So I noticed a small fuzzy spot on my substrate this morning. Pulled out the magnifying camera took a picture up close and found this…
Thanks as always everyone.
Is that soil? Let your soil dry out between waterings.
Buffered Coco coir. Just zoomed in a lot. Believe it or not I haven’t watered it in days. I’ve been trying to give it a day or so in a dry period to let roots grow more but I didn’t realize how much a small amount of potting soil in the base of the plant would retain water to cause an issue.
This is another plant that’s drying out and almost ready for feed in a day or so. Still feels heavier when picked up.
I ran out of nutrients and did a double feed of run off on the ones that got thirsty while waiting on my nutrients to arrive. So I think this was one of them that did get double fed btw.
Okay. Coco shouldn’t be left to dry out and should be watered daily. Increasing airflow in your grow space can help. It still looks like overwatering though. I would back off some.
Just a heads up I added something in the last post.
And I’m trying to let it feel not so heavy when picked up not completely dry up. I still want some moisture to be retained in the coco but not like this.
Thank you for confirming it’s over watering and letting me know to not let the coco dry out
Coco doesn’t need to dry out. Just from looking at the surface of your coco, it’s too dry. When coco is allowed to completey dry, it becomes hydrophobic and air pockets can build under the surface or worse, at the root zone. It can become a pain to rewet and cause pH issues. You don’t want the bags to become “light” with coco. I mean, you want lighter than when just fed, but not a wet/dry cycle like soil.
Edit/add… the pic in question was the last one.
That’s just the surface. If you rub your hands in it then you can feel the moisture underneath. If anything they’re too wet imo. But I could be wrong.
Thank you for making sure I am aware of the feeding schedule for coco coir though. that it shouldn’t be light but lighter. I wasn’t aware of that one, not going to lie at all.
Ok, cool. Just trying to touch all bases. I started in soil, but switched to coco and absolutely love it. Little more work, but the production of the plant is woooooorth iiiiiit.
air flow around your plants and possibly thinking to increase the air flow will help prevent this if you’re already doing proper watering for your system and set up.
Thank you! I will loosen up some of the soil to give it more air flow!
I appreciate you making sure everything has been covered. It helps me out a a lot tbh
a fan is always an economical help as well. i place a large one pointed vertically in each tent to increase air flow. this also helps encourage healthy stalk development which is an added benefit.
Can anyone tell me if my original pictures were mold? And if so what is the best way to kill it off without hurting my girls?
Put peroxide in a spray bottle, cover the plant with a cup or bag and wet the top of the coco with peroxide. If you need to treat a plant, dilute the peroxide. Straight it can fry the plant.
Temps, humidity and air flow are critical to prevent mold. Even then you have to be vigilant.
Thank you very much!
