does leaching help sick plants?

[maryjanesdad]

hiya fellas,

im having a few problems with my grow. i have 2 moms that are sickly looking, looks like they got skinny, and they are a light green. The only way i can post pics is by an offsite link my apologies, its giving me problems when i try to upload them to my gallery. my question is will feeding the sick moms plain water help them?

http://render1.snapfish.com/render2/is=Yup6lQQ%7C%3Dup6RKKt%3Axxr%3D0-qpDofRt7Pf7mrPfrj7t%3DzrRfDUX%3AeQaQxg%3Dr%3F87KR6xqpxQQPoxQnPxPooxv8uOc5xQQQlJQnloeenPqpfVtB%3F*KUp7BHSHqqy7XH6gX0QoPQ%7CRup6aQQ%7C/of=50,332,442

http://render1.snapfish.com/render2/is=Yup6aQQ%7C%3Dup6RKKt%3Axxr%3D0-qpDofRt7Pf7mrPfrj7t%3DzrRfDUX%3AeQaQxg%3Dr%3F87KR6xqpxQQPoxQnPxPooxv8uOc5xQQQlJQnloeenJqpfVtB%3F*KUp7BHSHqqy7XH6gX0QoP0%7CRup6lQQ%7C/of=50,590,442

http://render1.snapfish.com/render2/is=Yup6aQQ%7C%3Dup6RKKt%3Axxr%3D0-qpDofRt7Pf7mrPfrj7t%3DzrRfDUX%3AeQaQxg%3Dr%3F87KR6xqpxQQPoxQnPxPooxv8uOc5xQQQlJQnloeeneqpfVtB%3F*KUp7BHSHqqy7XH6gX0QoPJ%7CRup6lQQ%7C/of=50,590,442

thanks

 

[stinkyattic]

The simple answer is YES.
The complete answer is yes, BUT... Only if the plants' ailments are related to conditions that may be fixed through leaching.
Here's a few examples:
-Soil came pre-fertilized and is interacting badly with your liquid feed
-Your liquid feed is too strong and your plants appear burnt
-Your plants are not uptaking the components of your liquid feed at rates that approximate the ratios that you have fed, so that certain components are sitting there in the soil interacting and salting it up
-Your soil pH is too high or too low and you are flushing with a pH corrected solution to offset that drift
-You have undesirable soil microbes and are flushing to add beneficials to the system, or with a pesticide labelled for use as a soil drench

Before you leach you mus identify the problem; why don't you tell us a little about your grow style including the pH values of the solution in, and the runoff out.

One thing for certain, those plants look like they have been exposed to high temperatures and/or very arid conditions. How large is the pot compared to the plant?

 

[maryjanesdad]

The simple answer is YES.
The complete answer is yes, BUT... Only if the plants' ailments are related to conditions that may be fixed through leaching.
Here's a few examples:
-Soil came pre-fertilized and is interacting badly with your liquid feed
-Your liquid feed is too strong and your plants appear burnt
-Your plants are not uptaking the components of your liquid feed at rates that approximate the ratios that you have fed, so that certain components are sitting there in the soil interacting and salting it up
-Your soil pH is too high or too low and you are flushing with a pH corrected solution to offset that drift
-You have undesirable soil microbes and are flushing to add beneficials to the system, or with a pesticide labelled for use as a soil drench

Before you leach you mus identify the problem; why don't you tell us a little about your grow style including the pH values of the solution in, and the runoff out.

One thing for certain, those plants look like they have been exposed to high temperatures and/or very arid conditions. How large is the pot compared to the plant?

I dont use soil, i use the hydro method. rockwool mini cubes (the ones you fill a pot with) or hydroton are the mediums i use. i have an ebb and flow system, i dont grow organically. I dont really worry about PH to be honest. My mentor said i didnt have to wrry about it unless your water ph is too high, and where i live the PH is normal, at least thats what i was told. mind you, i have been doing this for a few years and NEVER had to adjust my PH.


As for the environment, i have no AC as of yet, temperatures get to about 90 degrees Fahrenheit...which i know is too high. Humidity is low about 50-60%

one thing i know, the location im at now is a lot more efficient than where i used to grow, and i never had any problems there. the place im in now has access to fresh air, its enclosed, fans all around.

the plants in question are only 4 months old about. the only thing i can think of is i might have changed the brand of grow nutrient, which i did do, but wouldnt the other plants react the same way?

 

[maryjanesdad]

but in addition to two moms being sick, im having issues with my cuttings when i go to clone. Just about all my cuttings died in the EZ-cloner and the old fashion way using tray's and domes. WTF! im going to change the cloning area and buy all new trays and clean my EZ-cloner AGAIN.

 

[moonymonkey]

dont know all the facts,but 1 thing for sure,u can run a higher ph in a largr volume of media,cuz of the drainage...thats a fact...

 

[moonymonkey]

need moe info.,lik stinkyattic said....also i wud pos this in hydro section,iv seen it done before...im dirt farmer....moon..me jughead inc/

 

[stinkyattic]

Rockwool can accumulate unwanted fertilizer residue with the best of 'em. Flushing isn't just for soil.
Also, don't assume your water source is going to remain identical over time. It's worth checking the runoff pH and EC at the point where it cascades back into the res if you have ANY questions about plant health and feel that you're doing nothing wrong.

 

[maryjanesdad]

Rockwool can accumulate unwanted fertilizer residue with the best of 'em. Flushing isn't just for soil.
Also, don't assume your water source is going to remain identical over time. It's worth checking the runoff pH and EC at the point where it cascades back into the res if you have ANY questions about plant health and feel that you're doing nothing wrong.

Im a little confused on what you mean by "runoff PH EC" ?

I went to my local shop and got a PH tester... it came up as 7.0. Doesnt seem too high over the recommended levels.

the plants in question have been separated from the rest.

i recently experimented with a new grow nutrient on some newly transplanted ladies. it possible the 2 plants were in that tray with this different nute????? its only 2 plants that are sick, if it was a different problem, wouldn't more plants be sick?

 

[stinkyattic]

The runoff is the water flowing OUT of your table and cascading back into the res as I said. The runoff pH and EC are of that water.

7.0 IS too high. You are in hydroponics. Your pH should be around 6.0.

 

[bassmechanic27]

PH doesn't matter? PH is an exponential scale, meaning a PH of 6.0 is 10x more acidic than a PH of 7.0. A PH of 5.0 is 100x more acidic than a PH of 7.0, ect. The plants consume different nutes at different PH's. The reason they are sickly is that they can't consume the nutes that you are giving them. Get a PPM/EC meter. If the PPM's are rising in your rez, the plant is consuming more water than nutes, and you need to adjust for that. Personally, I would trust the pros on here before I trusted this "mentor" that doesn't worry about PH in hydro. Wow!

 

[maryjanesdad]

PH doesn't matter? PH is an exponential scale, meaning a PH of 6.0 is 10x more acidic than a PH of 7.0. A PH of 5.0 is 100x more acidic than a PH of 7.0, ect. The plants consume different nutes at different PH's. The reason they are sickly is that they can't consume the nutes that you are giving them. Get a PPM/EC meter. If the PPM's are rising in your rez, the plant is consuming more water than nutes, and you need to adjust for that. Personally, I would trust the pros on here before I trusted this "mentor" that doesn't worry about PH in hydro. Wow!

I do have a ppm monitors, constant ones. ppm is ALWAYS leveled. Hes not really my mentor, lol just a former acquaintance who allowed me some hands on experience. seriously though, i have never adjusted or used any type of ph tester...and NEVER had a single problem in my former grow. im not saying i was at 100%, and maybe if i monitored my PH levels i would have been that much more efficient.

 

[maryjanesdad]

The runoff is the water flowing OUT of your table and cascading back into the res as I said. The runoff pH and EC are of that water.

7.0 IS too high. You are in hydroponics. Your pH should be around 6.0.

Is that the best way to measure the ph levels? at the runoff area?

so now if i need to lower my PH level, do i just add ph down to the feed?

 

[stinkyattic]

In hydro, you should test both the RESERVOIR pH and the RUNOFF pH when you are troubleshooting a problem. Sometimes you will see that they are different, and that may be an indication of a problem. Otherwise, just check the res pH.

Adjust your res pH to 6.0 by adding pH down or Nitric or Phosphoric acid dropwise to the res and agitating until the desired level is reached. Do this slowly, as some pH meters are a bit slow to detect changes.

 

[maryjanesdad]

In hydro, you should test both the RESERVOIR pH and the RUNOFF pH when you are troubleshooting a problem. Sometimes you will see that they are different, and that may be an indication of a problem. Otherwise, just check the res pH.

Adjust your res pH to 6.0 by adding pH down or Nitric or Phosphoric acid dropwise to the res and agitating until the desired level is reached. Do this slowly, as some pH meters are a bit slow to detect changes.

thanks for your help