First time poster AND grower. I am approximately 45 days in on this grow. The seedling started out pretty strong. Germination had no issues other than the seed husk being stuck and creating some helmet head issues. Lol. It has seemed nice and green until today when I noticed some yellowing on the cotyledons and tips of the leaves. I have read that Northern Lights strains are typically slow growers, but I am more than 5 weeks into the grow, and it doesn’t even really appear that I’m in a vegetative stage. I am aware that miracle grow soil is also frowned upon, but it is a mixture of peat moss, perlite, and other stuff that is recommended for soil blends. I also have earthworm castings mixed in and did a top dressing of them when I started. Fabric pot. Switched to LED lights from CFL bulbs around 15 days into the grow. Haven’t really added nutrients or anything until today when I did a very diluted mix of, you guessed it, miracle-gro. I have had a little bit of trouble maintaining a level of humidity above 50 to 60%. I recently added a humidifier into my growbox, which is a plywood contraption with an exhaust fan, small circular fan for temp control and ventilation, mylar sheets, and a register for air intake. Here are a couple pictures of the grow so far.
Note: the soil seems drenched in the top picture because I just watered. I don’t normally water that heavily, but it was the only time today and I was adding nutrients. I have only been using a spray bottle to dampen the soil 2 to 3 times a day, and only that often because the soil stays pretty dry.
Overwatering will cause stunting. A seedling (or any small plant) should only get a couple ml of water per day. The soil in the “wet soil” pic is overwatered by far too much. Measure your waterings in ml at this point. Increase watering quantity as the plant grows, but never water more than the plant would be capable of drying out the soil in 2 to 4 days. Cannabis does far better in dry soil than wet soil.
50 to 60% is fine for a young plant if watering a couple ml per day.
It’s far too early to feed. You shouldn’t have to feed for 4 to 6 weeks after transplant when using one of the suggested soils. Never feed in any grow media until the cotyledons have yellowed.
MG contains time release nutes that submarine your pH and nuke your plant with nitrogen every time you water. Suggest transplanting into a soil that is properly buffered for cannabis. Fox Farm soils, Roots Organic, Black Magic, and Coast of Maine are all suitable soils.
Your plant has pistils and has started flowering. If you want control over when a plant flowers, then grow photos.
So, wrong soil choice and over watering. Is this plant a wash at this point? The cotyledons have yellowed and that was why I decided to add nutes, but that was a mistake I’m assuming. Where can I procure these soils? There are no nurseries around here that carry anything of the like.
Also, what is a suggested about for watering in ml? I spritz it around 2x daily because the soil seems to dry out fast, but I’m gathering even that’s too much.
Once its dried a little cut a 500ml clear plastic bottle in half and put that over it. When the bottle dries out give it one good spray (the bottle not the plant), keep doing that until the leaves touch the sides of the bottle. Focus more on keeping them humid rather then actually watering them for like 10 days. I give mine just under a shot glass of water when they’re germinating and thats all they’ll get until they’ve some size going
