Thread: Soilless mix the culprit?

For some reason, I wanted my first grow to be a soilless one. After reading for hours and hours, I thought I chose correctly. Now everything seems to be falling apart. From yellowing tips, faint yellowing, dark green color, browning of the edges, warped leaves, upturned leaves. Then again, this is my first grow and I may be completely over analyzing things. (As I do with all things in life) I had purchased four different ingredients for my mixture. Perlite, Vermiculite, Sphagnum Peat Moss, and Worm Castings. With these four ingredients, I made four different mixtures.

Mixture One – 1 Part Worm Castings, 1 Part Vermiculite, 1 Part Perlite, 1 Part Sphagnum Peat Moss.
Mixture Two – 1 Part Worm Castings, 1 Part Sphagnum Peat Moss, 2 Part Vermiculite, 2 Part Perlite
Mixture three – 1 Part Worm Castings, 1 Part Perlite, 2 Part Vermiculite
Mixture Four – 4 Part Worm Castings, 1 Part Perlite, 1 Part Vermiculite, 1 Part Sphagnum Peat Moss

I planted 6 germed seeds with an assortment of the four mixtures.

Plant 1 - Mixture 4
Plant 2 - Mixture 2 Close up
Plant 3 - Mixture 1
Plant 4 - Mixture 3

Thoughts and opinions? Advice and all other knowledge that can prove beneficial?

These have been under T5 2' 24W 6400K. The temp has been 73-84F. Usually around 80F. The humidity is always 30-50% Averaging 40%. The pH of the source water is 6.1-6.6. Tap. The age of these plants are 11-14 days.

Plant 5 - Mixture 2
Plant 6 - Mixture 2 Close up


Plant 6 was under One 68watt CFL for 18 hours. I switched it back to T5 after I noticed the curling of the leaves.

Overall setup -

Troubleshooting form.


E-Indor
E-Soilless
E-Different mixtures noted above.
CSL-Miracle Grow,Sta-Green, Garden-Ville
HCL-Soilless
SCL-Nothing added except 50% dose of 7-7-7 to plant
SCLR-Soil or slab runoff pH - Unknown
E-Water source - Tap
E-Source water pH -6.1-6.6
E-Age of plant - Plants 1-4 are 11 Days. Plants 5-6 are 13 days.
E-7-7-7
E-Rate of application - Once for plant 5 and 6 at day 12 at 50% dose.
E-Lighting source and distance from plant - T5 24Watt 3 Inches
E-Air temperature (both day and night if you are running a dark period) - 73-84
E-Air % Relative humidity - 30%-50%
E-Lighting schedule - 24/0
E-Type of ventilation your room has - Constantly open closet door with a fan that goes on an off not directly pointed at plant.

Nearly 100 views and no post so far? I know someone has to have some form of input. All input is valued!

I'd say they look fine to me . but I'm on my first indoor grow so what do I know

They look O.K. to me as well. The one has a touch of nute burn, the one with the droopy leaves might be a little overwatered and overall the mixtures may be a little too rich for this early stage. But I don't see any major issues that are going to kill your plants imminently. You are suffering from first grow nerves . Relax, you are doing O.K. Just keep an eye on them, you are using four different mixes, it is bound to complicate things.

I cannot comment on your soil mix compositions because I don't use soil.

edit : the T5 light doesn't need to be so close in the early stages 12 - 18 " is fine.

well ...whats the problem?...looks like they are doing fine...plants ALL respond differently...ur going to get dying leaves,yellowing,curling(try..B-1 and and a zinc and iron(for yellowing(chlorosis)((NOT SPOTS))...for us indoor growers,these plants are only gonna be around 5-6 months tops,chances are, you're gonna sail right thru these months without problems...HOWEVER...should u get spotted leaves...burned edges...or a sickass plant in general...FLUSH FLUSH FLUSH...and start over with just water(ph'd of course)

Great post! Thanks for good info! This is also my first Indoor Grow and i choose Dr. Earth Organic, and i use Oneness by Humboldt Nutrients.your work
Have admired your "work" with non-soil factors, however not yet ready for that. After getting my Gal's out of their small containers, the "over-watered" symptom disappeared;
now we are on track for harvest in "about" one month; Hula Buddha and Kona from SOHUM Seeds, am very pleased even if i've lost three; 2 males, one dead.
Am Feeding about three times a day, seems to work; have 400W MH tuned down to 50%, and it is more than enough without burning

Originally Posted by PhatJay

you are using four different mixes, it is bound to complicate things.

I've done this to figure out which mixture produces the best results. I figured I would experiment and find the best method available

Originally Posted by PhatJay

the T5 light doesn't need to be so close in the early stages 12 - 18 " is fine.

I moved the lights to 7" away. I have a slight height restriction, I built a shelf just for seedlings and cloning, but only gave it a clearance of around 22" I guess I will have change that in the coming days.

Originally Posted by azdesertdweller

well ...whats the problem?...looks like they are doing fine...plants ALL respond differently...ur going to get dying leaves,yellowing,curling(try..B-1 and and a zinc and iron(for yellowing(chlorosis)((NOT SPOTS))...for us indoor growers,these plants are only gonna be around 5-6 months tops,chances are, you're gonna sail right thru these months without problems...HOWEVER...should u get spotted leaves...burned edges...or a sickass plant in general...FLUSH FLUSH FLUSH...and start over with just water(ph'd of course)

I'm not certain... The one with the leaves dying was the biggest of all of them, up until 3-4 days ago, she was looking like mother material, now she is lagging, turning crisp on the edges and browning. Updated Picture -

Originally Posted by Michael Oliver

Great post! Thanks for good info! This is also my first Indoor Grow and i choose Dr. Earth Organic, and i use Oneness by Humboldt Nutrients.your work
Have admired your "work" with non-soil factors, however not yet ready for that. After getting my Gal's out of their small containers, the "over-watered" symptom disappeared;
now we are on track for harvest in "about" one month; Hula Buddha and Kona from SOHUM Seeds, am very pleased even if i've lost three; 2 males, one dead.
Am Feeding about three times a day, seems to work; have 400W MH tuned down to 50%, and it is more than enough without burning

Just jump right into soilless mixtures. That's what I did...I'm learning a lot quickly. Fast track learning!

Originally Posted by atrain15

I've done this to figure out which mixture produces the best results. I figured I would experiment and find the best method available

As mentioned above, all plants react differently, you could have 2 identical clones in identical soil/conditions and one will do better than the other. Seeds are even more varied as every one has different genetics. Working out what did and did not make a differtence in your grow is not as easy as it first appears. One of the best pieces of advice given to me was to keep things simple and only make one change each grow.

The worm castings maybe making it a little nitrogen rich for new starts. I would tone that down on the next batch till they are a good foot or so tall then you can hit them harder.

Originally Posted by PhatJay

As mentioned above, all plants react differently, you could have 2 identical clones in identical soil/conditions and one will do better than the other. Seeds are even more varied as every one has different genetics. Working out what did and did not make a differtence in your grow is not as easy as it first appears. One of the best pieces of advice given to me was to keep things simple and only make one change each grow.

Great advice! I didn't even think about that. I spent all this time of devising a method of comparing the different mixtures and forgot to consider the seeds own genetics. Fail. lol

Originally Posted by killerweed420

The worm castings maybe making it a little nitrogen rich for new starts. I would tone that down on the next batch till they are a good foot or so tall then you can hit them harder.

I'll tone done the worm castings ratio a bit in the earlier stages. It's odd, but the mixture of 4 parts worm castings is seemingly perfectly healthy with no real signs of stress. It is on the smaller side, although I contribute that to the high density of worm castings making it difficult for the roots to move easily through the medium. What are your thoughts on that?

I usually use Sunshine Mix 3 for my clones and that stuff is fairly dense. I rarely loose a clone. Then When I replant to bigger pots I switch to Sunshine Mix 4 and even that is fairly dense. It drains well but it also compacts quite a lot.

Originally Posted by killerweed420

I usually use Sunshine Mix 3 for my clones and that stuff is fairly dense. I rarely loose a clone. Then When I replant to bigger pots I switch to Sunshine Mix 4 and even that is fairly dense. It drains well but it also compacts quite a lot.

This is my first grow and have yet to experiment with any Sunshine Mixes. I take it you think highly of them?

Thye're widely used in the cannabis industry. I pay $36 a bale for Sunshine Mix 4 and its enough to grow 15 plants in 3 gallon pots. Have had good luck with it over the last 4 years or so. The Sunshine Mix 3 works very nice for clones. All I add during the clones growing is a little B12 for stress.

Originally Posted by killerweed420

Thye're widely used in the cannabis industry. I pay $36 a bale for Sunshine Mix 4 and its enough to grow 15 plants in 3 gallon pots. Have had good luck with it over the last 4 years or so. The Sunshine Mix 3 works very nice for clones. All I add during the clones growing is a little B12 for stress.

I suppose I'll try this next grow. How long does the mix feed for? Also, do you just transplant once?

There is very little nutrients in a soiless mix so you have to add nutes. I keep mine pretty simple. A little b12, a little miracid and a little extra phosphorus. Cloning, i keep them in dixie cups till they are about 10 to 12 inches high and then transplanbt into 3 gallon pots.
A system that works for once person doesn't neccessarily work for another. Different grow conditions, different strains, different nutes, all play a part in what works for the individual grower. Keep it simple to start with and then experiment as you grow more confident.