SOIL Slow growth, is it Healthy?

[spallaire]

Hi,
First time poster and grower.
I recently noticed my plant growth seemed to slowed since it got his first 4 points. This plant is about 20 days since popping out of the soil.
I was wondering if there was any apparent problem with the plant?
There's some brown spot that appeared recently, I guess it was too much light/heat.
I watered it every 4-5 days for the first 2 weeks, now I water it each 2 or 3 days.

I originally planned to change it to coco at 21 days but it seems way too frail right now

Anyone know if this slowing is normal?
What are these spots?
Thanks

[ChadWestport]

The plants might not be drinking that frequently. A good guide is to water your pot, lift it and get a good feel for the weight. You will know the plant needs water when you lift it to check the weight and it feels half as heavy as it did full. Young plants like that don't have a huge root system and overwatering creates a lack of oxygen in the soil which can further stunt growth. So try the weight method and see when the next time they want water is.

I'd also not suggest putting a soil container that size into a larger container of coco. They both react to nutrients and water and Ph levels in different ways and your roots will have a hard time figuring it out.

[dphipps1020]

Ok I think the issue in this case is not pH or over watering, I think it was under watered for the first 2 weeks and that's what slowed your growth. For seedlings, you want to try to keep the roots moist (obviously, but I'm going to explain further). The thing a lot of people think is to water the whole pot and let it dry, but you can't really do that with seeds/sprouts until they get bigger. The problem is that once it dries up so much, the water is no longer getting to the tap root even if the pot still seems moist. To remedy this, get a spray bottle and spray the sprout once a day for the first week to 2. I've found about 15-20 sprays works for me to start, and I gradually go up as the plant gets bigger for the first week. By the end of week 2 you should be able to water a decent amount and then wait a few days for it to dry. I'm usually to this point by about 10 days, give or take. Keep in mind too, the hotter it is, the faster your top layer of soil will dry out so keep an eye on it. Welcome, and happy growing!

By the way, stick with it they look fine just stunted a little. Also, I personally feel like the spots are from being under watered but do check your pH if you're not using living soil (super soil).