Is this leaf curl normal for peppers?

S

SuburbanFowl

My seedlings have leaf curl on their first true leaves. Is it normal for them to look like this?
 
I have a 4 x 55w T5 setup with the light 12 inches above the seedlings and an oscillating fan blowing on them constantly.
I removed one of the middle bulbs because I thought the heat could be making the leaves curl.
 
The medium is coco coir and perlite.
 
Starting yesterday they're being fed every 2-3 days with 0.6 EC Hydro nutes (including calmag).
 
The Jays Peach Ghost Scorpions:
 
jAMWlNt.jpg

 
The Caramel Bhutlahs
 
 
Edy6Lca.jpg

 
In some glogs on this site I'm seeing people with perfectly flat leaves.
 
 
 
Edmick said:
They look fine to me. The medium might be a little wet though.
Click to expand...
 
Thanks. Yes, coco coir tends to hold on to liquid. The solo cups have adequate drainage and hydroton in the bottom cup which means the cups don't sit in run off. The run off is also emptied after each feeding.
No algae is building on the surface which hopefully means they're not being overfed.
 
Perhaps some varieties and phenotypes of c. chinense will have slightly cupped leaves and some will be flat?
 
SuburbanFowl said:
 
Thanks. Yes, coco coir tends to hold on to liquid. The solo cups have adequate drainage and hydroton in the bottom cup which means the cups don't sit in run off. 
Click to expand...
 
Hydroton isn't going to help drainage.  I get it that coco all the way to the bottom is going to allow moisture to be wicked back up.  But putting a different type of medium in the bottom, just means that you're going to push the perched water table of the coco up higher, thus keeping it wetter, higher up, for longer.  If you have perlite in there, you're just as well off letting nutrients wick back up.  It will still drain.  The media is only going to absorb water as high as the PWT, even if it's in standing water. (so long as the standing water isn't allowed to rise higher than the PWT)
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I used to water seedlings like this all the time.
 
solid7 said:
 
Hydroton isn't going to help drainage.  I get it that coco all the way to the bottom is going to allow moisture to be wicked back up.  But putting a different type of medium in the bottom, just means that you're going to push the perched water table of the coco up higher, thus keeping it wetter, higher up, for longer.  If you have perlite in there, you're just as well off letting nutrients wick back up.  It will still drain.  The media is only going to absorb water as high as the PWT, even if it's in standing water. (so long as the standing water isn't allowed to rise higher than the PWT)
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I used to water seedlings like this all the time.
Click to expand...
 
Yes this is a good point. When they're being fed I water until 20% runoff, empty that run off and then let them sit for 5-10 minutes and the remaining runoff gets emptied. Then they go back under the lights after that there may be a small amount of run off over a few hours but the runoff level doesn't go higher than the layer of hydroton.
 
Do you think the coco would still wick the small amount of run off which is below the high point of the hydroton?
 
Idk if I explained it well so heres a picture of the current setup
 
zVcBQzd.png

 
The water level in the bottom cup does not reach higher than the hydroton except when the plants are being watered but the runoff is emptied before the top cup is added back to the bottom cup.
 
They get fed from the top to prevent build up of salts
 
If you're just using it in a second cup, to create an airspace under the first cup, then you're ace.  This is a perfectly legit setup.  I originally understood that you were putting the hydroton in the bottom of a single cup with the grow media layered above it.
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You don't need to worry too much about salt build-ups, if you're dosing at moderate quantities.  Many of the weed growing dinguses think that the more nutrient they throw at their plants, the better their "yield".   They're always on the high side (no pun intended) of the nutrient dose, so they often have problems with salt build-up.  But the rest of us will most likely never see a salt build-up issue, if we're dosing normally.  And the run-off for watering is good if it fits a system.  But once you start using coco like soil - especially outdoors - you treat it the same.  Just water as necessary.  It's typically better not to saturate, but coco built mixes are VERY tolerant of saturation watering.  Much more so, in my experience, than peat. (if there is a drainage amendment - and 25-30% perlite is a winning ratio)
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Don't be afraid to bottom water.  I actually like to use both methods.  I'll sometimes bottom feed young plants, but spritz the top of the media.  That really works well for me.  But if what you have works, roll with it, just the same...
 
solid7 said:
If you're just using it in a second cup, to create an airspace under the first cup, then you're ace.  This is a perfectly legit setup.  I originally understood that you were putting the hydroton in the bottom of a single cup with the grow media layered above it.
 
..
Click to expand...
 
Yes that's my fault, I didn't mention the double cup setup
 
 
solid7 said:
 
You don't need to worry too much about salt build-ups, if you're dosing at moderate quantities.  Many of the weed growing dinguses think that the more nutrient they throw at their plants, the better their "yield".   They're always on the high side (no pun intended) of the nutrient dose, so they often have problems with salt build-up.  But the rest of us will most likely never see a salt build-up issue, if we're dosing normally.  And the run-off for watering is good if it fits a system.  But once you start using coco like soil - especially outdoors - you treat it the same.  Just water as necessary.  It's typically better not to saturate, but coco built mixes are VERY tolerant of saturation watering.  Much more so, in my experience, than peat. (if there is a drainage amendment - and 25-30% perlite is a winning ratio)
.
Don't be afraid to bottom water.  I actually like to use both methods.  I'll sometimes bottom feed young plants, but spritz the top of the media.  That really works well for me.  But if what you have works, roll with it, just the same...
Click to expand...
 
Thanks, that's interesting. Yes I learned everything about growing in coco coir from weed forums because they're full of information. There are a small minority of people that grow using a lower EC but some people push it really far.
 
I wasn't planning on bottom watering at all but may alternate between bottom watering and top feeding especially at the start as the roots expanding. I was doing a dry/wet cycle only watering every 2-3 days to encourage root growth but bottom watering would work even better for root growth.

 
 
Be careful with with what you get from those forums.  They have in their ranks, some of the most uninformed growers that you'll ever come across.  They will peddle you advice, but never be able to actually explain sensibly what they're telling you.
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I'm glad that you used the term "lower EC", because that's exactly where you want to be.  I just don't typically assume that most gardeners understand the term.
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By the way... there are a few "purist" growers over there, who don't cycle nutrients, and don't use exotic recipes, with high EC regimens.  When you find those guys, and they show you what they're capable of raising, listen to them.  Those are you great growers. ;)
 
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