Divine

Hi everyone. Great site, been very useful to me as I have my first attempt at all this.

I'm growing indoors in soil. I'm not using sand/gravel in bottom of pot, and no water retaining crystal things (but I now know better for next time). I have been tending to water almost daily but it sounds like you pros do much less often. Surface of soil seems to dry out quite quickly (every 1 & 1/2 to 2 days). Am I being over-enthusiastic and what are symptoms of over/under watering?

Guide also refers to "leaching" to remove salts from soil. What is this? How do I do it?

Can anyone recommend somewhere where I can see pictures to diagnose problems (eg. If your plant looks like this pic then it's probably suffering from xyz)?

Many thanks,

Divine

Virgo34

Welcome to Hc.com

You don't say how old your plants are,however you will learn over time to read them.When a plant is in need of water it becomes soft and more an more saggy,wilted.
Obviously you want to water b4 this stage,as your plans grow older and fill there pots more,you'de do well to wait till the bottom soil in pots thru holes is dry.If you are watering daily...too much.The roots love a bit of oxygen,aan they prefer to be underwatered,than over.

It's a lil bit of a guessing game when they are young,but like i said...if you watch them-love them...they will tell you.

Leaching is flushing salts and buildups in soil out.It consists of pouring a few gallons water thru her...
Folks do this when they use chemical ferts mainly,a flushing every month is not uncommon.

Cheers...V34

Divine

Thanks Virgo, I've just been pleasantly surprised by the potency of some males I removed so I'm getting excited about what the females might be like. I started trying to grow for very practical reasons but have been surprised how much fun watching my babies develop is. :-)

They were moved from a window sill to a small flourescent lit chamber about 6 weeks ago. At that stage they were about a foot tall (soil to tip). They're now about 3 & 1/2 foot (although I've just tied some bends in a few days ago to reduce their actual height). They have been on 12/12 for the whole 6 weeks (again, I now know better for next time and will use longer days for veg growth). I'm learning as I go with these first few (eg. I only added a fan for air circulation today). I have sexed and removed males and am currently watching more and more white hairs develop (although I don't really have buds as such yet).

I've been using standard potting compost (doesn't give an NPK on bag) and have gradually increased pot size, although I possibly let them get a bit root-bound before re-potting and as such probably slowed growth. I used MiracleGro in water at 3 and 5 weeks under lights. Flowers started appearing 1 or 2 days after first MiracleGro watering so I suspect it triggered it by providing missing nutrient(s).

I didn't water yesterday and now the surface of the soil looks very dry, I'll check the holes at the bottom in a minute.

That's pretty much all the info there is on what I've done. Any recomendations as to what I could have done better? Or what I've done wrong?

eg.
Anything nutritious I should be adding to water/soil?
MiracleGro sooner/more often?
Gravel/sand in compost to increase aeration?

So to leach do I just hold/prop up pot over a bucket and water heavily till a few gallons have drained through?

And most importantly can you give me an idea which of these improvements is most important, urgent, or better saved for next time?

eg. I'm guessing from what I've read that aeration of soil and my over-watering have probably been my biggest mistakes so far but I assume trying to do anything about aeration now they're in flower is probably a bad idea.

I'm also a little worried about salt levels since I read about leaching, given the nutrient levels described above should I be considering this for my flowering girls?

Ooops, that's all turned into a bit of an essay hasn't it. Sorry, got carried away. Many thanks in advance for your help with some/any of these questions,

Divine

Virgo34

O.K. I will start by saying that i really like your attitude toward growing/cultivating.
This is what i recommend you do right now...Stop using Miracle Gro fert,and do a search using icon in top right hand corner and you will be amazed how much damage ppl have done to there plants using that rubbish.Myself included

Before you water,if i gotchtya in time,you want to let the soil dry Right out,then flush her with few gallons of pure water.The first 1/2 gall. or so,give it a bit of time to get thru so the water drains more evenly,like with watering.

And-yes,don't forget to have a bucket or tray underneath

You need some granular phosphorous on yer soil,as P is an immobile nutrient and must be placed directly on roots
Your soil needs to be high in P during flowering,triple Phos. is even better i have heard.But remember,Phosphorous can cause a drop in Ph. so be sure to keep an eye.

Standard potting mix can see you right thru,but is not recommended.Adding some vermiculite or perlite(better)will give good aeration,but a bit late this time.You can aerate your soil by adding some Hydrogen Peroxide..food grade,it's like 3%.About a teaspoon per gallon???Not sure.

If you do get a salts biuld up occurring you will notice brown tips on the ends of leaves,I'd really think about going organic next grow,and if you do it correctly,you wont have to worry too much about ferting all the time,and less likely to harm your gals,and enviroment

I think that is it.....good luck with it all,hope i could assist ya!Plus...i personally am not keen on the water crystals...i like to have the control so i know Exactly whats going on
V34

Divine

Hi(gh?) again,

I'm not quite sure how my attitude is different to anyone elses around here (everyone seems pretty friendly and helpful) but thanks anyway. :-)

As an Aussie (that's what your profile says anyway, with the net you never know for sure) you might get enough old UK TV to get this reference; I refer to my little setup as project Goode Life as it's all about self-sufficiency. ;-)

Tried searching on Miracle Gro but didn't find much, I'll take your word for it though (it's a shame as I got a big tub of the stuff at a discount price).

I have watered again now as all plants looked very dry at lunchtime. Some smaller 6" plants had "fallen" over just above where the stem meets the soil and leaves were looking a bit droopy. Not had this before and the only things different the last couple of days are the newly added fan (bounced off a wall as direct seemed too strong) and the reduced watering. Leaf tips have never turned brown (except where plants have grown into the lights, oops) so salt levels are probably OK.

Just going out shopping to try and find some of the things you suggest. Thanks again,

Divine

Virgo34

It is not the babes i was concerned about...I did the search on 'miracle gro ferts' and got 151 replies...more than enough,juz takes a bitta time

As far as the babes,it was the 31/2 foot ones i was reffering to...it is a 'biuld-up' of salts left over from the MG,and is likely to presemt during flowering,for obvious reasons.

Good luck
V34