New Grower The KB's First Grow - Sweet Seeds Autos

[TheKB]

one the first leaves of +Speed is drying out pretty quickly. also the stem is drying and thinning.. can it be due to heat? current temps outside are 37C. so its may be around 30C indoors i guess. should i turn on the AC? how much heat can they bear? i am not covered or enclosed them in any box or something.. there is ample fresh air circulation.

 

[XxxAuto]

Look at my old picture the thin steam was overwatering... They like high temp

 

[TheKB]

so my plants are dying due to over watering!! hmmmm

 

[Fuggzy]

It is a term known as dampening off. Substrate is too saturated, the plant becomes weak the bottom of the stem will thin, and eventually it won't be able to support its own weight. Here is a general google search on it.
https://www.google.com/search?clien...in+seedlings&sourceid=opera&ie=UTF-8&oe=UTF-8

Between the perlite and a vermiculite, what percentage of your total soil would you say you have in there? Typically with Autos you want to shoot for 30% aeration by volume. I understand you got the cocoa, and it does hold a great amount of oxygen, but it's not for drainage necessarily.

Maybe if we ask @Bromeo nicely he could share some knowledge. I'm still new to coco.

A great alternative to perlite/vermiculite is rice hulls. They are a byproduct from the rice industry, totally organic, and in my opinion better than perlite. There pretty cheap too if you can find the right place. On amazon they are $7/lbs, and that is pretty high. I found them at a local home brewing store for 0.93/lbs. If I remember they are used to brew blond beers. There is no quality grade on them, unlike barley which has varieties. This is a picture from my recent soil recycling, and I added 5 gallons of hulls. (I also added in coco in at this time, and want to phase the peat out over time)

Here you can see I do have perlite in my mix, and it does work, but the hulls would be a better choice, and what I will use from now on.

If you would like to take a look at my soil it is the bottom link in my signature. The 25 gallons of used living soil is at 30% perlite. My current mix is a bit low, but still around 25-27% aeration.

If you have more perlite/vermiculite and the seed is not germed yet, you may want to add more per/vic to the mix. If the seed has germed though, I would not disturb it. Are they in the small pots again, or their final pots? Take with you soon bud.

​

 

[Bromeo]

I don't cut my coco guys. I cover the bottom of the pot with clay pebbles and fill the rest of the way with barely moist coco. I plant the bean and water it in lightly and forget about it till the seed pops. From there I again barely water. Just watering the seedling but not the whole pot. I continue this till the seedling becomes a plant. Once it's a plant you almost can't overwater.

 

[Fuggzy]

I don't cut my coco guys. I cover the bottom of the pot with clay pebbles and fill the rest of the way with barely moist coco. I plant the bean and water it in lightly and forget about it till the seed pops. From there I again barely water. Just watering the seedling but not the whole pot. I continue this till the seedling becomes a plant. Once it's a plant you almost can't overwater.

Thanks bud.

 

[TheKB]

Hi guyz,

thanks @Fuggzy and @Bromeo .. so kind of kind of you for your input.

1. Damping Off: that's definitely it.. lesson learned: "There is no cure for over-watering!". both the remaining plants have also perished!!

2. Soil: most common type of soil used here is "Alluvial Soil". its dug up from dried river beds and banks. it comes free if you buy a pot.. lol. but i am refraining from using it because its not sterilized. it comes direct from river to garden shops. also i think it becomes very hard if not watered regularly or amended with anything
second most common stuff i can get is Leaf Compost and Cow Manure for mixing the soil.
for aeration, i wanted to check out for perlite alone. also i can get "rice hulls" pretty easily here. do they work with this river soil? can my current soil mix benefit from rice hulls?
i don't want to get away from soil as i am very afraid of pH issues. .. secondly i wonder if you add coco to soil, then what pH will you be following!

3. New Seeds: In the meantime... i have 2 new babies today.. :smoking: using same pots. the initial soil is further amended with coco, perlite and vermiculite mix.

1. Auto Devil Cream by Sweet Seeds
2. Auto Blueberry by Spanish Seeds
&
3. +Speed Auto by Sweet seeds is in pot and hopefully will break the soil by tomorrow night.
​

Also i have one +Speed Auto's corpse with me. i am using it as a scare crow to keep me from watering my new plants.. loll!! and guess what.. its working !! loll

now the pics:
*i dont have any recollection about what plant is what because i was desperate and devastated when i soaked these 2 seeds!

Plant-1: looks like Devil Cream

Plant-2:

and the Scare Crow!

 

[BudsLover]

Hey dude!
As this is your first grow you worry about too much of them i think. At the first grow the biggest fault usually the overwatering. Just keep in mind if u once let them dry out just water them and they will be fine after a couple of hours but if u overwatering its can be days to be allright.
As the othet guys said the natural soil without perlitte or coco or something which can let the water through, and let the air in.
You can mix your soil with pure coco and some perlitte as well.
So if you do, you dont need to feed them at the start but you should to start feed them earlier after 10days or 2weeks. You can start with a light feeding.
At the start just give them water and let them dry out and just water it when the pot is light, that helps the roots developing. And once the girl is already a plant its not easy to owerwater as in soil. I think the soil is for experienced water. My opinion is the coco is better to start to understand what the gals need.
Thats just my experience as im new grower as well
Hope you find something which helps in my post
Best of luck dude

 

[BudsLover]

Hi guyz,

thanks @Fuggzy and @Bromeo .. so kind of kind of you for your input.

1. Damping Off: that's definitely it.. lesson learned: "There is no cure for over-watering!". both the remaining plants have also perished!!

2. Soil: most common type of soil used here is "Alluvial Soil". its dug up from dried river beds and banks. it comes free if you buy a pot.. lol. but i am refraining from using it because its not sterilized. it comes direct from river to garden shops. also i think it becomes very hard if not watered regularly or amended with anything
second most common stuff i can get is Leaf Compost and Cow Manure for mixing the soil.
for aeration, i wanted to check out for perlite alone. also i can get "rice hulls" pretty easily here. do they work with this river soil? can my current soil mix benefit from rice hulls?
i don't want to get away from soil as i am very afraid of pH issues. .. secondly i wonder if you add coco to soil, then what pH will you be following!

3. New Seeds: In the meantime... i have 2 new babies today.. :smoking: using same pots. the initial soil is further amended with coco, perlite and vermiculite mix.

1. Auto Devil Cream by Sweet Seeds
2. Auto Blueberry by Spanish Seeds
&
3. +Speed Auto by Sweet seeds is in pot and hopefully will break the soil by tomorrow night.
​

Also i have one +Speed Auto's corpse with me. i am using it as a scare crow to keep me from watering my new plants.. loll!! and guess what.. its working !! loll

now the pics:
*i dont have any recollection about what plant is what because i was desperate and devastated when i soaked these 2 seeds!

Plant-1: looks like Devil Cream
View attachment 565264 View attachment 565265

Plant-2:
View attachment 565266 View attachment 565267
and the Scare Crow!
View attachment 565268

You can add perlitte an coco for this soil as well. I think for which ph you should go is up to how many percent of coco you have in the mix if you add just 20% of coco and 10% of perlitte i think you can handle it like soil

 

[Fuggzy]

Hey bud, I'm at work now and will explain when I get home, but rice hulls are a better option than perlite. It also is cheaper if you can find the right place.