Help! I watered these plants 3 days ago and they drooped and never came back.

[Amonolith]

I've used 7-gallon pots, but now I'm using 5-gallon pots. I can usually add a full gallon of water to those, so a 7-gallon pot should take more. I loosen the soil with a hand rake to help aeration and evaporation. Risers can help, too. So can pointing a circulation fan toward the pots.

Plants can use a lot of water when they're that size, especially if their environment is hot or dry. So, what are your environment settings? I'm also curious about the soil temperature. Do you have a tent heater?

Maybe tell us what you’re feeding them and how often? I know in veg I keep humidity up around 70% I also use gaija green.
I’m in soil also and add 1 tablespoon of epsom salt with every watering and I mix recharge in every other watering.
It’s gonna take a little time until you perfect your watering techniques not gonna happen instantly.
Temps with led between 80-85

Im in ocean forest 3/4th of the way and living soil compost mixed into the bottom 1/4. I havent feed them much, aside from the living soil top dressing every 3-4 waterings according to the makers ( Natures Living Soil), i was gonna look into some food once i flipped the switch to start flowering. Also every couple of waterings i mix great white microbes in with my water. My temps in the tent stay in the 70s anywhere from 71-79, depending on time of day, and my RH is lower at 50-60%.

 

[Amonolith]

Yep. A 7 gallon pot when it’s ready for a good slow saturation, will absorb at least 1.25 gallons. Depending on the growth rate/size of the plant, it may need to be watered again betwen 2-4 days.

My tent photoperiods are in 4 gallon pots. Each pot gets 1 full gallon every 2 days.

Nice! Yeah this 7 gallon fabric pot is by far the biggest medium ive grown in, ive done 3 and never had such watering issues haha. What better time to learn then while im in the middle of uncertainty, i just dont wanna drown here. I gave them both around a gallon yesterday.

 

[Mazeblue1]

Im in ocean forest 3/4th of the way and living soil compost mixed into the bottom 1/4. I havent feed them much, aside from the living soil top dressing every 3-4 waterings according to the makers ( Natures Living Soil), i was gonna look into some food once i flipped the switch to start flowering. Also every couple of waterings i mix great white microbes in with my water. My temps in the tent stay in the 70s anywhere from 71-79, depending on time of day, and my RH is lower at 50-60%.

I use happy frog and mixing my own gaija green, worm castings so that I know what is in there. I used to use the ocean forest, but it’s too unpredictable.
You need to get your temperatures way up and your humidity. Also, I promise it will make a big difference.

 

[Grower1974]

Nice! Yeah this 7 gallon fabric pot is by far the biggest medium ive grown in, ive done 3 and never had such watering issues haha. What better time to learn then while im in the middle of uncertainty, i just dont wanna drown here. I gave them both around a gallon yesterday.

All my indoor product is done in 1.75-4 gallon pots. I also went back to mostly all plastic pots. I tried 5-7 gallon pots indoors, and there was no beneficial results.

 

[Amonolith]

I use happy frog and mixing my own gaija green, worm castings so that I know what is in there. I used to use the ocean forest, but it’s too unpredictable.
You need to get your temperatures way up and your humidity. Also, I promise it will make a big difference.

So for now should i just monitor how they react while trying to raise those, and keep a gallon per when the pots feel lighter?, im also concerned that in my underwatering i have allowed my soil to become hydrophobic? So maybe im not saturating it fully enough, if thats the case what do you recommend?

 

[Amonolith]

They look like they are going up and down in real time haha. They aren't nearly as flaccid as they were before watering, but not near as turgid as right after watering either, just wondering what everyones opinion on that might be. Do they need more time after the underwatering? Or is there something else still going on?.

 

[Eledin]

"Im in ocean forest 3/4th of the way and living soil compost mixed into the bottom"
Check the PH of your runoff, maybe the compost is messing with the acidity in your soil. Also even the little one has some yellowing, Im thinking nute burn (either because of overfeeding or the PH not being right), if you put too much compost there's no way back, maybe try feeding them slighlty less and see if it doesnt get worse. The fact that they didnt get this until they were big (the roots reached the bottom) is also suspicious.
It definetely had an underwatering problem but it seems that it wasnt the only one.
I always start feeding less than the recommended dose and work my way up, for two reasons:
1. I ammend my soil.
2. Some strains or phenotypes can be very sensitive to nutes.

 

[HerbalEdu]

So for now should i just monitor how they react while trying to raise those, and keep a gallon per when the pots feel lighter?, im also concerned that in my underwatering i have allowed my soil to become hydrophobic? So maybe im not saturating it fully enough, if thats the case what do you recommend?

too dry soil do take longer to remoist evenly, that's why it's been advised to water slowly

 

[Eledin]

too dry soil do take longer to remoist evenly, that's why it's been advised to water slowly

Check the yellow and burnt tips all over the plants, even the ones that have the edges okay have burnt tips. I think something is messing with his nutes, probably the PH or going to the recommended nute dose while also ammending the soil.

 

[Amonolith]

Check the yellow and burnt tips all over the plants, even the ones that have the edges okay have burnt tips. I think something is messing with his nutes, probably the PH or going to the recommended nute dose while also ammending the soil.

Yeah i noticed some of the leaves look like they have a potassium and or/ magnesium deficiency starting on the tops. I think some of the others got burnt from nitrogen toxicity, as they did have w very dark green color when they were younger, not entirely sure though. I have been ph ing my water to 6.5 most times when i do water, and gassing off chlorine in my tap water for my microbes, but maybe my tester is out of wack? Would any of those deficiencies cause drooping in this way?.

 

[Amonolith]

too dry soil do take longer to remoist evenly, that's why it's been advised to water slowly

I would say it took me a good 30 minutes to water the gallon into them the other day, id water in a quart and notice that the soil under was staying dry, classic hydrophobic soil issues, then id mix the soil around a bit to try and break it up. And slowly water in another quart over 5 minutes, wait 10 more minutes and water again, till around 20% run off, im just curious if what i saw on top could actually be happening deeper down? Keeping some roots wet and other parts dry, if so how could i fix that?

 

[Eledin]

I would say it took me a good 30 minutes to water the gallon into them the other day, id water in a quart and notice that the soil under was staying dry, classic hydrophobic soil issues, then id mix the soil around a bit to try and break it up. And slowly water in another quart over 5 minutes, wait 10 more minutes and water again, till around 20% run off, im just curious if what i saw on top could actually be happening deeper down? Keeping some roots wet and other parts dry, if so how could i fix that?

Did you let them reabsorve the runoff? If so the bottom part should be fine, if not do a bottom watering. When I forget to water and I get dry pockets I do what you did plus let it suck back the runoff. If they dont suck the runoff in a few minutes then they have more than enough water.

 

[Amonolith]

Did you let them reabsorve the runoff? If so the bottom part should be fine, if not do a bottom watering. When I forget to water and I get dry pockets I do what you did plus let it suck back the runoff. If they dont suck the runoff in a few minutes then they have more than enough water.

I did! I let them sit in it the entire time until i didnt see it absorbing, the bottom of the pot felt very wet, although that doesnt tell us much lol.

 

[Eledin]

I did! I let them sit in it the entire time until i didnt see it absorbing, the bottom of the pot felt very wet, although that doesnt tell us much lol.

Hahaha dont worry about the very wet bottom, the humidity will redistribute and the excess will evaporate, thats why I love textile pots despite being a pain in the ass when the dry pockets appear and the water starts scaping from the sides. As for the nutrients, if the ph of the runoff comes okay (6,2veg-6,5flower and 7 is acceptable too in organic) then try to feed them less for a while and see what happens, if the runoff comes too acidic then its 100% nutrient imbalance in my opinion.

 

[Amonolith]

Hahaha dont worry about the very wet bottom, the humidity will redistribute and the excess will evaporate, thats why I love textile pots despite being a pain in the ass when the dry pockets appear and the water starts scaping from the sides. As for the nutrients, if the ph of the runoff comes okay (6,2veg-6,5flower and 7 is acceptable too in organic) then try to feed them less for a while and see what happens, if the runoff comes too acidic then its 100% nutrient imbalance in my opinion.

Okay im gonna go get a new Pen and calibration kit, and test my runoff for next watering. Thank you for the advice!

 

[Eledin]

Okay im gonna go get a new Pen and calibration kit, and test my runoff for next watering. Thank you for the advice!

If you have a siringe to collect the water you can just buy ph droplets, they last forever, are cheap and you dont have to buy calibration packs every month . I recommend the ph kit from general hydroponics, comes with the droplets, instructions in the back and a plastic tube to test the water. If you prefeer the pen thats okay too, I just love the droplets cause theyre cheap and last forever. Ive also heard that they are very precise from several people, unlike cheap PH pens that need recalibration too often or PH strips.
I guess that in the long run you save money with a good PH meter though, its just the initial ammount that is a bit stingy for me (50 euros here for a half decent one).

 

[Eledin]

Another thing that I forgot to mention and makes me suspicious of the compost on the bottom is that even if you water them with plain water and theyre thirsty it seems to get worse after getting better, probably because the water is charged with nutes at the bottom or again, the PH is not right.

 

[Amonolith]

Another thing that I forgot to mention and makes me suspicious of the compost on the bottom is that even if you water them with plain water and theyre thirsty it seems to get worse after getting better, probably because the water is charged with nutes at the bottom or again, the PH is not right.

Right im not sure tbh. I used a living soil compost in a grow a few years back, and it worked out great with just plain water, and some microbes occasionally, that was in 3 gallon pots and outdoors. Running into a bunch of first here, but this is also my first indoor grow ever. Im trying not to get overly stressed here (trying) haha and just learn!.

 

[Amonolith]

Another thing that I forgot to mention and makes me suspicious of the compost on the bottom is that even if you water them with plain water and theyre thirsty it seems to get worse after getting better, probably because the water is charged with nutes at the bottom or again, the PH is not right.

My last question for you now i promise . Now that ive watered the appropriate amount yesterday, how long would you wait before watering another gallon in? To test the run off, Should i wait for the pots themselves to feel lighter or try to throw it on a schedule?.

 

[Amonolith]

Another thing that I forgot to mention and makes me suspicious of the compost on the bottom is that even if you water them with plain water and theyre thirsty it seems to get worse after getting better, probably because the water is charged with nutes at the bottom or again, the PH is not right.

i ran down to my local nursery and got a General Hydroponics ph test kit, ill use this next time.