Hey guys, first time grower here. I have two seedlings, both on day 9. They are Extremely droopy. I am not sure exactly what I did wrong, so I'll give all relevant info. Seedlings are in a mix of 60% coco, 30% perlite, and 10% worm castings. They are both in 5 gallon fabric pots. I have been feeding them with only cal-mag up to this point, as I was told that you shouldn't feed before the cotyledons drop off, or at least go yellow. I don't know how much I've been watering, but its not a significant amount. I spritz the top of the coco to moisten it, and then water around the base of the plant until water is on top of the coco, and soaks down. My temp has been between 72-82 degrees the whole time they've been growing. Any help would be greatly appreciated. I'm getting worried at this point because the one thing I constantly hear about autos is that they don't yield well if stressed. Both pics included are of the same plant, however my other plant is in a similar yet worse condition.
Droopy leaves on two seedlings?
- Thread starter narmohare
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Hey there. Welcome to the forum. I grow in coco. Coco looks a little too dry to me. Sometime around the 7th day I will begin feeding nutes at around 25% strength. And slowly ramp that up to about 50% strength or more by day 14.
As far as the moisture obviously you don’t want to drown it. But keep it moist.
I’ve never heard of the no feeding till the cotyledons wilt personally.
As far as the moisture obviously you don’t want to drown it. But keep it moist.
I’ve never heard of the no feeding till the cotyledons wilt personally.
They look fine, leaves usually droop on my newbies. Not sure if its strain related or just a thing with auto flowers...(Im new to them).
If you're in coco, you should be watering every day to runoff. I usually am watering 1/3 to 1/2 gallon/ 5 gallon pot at this point just to keep the coco saturated since you planted them in their forever home. At this phase, if you're using RO water, then add enough calmag to get to .4-.5EC and then base nutes to make a total of .7EC-ish. Otherwise if using tap then measure initial EC of the water then add base nutes.
From here on out, I slowly ramp up the mix on a 1/2 week to weekly basis watching the plants to see what's going on or what they need then I adjust.
PS do not wait for the initial leaves to fall off
If you're in coco, you should be watering every day to runoff. I usually am watering 1/3 to 1/2 gallon/ 5 gallon pot at this point just to keep the coco saturated since you planted them in their forever home. At this phase, if you're using RO water, then add enough calmag to get to .4-.5EC and then base nutes to make a total of .7EC-ish. Otherwise if using tap then measure initial EC of the water then add base nutes.
From here on out, I slowly ramp up the mix on a 1/2 week to weekly basis watching the plants to see what's going on or what they need then I adjust.
PS do not wait for the initial leaves to fall off
I'll also add that initial calmag for me is 3.5ml/gallon to get to .5EC (roughly). When I say slowly ramp up nutes I mostly mean your base nutes. From about day 20 on I use 4.5ml/gallon of calmag and the rest I ramp up the base nutes. For example, I have 4 autos in week 4 of flower and I consider my nutes maxed at a total of 1.3-1.4 EC including calmag or whatever your tap is if using that.
You're base nutes and calmag might be toned down a small bit because you have worm castings in your mix but they are slow release so just take it slow and watch the plant... it will tell you what your missing, if any.
You're base nutes and calmag might be toned down a small bit because you have worm castings in your mix but they are slow release so just take it slow and watch the plant... it will tell you what your missing, if any.
I'm still confused about the cotyledon thing. I pluck them off as soon as I possibly can, which is usually right around when the first set of true leaves appears. Then I start plucking the single blade, and baby leaves off once I get more true leaf sets.
I didn't go into too much detail in my reply last night because I didn't want to overwhelm you. I have an indoor grow thread in the indoor section of the forum that may help with some of your questions.
As far as the watering and dropping thing. Seedlings will generally droop a bit more. That could be due to a number of things from just being tired from light, under/over watering, lower humidity, or it needs food.
I will generally begin feeding my auto seedlings in coco around the fifth to seventh day with light nutes. As mentioned, around 25% to start. I do not saturate the pot fully. I begin watering around the plant, and slowly work my way out to the edge of the pot over the first 2 weeks. You may or may not see runoff. The amount of water used for the first 2 weeks can range. Anywhere from a quart to a half gallon. I will usually let the plant consume most of what is in the pot before I water again. I don't let the medium get dry so much. Over time as the roots and plants develop, you will notice that it does take more and more water before you hit runoff. At that point, usually around the 2-3 week mark, I will begin feeding about a gallon of water before it hits runoff. Depending on the plant, a gallon of water may keep the coco moist and the plant fed for 2-3 days. Once they are in preflower/flower, they will generally eat 1-2 gallons of nutes every day before runoff.
I didn't go into too much detail in my reply last night because I didn't want to overwhelm you. I have an indoor grow thread in the indoor section of the forum that may help with some of your questions.
As far as the watering and dropping thing. Seedlings will generally droop a bit more. That could be due to a number of things from just being tired from light, under/over watering, lower humidity, or it needs food.
I will generally begin feeding my auto seedlings in coco around the fifth to seventh day with light nutes. As mentioned, around 25% to start. I do not saturate the pot fully. I begin watering around the plant, and slowly work my way out to the edge of the pot over the first 2 weeks. You may or may not see runoff. The amount of water used for the first 2 weeks can range. Anywhere from a quart to a half gallon. I will usually let the plant consume most of what is in the pot before I water again. I don't let the medium get dry so much. Over time as the roots and plants develop, you will notice that it does take more and more water before you hit runoff. At that point, usually around the 2-3 week mark, I will begin feeding about a gallon of water before it hits runoff. Depending on the plant, a gallon of water may keep the coco moist and the plant fed for 2-3 days. Once they are in preflower/flower, they will generally eat 1-2 gallons of nutes every day before runoff.
So my uncle told me about the cotyledon thing. He only grows photos so maybe that's why? Or more likely it could just be a myth that's now been passed to me
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Based on the drooping and the medium, it just looks under watered bud. Give it a good bit more water and don’t ever let the coco dry out on the top. It should look better within a week. Don’t pluck their initial leaves either, I’ve seen people doing that and it doesn’t make sense. They contain nutrients that’s the seedlings tend to use to live/feed off until they’re bit bigger
