and see what happens. it takes time for them to respond. The new growth is what you should be paying attention to. and be careful to not overwater them in those big pots. that's a lot of soil for such a small plant. this is why i typically go from solo to 1 gal, and then to no-till. when you do water, water around the outer portion of the container for the most part, and every now and then water the plant directly. this will make your plant send out roots to search for the water rather than watering them directly
Thanks, very helpful. I’ll apply these techniques as I proceed with my grow. I’ll also randomly update as I see things change
 

ShLUbY

Well-Known Member
Thanks, very helpful. I’ll apply these techniques as I proceed with my grow. I’ll also randomly update as I see things change
i see in your pics that those pots are sitting right on the floor? it's a good idea to elevate them so they breath from the bottom and also your tent bottom will last longer if you get them off of it :)

I picked up some rolling 4 wheel dollies from the hardware store so my pots are up off the ground, and also i can just roll them around if i need to move them, and not be lifting and tugging on the pots themselves. this prevents soil compaction.
 
i see in your pics that those pots are sitting right on the floor? it's a good idea to elevate them so they breath from the bottom and also your tent bottom will last longer if you get them off of it :)

I picked up some rolling 4 wheel dollies from the hardware store so my pots are up off the ground, and also i can just roll them around if i need to move them, and not be lifting and tugging on the pots themselves. this prevents soil compaction.
This is correct. You’re on point with the suggestions. I was thinking about this but wasn’t sure if it was necessary. Being that you suggested I’m guessing it’s necessary, and if not it at least helps. Thanks again
 

ShLUbY

Well-Known Member
This is correct. You’re on point with the suggestions. I was thinking about this but wasn’t sure if it was necessary. Being that you suggested I’m guessing it’s necessary, and if not it at least helps. Thanks again
not entirely necessary but it does help with allowing the pot to uniformly dry out instead of having a moisture barrier on the bottom
 
Do you suggest I top or fem now? Or wait until it recovers from transfer? I know you said leave it alone initially? But f I’m going to top/fem and possibly main line , do you suggest I do it now?
 
And should the top dressing ( the layer under the barley, but over the soil) be wet on initial application or should I wait until the next watering sorry for so many questions. Whatever you want and can answer and have time for us greatly appreciated
 

ShLUbY

Well-Known Member
taking a second look of that root ball... i'm not seeing much drainage material
Do you suggest I top or fem now? Or wait until it recovers from transfer? I know you said leave it alone initially? But f I’m going to top/fem and possibly main line , do you suggest I do it now?
leave it alone. let them recover.

And should the top dressing ( the layer under the barley, but over the soil) be wet on initial application or should I wait until the next watering sorry for so many questions. Whatever you want and can answer and have time for us greatly appreciated
i don't see why they're telling you to topdress already with fresh soil in the pot... but i would mix it with some compost and 25% drainage material and then water it in on your next watering. mix it dry, don't try and mix it wet, it will turn to mud soup.
 
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