I transplanted my seedlings last Saturday into 5-gal. cloth pots, watered them well and today, Wednesday, was my first time using fertilizer. Fox Farm Grow Big. But instead of using 2 tsp. per gallon, I used 2 TBS in a gallon of water! I used only about 1/2 gallon of the water tho. (I'm still very leery of overwatering them) Did this around 10am and realized my mistake around 12pm. I flushed both pots with half gallon of clean water but I'm just so scared. They're still babies, only about 4 1/2 weeks old from seed. Can they be saved or have I killed them?
-
Happy Birthday ICMag! Been 20 years since Gypsy Nirvana created the forum! We are celebrating with a 4/20 Giveaway and by launching a new Patreon tier called "420club". You can read more here.
-
Important notice: ICMag's T.O.U. has been updated. Please review it here. For your convenience, it is also available in the main forum menu, under 'Quick Links"!
Did I just kill my plants??!
- Thread starter EOE
- Start date
StickyBandit
Well-known member
If it's a fast draining medium I think it should be fine with a flush. If the medium is dense and doesn't drain well it might be a different story
It would probably have to stay wet for a while to do any real damage, especially in a cloth pot
Best of luck
It would probably have to stay wet for a while to do any real damage, especially in a cloth pot
Best of luck
Take the seedlings out and repot them into solo cups using fresh spoil until they are big enough for a pot that size. The soil you use will determine when to feed. If the soil has a precharge you do not need to feed for a long time 3-5 weeks, even longer. Some can last months
As troutman said, it's best to not fertilize right after transplanting. Most soils are going to have some nutrient content in them so it's not like the plants will be starved of food. Since transplanting is a major disruption of the plant's environment there is typically a brief period where the plant might be more vulnerable to mistakes or something harmful in the environment. This period is brief fortunately usually only 2-3 days and is sometimes called transplant shock.
Also as Hammerhead has suggested it's best to avoid transplanting a small seedling into such a big container it will make watering a bit trickier because so much of the new environment the plant has yet to be able to take advantage of. It's better to leave a plant in a small starting container such as a solo cup of a small 4"x4"x4" pot until it becomes rootbound which generally takes several weeks. Then when you do transplant don't necessarily jump right up to a container that is big enough to finish in which is what a 5 gallon pot is. Better to just move up to something slightly bigger like a 1 to 3 gallon container and then save the 5 gallon of bigger container for a final transplant just before switching to flower, usually after a full 8 week veg.
Also as Hammerhead has suggested it's best to avoid transplanting a small seedling into such a big container it will make watering a bit trickier because so much of the new environment the plant has yet to be able to take advantage of. It's better to leave a plant in a small starting container such as a solo cup of a small 4"x4"x4" pot until it becomes rootbound which generally takes several weeks. Then when you do transplant don't necessarily jump right up to a container that is big enough to finish in which is what a 5 gallon pot is. Better to just move up to something slightly bigger like a 1 to 3 gallon container and then save the 5 gallon of bigger container for a final transplant just before switching to flower, usually after a full 8 week veg.
No need to fertilize new potting mixes because they have a nutrient charge in them. Most mixes are good for about 4 to 6 weeks without any fertilizer. Using Fox Farms Ocean Forest is best to use only pure water for the first 3 or 4 weeks or until the plant shows signs it needs fertilizer. Also if you start in dixie cups and up-pot to gallon before 5 gallons you can better manage the water intake. Below is a 6-week span using only pure water. When you up pot into fresh soil that always feeds the plant. 
Attachments
No need to fertilize new potting mixes because they have a nutrient charge in them. Most mixes are good for about 4 to 6 weeks without any fertilizer. Using Fox Farms Ocean Forest is best to use only pure water for the first 3 or 4 weeks or until the plant shows signs it needs fertilizer. Also if you start in dixie cups and up-pot to gallon before 5 gallons you can better manage the water intake. Below is a 6-week span using only pure water. When you up pot into fresh soil that always feeds the plant.
I don't understand what you do with your ladies, to get them look so frigging nice and big at such young age. But me likes!
I don't understand what you do with your ladies, to get them look so frigging nice and big at such young age. But me likes!
Just pure rainwater and I don't allow any drainage or dis-charge out the bottom. I know how much water each container holds and only add that amount. I use the hold or release "water only" method and that's the only difference.
Like me, almost all newbies overuse everything in the beginning. Too much of everything, lighting, soil, fertilizer, is the common recommendation from the grow shop or product manufacturers. They don't like my ass, because I know you don't need all that stuff to grow good weed. Just water and potting soil using the hold and release method is something they won't tell you. Try it next time and see what I'm talking about. Thanks for sharing friend.
At 4.5 weeks they aren't exactly babies. They should be fine as you did the right thing and flushed as soon as you realized. I would think you will not notice any issues.
Like me, almost all newbies overuse everything in the beginning. Too much of everything, lighting, soil, fertilizer, is the common recommendation from the grow shop or product manufacturers. They don't like my ass, because I know you don't need all that stuff to grow good weed. Just water and potting soil using the hold and release method is something they won't tell you. Try it next time and see what I'm talking about. Thanks for sharing friend.
Okay, I need to check up on this hold and release method, never heard about it before I think.
Yeah, we all have to learn somehow, and mistakes are usually teaching you.
I'm the opposite, I like to see good run off. I flood the pot well and the water bubbles as the air in the rootball is forced out and new air sucked in. The plants display a big jump in growth after every watering.
Daywrecker
Daywrecker
Okay, I need to check up on this hold and release method, never heard about it before I think.
Yeah, we all have to learn somehow, and mistakes are usually teaching you.
Its important to remember that hold and release is mainly for organic mixes that use pure water and not synthetic soil-less mixes. If you add fertilizer like Lester Beans you have to have discharge or the salts will build up to a toxic level in the root zone. So if you add fertilizer you may have to allow discharge to prevent excess salt build-up. Above you were talking about Fox Farms potting mixes and that is the method that works best with that soil. Water only, hold and release. I'm talking about two different growing models.
StickyBandit
Well-known member
They look ok to me. Remember they are weeds
Just add straight water and they will be fine. My advice would be to not disturb them again (no warranty implied or expressed
)Don't keep the roots saturated for a long time. That will kill them by drowning faster than anything
The medium looks quite rich by itself so they probably don't even need any fertilizer for quite a while. Maybe months. Maybe they won't need anything adding at all, right through to maturity
I was one of those that kept adding fertilizer, not realizing it was actually slowing the nutrient uptake by having too much nitrogen etc
Don't kill them with kindness. You're doing fine
