they like stop developing, and sit there for 2-3 weeks with almost no visible development, some of them got a very small true leave, that doesn't grow. After that they start to get dry from the border of the leaves and finally just dry out. Sounds like root damage from over-watering. Different mixes retain and drain water differently so requires adjustment by the grower. Seedling roots are easily damaged, drowned, compressed, suffocated, etc. and over-watering is the most common cause. There are other possible causes of course - like the mix you are using this year - very prone to compaction and high water retention. Dave

The chile in the first two pics is a "Habanero" (by bonnie plants) and the other one is a Red Beauty bell pepper. I have a Sunbell & a Mucho Nacho jalapeno & a supersweet 100 cherry tomato and they aren't showing the same symptoms. I also have 10 seedlings in coco coir in the closet, and they are all doing good so far, some are about ready for hardening off :) Interesting, I never thought it could be over-feeding, but I can try cutting back on nutes. According to the bottle (Hesi coco is a 1 part system) you should feed 3ml/L during "veg" and 5ml/L during "bloom", pH @ 5.6-6.2. I've been feeding like just a bit under that, about 2.5ml/L (i have a 5ml measuring syringe & i feed the plants 2 liters total). Willard, the reason I think it might be calcium is because I used bricked coir (the kind that isn't pre-soaked to satisfy the cation exchange ratio). According to everything I found about coco coir most info suggests either pre-soaking with calcium supplements or using calcium supplements the first few weeks because the cation exchange capacity of coir tends to hold onto the calcium in the solution and make it unavailable to the plant until the coir is filled with it. The whole cation exchange capacity thing is kinda confusing to me, apparently its a unique feature to coco coir. So yeah, you think that could be it or you still vote for too much nutes? I can try feeding half-strength solution for a week or so and see how that helps, or i can keep feeding same strength and just supplement with that cal-mag that will be here tomorrow and see how that works. Which one do you suggest? Also, I think I'm going to start pre-mixing my solution and aerating it with an aquarium airstone, you think that's a good idea? Currently I draw the water I'm going to use for the next feeding when I finish the current one and let it sit in the water bucket to give the water a chance to de-chlorinate then mix the solution immediately before use. And I plan on getting a meter soon (i'm a broke college student lol), what kind do you suggest? And any good suggested reading? Sorry bout all the questions, but I'm just jumping on the chance to get some answers from someone who knows what's really goin on :) I appreciate it Justin

Thanks everyone! I'm still waiting to hear back regarding my request today for a sample that shows his "enhancing" technique. Oldryder - could you tell me what you use to enhance stones such as ours? Is it common to apply an enhancer and then buff it off? Is it perhaps the same as wiping away the excess? Assuming that's all it is - it should be fine - and then I just need to make sure any sealer he uses isn't a gloss finish. I'm still going to insist on a sample but I wanted to make sure his wasn't some unorthodox method that wasn't an industry norm. And Mags438, the stone (when enhanced) is jet black and the streaks/veins are cream, brown and rust. You can see in this photo (the area where we've wiped it down with a wet paper towel) what it will look like after it's been enhanced. I liked this granite the first time I saw it (polished) but I LOVED it when I saw the leathered version.

Robin & Gudang's hep and advice... robin98(NZ(9b)) 23 hours ago Len, don't be too down! Of all your plants this one is the trickiest, if that's any consolation. How was he when you got home? 1 Like Bookmark Edit|DeleteLen M 21 hours ago Thanks so much for the reassuring words, Robin. I have to say that I am much better today than I was when I left out for work on my last trip. I returned home last night to find Fürguson was not as bad as I imagined he'd be. His leaves at the bottom of both stems were dry, curled up and pretty much dead. Some of his larger leaves had brown spots and he was drooping extremely badly....To the point where I'm wondering if his petioles will ever rebound & lift his large heavy leaves back up? Also, his stem seemed a little shriveled from midway down & the greener part of the stem toward the top was quite soft. Last thing I noticed was the soil was SOOOO dry almost throughout. Of course I refrained from watering him, but I do wonder if this is normal for the gritty mix or is it b/c I failed to soak the bark for an adequate amount of time? I sure hope to receive answers and advice soon. I'll sit tight until then. In the meantime here are the photos I took of him before flying out this morning... Not as brown & shriveled as I thought he would be... Dead looking shriveled bottom leaves :( Some browning on the larger leaves... The 2 new leaves that sprouted on top of the stem w j-hooked roots. Still very flacid. They're being supported by a branch I found in my backyard & I wrapped the limp new leaves with one of the only leaves that had broken off from the bottom of my Fiddle during the repotting. Again, thank you, Robin for taking the time to show interest in my Fiddle's well being. Len Like Bookmark Gudang TropEq 20 hours ago Yeah, seem good enough for plant that just got extreme root pruning. For healthy tree, i don't clean soil on the rootzone since too many root hair in there. I just fix root position and cut only the root that extremely circling, so after repot, no need to wait till it rebound to it's normal condition. On your case, the tree need to regrow root and root hair, so it will need more time to metabolism normally. During developing root, the leaves will suffer since no suply energy for them so some will fall. In extreem, it will reduce stems so only few inches of the trunk above the ground that it keep alive, with new buds as old stem replacement. On your case i ussualy give foliar feeding since root still unable to give nutrients for the leaves. Only few absorbed, but it's better than none. robin98(NZ(9b)) 20 hours ago You're very welcome. I'll try to give you some advice, but first off have to say I've never made or used gritty, hopefully someone experienced with that will chime in to help you. And I'm a bit useless with the root pruning - I had to smile when I read that part, because that's pretty much what I do : trim the long roots straight across the bottom but chicken out of doing anything major! It will be a week in the new mix by the time you get back, so I wouldn't pull it out again. He'll have been putting energy into growing new fine root hairs, and you'll just set that process right back again, making it harder to recover. It sounds it was best to change the old mix, if it was staying wet that long. That would have been trouble in winter. I'd let it recover now, get through winter, build up some energy reserves in spring then repot with more thorough root pruning in summer. I'd also suggest using 511 for the soil mix as it retains a bit more water (while still being aerated) which gives you more leeway than gritty. If it gets hot where you live in summer, and your job takes you away for a few days at a time, you might find the gritty dries out too fast. Right for now its care will be a bit different, while it's recovering. Put it in a warm bright spot, out of direct sun or drafts. Keep its roots moist while it is re-establishing (my understanding of gritty is that the top levels dry out pretty fast so you might need to water more often and/or put something on the surface to keep moisture in the upper levels, correct me people if I'm wrong...) Usually you're not supposed to fertilise until you see new growth, but that also might be different with gritty. New growth means roots have regrown and now energy can be directed to the leaves. When you see this move it to more sun and let it dry out more in between waterings. I wouldn't cut any leaves just yet. Hope some of that helps :)