At first I didn't realize it was root rot cuz I couldn't smell any funk, but Nebula posted on my thread that that's what it looked like. Then I touched it and it was slimey and decayed. So I realized that my old bottle of Hydroguard was expired, I opened the new one and threw out the old one. Changed the reservoir and thoroughly cleaned it with paper towels--wiped it down real good, put in new water nutes and Hydroguard, pH balanced the water, and when I had it all in the reservoir, I squirted all over the roots. I also gently pulled off as much of the dead stuff as I could. I never would have guessed root rot in the winter, cuz my first grow was during the hottest time of year, and no problems. But I had used the Hydroguard religiously and the bottle was good over the summer.
And that was why my girls were growing so slowly. They looked good up top, but I had the root problem. They are picking up some speed now, but I have realized that this is going to be a long, slow grow. I'm just taking it as the girls dictate, and I keep reading stuff over and over from GWE. It's SOOO much to learn and absorb and juggle, and I'm really trying to do the LSTing right, but I'm pretty sure that I started a little too soon, and during the root rot. But the girls are good for now, and I'm willing to keep on learning thru failure as well as success. I made dry ice hash this morning with a friend's trim from his OG Kush harvest; I'ma post a pic below. Messy, but fun!!!!