help me out - early on in first grow

[iceman1027]

My plants after about 2 weeks, I have since gotten them into their own, bigger pots. But why are the bottom leaves turning yellow, and why are the top leaves all folded up sometimes? Do they fold up when they dont have enough water? just how do they look in general?

I have 4x14watt 5500K CFL. and 4x23watt 2700K CFL. They are in soil that had some seedling start fertilzer in it, I think the soil needs more perlite though.

What do you guys think so far?

 

[Don Logan]

They look good to me mang. Peace.

 

[Sinfuldreams]

Thats the way they look when little like that.
Babies

Sin

 

[Tunefull]

Hi m8
Yep they look dandy(maybe a bit small for 2 weeks)But healthy....

AS the others say is nothing to worry about(i think the plant uses up the bottom leaves all thru the grow,When there is no goodness left in the leaf it dies(is my understanding of it))


I would suggest Putting them in there own pots....Asking for trouble keeping them together like that(be a job to split them once there roots intertwine)



I would deff use more perlite,I would guess i use about 75% soil/25% perlite...



But yep your off to a grand start m8,All looks good

 

[Sleepy]

My plants after about 2 weeks, I have since gotten them into their own, bigger pots. But why are the bottom leaves turning yellow, and why are the top leaves all folded up sometimes? Do they fold up when they dont have enough water? just how do they look in general?

I have 4x14watt 5500K CFL. and 4x23watt 2700K CFL. They are in soil that had some seedling start fertilzer in it, I think the soil needs more perlite though.

What do you guys think so far?

...could be a mild burn from the pre-ferted soil...they look good, though!

you are doing fine for a first try!

 

[Blackmelo]

yeah they look good but there are alot of signs of them wanting to be fed.

Start feeding them.

 

[sproutco]

>seperate pots

>add more perlite to the soil at transplant and mix in some dolomite lime and gypsum to supply sulfur and calcium and magnesium

>begin feeding mildly in your water with npk plus all the micros: iron, manganese, boron, molybdenum, copper, and zinc.

>Adjust the ph of your fert water after mixing to ph 6 using an acid or base for best results; common acid and bases to use you can find around town are located in my signature

>Keep the florescents only an inch or two away from the tops

 

[iceman1027]

I will update the checklist:

Seperate into different pots: DONE
Add light relflectors: DONE - Bought some emergency blanket
Fertilizer: DONE Bought some 24-8-16 stuff I think, from Home Depot not MG
pH Adjustment - How important is this? Can I get away without?

Thats it I think I think out of what you all suggested. I set them up in a box that has the walls covered with a double layer of emergency blanket. the top is somewhat open and theres a hole for a deskfan to blow air in at the bottom. I wil start feeding the fertz next watering. Is it possible for them to have a faint smell at all yet? It seemed like one did have a slightly delcious smell. how long til i can sex them?

Thanks

 

[iceman1027]

It looks like they are getting worse

 

[sproutco]

You should be using about 1/2 teaspoon 24-8-16 per gallon of water. This is a guess.

Did you add dolomite lime and gypsum to the soil when your transplanted?

What exactly is in your new ferts? Plants require: nitrogen, phosphorus, potassium, calcium, magnesium, sulfur, iron, manganese, zinc, copper, boron and molybdenum to grow. I bet your fert lacks calcium, magnesium, and sulfur. If you did not add dol. lime and gypsum to the soil, you can add these 3 in your water along with your regular ferts if required. 1/4 teaspoon of both powdered gypsum and epsom salts per gallon of water. You can do this everytime if needed or every third or fourth fert if there is lime and gypsum in the soil already.

Like I mentioned before, adjusting the ph of the fert water after mixing gives best results and there will be no ph surprises. Things to use that can be found around town easily to adjust ph can be found in my signature: how to make your own ph up and down. If you don't have a ph meter, you can use ph test strips from a pet store in the aquarium section. range 4-7 work ok.

If you have not fed them, go ahead and do that even if the soil is wet. Remember to add the epsom/gypsum if needed.

 

[CheeseNstomata]

dude if i see anything i see a nitrogen lockout due to 8/9 maybe 10 ph

 

[iceman1027]

can i use ph down that is meant for use with aquariums? i can find that at the petstore

 

[CheeseNstomata]

lol yes is the answer I have had to once or twice when times r grim

however it is no where near as strong as hydro stuff and but you wont need lots for those little pots anyhoo

 

[MynameStitch]

they need food and you need to balance out your ph
and make sure each plant has its own pot or they will fight for nturients and one will take over the other

what soi. mixture are you using? looks barky which you want to stay away from for one, how often are you watering? and how much?

have you fed them any food yet? if not what nutrients do you have access to, we can help choose the right one so you do not burn them

 

[iceman1027]

I fed them for the first time last night, i used a 24-8-16 fert. it looked like a generic miracle grow type fert. this morn they look so much better, finally some significant new growth. i think we might make it through this.

My question now is, how much longer can i afford to veg them if i need to harvest by dec 14th?

 

[sproutco]

Did you use 1/2 teaspoon per gallon of water of the 24-8-16?

Does it contain all the micros: iron, manganese, zinc, copper, boron, and molybdenum?

Did you add dolomite lime to the soil when you mixed it? This would be your source of calcium and magnesium if there is none in the 24-8-16.

Did you add powdered gypsum at planting? This would be your source of sulfur. Does the 24-8-16 contain sulfur? It might say potassium sulfate, magnesium sulfate, or some other sulfur containing source.

If you did not add dolomite lime to the soil and the 24-8-16 contains no calcium and magnesium, you should add 1/4 teaspoon of both powdered gypsum + epsom salts per gallon of water along with the 24-8-16.

If you did not add the gypsum at planting and have no sulfur source, you could drench once with epsom salts 1/4 teaspoon per gallon by itself. It would be better just to go ahead and add both the epsom and gypsum 1/4 teaspoons to keep the balance of calcium to magnesium good.

Adjusting the ph of your fert water after mixing to 5.8 to 6 is good to do. You could use the aquarium adjustors but you can also find things around town cheap easily ...see how to make your own ph up and down in my signature.

If you need cal mag sulfur and you did not add them with your ferts this time, dont wait for the soil to go dry first...go ahead and drench the pots even with wet with your complete solution. Then be sure to let the pots dry out well knowing the seedlings are receiving everything they need to grow.

You need 2 months to really flower.

 

[iceman1027]

I can find some hydrochrolic acid, then i just gotta remember the chemistry to get it to the pH I need.

I will buy some gypsom n emsom salts. where can i find gypsum though?

the fertz have: boron, copper, iron, manganese, molybdinum, and zinc.

it also has amonium sulfate and copper sulfate.

 

[sproutco]

You need to lower ph? Sulfuric acid is better than hydrochloric. You can get it at the auto parts store. $5 for a quart. should last a while. You add a teaspoon or two to a clean 1 gallon jug filled with water. Shake. Add this stock ounce by ounce or really by teaspoons to your fert water after mixing. Keep checking ph as you add more and more. Eventually you will get the right ph. Remember how much you used so you dont have to guess so much next time. If you need to raise ph, use lye from the grocery store. Same thing make a stock of a teaspoon or so in a gallon of water.

If the seedling starter soil had ferts in it it, it may also contain dolomite lime for cal mag. You would only need the epsom gypsum combo then every third or so fert if none in the 24-8-16. Ammonium sulfate can be your source of sulfur although adding more want hurt.

Your soil looks peat moss like. If no dolomite lime in it, the ph could be low. Instead of gypsum epsom combo, you might add dolomite lime to the top of the pot and water in. 6" size pot you would use 1 teaspoon sprinkled evenly over the surface. No other cal mag would then be needed except an occassional boost every third or fourth fert. Soil ph will rise .5 to 1 ph point. Check soil ph first by pouring distilled water on the pot and catching what comes from the drain holes. Complete directions are below in my signature about testing soil ph. If the ph is below say 5.2, then a small amount of the lime may be beneficial to get the plants back in ph range 5.6 to 6.2.

Powdered gypsum you might find on a shelf at the home depot. They may carry small 5 pound bags. Hoffman is a brand. If not there or Lowes, try all the garden centers in your area. Somebody will have it. You might give these guys a call or email to find the closest hoffman dealer to you:

Good Earth, Inc.
Marketing Department
P.O. Box 290
Lancaster, NY 14086
Tel: 716-684-8111
Fax: 716-684-3722
[email protected]

Size(s)
5 lb. (2.2 Kg) bag upc code 071605170054


Shouldn't be more than a $1 pound for the hobby size bags. If you cant find gypsum, you can use calcium nitrate at 1/4 teaspoon per gallon of water. You might also find this at garden centers. This would add nitrogen unlike the gypsum so this is not so desirable during flower although it will work just fine.

Odd that your fert has ammonium sulfate. This is not a real desirable thing to be applying to plants in containers. More of a farm thing to get some sulfur. The ammonium has an acidic reaction in the soil so some people might use this to lower ph.

 

[iceman1027]

Lookin better right?

Tried to LST it a little bit..

 

[Guest]

You soil looks like it might be a little suspect. What is it? Do you have plenty of perlite?