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Stunted growth with no other symptoms.. ? HELP!

!!!

Now in technicolor
Veteran
Seeds germinated, put in peat pellets and then transplanted to hempy cups (and then bigger containers) when they broke the surface.

Peat is still on the root zone in the hempy.

Plants were taking off but in the past 3-4 days they have stopped growing. No new shoots, nothing really .. no droopiness except on 1 soil plant, but the hempys look OK except for the fact that day after day they aren't showing new growth.

What gives?

pH is always around 5.7 - 5.9 when watering, and they're not overwatered (maybe underwatered ..?)


How long has this problem been going on? 3-4 days

What system are you running? (DWC? Ebb flow? Aero? Water Farm? Flood Tables? and so on...) Hempy (3:1 perlite:verm)

What STRAIN are you growing? Super Lemon Haze / Original Haze x Skunk #1 / Durban Poison

What was the establishing technique? Seeds

What is the age of your plants? germinated Oct 10th (~25 days)

How long have they been in there mixture they are in now?(coco,soiless etc..) 2 weeks

How tall are the plants? 5"

What PHASE are the plants in? (seedling, vegetative or flower) are the plants in? veg

What substrate/medium are you using?(Hydroton, RockWool etc.) peat pellets

What color are your roots? White? Brown? Are your roots slimy? white and healthy AFAICT

What Nutrient's are you using?(If growing soiless) Shultz 10-15-10 @ 300ppm

How often are you giving nutrients? Every 3rd watering (3rd day)

What is the TDS/EC/PPM you are using? 300ppm

What is the pH of the "Tank"? 5.8

Are you sure your calibration is correct on your equiptment? Yes

When was your last watering? 1 day ago

How often do you clean your system: example: Flush out water
replace with clean water and nutrients?

What size bulb are you using?

What is your RH Factor(Relative Humidity)? 47%

What is the canopy temperature? 80F

What is the Day/Night Temp? (Include flucutaion range) 80F/75F

What is the current Air Flow? (cfm etc.) 240 CFM

Tell us about your ventilation, intake exhaust and when its running and not running ? 24/7

Is the fan blowing directly at plants? No

Water? Tap, initial 35ppm

Has plant been recently pruned, cloned off of or pinched? No

Have any pest chemicals been used? No
 

Mr.Bill

Member
I don't know what to tell ya man. Has there been any effects to the growth above the the roots, ie. any yellowing, browning, spotting, leaf tips curling up or down, any leaf warping, twisting or any irregular growth that is worthy of notation other than just not growing. What's your light schedule?(Plants surely go through spurts of grow, not grow under 24/0,)If there is nothing wrong with the upper growth then all you can really do is wait. Plants go through growth spurts too. They might just be gathering a little energy to do it's next push. For the help on the soil plant I'd have to see it for sure to be able to even make a guess at why its drooping other than to say usually when "I" get a droopy soil plant its because shes thirsty. Wish I could be more help.
 

1G12

Active member
Might try Fox Farms Grow Big. Give 1 teaspoon per gal. of water every watering. Shouldn't burn & has more goodies in it than Shultz.
 

!!!

Now in technicolor
Veteran
The soil plant seems to be doing OK today. I transplanted it into dry soil and did not water, making the soil around the root zone a lot less wet.

The hempy bucket plants I transplanted into coco. So far no change, we'll see how it goes. There was an issue where all the vermiculite was washing to the bottom of the container in the hempys, but this is gonna be in another thread in the grower's forum.
 
E

EvilTwin

!!!,
One thought that I had. The only times I've had stunted growth (except for the occasional runt) is from excess sodium. In my case it was from un-flushed coco with excessive sodium. Plants looked normal except No Growth. I hope your transfer to coco solves the problem.

The one question I'd ask is this...is your tap water running through a water softener? They work via ion exchange and add sodium to the water.
Cheers,
ET
 

dmt

Active member
Veteran
i always sprout seeds in water, once they pop they get 600-900 ppm, and when they start to take off, 1200-1300ppm. anything lower and they stunt then slowly die. any increase in light or growth should be relative to ppm in your solution, good luck mang, d
 

!!!

Now in technicolor
Veteran
I do not use a water softener, just tap water right out of the tap. So far still no change, but it doesn't seem suspicious given that they've just been transplanted from hempy to coco and need to adjust.

hm, 600-900 ppm on seedlings? I tried 500ppm (lucas) on a seedling which burned (sativa). The current plants are in 500ppm lucas formula in coco.

Could humidity be a concern? Ever since I got a more powerful fan, humidity has decreased significantly (from 60% to 45%). Temps are around 79-82F. Coco isn't soaked/moist, just wet. There's condensation on the sides of the container (it's clear).
 

!!!

Now in technicolor
Veteran
I see healthy roots coming down the sides of the clear container, so I guess things are happening beneath the medium. Here are my questions..

Does lower light intensity increase or promote root development?

Does an HPS help with root development more than a MH bulb? Yesterday I had 800w on them, 400w HPS, 400w MH, temp around 85F, but only for about 10 hours.
 
E

EvilTwin

!!!,
You know that light promotes algae growth...so you really should cover the outside of your containers.

Not too sure on the light thing...but since MH and more blue light is best for vegging (and hps for bloom), I'd think that MH would also be best for root growth. But it probably doesn't really matter. Far as intensity...more light equals more energy for root growth would be my thoughts.

Hey, just wanted to check with you on the coco. What brand and did you make sure it was flushed of sodium? Also people usually pre-soak with a nute solution to fill up the cation binding sites. Did you do any of that?
ET
 

dmt

Active member
Veteran
with plants, everything is relative hombre, the bigger the roots, the more plant growth, the more light intensity, the more root/plant growth. this is under optimal conditions, just think einstien, the more co2. the more plant/root growth. e=mc2, d
 

!!!

Now in technicolor
Veteran
Hi, yeah I plan on covering the clear container when I get a chance, probably with duct tape. That's what the other containers are covered with.

The coco brand was CocoTek - it was a dry brick. I soaked in water for about an hour, and then wrung out the coco and soaked it in a ph adjusted nute solution (lucas formula) with extra cal mag for another hour.
 
E

EvilTwin

!!!,
Did the label on the bricks say pre-flushed or low sodium by any chance? Bricks are notorious for high sodium. And as luck would have it...symptoms of that are slow growth. Fingers are crossed.

One thing I'd definitely do is to use the coco more as a hydro medium watering heavily and daily...rather then using it as a dirt substitute and allowing it to go through a drying cycle.
ET
 

Pinball Wizard

The wand chooses the wizard
Veteran
just a passing thought?...what is your light cycle?
...(my soil seedlings improved when I switched from 24/0 to 20/4)...:chin:
 
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