jbcCT
Well-Known Member
So this year a lesson was to be learned. Confessions of a root bound plant. In May/June for my annual outdoor grow, small window in the northeast, I found myself with too many seedlings. In the sense working two jobs I had not properly planned to drop this many seeds. Some of you may know the drill, fishing around for any extra pots, no matter the size, that stockpile you have built up over years of growing.
Mid July rolls around, just when pre flower takes hold, already culling males from the herd, some of my plants are now looking unhappy. Droopy leaves, lack of further growth, leaves not crispy just sad, not reaching for that Sun. A common theme immediately took hold. All the unhappy plants were screaming at me. Each ill looking plant was in a container too small. I had pulled off very successful land race genetics in 3 gallon pots one year and ended up using those pots to accommodate the extra seedlings. Now mind you, I get my soil right. I run a slightly hot soil when I drop my seedlings because I grow outdoors and I find they require little attention aside from a few cuts along the way. I leave my shit alone. I don't over water. The genetics this year wanted to run, they were not having it, they would not give up the goods in those smaller pots.
After culling males it freed up more 5 & 10 gallon pots. So I ended up transplanting all the unhappies to the larger pots. This down shifted the plants a gear or two, they flung themselves back into veg and are now thriving, adding 6 to 12 inches within a week. Even the older sad fan leaves recovered, to my delight. Now those little white hairs we all long for are bustling.
I did a very clean transplant and because I had essentially a ball of healthy white roots they slid nicely into the larger pot. This saved quite a few females this year, almost half.
I thought I would share this because in this day in age, especially guys, we tend to over react, throw shit at the plant that it doesn't want or even need, worsening the problem. Every grow I learn something new. It's a process. If you got a sick plant, step back, try to assess the situation. Correct diagnosis can not only save the plant it can become a healthy grower.
Mid July rolls around, just when pre flower takes hold, already culling males from the herd, some of my plants are now looking unhappy. Droopy leaves, lack of further growth, leaves not crispy just sad, not reaching for that Sun. A common theme immediately took hold. All the unhappy plants were screaming at me. Each ill looking plant was in a container too small. I had pulled off very successful land race genetics in 3 gallon pots one year and ended up using those pots to accommodate the extra seedlings. Now mind you, I get my soil right. I run a slightly hot soil when I drop my seedlings because I grow outdoors and I find they require little attention aside from a few cuts along the way. I leave my shit alone. I don't over water. The genetics this year wanted to run, they were not having it, they would not give up the goods in those smaller pots.
After culling males it freed up more 5 & 10 gallon pots. So I ended up transplanting all the unhappies to the larger pots. This down shifted the plants a gear or two, they flung themselves back into veg and are now thriving, adding 6 to 12 inches within a week. Even the older sad fan leaves recovered, to my delight. Now those little white hairs we all long for are bustling.
I did a very clean transplant and because I had essentially a ball of healthy white roots they slid nicely into the larger pot. This saved quite a few females this year, almost half.
I thought I would share this because in this day in age, especially guys, we tend to over react, throw shit at the plant that it doesn't want or even need, worsening the problem. Every grow I learn something new. It's a process. If you got a sick plant, step back, try to assess the situation. Correct diagnosis can not only save the plant it can become a healthy grower.
