Help For a noob. Form questions answered

[Mr_J]

No photos yet. (PHOTO ALBUM CREATED _ see Post #2)

But here's the rub and general information form:

Two plants (of 4) and both showing same symptoms. Older plant (A), rapidly worsened last several days, and lost first true leaf set. Totally crisp brown and upcurled leaves. - (image coming) Plant B seems to be following in A's footsteps...

Strain of Mj? A11 x C99 (JW)
Hydroponic or soil? Soil
From seed or clone? Seed
Age of plant in question? (A) 22 days (B) 16 days
What stage (Veg/Flower; how many days into)? Vege and "see above"
Medium (Soil, Rockwool, Hydroton etc.)? General purpose Ace Hardware Soil - no ferts in mix...
Container/Pot size? (A)(B) Unusually Deep 4x4s (about 5-6 inches deep..)
Have they been transplanted, if so how long ago? No
If soil, composition ratios (peat moss, perilite, vermiculite etc.)? 70% General purpose potting (w/out included ferts) 25% perlite. 5% worm casts
Water runoff Ph? 6.8 -7 over several checks
Nutrients added? 1/8 strength mix MG approx day 14-15 after seeing the first signs of brown spot on bottom true leaf (Plant A). Total loss of bottom leaves (not coty) in last 7 days...
Ratios of nutrients (N% P% K%)? 20-20-20
Feeding schedule? Only one feeding with 1/8 strength nute approx 14-15 days. Seemed to worsen afterwards. Downhill all this week.
When were they last fed/watered? 6-7 days (A) (B)
How are you determining when to feed/water (weight, wilting, etc.)? Watered when probe showed dry on surface and top 2 inches were "finger dry" Probe still showed bottom slightly damp to very moist. Much drier today, but bottom still is holding considerable moisture per moisture meter.
TDS/EC/PPM? (Have inexpensive Probe only) readings between 6.8 - 7.2
Tap/RO/Distilled water? Filtered tap and sits for 24-48 hours before using
Ph before and after adding nutrients? No noticable change with "primitive" PH probe
Is your Ph equipment properly calibrated? probably not very accurate (ok I know I need to upgrade equip - but $$$ does not allow at this time)
Light intensity/Age of bulb/Wattage? Florescent 40 w tubes (2)
Distance to the canopy? very close <1" to 1.5"- Very close but monitored and never seemed hot on my hand.
Temps at canopy? Unknown but grow area shouldn't be above 80F at any time.
Temps at root zone or reservoir? Unknown but location on subfloor concrete flooring probably low.
Day/Night temps (Min.-Max.)? unknown - working on getting a min-max thermometer estimate 45-80 range at worst
Current air flow (CFM)? Fan on 1/2 hr off 1/2 hour (around the clock)
Is there air blowing directly onto plant? Yes
Using CO2? Not at this time
Relative humidity? Air always dry and low humidity. (I plan to invest $$ in more equipment when I can)
Growing technique (Scrog, Sog, Supercropping etc.)? Future of 2 of my babies uncertain.
Has plant recently been pruned, clones taken, fimmed or pinched? Nothing done
Pests? None seen
Chemicals used to irradicate? NA

Note: I have 4 total A11 x C99 babies and two show no negative signs. Same growing conditions. They look quite healthy.. Hmmm..

Johnny D....

 

[Mr_J]

Photo Album Created - The Infirmary

http://www.icmag.com/ic/album.php?albumid=11335

 

[Lazyman]

They look ok to me, they're small, leave em alone and don't overwater! I wait to feed until I see them starting to yellow a bit, they are too small to feed right now. Stop with the 20 20 20, they don't need all of that right now. Next time you water, do a flush of 2 gallons Ph'ed water (the best you can get) per gallon of soil. Then pick up some GH 3-part (hell you just need micro and bloom for Lucas formula) nutes and use those at 1/4 strength once they have some roots.

 

[Mr_J]

Thanks for the reply Lazyman. I take some comfort from your response.

Still I can't figure out what is going on with the two that have continued to show deterioration this morning, and the two that are absolutely lovely to look at in every respect.

RE Ferts: Yea. It's what I had available to me (the 20.20.20 stuff) and that was why I went 1/8 of rec. strength. But I guess it was still too much and still too early, huh?

Anyone care to toss a diagnosis for the crispy older leaves? Plant A's bottom leaves turned up and touched the first set of 3 as they "crispified"..

Q: Does using a larger container for seedlings make for more potential problems? I noted that the moisture at the bottom seemed very wet and the top 2 inches almost bone dry when watered. The tap root could have been getting lots of moisture and the mid and top could have been getting little to none.

Q: Would I have been better off using much smaller starter cups and then moving on up when the plant seemed to need larger digs?

I welcome any and all opinions, and Ill try and use my best bedside manner with the children, and see if they come through ok.. Thks in advance for any ideas, suggestions, diagnosis... Johnny D....

 

[EvilTwin]

It just seems unlikely that some major nutrient deficiency would even have time to emerge in such young plants. Much more likely that it's nutrient burn. A combination of light feeding sativa seedlings exposed to fresh soil+castings+nutrients.

"Q: Does using a larger container for seedlings make for more potential problems? I noted that the moisture at the bottom seemed very wet and the top 2 inches almost bone dry when watered. The tap root could have been getting lots of moisture and the mid and top could have been getting little to none."

YES...Stays wet too long

Q: Would I have been better off using much smaller starter cups and then moving on up when the plant seemed to need larger digs?

YES

Nice strain selection. They should grow out of this. Follow Lazyman's advice for a flush. Then slowly re-introduce nutes as they get larger.
ET

 

[Mr_J]

Thanks for the post ET. It is appreciated. Noobs like me need the help like you and LM provided. The more time I spend here, the more I seem to absorb. In the meantime, I am especially thankful for all suggestions and tips.

Anyone else looked at the kids and have an opinion or comment?

So the strain is a good choice? I was hoping for something special for my first go round, and much of what I read here encouraged me towards some sort of c99 hybrid.

I hope to learn from the rookie errors, and will not go with such large starter pots or give extra nutes when children are so young. I hope to get to some second generation seeds, assuming all 4 make it and if there is at least one lady in the house. I am hoping for something special from any gals that show me their private parts.

With 4 I'm thinking there is a good shot of at least one nice gal.

Question on flushing with 2 gallons water in such a small pot: Seems that's a lot of water to pour through such a small pot. Do you put seedling in a big catch bucket and drench em until all 2 gals are passed through. Guess you need to pour through slowly and over a long time.

Again. I plan to be less of a pain with the Q's going forward (as I gain some real world experience) Until then, thank in advance for any other comments and I apologize in advance for the seized and abused bandwidth.

Johnny D.......