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First time grower, I think my seedling isn't going to make it :-(

A

albertwhaffle

New member
I'm not sure what's going on with my seedling, it started out great, but now it seems like it took a turn for the worse.

I started out germination (after an overnight soak in water) in a jiffy pellet, and it did great, was ~2" tall with first leaves after about a week.
Only watered with tap water ph adjusted to ~6.0.

So I decided to move it into my space bucket. I'm using 70% coco/30% perlite in a 2 gallon fabric pot.
Space bucket has variable speed intake and exhaust fans, and 150W Growstar UFO LED.
I did buffer my coco with GH Calimagic for ~6hours, and then rinsed until TDS was <400.
Space bucket temps range from 66F (light off), to ~78F (light on). Humidity is in the 45-55% range.

After I transplanted into the coco/perlite and got it into the bucket, it seems as though new growth has pretty much
ceased and what new growth there was is kind of purple-colored (see attached photo). Also it's first leaves
are curled downwards. It's been in coco in the bucket about 5 days now

I did water a few times even when the coco wasn't dry to 2nd knuckle - so it just might be that I over-watered it,
but I'm not sure. I have checked the ph of the runoff when I initially watered and was ~6.

Any advice is appreciated, lmk if there's any info. that I left out.

Thanks!
 

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I believe that in coco coir, over watering is really hard. All you need to do is remove the runnof and pratice a run to waste sistem.
Consider that i am running my first grow in coco coir aswell. i just remove the bottom tray watter to avoid soaking the meddium.

Another thing you should pay attention is that you need to water every day, to wash your coco from salt accumulation if your feeding mineral.
 
Thanks, that's a fair point. I do have a small plastic take-out food container (upside-down) that I drilled holes into underneath the fabric pot so that runoff doesn't accumulate and keep the pot damp. Yeah, the whole reason I chose coco was that it's supposed to be resistant to over watering so it's probably not that.
 
And it is..
For example i bought Canna Coco Professional + and in the back it states that fully saturated it has a water/air ratio of 73%/23%. Even read in some post that amending Coco with perlite is not needed, altought lots of people does it. I believe it is because of the esthetics ahah Looks nice having some contrast...
I did a 100% coco, didnt buffered it as it states it is pre-buffered. it was from bag to pot, literally.

Sorry if i am going out of the topic..
 
Your drowning it. First mistake was watering a seedling until you get run-off. They want very little water..just enough to keep the roots damp. maybe a shot glass or two full of water per day. about a one inch wet spot around the seedling. You need to let the pot dry out before that plant is gonna show any signs of life. And once a plant is established it only needs water every 3-4 days unless your in a super dry climate.
 
Nope, not for esthetics. It helps you plant breathe. Coco retains water and water makes it hard to breathe. Perlite leaves pockets of air for the roots to breathe.
 
I dont know where people are getting that it is impossible to over water in coco. Seedlings take very little water and can be drowned easily. Coco retains water. If you water and dont let it dry it wont be able to breathe. Try breathing with your head under water. If you have good drainage and fabric pots it does make it harder to over water, but that is under the assumption that you let to pot dry out between waterings. Also you do need perlite unless you are a professional and know exactly how much water to put in without drowning the roots. Look to the experienced growers here and what they do, not what someone with a hand full of grows under their belt thinks.
 
Thank you all for your responses. I'll cut back on watering. Is it possible for it to bounce back at this point? (it's an Auto btw...)
 
Coco retains water True story, "It holds onto moisture and nutrients, yet also has a light texture that gives roots access to oxygen, too." (taken from this site, as my english is not that good)
https://www.growweedeasy.com/coco-coir

A good coco coir, FULLY SATURATED, still holds a good part of oxygen.. Has i said before canna coco pro+ states that FULLY SATURATED holds 73% water and 23% oxygen...

Another thing to pay atencion is watering habits, has you have to do some run to waste in order to avoid soaking the coco.
Another thing, if you feeding mineral, you REALLY need to water every Day, sometimes more than once. Cause the mineral nuts Will be come salt when the water disapears. And i bet you know what excessive salt does to plant roots.. If you dont believe, start measuring the runoff EC. I do it.

Edit: btw i feed my plant daily with around 2liters water, and get like 1 to 1.5liter runoff.. Every Day. Running 100 coco coir..
Shouldnt it be drowned already?
 
Last edited:
Alik92 There is a vast difference between a seedling and a plant with an established root system. Do you water your seedlings with 2 litres? Sorry but i disagree. From personal experience having inadequate drainage can and will cause root rot unless the roots are established enough to drink water fast enough. A seedling is not established enough. BTW you left out this part of the quote from GWE (literally the very next sentence)

"This makes plants less likely to experience symptoms from over or under-watering." https://www.growweedeasy.com/coco-coir

Notice the LESS LIKELY, not invulnerable. Oh and you must have also missed this:

"When mixed with perlite, it provides an ideal amount of water and air for cannabis roots"

Yeah ive read it too.
 
Point acepted!
I did it differently, but it doesnt mean it wouldnt go better other way.
I need more knowledge and experience, feel like this is a topic that goes for an entire PhD program.
I will take your comment in consideration, information is never enough! And your definitely more experienced then me.
 
@Alik92..your not off to a good start. If this is your first coco grow why would you doubt or question Tersky who has been here for 4 yrs. Evidently you didnt read the coco tutorial your quoting from because after the main introduction, the whole tutorial is about growing in coco mix. That MIX part is the perlite. Read the complete article. And as far as watering and nutes..you can keep feeding them every water...your choice. I dont know what nutes your feeding them but most say to alternate from nutes to fresh water and so on. Feeding nutes constantly is a recipe for nute lock out. and if your giving your plant that much water...Yes..it should be drowning.
Got any grow pics? good luck
 
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