I'm growing cannabis, but I'm facing a big problem with water retention in my soil. Despite putting together what I thought was a good mixture, my seedlings are getting waterlogged and are struggling to survive. For context, I've used the same soil composition for other plants, like my Monstera, which thrive on moisture without any issues. My soil mix includes about 40% peat moss, 40% perlite, coco coir, and some amendments like dolomite lime and gypsum. I'm using fabric pots, which I thought would help with drainage, but they seem to hold onto water for weeks. Can anyone help me troubleshoot what's going wrong here?
3 Answers
As a fellow grower, I'd expect that 40% perlite should usually provide sufficient drainage and aeration. A couple of questions: do your fabric pots have proper drainage holes? Is the soil mix consistent throughout, or are there layers? It might also help to check if you're watering the seedlings from the bottom and how long they sit in water. Just curious, do you have any natural garden soil included in your mix?
Are you starting out in smaller containers and then repotting as your seedlings grow? If you put tiny seedlings in a big pot, that can lead to overwatering issues. They need roots to pull up the water properly! If they’re in a sufficiently draining pot and the soil is still too wet, there might be just too much unused soil mixed in there.
I think peat might be your main issue here. It tends to retain a lot of moisture, which can be a problem for young plants that prefer drier conditions. You could look into balancing it with more perlite or switching to a different medium that's more suited for your cannabis seedlings.
I've used peat mixes before, and they can work fine as long as the other components support drainage. It might just need tweaking in your case.
Totally agree! The soil really needs roots to draw up water effectively. Otherwise, it's just sitting there and causing problems.