Okay thanks man good to know. First time trying out perlite and they got off to a rocky start because I went away for a couple days. Bad timing. Been trying to get them back on track since. I will give that a try and start watering with a bottle only when pots are light and see how they doYou don't need perlite. I don't use it. It surely won't hurt but it's not necessary. I see your problem already. It's how you water.
When you water in anything, you need fine holes in the head. Otherwise, it compacts, which is what you have going on.
Get one of those 2qt Juicy Juice jugs or something similar and put 5 holes in the cap with the smallest drill bit you have, so you have to squeeze for it to come out.
Compaction will also slow down aeration, as in your case... That's why people use so much perlite.
Also, you don't need to water every time. You are rocking clones with little root mass, so it's only necessary to water when they need it.
When all else fails, trust your judgement and common sense. Water when they need it, not when people on the Internet tell you to.
They look fine, little hungry maybe.
I have been going by weight as well but I have also been trying to water daily because several people had said coco should be watered daily. Should I try every other day until they are drying out quicker?I have mine up off the ground and I go by pot weight. How are you checking yours?
For real! I really wish the guy at the store told me to throw perlite in when I asked if I should add anything to it. Regretted that one pretty quick. Mistakes happen though. That’s how we learn. Just annoying. Hoping these things can bounce back and still finish strong. They have had a rough couple weeks. Thanks for the link to that article. I’m def going to save that and read up some more.We gotta know our coco. 3rd knows!
This article is awesome for any cocoholic.
https://cocoforcannabis.com/needcalmag/
Maang, I only wish I had this info 2 years ago. Still learning about coco.
Happy growing.