At this point, unless your going to repot it, Silica prolly wouldnt help a whole lot. Silica Beads however WILL absorb water but also keep it away from the plant and slowly release it back into the soil,however if you want something like that, one of the polymer moisture holders would likely work better, they also suck up water and hold it till the soil around it starts to dry out.
Im a Noob, so I could be totally wrong here, but that does not look like over watering to me, that looks like Nutrient lockout due to pH issue or Either too much of some nute or too little. Wish i could be more help.
yeah I know - I’ve heard this from others as well. It could be a ph issue but based on my experience with the other plants and the high moisture level of the soil lasting for so long, it’s either a) overwatering or b) overwatering and ph issues…but I don’t think it can be purely a ph issue. I suspect it’s how overwatering shows itself in early veg…at least in my experience. When plants are seedlings they yellow due to overwatering so I suspect that the plants still respond in this way if they’re less than a month old? Still not sure about anything, really tbh.
What is your temp and humidity at? What kind of soil are you running? I see the humidifier in the one picture. You'd think in decent conditions a pot would be so bone dry in 16 days the plant would be dead as hell lol. Also have you tried fabric pots?
I used to use fabric pots but stopped because they were a bitch to clean. The three plants that I’ve had issues with are in plastic pots and I think that’s partially what threw me off. I typically water the plants a certain amount and it was always ok with fabrics due to their breathability….but clearly this is too much for plastic pots and I’m not used to how they hold water this early in veg. I have a few other runs staggered behind this one and I’ve been watering much more delicately and so far they’re doing great. So it seems like it’s more a matter of watering less in the beginning - hence my supposition that this is an issue of overwatering.
What do you mean by undercooked?
Ah interesting. This bag has actually been sitting in my garage for almost a year now, but I’m almost done with it and I think I’m going to try ProMix HP next based on recommendations from other growers.
Ahh no they were not. So you suggest mixing those additives in and letting it sit for a month?
Yes. I even mix my 4-4-4 pre cook.
This is as good a guide as I have yet to come across - thanks for sharing.
