I planted 6 autoflowers on March 19. They sprouted in a few days and all looked OK. It is now May 6, (6 weeks later) and my babies are looking sad. They have not grown much if at all and some leaves are yellow and drooping. When I transplanted them to their current 4" peat pots I did not see any roots coming through the rockwool cubes I started the plants in. I pealed on cube open to see a tap root but that was about it.
Picture attached.
They have been outdoors for the past 4 weeks. I live in Southern California with daytimes temps in the low to mid 80ās and evening about 65. Seems ideal (yes/no ?)
That looks like some serious growth stunt. I canāt say I have used rockwool , so not sure about that product. I do know autos do not like to be transplanted so after my seeds germinate I move them to a pot large enough for the entire growth so I never transplant either 3 gallon or a 5 gallon. But letās see to start what is the soil you are using ?
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Iām using a generic potting soil from a garden shop near me. I used the same potting soil with other house plants with no issue.
To add a bit more data ā 3 of these litle guys were started in peat cubes and 3 in rockwool. All 6 looked stressed so I transferred them to these 3" pots hoping they would pick up but they look just as sad.
After 6 weeks should they not be much larger and bushy by now?
I purchased these autoflower seeds from you guys. As stated, they are outdoor and the temp here is 80-85 every day and 65 at night. The water used is pH 6.2. They are outdoors so your question regarding ventilation, light system. AC, etc are not relevant here.
You arenāt growing houseplants now, are you? There really is nothing to compare it to other than (sorta) tomatoes. Your autos are currently stunted due likely to nutrient burn and out of range PH which has held them back; along with possible rootbound. This means they arenāt going to do much more for you than where they are now.
We have this form for a reason. I have dealt with hundreds if not thousands of these so please, for me, fill the form out and be detailed.
Good nickname! I only use RRās when going into net pot with hydroton. In future though Iām eliminating all of that crap and doing neoprene collars.
Sorry if I did not understand regarding the soil. The soil is used for plants both indoors and outdoors. Where I live, the temp is always the same. Iām growing tomatoes, herbs, etc using this soil and my plants are doing fine. I donāt think its a soil issue as the problem started soon after germination.
I did forget to mention that 3 plants were started in rockwool and 3 plants in peat cubes. They all are doing about the same. I wondering if I perhaps over watered them. I cut open 1 rockwool cube and 1 peat cube and there is only a single small tap root. I believe the problem started from germination but not sure what I did wrong. I sure there are many causes but just looking for some ideas as I just started a 2nd batch of seeds.
This is exactly what Iād expect from a soil like Miracle Gro. Any commercial potting soil that doesnāt specifically say āOrganicā or designed for cannabis is going to cause lots of trouble. Hereās the main thing: cannabis wants to remain in a PH range fairly neutral. 6.3 to 6.8 PH. Most augmented potting soils cause the PH to dive to 3.0 or so to make flower colors pop and so on. This will cause lockouts and deficiencies in your cannabis and used for seedlings will stunt and slow growth instead of speeding it up. Not knowing what you have makes it hard to diagnose.
@AAA, @Ning are in SoCal. Iām up North of Santa Barbara along with @Not2SureYet and @JrsGarden. Thereās a bunch more in the I.E. and @big123 is up near Sacramento so California is representing!
My bag of soil reads as follows:
forest product, peat moss, vermiculite, pumice, bone meal, blood meal, cottonseed meal, alfalfa meal, earthworm casing
Sounds like you got good stuff but it may not be in the correct PH range which is just as bad. Then a slurry test is needed and adulterating with dolomite lime etc to buffer to best range.
So hereās the deal: you can grow weed. Itās a weed lol. But we pay for these cultivated and bred seeds that are like running a racecar. You could put regular in it and drive to the supermarket but thatās not what itās capable of. So tune the parameters so every variable is in the green and the plants take off and produce. Itās really that simple. Moderate nutrients, good soils, buffered to neutral (6.5 nominal) etc.
Iām just saying, no roots usually means conditions are to wet, or in scientific terms, lacking oxygen, they can survive in too much water with the addition of H2O2 (hydrogen peroxide) otherwise theyāll stop growing and or die.
The plants are root bound, transplant into larger containers, 5 gallon fabric bags or bigger, thereās a chance they may recover their vigor, however, auto stunting can be unpredictable and they may have some bonsai like growth.
I use organic soil to grow and I plant the seeds straight into the dirt after soaking them in water for 24 hours, solo cups work well after your drill holes in them.
