10 replies to this topic

[DaveyJonez]

My little friend here hasnt been growing very much as of recently. I looked up why and maybe i was overwatering. i stopped watering but i was wondering if there are any tips or tricks for a new grower that will help this little guy along? 

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[joeya]

What soil is it in? Do you know what strain it is? How is the humidity in your grow chamber? How about the light cycle?

 

Generally, at this stage of growth you only want to water, no nutes or other fertilizers yet. I see the cotyledons dying down, so you're at a tricky stage right now. 

[DaveyJonez]

its in organic seed starter soil i think and i only have it on a shelf with a grow light, no chamber.. i have the light on for 15hrs a day and idk what strain it is 

[joeya]

the color looks a bit pale, and the leaf curl is a bit of a concern. How far above the plant is the light, and what kind of light? Can you post a top down picture? It helps to see what the center point of growth looks like.

[joeya]

also, what do you know about your water pH? A lot of those seed starter mixes can be pretty acidic, if your water is also acid or neutral it may help to bring the pH of the water up and see if it perks up. 

[joeya]

Maybe this will help;

 

 

What are some causes of slow plant growth?

  Added by: snoofer  Last edited by: snoofer  Viewed: 527 times   Rated by 36 users: 8.19/10

Contributed by: tOkE_tHe_DoPe 
Thanks to: Ranger2000, 10k, Hopefulgrower, Snoofer 
Submitted: 15-02-2003 

Overwatering 
Soil moisture that is not absorbed rapidly turns stagnant; the plant quickly uses up any oxygen within the water, then is unable to respire further, resulting in moisture low in o2. Pythium thrives in low-oxygen (anaerobic) conditions. 

In short, overwatering will slowly suffocate your roots, preventing sufficient oxygen uptake by the roots, and ultimately causing root rot. 

Soil with high bark content 
This can cause a “bonsai” effect. The roots will not be able to grow through the bark, preferring to grow around the chunks of bark. This slows down root growth and most obviously plant growth. Ive encounter this recently; once transplanted into proper soil, they have shown remarkable recovery. 

[Editor's note: bark is quite acidic, may may afect soil water pH] 

Light deprivation 
Although your plant may be receiving light, particular strains may require higher light levels than others. A recommended light level for full bud development is 50 watts/m². Full sunlight is 100,000 lumens max. 

Low nutrient strength 
The plant is unable to acquire the necessary amounts of nutrients to sustain high growth rates. Large and mature plants can take higher nutrient strengths. 

Nutrient strength is also related to the light intensity; plants under fluorescent lights usually require a lower nutrient concentration than under HIDs. 

Nutrient lockup 
Adding too much of a nutrient (ex. Magnesium) can “lockup” one or more nutrients, rendering them chemically unavailable to the plant. Nutrient lockup can occur at extreme pH ranges (ie. under 5.0, over 7.0). 

by Ranger2000: 

Light spectrum 
Light that does not contain enough red spectrum (too much blue) 
Light spectrum can have a dramatic effect on plant growth, with different ligh frequencies affecting different photosynthetic processes within the leaf. Selecting a blue spectrum in a vegetative growth phase is preferred, with red spectrum in flowering. 

pH 
pH is too high or too low (ie. acidic soil. The plants come out as mutants). 
Plants are unable to absorb nutrients, or in adequate quantities within certain pH ranges. Optimum pH varies with each medium. Hydroponics and aeroponics: 5.6-5.8. Soilless: 6.0-6.3 Soil: 6.5-7.0. 

Many soilless mixtures can be fairly acidic, due to their high % bark content. 

Low temperatures 
Plant metabolism will decrease at low temperatures. Chemical reactions within the plant will take longer. Optimum plant growth often requires close temperature regulation; daytime temperatures between 25C and 30C are preferred. Differences in daytime and nighttime temps should not be dramatic, as this difference may shock the plant. 

by 10K: 

Low soil / medium temp 
Evaporation from a medium (i.e. peat pots) tends to chill the medium quite a bit due to the evaporative cooling effect. As the peat pot warms, it draws moisture outward, the evap effect cools the peat (like sweating). New growers often make the mistake of adding excessive amounts of water, resulting in cold soil, poor root formation and slowed growth

  Last modified: 19:29 - Aug 16, 2003  

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[twoguysupnorth]

I would say it is a tiny plant in a big sea. There might be other things but cannabis seems to do better going through the up potting process. Wait till it gets slightly root bound then up the size of pot. Not too much work, one or two (two) transplants seem to help alot. I used to go from red beer cup up to a gallon and then on to 3 or 5 whatever you intend on flowering it in. I've had 2 and 3 ft plants in a beer cup. That is definitely too root bound and them hinders real large growth but after transplant it takes off like mad.

[Phungivore]

for me i find most pre made soil mixes retain water too well making over watering really easy. i always amend pre bagged sol with perlite, or Parboiled rice hulls

[twoguysupnorth]

Bark mixes might also contribute to lower nitrogen availability among what was said above when wood breaks down and rots it uses nitrogen to do so. That would seem like it's more of a cactus or citrus mix. Normal compost bought should have the wood material highly broken down. That's a great write up, up above.

[Heirloom]

look in the new vaults theres a cannabis section , on a tablet and it won't let me copy n paste the link.

i learned to grow from ed rosenthals forst cannabis book cost like $ 2 in 1975 or 76.

i'd recommend jorge cervantes, i own a bunch of grow books including several bible though jorges marijuana grow basics is what i recommend to those seeking knowledge.

peace safety and good luck

[Microbe]

Im no pro but based on the picture i think its over watering. The plants will slow down and sag a little. After a few days they will begin to turn yellow because the plant isnt transpiring efficiently and nutrient uptake is lacking and nitrogen deffciency IME is the first deffciency that i see with young plants that ate being over watered.

Over watering doesnt mean your watering too much persay because you can water the media as normal but what is happening is the media is taking too long to dry out creating a anaerobic environment or no O2 to the root system.

I struggled with this when i transplanted clones right into 1 gallon pots and it took about 2 weeks before they went bezerk and since i started going into solo cups then into 1 gallons, i shaved a week off my veg time easily.

Now i grow in coco and fed drain to waste. Now im in modular ebb and flow so were growing diffrent but the root zone as far as moisture and O2 have the same requirements. Wet and dry cycle.

Here is something i like to look at also because 20 problems look like the same darn thing sometimes.