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Stunted growth and curled leaves, couple of theories

Do not use Vermiculite... Use Perlite...
Vermiculite is used to make your soil RETAIN moisture...
Perlite is used to make your soil DRAIN better...
Completely opposite functions...
 
FL Born said:
Do not use Vermiculite... Use Perlite...
Vermiculite is used to make your soil RETAIN moisture...
Perlite is used to make your soil DRAIN better...
Completely opposite functions...
Click to expand...
 
Why do some people use only vermiculite then?
 
future_man said:
 
Why do some people use only vermiculite then?
Click to expand...
I live in a place where summer days are 35-40 degrees Celsius at times , in a small pot my plants can turn to ash in one day.. In a larger pot they are limp and in a giant pot they last maybe 2-3 days .. Vermiculite is a great way to keep my smaller potted plants alive in the heat..

In winter though it's overcast cold and wet and if left exposed while frost isn't an issue here soggy soil can be a killer.. Perlite can be good to let the excess water pass through the potting mix .. I also use it in my seedling mixes for rapid root expansion .

I hate using clumpy heavy mediums like coire etc , holds water and clumps on roots causing issues .. Might be easy to hold moisture and make seeds pop but after that .. Blergh .. Give me a light seed raising mix with a 10% sprinkle of perlite to seed with .. Then a pro mix with 20% vermiculite and 20% perlite to grow in ..
 
Can too much moisture in soil stunt the growth so much though? I am starting to think maybe that tan has something to do with it
 
future_man said:
Can too much moisture in soil stunt the growth so much though? I am starting to think maybe that tan has something to do with it
Click to expand...
 
Yes. My ghost peppers lost about two weeks of growth to too much water in the soil. They got about 4 sets of true leaves and then stalled.
 
I am starting to get scared for my plants, they are still the same! Should I repot them with better soil? Or leave them to dry and repot when they get bigger? If I repot and clean the crappy soil, I will damage the roots and plants will be slowed down some more. But if I leave them alone they may get permanent damage and maybe die or stay small forever? What should I do :( :(
 
Wait until they dry out more, then repot. The goal being to get as much of the current soil out of the roots as possible without damaging them. I am sure most will pull through if you can get them into soil that drains in no more than 7-8 days. Add that perlite!
 
The problem with too much moisture is...
 
The roots don't develop because they already have access to so much water they don't need to grow out searching for it... Result is actually a smaller intake of water and low root strength and plant stability
 
The micro nutrients and microbial symbiosis that happens in the soil doesn't establish because of the soil conditions.
 
Essentially the excess water tricks the plant into starving itself.
 
On top of this there's other issues of bad fungal causing damage and rot etc.
 
I  have a lot of seedlings that have a lot of tan... Seems my mustard Habs are especially vulnerable to it for some reason... I don't know if that is blocking light getting to the chlorophyll and starving the plant somewhat but there still growing.
 
Personally I'd just start over...I know it seems crazy but the growth you have is really bad and I have some that looked like that in a week or two after sprouting. I do agree with what has been said and would switch to perlite. Also I wouldn't use peat just for ph concerns
 
2 weeks max to achieve this you say? I will give it a try even if it is a bit late. Too bad I don't have any more boliwian rainbow seeds :/
 
I was thinking some more, is it possible that the problem is related to the transparent plastic cups? Or maybe the cups are just too deep, keeping the bottom soil moist...
 
I use 16oz red plastic cups every year. The only time I had an overwatering issue was when the soil mix held too much water. Several people have reported success with clear cups, and some prefer them as you can visually inspect the water needs in each cup.
 
I've been using clear cups and no ill effects
suchen said:
I use 16oz red plastic cups every year. The only time I had an overwatering issue was when the soil mix held too much water. Several people have reported success with clear cups, and some prefer them as you can visually inspect the water needs in each cup.
Click to expand...
also to add you know when your plants are close to root bound
 
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