not enough water?

i have 12 babies that are about 3 weeks old... been doing great here lately but woke up this morning to see them mad at me... here is what i got

shultz potting mix, no nutes yet
ph (runoff) 6
72' constant temp
18 hrs on 6hrs off (14 23w cfls)

the leaves are not really droopy and hanging but dont seem as perk'd up like they have been... also, the leaves feel rough like sandpaper and dry...

i always read about overwatering so i am careful not to do so... i usually have been needing to water every 2 days but this time i went for 3 days, think they could just have needed some watering? i watered them to see if they will perk back up but would like some suggestions in the mean time

i know pics are worth a thousand words so i will get some up here shortly, thanks everyone!

I'll wait for the pic's.

A moisture meter would cost about $15.00. Don't waste your time with getting a camera buy the moisture meter. Plants normally start to wake up and hour before the lights come on, this is the reason the smell is strongest then. If they were dropping after the lights came on ou hvae either over or underwatered them. From your watering schedule, the only way you could have overwatered is poor drains. Flushing would give you all the answers. Pour a gallon of water in the pot and measure the run off. If its a gallon they are overwatered and draining poorly. If its under they needed water. Buy a moisture meter?? VV

edit... soil goddamn it! oops. 3 weeks? They probably need nutes, unless the concentrations are high in that schultz stuff... I don't know.

VictorVIcious said:

A moisture meter would cost about $15.00. Don't waste your time with getting a camera buy the moisture meter. Plants normally start to wake up and hour before the lights come on, this is the reason the smell is strongest then. If they were dropping after the lights came on ou hvae either over or underwatered them. From your watering schedule, the only way you could have overwatered is poor drains. Flushing would give you all the answers. Pour a gallon of water in the pot and measure the run off. If its a gallon they are overwatered and draining poorly. If its under they needed water. Buy a moisture meter?? VV

Click to expand...

thanks for the gallon/water tip... i'm pretty sure they are draining properly, i hold them up and water one at a time until water drains thru the bottom hole (4" clay pots) do you think they may be root bound? i have roots reaching thru the hole in the bottom like little fingers tring to pry the hole open ha ha ha - i've been around stores in my area all day and cant find a damn moisture tester... i'm gonna have to fuel up the truck and head out to a garden shop

skunkushybrid said:

edit... soil goddamn it! oops. 3 weeks? They probably need nutes, unless the concentrations are high in that schultz stuff... I don't know.

Click to expand...

i'm thinking of transplanting to bigger pots... i got some stuff from a friend called bloom plus, told me to add teaspoon to gallon of water and water them with that only when im on 12/12, what is some good nutes to add to my water now that i can find in the garden store

root bound imo, is when the roots have fully circumvented the pot and stop growing... or rather they slow right down.

If you're concerned that this is the case, as you are in soil I'd recommend you move into a bigger pot. I haven't really looked into soil all that much...

check out my sig'...

...and you may have to slice a quarter inch or so off the bottom of your medium to allow new root growth to happen more quickly. although, in regards to soil fdd2blk would be the best guy to ask. Roots behave differently in soil according to many people. To my mind they just need to grow thicker to make it through a denser medium...

ok thanks alot, i'm having trouble getting pics posted... says my file is over limit, i'll try to figure something out

dnewguy said:

ok thanks alot, i'm having trouble getting pics posted... says my file is over limit, i'll try to figure something out

Click to expand...

edit your pic's... right click the pic' and click edit. I have to do it sometimes, usually when I take portrait size pics.

this is what they looked like this morning

this was yesterday, looking better than today

Im having the exact same prob. Woke up today and my babies are looking limp. This is the first i've watered them in 3 days. Hopefully they will perk back up. I haven't been using any nutes. Just tap water. Lemme know if you get this fixed.

Hank.

im using tap water also (ground well)

they are doing much better after watering, i bought a moisture meter... best thing i ever bought, i believe they were also rootbound, i would have never thought the roots would grow that fast but my 4" clay pot was nothing but roots when i transplanted, when i tipped the pot upside down it was nothing but a huge ball of roots and all the soil came out as one big chunk (good i guess) and i switched to 1 gallon pots

If they were rootbound... which means that they had settled for the pot size they are in... and you didn't slice the bottom quarter inch off to allow for new growth your roots may have a problem growing into the new soil.

let this be a lesson for all of us, me especially. I should have listened when skunk said he would wait for the pictures. Instead, I went bulling ahead. I knew I could give him as answer that would solve the problem he was describing and I went ahead and gave him the answer. The pictures clearly show what he really needed was to transplant into bigger pots. I GUESS I SHOULD HAVE WAITED FOR THE PICTURES. We like pictures.
If any of you are going to do this with the root ball he is describing, just before you stick it in the new soil, Rough up those roots, do not leave them in that tight ball!!!!!! IT WILL SAVE YOU TWO TO THREE WEEKS. Of course the reason I know this is because I have done it both ways, with the tomato plants I took from inside to outside last year. THe first two I didn't remember to do that, I had read about it but didn't remember. I walked around to the front of the house where my wife, who says she knows nothing about growing, breaking the roots out of the tight ball, before transplanting. Slap me and call me shirley. Did the next two right. I removed the first two when they died. Let this be a lesson for me, we need pictures. VV

thanks for the feedback fellas, think its too late to pull them up and chop the lower half off or shake them up? the light cycle is off right now so it wouldnt be a problem for me, would only take about 20 minutes but if it's going to hurt them then i will not bother

I've actually only just looked at the pic's... I only answered on the root bound question. Those plants are overwatered... or your ph could be off which will also stop the roots uptaking nutrients, and likewise oxygen.

Do you have a reliable ph meter?

My investigations into roots have shown me that they may be root bound but are still able to uptake nutrients adequately... although i do this in coco coir and perlite... i've heard that soil is different, and I believe the minimum pot size to achieve a certain sized plant may be bigger in soil than a hydro' grown plant.

If you're serious about growing, a reliable ph meter and an ec meter are two very important tools.

thanks for the tip, i purchased a ph tester yesterday, whats an ec meter? ph shows 6.5/neutral

Cannabis plants are only able to take in a certain amount of nutrients per stage of development. An ec meter is a way of measuring the electrical conductivity in the feed, which is also the amount of salts/nutes present.

Once you know the levels your plants need (which are pretty much universal, although certain strains can take more than others), and the ec of the feed you are feeding the plants... you'll have peace of mind that you are giving your plants everything they need.