Overwatered

[Sc0tt]

I made the rookie mistake of giving my plant too much water. Just looking for some advice on how to get it to recover asap. I'm a first time grower and my plant is in week 6 of veg. The plant has been seemingly healthy and thriving up until now... I'm letting it dry out. I've added an extra fan to the grow tent and turned up the heat in my grow area a couple degrees. Temperature is currently 78 degrees f. I usually keep it about 75 degrees f... I drilled extra holes in the bottom of my pot for better run off ( I think this was the source to my problem). So should I lower the humidity level in my grow tent? I usually set my humidifier around 55-60% ... Will lowering the humidity help dry it out sooner or will this cause the stoma to close and not allow the plant to process the excess amount of water? Any advice would be appreciated.

[Smokesteve]

Lower humidity would help air movement helps point a fan at the soil. Take and post pictures in natural light please.

[Farmall2]

Sc0tt if you feel its not drying out fast enough, you can try doing a partial soil change.... its messy but a quicker solution

[SoOrbudgal]

I would think opening the flaps and vents even the door flap opened more would help when lights are on? if you can do that allow room air to circulate? I find that helps in my situation.

[Gingerbeard]

Overwatering is not always a rookie thing.

[D.A.A.S.69]

Yeah, you ain't got to be a rookie to overwater, next time you might want to try fabric pots, they dry out much quicker than plastic.
GoodLuck

[Farmall2]

Yep....great point

[Gingerbeard]

… nor is underwatering, nutrient deficiencies, nutrient burn, breakage, growing of the balls. Any mistake can be from an experienced grower. However, don't believe all these practitioners of witchcraft and snake oil salesmen show all their blunders.
And about fabric v plastic pots. I've grown in both, now. In either pot, when you have a nice, big root ball, you're going to dry out fast. My big girl needs water every other day. My little 'un every third or fourth. In fabric, that is.

[quirk]

Set your pot on absorbent material to wick out excess water. I use the towels from the quest bathroom.
And remember this. In a pot that has proper drainage you can't over water, but you can damn sure water too often.

[Sc0tt]

Thanks for the advice and encouragement. So I got home from work and immediately checked on it and there is some improvement but she's still not happy and healthy. I do have a fabric pot. What are your thoughts on transplanting? I'm afraid I might stress the plant even more but if it would save it, it would be well worth it. I'll post an updated pic. Also... How long should I wait to water agaIn. The soil does feel dry and my moisture meter says its dry.

[SoOrbudgal]

It's not a auto so go ahead transplant or drill 20 or so holes in that plastic bucket. Those roots need air without air in the soil and no holes to allow water to drain your cooking it in the soil it's a problem that won't go away. I would transplant it or drill holes. If you transplant mix more perlite into mix helps retain moisture keeps soil from compacting. My 2 cents.

[Jordann]

It's not thirsty yet no doubt, I have abot 40% perlite in my mix with some other airy soils promix, cactus soil, perlite, tropical soil, mycorrhizae and a few others. Mix very very well in a big bucket or tote. When you think it's mixed enough, get your hands in there and mix for another 5 mins. Break up any balls of dirt you can find, helps to dry it out and mix more afterwards. Just my experience. Good dirt is a good portion of good grows...

[Sc0tt]

Oh and here is a pic in natural light. Sorry the lighting in my basement isn't great

[dilvish]

she does look healthy overall. you can drill as many holes as you want in the bucket but it won't do a damn thing unless the runoff that ends up in the bottom of your milk crate is sucked out. What's going to happen is the bottom of the bucket will still be in contact with the runoff and will just reabsorb it through the bottom holes. This can potentially cause root rot.

Fabric pots work more effectively but transplanting at this stage could potentially shock the plant.

turning up the heat will definitely help. If the hygrometer is fairly accurate then yes go ahead and water just try watering to about 10% runoff then suck or pour out the runoff then leave it be until it dries out a bit. with a plastic bucket at a room temp of 78F that will be 3-4 days.

[SoOrbudgal]

I disagree dilvish I would at the very least drill lots of holes and those crates it's sitting in has holes so it WILL drain no need to SUCK it's elevated in the crate. And I would also if he felt comfortable doing so do a soil change it's a 6 wk old photo hell I've transplanted trees bigger without issue.

[Jordann]

What she said

[Sc0tt]

I did drill more holes and I put it in the milk crate to elevate it so it can drain (the crate is also elevated about an inch from the floor). I lowered the humidity level and increased airflow by opening the vents in my tent. I did give it a very small amount of water because the leaves were beginning to "claw" and it perked up a little after about an hour of watering. I'm still undecided about transplanting it. If in the next few day I dont see it improve to a healthy state, i think ill will transplant it to a fabric pot with extra perlite added.

[SoOrbudgal]

Good ScOtt she will appreciate it. Just know you got time to transplant if needed. Your doing fine really, these plants are resilient to errors. Not saying it won't slow them down but your learning by trial and error. This will be a lesson take it in stride. Great job fixing

[JDU]

Quickest, easiest way to dry out a pot is to poke 4-5 holes down into the dirt with a screwdriver. (Kids paintbrush for small pots)

[Sc0tt]

I think I will have to transplant it into the fabric pot. I've given it a few days and no major difference. It did perk up a bit after I gave it a small amount of water but not for long. I'm not sure if it needs water or to continue to dry out at this point. I'll post a pic of about an hour after watering and one I just took. please let me know what you think. Should I transplant and risk stressing the plant more or should I continue to nurse this poor plant back to health as it is.

[Rwise]

I will say, lift the pot if it's lite water, if its heavy it has water. She looks dry from here, do you have a ton of holes in the pot? If not a drill will fix that.