Another Water Thread

[User64]

Kinetic Genetics Intelligent Design
Soil is Nectar For The Gods #4
Light is QB96 V2 at about 45%-50% on the potentiometer, About 15 1/2" off the canopy
RO water only
Planted 2/18
Had planned 20/4 light but noticed the timer was stuck on 2/22 from rotation because it was in contact with a cord. So 24/0 it is.

Everything has been fine until 2/24 when I noticed a slight droop on one plant, it was a bit cold in the room when getting home from work. Just under 70 F. Now all are drooping and the cotyledons on 1 & 4 are yellowing but none of the main leaves are yellowing. They aren't very green but don't show yellowing like the cotyledons are showing.

Watered on 2/23 and let soil dry pretty well until 2/26 and watered again. Soil was very dry so they were given a small watering today ( 3/1 ) with nutrients. Mixture was 1/2 tsp of Age Old Grow to 1 gallon of RO water. Total nutrient water given to all five plants was about 1/4 of a 16.9OZ bottle. About 4.22 OZ divided between all 5 plants.

Not sure if it was the colder temp that started all this or if I'm over watering / under water. Just trying to learn as I go while taking as many notes as possible.
Thoughts ?

 

[JSB99]

It doesn't look like the drooping you get from over/under watering. Kind of looks like nutrient deficiency. Instead of trying to determine the amount of nutrients you're providing, by the amount left in the container, you'd be better off with a TDS meter. They're cheap online. Little ones like this need very little, like between 150ppm to 200ppm.

 

[User64]

It doesn't look like the drooping you get from over/under watering. Kind of looks like nutrient deficiency. Instead of trying to determine the amount of nutrients you're providing, by the amount left in the container, you'd be better off with a TDS meter. They're cheap online. Little ones like this need very little, like between 150ppm to 200ppm.

Interesting. Was going to wait until week 3 to feed, as it's only been 12 days since planting from sprouting but they already have a 3rd set of leaves coming in. TDS meter on order, arriving tomorrow.

 

[JSB99]

Interesting. Was going to wait until week 3 to feed, as it's only been 12 days since planting from sprouting but they already have a 3rd set of leaves coming in. TDS meter on order, arriving tomorrow.

Soil companies will claim to have 3 weeks worth of fertilizer, but it's more like half that. You're looking at a week while the starts feed them selves, then about a week or two worth of included ferts. Around the second or third week, you can start lightly adding nutes.

 

[JSB99]

Around he second or third week, just keep an eye on them and they'll let you know when they're needing some. You'll see pretty much what they're doing here.

 

[JSB99]

BTW, you should get yourself some red Solo cups, for the outer cups. Roots don't like light. Make sure you've got some holes for drainage as well.

 

[User64]

I do have colored cups but went with clear to actually see how dry the soil is all the way down. Holes are in first cup, second cup has a spacer to raise the first cup up and catch any water that drips. Didn't think about roots not liking light, will correct that right now.

 

[User64]

BTW, you should get yourself some red Solo cups, for the outer cups. Roots don't like light. Make sure you've got some holes for drainage as well.

Had to tape the outer cups to get them dark enough to cover the roots properly. TDS meter says the Nutrient water I made is at 41 PPM with just the Age Old Grow. Which is good because there are two more nutrients I'd like to add to the water. Roots Organics Trinity and General Organics CalMag+. those should bring me around the 150 mark but I won't have to guess because I took your advise and purchased the meter. Thank you for your help. Just using those three after watching some Verde Natural videos.

They seem to have perked up in the last 24 hours.