Some concerns / slow growing / bad drainage

Libre420

Member
Hi everyone, I've been following this forum a lot but this is my first post.
I am running my 2nd indoor grow but feel as if I am not progressing in a satisfying way.
My first grow was more than 10 years ago with a superb setup, 400w lamps, premium soil and nutrients etc.

This time around I am on a low budget currently using a 125w led, smaller tent and only 2 plants. At first my seedlings were growing super slow, but I quickly realized it was a humidity problem. I managed to get a humidifier and for some reason also repotted the plants from relatively big pots to even bigger, way to early for optimal growth.
The humidity alone did help tons, and gave the plants a massive boost in growth. At least temporarily. Now I feel as if they have stalled. I've lost track of time since literally nothing was happening until I got the humidifier, they were growing super slow.
I estimate that about a month passed with little to no progress before the repotting/humidifier. Since then, another 3 weeks (+/- 1) have passed.
I haven't added any perlite to the soil, there is already some in it, and I use autoflowering seeds (pineapple chunk from barneys).

I suspect the drainage could be better, and one of the plant definitely has some fungus gnats going on. Humidity is 45-60% and temperature 24-27 celsis. Running light 24/7. Other than this, I will let the pictures speak for themselves.

20191220_055332.jpg20191220_055416.jpg20191220_055438.jpg20191220_055452.jpg20191220_055519.jpg20191220_055528.jpg

As you may notice, one is bigger while the other is somewhat more dense and slightly "greener"

In one way I think they are looking great, but I can't help to feel as if they are progressing really slow and showing some signs of droopiness.

I don't remember what the red dots on the stem indicate or if it's something to worry about: 1576818073467-1696591995.jpg

There is not much of it and it's far from everywhere, but with all this shown and said, I mainly want to reassure myself I don't have to worry/panic about anything as well as receive some feedback/suggestions on how to proceed. I was hoping to switch to flowering in about two-three weeks, but right now it feels a bit optimistic. Then again, a lot of time has passed already due to the slow start. It's imperative that I maximize yield and I was wondering how you'd recommend me doing so. I think I'm not far from actively having to take some action, maybe cut some of the bottom leaves away, do that thing at the top (forgot the name) do that I get 2-4 or more "new tops" as well as start planning what method to use in terms of SOG and similar. Also it's a pretty confined spaces as you can see, 60x60x120 cm

I have forgotten so much, terms, methods, what to do and when, and I'm really afraid to mess something up. Also considering whether to repot them into a better soil mixture with perlites added.

Any feedback/advice would be much appreciated, I am really struggling with the feeling that I need to do something, while at the same time being extremely insecure about what and how.

Thank you for your time reading this, looking forward to any replies
 

TintEastwood

Well-Known Member
Nice work. They look pretty good. The pots look wet in the pics. Also the soil looks a lot like coco. Soil and nutes matter. I only grow in coco.
Soil growers will need to help ya.

Colder temps = slower growth.
 

Libre420

Member
Oh I forgot to mention, I just watered them thoroughly, basically flushed then in an impulse to get rid of the gnats. Didn't Google what to really do until afterwards and now I feel like an idiot about the step I took in an attempt to "drown any insects"

The soil comp is actually 2 different kinds of "peat"(?) With some sand, mud, chalice and some natural fertiliser with a labeled PH value of 5.5-6.5
 

Libre420

Member
Bump

Anyone know have any advices? Can I keep on going with this soil?is it to early to supercrop / spread branches / cut bottom leaves ?
 

shishkaboy

Well-Known Member
They look good but slightly overwatered....the fungus gnats pretty much proves it...

The soil looks pretty compact tho...

Deffo let them dry out more between waterings...

By the way, just for the record what is your current watering frequency?
 

JAMEZ420

Active Member
I'm no pro I'm a newbie myself I'm growing diesel autoflower right now she is 12 weeks from sprout and I do know at the end of 4th week first of 5th week she stretched big time from where is was 10 inches and little less than a week she was little over 3 foot tall and then she started flowering I was running 20/4 light schedule when she flowered I changed it to 18/6 but I'm growing with a 900 watt led and I had the light dimmed down for seedling and it got colder here I turned the light all the way up during the 4th week and that's when she started stretching at the end of 4th week first of 5 th week
 

Libre420

Member
They look good but slightly overwatered....the fungus gnats pretty much proves it...

The soil looks pretty compact tho...

Deffo let them dry out more between waterings...

By the way, just for the record what is your current watering frequency?
On average every 3rd day, but two times I´ve let them dry out for 4-5 days and then completely flushed them under the shower. Not sure where I picked that up from, but made wonders last time around. (Think the resulting dry soil gives the roots a handy "air-boost")

The Soil is indeed really compact, and the runoff takes forever after watering. I´m really worried I might need to replant into some kind of mix, but am afraid I´ll hur the plants that are much bigger at this point, or slow down their growth too much. At the same time, I feel they should be grower faster..... I mean it does look good overall, I just cant shake the feeling that Im about to run into trouble :/
 

Libre420

Member
I'm no pro I'm a newbie myself I'm growing diesel autoflower right now she is 12 weeks from sprout and I do know at the end of 4th week first of 5th week she stretched big time from where is was 10 inches and little less than a week she was little over 3 foot tall and then she started flowering I was running 20/4 light schedule when she flowered I changed it to 18/6 but I'm growing with a 900 watt led and I had the light dimmed down for seedling and it got colder here I turned the light all the way up during the 4th week and that's when she started stretching at the end of 4th week first of 5 th week
Definitly sounds like thats the point where I could be at, like just before they start really stretching unless they just started these last 2-3 days, which isnt impossible at all from the looks of it
 

JAMEZ420

Active Member
Definitly sounds like thats the point where I could be at, like just before they start really stretching unless they just started these last 2-3 days, which isnt impossible at all from the looks of it
Just give it some time dont over water her and I wouldn't do nothing until she starts stretching and flowering then I would just trim her up a bit like big fan leaves blocking light from bud sites I wouldn't try to train her or anything if I was you this first run until you get the feel of things let her grow naturally just trim her up a bit as she flowers on the bigger fan leaves
 

Libre420

Member
I mean here we are a few days later, and tomorrow unless someone recommends otherwise, I will trim, supercrop and repot. Or should I maybe repot and wait a couple of days for the trimming?1577372032640-2084554578.jpg
 

JAMEZ420

Active Member
Well I started mines off in 5 gallon air pot because more you transplant if you shock them roots or cause to much stress and stunt your plant she is going to flip into flowering no matter what if she is stunted or not if she is a auto flower and if she flips stunted then that's going to be your yeild
 

JAMEZ420

Active Member
Overlook the dead herbs in the back ground been over the holidays at work and all to lazy to clean them out but here is mines I didn't do nothing until she started stretching and flowering and still then I didn't do nothing until she stretched the most she could 20191224_235152.jpg20191224_080415.jpg
 

JAMEZ420

Active Member
Damn that's a nice plant. Am hoping for 2 plants each being about a third of theach yield from your biggest alone
I tried to lst her she didn't like it that's why there is curve in the bottom I untied her she took off and from the there I just trimmed some hand size fan leaves off here and there let more light in and grew her natural
 

CoB_nUt

Well-Known Member
Seems you know your issue.It's in your title. IMO,you should've added some MORE perlite to that mix when you transplanted. Drainage,with your mix...mud(?) Is your main issue,then environment they do go hand-in-hand.
 

Libre420

Member
I mostly had a bad feeling and at the same time didn't feel confident enough to change a lot of stuf. However I have now cleaned he tell, bought new, better and bigger pots. I made my own soil mix using two different kinds of soil and added perlite + leca.

I then cut half the leaves/branches away and repotted quite violently, half the root system of one of the plants got teared of in the process, but that was the gnat infested one so I am assuming they were already weak/damaged.

After repotting I gave them both about 0.5ltr water just along the stem so to not give the roots a completely dry environment but at the same time not leaving anything for surviving gnats to enjoy.

Finished of by covering the soil with perlite and hanging some yellow stickers around the plants to catch any intruders.

I think theye survived this treatment well and I should be fine, no sign of gnats and ten times better drainage due to the new soil composition and pots.

24 hours have1577650701247472512514.jpg passed and this is what it now looks like:
 

Havoc0122

Active Member
Whoever said transplanting shocks plants isn't doing it right. My plants love it Everytime I transplant. I'd recommend using some super soil like ocean forest. If you keep uppotting you'll never need to add nutes. Uppot, top layer. Don't need any runoff either.
 

Libre420

Member
Ok so here is an update and now I'm starting to get really worried. I have done everything, transplanted again, barely watered the plants at all, kept a fan blowing on them, set up yellow sticky papers all around, but the gnats just won't dissappear. One of the plants is just fine and rarely I see any gnat moving around. The other one (you can clearly see which is which) is infested, with 4-5 gnats crawling on the surface of the perlites at any given time .... I am considering to get rid of that plant completely, it's barely growing at all, and focus on the healthy one as I'm afraid the gnats will spread....taking the available space, I don't think that two plants would give a better yield than only the one. Please give me your opinions on this, I'm so tired of struggling with something that should be easy....
15792772290371597827137.jpg

(The plants are a bit wet on the picture as I just sprayed them with some water, something I do daily. Nowhere near enough to make the soil wet, just a mist of water over the plants)
 
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