Every time I think I have the garden fixed - I loose more plants Someething is wrong

[RockyMountainHi]

Last summer I had a sick garden - a mite outbreak. a thrip outbreak, and several assorted problems, heat, defective pH tester, then another defective pH tester - I'm so scared to do anything because everything seems wrong

Ok, my pH test pen was crap - got the new one out - it set and worked as it should - that was about 3 months ago. - It's been acting funny - today I clean and attempt to calibrate - it's FUBAR.

Off to the local pH test pen store and I get a new Oakton digi w/temp - comeback, what was testing at 6.3 now tests at 5.95 - 6.00 So hopefully this should resolve any further issues with that.

Another change I am undoing is, a while back I started using pump up sprayers instead of 1 gallon jugs with a hole drilled in the cap for all watering issues - maybe the sprayers are not penetraiting as well.

I am using Fox Farms Ocean Forest soil with about 40% pearlite and a couple teaspoons per gallon of dolomite lime - (I ran low this batch - but have gotten better results before with no lime added)
I use Grow BIg. Big Bloom and Tiger Bloom, - all my bottles are about a year old and I will replace all with new stock this week - till then I am just using pH water that has been aireated for about a week and stabilized - at what I now believe to be a sloghtly too low 6.0 ish.. I added straight tap and brought the water up to 6.35 and will

I won't know if the new tester is the only solution for a couple days and I really want to stop the torture

My temps never exceed 75-ish

ventilation is good.

Tap water here tests at about 7.3 pH and about 120 tds - little minerally but never has been an issue in 10 years

This was a productive healthy grow with darned few issues - I wondered if the clones were getting tired and starting to loose vigor so I've been trying seeds - thought the FF was too hot so I got some Light Warrior and use that 50-50 with the FF/Pearlite mix - it's better but something isn't right.

Do you think it could be totally the pH tester? and the sprayer watering?

Is there anything else I could be missing?


I'm going to go get a couple pictures - back soon.

 

[RockyMountainHi]

Here's one plant - ready to reansplant but still happy:









here's a different - less than happy

 

[RockyMountainHi]

And some happy seed starts



The there is this one.










It was droopy dry thismorning and was wateres with the lower ph water - it perked up, I'm thinking about watering again/flush with the 6.3

 

[vegasguy911]

dude are you using any neem or pyrethiuns spray or anything like that because thats what mine looked like when i used it and the got burned to shit almost totally reveged

 

[Hydro-Soil]

defective pH tester, then another defective pH tester

Ok, my pH test pen was crap - got the new one out - it set and worked as it should - that was about 3 months ago. - It's been acting funny - today I clean and attempt to calibrate - it's FUBAR.

Get the pH drops test kit. Accurate enough for everything Cannabis related and never gets uncalibrated. About 7$ and will last you a year or so, at least.

Another change I am undoing is, a while back I started using pump up sprayers instead of 1 gallon jugs with a hole drilled in the cap for all watering issues - maybe the sprayers are not penetraiting as well.

Are you getting the same amount of runoff? With a pump-up sprayer it's going to take longer to water.

I'm going to go get a couple pictures - back soon.

Pics will definitely help

 

[RockyMountainHi]

Vegasguy- no neem or pyrethiuns spray at all.

Spinosad for the thrips and No Pest Strips for the mites - neither seems detrimental to the garden and both are very effective on the pest they are used against. And both of those were Oct/November

Hydro-Soil. Picts were up when you posted- can you see them?

I tried pH test strips when I was a newb, and feel they aren't too accurate when you start mixing fish juice/ sea weed juice and bat crap tea. The dark color makes it impossible to tell weither it's 5.5 or 6.0 - but the plants sure as hell know. I'll stick with the hi-tech testers and replace about every 2 years or so I guess. Once things are running right - I seldom test anything, but when plants look like these - and I am testing everything - I gotta wonder what the hell is going on.

Runoff is checking about the same as what goes in - or was, with the old tester. Now if the tester was accurate - It tested accurate - it calibrated correctly,,, but if the garden turns lush in the next few days,, It was junk - if the problems persist - I am the proud owner of an extra pH pen.


I really hope things start running right again.