Stunted Growth?

[at3035]

Strain: Autoflower Northern Lights
Temp: 76-80f
RH: 40%
Lighting: 400W MH

Hi everybody,

So I've been growing my first autoflower and this is how it looks after 2 weeks since it popped from the soil.
What seems to be wrong with it? Do you guys think it needs nutrients? But its still a sprout after 2 weeks???

Originally I had the plant under cfl lights 2x23W 2600K and 2x44W 5500K, but I believe I had the lights a bit too far from the plant.
Now its in a 3x3 Tent with a 400W MH light thats about 20" away.
The temps and everything seem fine...I think.

What do you guys think I should do?
it looks like there are a bunch of leaf development near the middle of the plant, but its not stretching out and they are all clustered up.

BTW, its been under light 24/7

 

[G00ch]

what is the medium here?is this hydro, or dirt

 

[at3035]

its potting soil

 

[G00ch]

looks very dense is there any perlite or vermiculite in it to aerate the soil so the roots can move?
and how much are you watering it?

 

[at3035]

looks very dense is there any perlite or vermiculite in it to aerate the soil so the roots can move?
and how much are you watering it?

there is some perlite mixed in it with the soil as the potting soil came like that
as for watering, i just gave it like 180ml of water 2 days ago
i still have not fed it any nutrients
and its in a 5 or 7gal pot... i dont remember, but its a big pot

 

[rillos]

Way too much light for a seedling. Put her under a 23w cfl. Plant needs some time first to get some roots.

 

[G00ch]

I am not a dirt guy by any stretch, but i know the store bought mixed are typically dense and need some aeration additives, also i know its auto and you start it in the pot it will finish in but this makes it so hard to control water and build roots etc.. but I havnt done auto either just read about it

 

[at3035]

Way too much light for a seedling. Put her under a 23w cfl. Plant needs some time first to get some roots.

but its been like 2 weeks since she came out of the ground
when i had her under cfls, i did give her periods at night to rest 18/6
but now thats its been developing slower, i figured maybe the extra light would benefit her
as soon as i got her under the MH, i did notice the first leaves started to open up more, and i do notice all those new leaves in the middle, but she still isnt stretching

 

[at3035]

I am not a dirt guy by any stretch, but i know the store bought mixed are typically dense and need some aeration additives, also i know its auto and you start it in the pot it will finish in but this makes it so hard to control water and build roots etc.. but I havnt done auto either just read about it

should i try poking holes in the soil for aeration?
or should i try giving it nutrients?

 

[Emilya Green]

I believe that you are ok with the light... I don't see burning of your plant nor stretching... it is handling the light just fine. I do see a couple of other big problems here though. New seedlings do not need nutrients. Your soil should have everything that she needs, especially in that huge container. Save your nutes for later when the plant starts needing more nutrients than the soil can provide, right now, especially in that hot soil, you will burn your plants by giving them nutrients.

The major problem you are having is related directly to having a small plant in a huge container. I never will believe that this is the best way to grow an auto, or any other plant for that matter. Growing is all about the roots... and your roots are a mess in that situation you have put them in, in that huge container.

Here is what has happened. Weeds are deep rooting plants, so the first task of your young plant has been to find the bottom of your container with its big tap root. All of its energy was put into that process, hence, no growth at the top while she was concentrating on accomplishing that.

And now, you have a main root at the bottom and starting to wrap around down there, trying to find its limits. So you are giving 3/4 of a cup of water to this system, every 3 or 4 days. This little bit of water is not getting down to the bottom...where your big roots are, because it is being absorbed by the soil at the top. This is good for the upper root system, but the big root system at the bottom is suffering because of this. Kudos for not overwatering this system, but even though you have tried to be careful with your watering, you are not supplying the needs of this plant.

Of course, the easiest way to avoid this mess is to successively up-pot into larger containers, building up a root ball as you go. Since you are already in this ocean of soil, let me explain how to deal with this problem.

First, water that container completely one time... completely saturating the soil and producing some run off. Get that entire container of soil wet. It will take a lot more water than 180ml. Once you have done this, your plant now has a huge task ahead of it, it needs to use all of that water all the way to the bottom, before you water like that again. Once you have supplied the lower roots with their needed water though, things will start to accelerate, and as the plant gets bigger, it will be able to use a lot more water. It will take the plant a week or more to drain all of that water at this point, but you will see this time decrease with each watering as the root system gets more and more robust.

Here is the problem though... The lower roots won't like being underwater for a week or longer, and if you keep adding large amounts of water to the container every 4 days or so, they will never dry out, and will eventually shut down. Your plant won't like this, and you will start seeing signs of problems at the top if this happens. It is absolutely imperative that you allow the lower roots to dry out between each large watering. The second problem is that the upper root system also needs to survive, and it can't handle going a week between waterings.

This is where your present watering method will shine. Coming in every 4 days with a small amount of water, like your 3/4 cup, and spreading it out over the top, and actually trying to make the outer edges of the container the wettest spot, is a great strategy to supply the upper roots with what they need. Also, by concentrating your efforts on the outside edges, you entice the roots to grow out laterally in that container to find that water... and in that process, you tease her into building a root ball.

After 2 or 3 complete wet/dry cycles, you will notice that the entire container is being drained completely in 4 or 5 days, instead of a week, and this will be your clue that it is time to stop the 2 stage watering process, and it will be time to water to saturation each time, and using the lift method to determine when it is time to water. If you do not develop your roots with this advanced watering method however, plopping your little plant into an ocean of soil this early is going to keep your plant from developing normally and of course your eventual yield will be much less than it could have been.

Emmie

 

[CocoCola]

What soil did you use? You want to use rinsed/buffered coco or a light soil mix such as 'light warrior' or happy frog. Many soils are too 'hot' with nutrients and will stunt your seedling. Coco is my personal fav.

 

[at3035]

I already presoaked the soil before I planted the seed. So should I give it another good soaking all the way through? And just let it dry up in a week or so before another watering?

As for the soil its promix potting soil mixed with some other type of potting soil from a local nursery that has the aerating additives like perlite in it

Thank you all for it help guys

 

[Emilya Green]

I already presoaked the soil before I planted the seed. So should I give it another good soaking all the way through? And just let it dry up in a week or so before another watering?

when you lift up the container, can you feel a lot of that water weight still in there? If not, water... if so, continue on with your 3/4 cup until it dries out, but now concentrating on those edges.

 

[at3035]

I just watered all the way through as I poked the soil and dug in and it did feel a bit dry.
Let's see what happens
I just hope I didn't end up watering it too much

 

[arteekay]

I just watered all the way through as I poked the soil and dug in and it did feel a bit dry.
Let's see what happens
I just hope I didn't end up watering it too much

Assuming decent drainage, you can't water too much in one watering, you just move towards flushing rather than watering. Overwatering is from watering too often, not too much.

 

[at3035]

Heres an update of how she looks now after a thorough watering and a light schedule of 18/6
Temps are 28C and RH 45%

The inner leaves are getting bigger, but she still isnt getting taller
what else can I do?
should I give her nutrients?
Thanks everybody

Before

Now

 

[arteekay]

My guess would be she's busy building roots rather than tops, keep with a wet/dry cycle and hold off on the nutes for at least another couple of weeks. With potting soil you should have everything she needs for most if not all of the veg cycle.

Nutes are vitamins, she makes her own food from light.

 

[at3035]

My guess would be she's busy building roots rather than tops, keep with a wet/dry cycle and hold off on the nutes for at least another couple of weeks. With potting soil you should have everything she needs for most if not all of the veg cycle.

Nutes are vitamins, she makes her own food from light.

I think she is about 3 weeks old since she popped from the soil.
Could she still be building roots at this stage? and isn't she like almost half way through her life?
I do notice what looks to be like white sugary crystals on the leaf, but I'm not sure.

 

[rillos]

I've already told you by having 400w MH on a seedling you are seriously stressing the seedling. It's roots are not even developed yet. So it's focused on how to deal with so much light and not on root development. Which in turn stunts your plant. It's like giving a newborn a steak to eat.

 

[at3035]

I've already told you by having 400w MH on a seedling you are seriously stressing the seedling. It's roots are not even developed yet. So it's focused on how to deal with so much light and not on root development. Which in turn stunts your plant. It's like giving a newborn a steak to eat.

its strange because during like the first 2 weeks, it was under 1x23W 2600K and 2x44W 5500K at about 16" away and it was still growing really really slow