Are my plants too low into their pots?

I got 3 clones growing on my balcony and they are about 4 weeks old buried in fox farm soil with 4 gallon pots. My question is did I put them too low into the pot I still got about 5 inch from the soil to the top of the pot. The top of the rockwool is only under the soil about 1/2 inch. Here's some pics for a more clearer visual.

You will be ok, you could put a bit more in though if you have it

I leave a good bit of room in mine so I can water them without making a mess, or top dressing, or mulch.

Edit, I just took a better look.

I would definitely add some

Here is mine after adding a few inches mulch.

Also yeah, next time you can put them higher but don't dig them up just to do it.

Add what you can now and when they grow a bit just trim off the leaf that is inside the pot and finish adding soil

charface said:

You will be ok, you could put a bit more in though if you have it

I leave a good bit of room in mine so I can water them without making a mess, or top dressing, or mulch.

Edit, I just took a better look.

I would definitely add some

Click to expand...

Hey thanks for the speedy reply. I will add some tomorrow and I will top dress with kelp meal, fish bone meal, gypsum, worm castings then cover it with mulch.

charface said:

You will be ok, you could put a bit more in though if you have it

I leave a good bit of room in mine so I can water them without making a mess, or top dressing, or mulch.

Edit, I just took a better look.

I would definitely add some

Here is mine after adding a few inches mulch.
View attachment 4174860

Click to expand...

Nice!! Thick stems

Smokey_mc_pot said:

Hey thanks for the speedy reply. I will add some tomorrow and I will top dress with kelp meal, fish bone meal, gypsum, worm castings then cover it with mulch.

Click to expand...

Hey what kind of mulch do you use?

Alfalfa, straw, rice hulls..

be careful about adding amendments to your soil. sit down and figure out what it all adds up to before you add it in. it's about impossible to flush organic soil, so you want to be careful not to make it too hot to begin with.

Roger A. Shrubber said:

be careful about adding amendments to your soil. sit down and figure out what it all adds up to before you add it in. it's about impossible to flush organic soil, so you want to be careful not to make it too hot to begin with.

Click to expand...

good point, I just kind of assumed he had done the math but I did wonder.

Hey guys thanks for all the concerns and yes I have done my homework and decided the recipe that i am going to move forward with

For every 5 Gallons the plant is in I will top dress with



1. 3 Tablespoons Kelp Meal
2. 2 Tablespoons Fish Bone Meal
3. 4 Tablespoons Gypsum
4. Cover with up to 2" layer of worm castings across the whole container.
5. Put the mulch back, or cover with fresh mulch etc.


I am growing with Fox Farm ocean forest soil it's four weeks already and running out of nutrients so I'm going to top dress with this recipe and hope all goes well if you have any input let me know please thank you.

P.S: Website I got the recipe from
https://buildasoil.com/blogs/news/12456789-what-should-i-top-dress-my-organic-grow-with?comment=184919327

Dmannn said:

Alfalfa, straw, rice hulls..

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All of those mixed together or will one do fine?

straw is good, alfalfa straw is good, alfalfa meal isn't, and i don't like rice hulls, either, they both rot and mold when they get wet

Roger A. Shrubber said:

straw is good, alfalfa straw is good, alfalfa meal isn't, and i don't like rice hulls, either, they both rot and mold when they get wet

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Thanks man very helpful ! On my way to grab some straw and then I'm going to top dress the girls when I get back wish me luck!

I stayed out of the mulch recommending because I use bark.
Some would argue against it and I get it but.
I use it.

Ants and earwigs love it.
But I think so does fungi.

Either way I need to do some reasearc
And try a few things before I would be comfortable recommending anything.

Looks like straw is a generally accepted way to go.

it's clean, doesn't rot for a damn long time, doesn't have any seeds, doesn't change ph....it aint broke, why fix it?

Just bought this big bag of straw on Craigslist for $5.

by the way, hay and straw isn't the same thing, straw is just that, the stalks of grain, hay has lots of seed which could sprout out and you'll wake up to wheat or oat sprouts all over

Roger A. Shrubber said:

straw is good, alfalfa straw is good, alfalfa meal isn't, and i don't like rice hulls, either, they both rot and mold when they get wet

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havent really known anyone that doesnt like the meal, have you used the alfalfa meal before to make a tea to extract the benefits of it that way, or is there enough in the straw that comes out over time ?

mr. childs said:

havent really known anyone that doesnt like the meal, have you used the alfalfa meal before to make a tea to extract the benefits of it that way, or is there enough in the straw that comes out over time ?

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i only don't like it for mulch. i use it in my medium, just not on the top where it molds and rots