What is the most important nutrient to give to a seedling that's hungry?

madvillian420

Well-Known Member
i grew some weed outside in northern Wisconsin many many moons ago, the soil was a red tinted iron rich clay like soil. A thick muck that was hard to drive a shovel through and dig holes in. After months in the ground, they grew like 6 inches, and barely yielded much. a total waste of time. The roots couldn't dig down though the clay and get established. Things need to be ideal for ideal results.
 

bobj1598

Well-Known Member
Adding random nutrients to your soil isnt how you get healthy roots.

You are contemplating adding high phosphorous fertilizer to a plant in early veg that you havent watered in weeks and have the nerve to clap back at people correcting you?
That's.. not what I'm planning to do. I was considering adding that to my SEEDLING, not the plant in veg as it is right now.

The seed starting mix was supposed to feed the plant for 3 months (it said so on the bag), I didn't even get three weeks of nutrition before it began exhibiting nutritional deficiencies. I'm going to be using that same seed starting mix for my next grow and I'm trying to figure out the BEST fertilizer to add to the seedlings. They ARE going to need food sometime after the two week period. I have three bags of fertilizer: 7 3 3, 3 7 3, 4 4 8. All the same product, just different NPK formualtions.

Obviously I did something wrong & I'm trying to figure out exactly where I went wrong, so that I don't make this same mistake again. This is going to be a long grow due to errors I made, therefore, I'm looking forward to the NEXT grow and the things I might do to make the experience a little more enjoyable and/or productive.

Does that make sense?
 

madvillian420

Well-Known Member
That's.. not what I'm planning to do. I was considering adding that to my SEEDLING, not the plant in veg as it is right now.

The seed starting mix was supposed to feed the plant for 3 months (it said so on the bag), I didn't even get three weeks of nutrition before it began exhibiting nutritional deficiencies. I'm going to be using that same seed starting mix for my next grow and I'm trying to figure out the BEST fertilizer to add to the seedlings. They ARE going to need food sometime after the two week period. I have three bags of fertilizer: 7 3 3, 3 7 3, 4 4 8. All the same product, just different NPK formualtions.

Obviously I did something wrong & I'm trying to figure out exactly where I went wrong, so that I don't make this same mistake again. This is going to be a long grow due to errors I made, therefore, I'm looking forward to the NEXT grow and the things I might do to make the experience a little more enjoyable and/or productive.

Does that make sense?
2 week old plants in soil shouldnt need food nor display deficiencies of ANY kind. That soil sounds like some glorified yard dirt. I have 6-8 week old plants in some ocean forest that have had nothing but water since they had roots. I personally usually dont ever buy veg specific nutrients, ive seen plenty of folks add a high N mix and by the time its bio available and broken down by the plant, You have too much N and now youre adding P and K and running in circles trying to fix your last fix cooking their plant to a crisp lol.

If you insist on continuing using this dirt lacking nutrients i recommend buying some fertilizer thats more all purpose (ex. 5-5-5, 6-5-5) for the beginning needs and then either transplanting to a soil mix with more P and K before flowering or top dressing with one when you switch to 12/12
 

twentyeight.threefive

Well-Known Member
That's.. not what I'm planning to do. I was considering adding that to my SEEDLING, not the plant in veg as it is right now.

The seed starting mix was supposed to feed the plant for 3 months (it said so on the bag), I didn't even get three weeks of nutrition before it began exhibiting nutritional deficiencies. I'm going to be using that same seed starting mix for my next grow and I'm trying to figure out the BEST fertilizer to add to the seedlings. They ARE going to need food sometime after the two week period. I have three bags of fertilizer: 7 3 3, 3 7 3, 4 4 8. All the same product, just different NPK formualtions.

Obviously I did something wrong & I'm trying to figure out exactly where I went wrong, so that I don't make this same mistake again. This is going to be a long grow due to errors I made, therefore, I'm looking forward to the NEXT grow and the things I might do to make the experience a little more enjoyable and/or productive.

Does that make sense?
I think you should start with working on your watering practices. All this worry about nutrients when you’re having issues before you even get to that point.

Start with watering correctly and move forward from there, you’ll improve.
 

Playk328

Well-Known Member
The seedling sprouted on May 23rd, and began to exhibit an N. deficiency around the 18 day mark. I would have to dig up photos from a while ago, I can link them if you'd like, but it's gonna be a pain in the ass to find them and I don't think they're relevant right now.

They were grown in a seed starting mix (PROMIX) 4.00 round pots for well over a month. I transplanted on July 5th, waited until July 11th to fertilize and water and since then, no water. So in my opinion, the small root growth only occurred while in the round 4.00 pots. Which is somewhat absurd considering the length of time I left them in there and in comparison to the photos taken by other growers on here when they do the first transplant, you can actually SEE thick, white roots. When I transplanted, I saw nothing.

I think these roots ought to be thicker than what they are. Obviously I did and/or am doing something wrong and I'm trying to figure out where I went wrong

View attachment 5170702
If your seedling started back in May, it is no longer a seedling by now "if it is you may be in some troubles".
 

weedstoner420

Well-Known Member
The roots near the soil surface might look unhealthy because they dried up and died when the top layer of soil dried out. Same with the ones near the edge of the pot, unless it was totally rooted out to the point they were circling the pot it's unlikely you'd see many when you transplanted, but they're there.

The plant in post #19 looks fine to me, other than like others said 17 days is a while to go without watering. Even if the pot still feels heavy, it's huge for that size plant and you could def have hydrophobic spots in there...
 

weedstoner420

Well-Known Member
Also no one nutrient is more important than the rest at any stage of growth. They all need to be there, if you go chasing or emphasizing one, you're more likely to throw off the balance and lock others out.
 

Killaki

Well-Known Member
Damn this shit blew up out of left field! :lol:
My 2 cents- if you're not watering for weeks on end, and your plants aren't thirsty, your moisture retention is all fucked up.
You either need better drainage, ie perlite, or need to add something that doesn't hold so much moisture. Usually perlite will do the trick but you may need to add a fuck ton, which is ok because the soil is to dense.
Think about it; your soil is too dense so the roots can't grow well, the drainage sucks because of it, and it holds too much moisture so the plants is drowning for days after you water. If you water with less volume you cage your root system, the roots and the plant suffer. Stunted growth, ph problems, ect.
Plus all the time waiting between waterings means it will be hard to tell when to actually water without dehydrating or drowning your plants. Also all the held moisture leaves you more susceptible to pathogens.
It's seriously not a nutrient issue, unless you count the fact that if you're plants are drowning then they can't properly uptake the nutrients already in the soil let alone ones you're adding.
Seriously, you're already way behind so what do you have to lose? Get better draining soil you're plant will take off and make it worth it. You keep screwing around with nutrients and it's going to take forever and never live close to potential.
 

Hempwickwizard

Active Member
Of the three, which is most important: N, P, or K?

Asking because I'm trying to get to the bottom of why my roots look so weak.

Initially, I gave a dose of 7 3 3 fertilizer for a N deficiency, but now I'm wondering if maybe I should've given the 3 7 3 fertilizer instead (high phosphorus for root development).
My remedy for struggling seedlings and struggling vegging plants in general comes from HG Bokashi. Fresh, raw aloe vera + castings mixed into water. Just aloe vera guts mixed in feeding water alone will do it if the medium isnt conpletely depleted yet. They rarely need extra n in veg I've found, all the micros, silicic acid and enzymes in aloe have them bouncing back quick
 

Mechman60

Well-Known Member
Damn this shit blew up out of left field! :lol:
My 2 cents- if you're not watering for weeks on end, and your plants aren't thirsty, your moisture retention is all fucked up.
You either need better drainage, ie perlite, or need to add something that doesn't hold so much moisture. Usually perlite will do the trick but you may need to add a fuck ton, which is ok because the soil is to dense.
Think about it; your soil is too dense so the roots can't grow well, the drainage sucks because of it, and it holds too much moisture so the plants is drowning for days after you water. If you water with less volume you cage your root system, the roots and the plant suffer. Stunted growth, ph problems, ect.
Plus all the time waiting between waterings means it will be hard to tell when to actually water without dehydrating or drowning your plants. Also all the held moisture leaves you more susceptible to pathogens.
It's seriously not a nutrient issue, unless you count the fact that if you're plants are drowning then they can't properly uptake the nutrients already in the soil let alone ones you're adding.
Seriously, you're already way behind so what do you have to lose? Get better draining soil you're plant will take off and make it worth it. You keep screwing around with nutrients and it's going to take forever and never live close to potential.
Been there had to rinse the roots lightly, added soil, compost,and 30% or more pearlite., and 3 plants thrived for being at 7 weeks old. Grow bags will help also.
But I you have great advise in the previous members comment. I had to read it twice
 
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