how long till nutrients work?

[burninheavy420]

Alright I either have an over-watering or nitrogen problem and I can't decide which it is. The lowest set of leaves are almost completely yellow and started to turn brown. Now the 2nd set of leaves have yellow tips and very light brown spots. i fed for the first time today off the regular watering schedule cuz it looked like my baby was in dire need of some help. The leaves seem to be a bit droopy that's why it could be over-watering. I fed w/ 1/4 strength FF Grow Big..Im gonna let my baby sit for a few days and see if she perks up a bit.

Here is a shitty pic but look at the lowest leaf

 

[jazztime420]

burnin,
whaddya got there? is that a clone? it looks like a seedling from what I can see.

are you using soil or a soil-less medium? if you're using soil (either fortified or just regular potting mix) you need to wait to fertilize. the plants grow slower than you think they should (and no amount of water or fert is going to change that). they also use less water than you might think. be aware of how wet the planting medium is and don't water until you can tell it's DRY. not moist, not a little dry, but so the plant is heavier than the root ball. THEN give it about the same amnt as the cup it's in will hold. I assume you have drainage holes in the bottom of your beer cup?

if you use soil, the rule of thumb is that your plant won't need any fertilizer during the veg phase. in the beginning, the plant needs much less nutes because, well, it's smaller. as the plant gets larger, and the root ball expands, you'll naturally need to transplant it into a larger pot with, that's right, more soil...so as the plant uses the nutrients up in the first cup, it'll go str8 to the new stuff in the larger pot...and so on...until you're ready to flower. even then, you might not need a lot of bloom fert, depending on what kind of dirt you're using.

finally, be prepared mentally, emotionally and action-wise to start over. you may not have to give this one up, but sick plants usually need a while to recover before they get back to vigorous growth...

good luck!
jt420

 

[burninheavy420]

its a seedling. Im using FFOF soil. My plant was growing fast and was healthy but now there has definitely been a slow in growth since the yellowing appeared so that's why I decided on feeding her w/ quarter strength nutes. I always check to see if the soil is dry and it always is so that's why I was thinkin over-watering might not be the problem. After todays feed im not gonna water for 3 days and see how she reacts. My cup does have drainage holes...I think i might transplant her to her final home in a week or so, hopefully she perks up by then. This is my 3rd try and its the best one yet so im really hopin she pulls thru..

 

[Verite]

It will grow better in a planter than it will a cup. Then start to think about ph. Keep readin.

 

[Frozenguy]

what kind of drainage holes do you have? if its a beer cup you will need to cut decent holes.. I cut triangles at the bottom sides of my cups, drained way better.. also, make sure its not wet at the bottom! if its FFOF and its brand new soil (never been grown in) you should NOT have a problem with the soil.. its in your water ph (which unless very high strikes me as odd) or you are overwatering..

how long has the plant been in there for??

 

[burninheavy420]

I cut about 7 holes in the bottom of the cut and made them bigger w/a pencil. I have yet to check the ph cuz I don't have a tester yet. My girl has been in there for 13 days...Im gonna let her dry out since the last water/feed and hopefully ill get good results. Should i clip the yellow leaves? Will it harm the plant?

 

[Blackvelvet]

Sounds like your doing the right thing to me.

When you water/fertilize, make sure you get alot of runoff out the bottom. This will prevent salt buildup and you know you got the soil mix thoroughly wet. Then let the soil mix get really dry. This will prevent rootrot.

Get some ph test strips for a few dollars in the aquarium section of a petstore or a brew your own beer wine store. Range 4 to 7 is okay.

After adding the grow big to your water, adjust the ph to about 6. This might require adding an acid or base.

Vinegar works ok for lowering ph. (although sulfuric acid from the auto parts store is probably best)

To raise ph, add 100% sodium hydroxide. You can get this under the name Roebic crystal drain opener somewhere like lowes. It must be 100% sodium hydroxide and not have any additives especially aluminum (mj hates aluminum ) If there is any question about ingredients, google the msds (material safety data sheet) Add maybe 1 teaspoon of the drain opener to a gallon jug of water. This is called a stock. Then, add small amounts of this stock water to your fert water to raise ph. You will find it takes very, very little.

If you want to use sulfuric acid, you would also make a dilute stock. (Add acid to water not water to acid; wear gloves and sunglasses while pouring the concentrate)

Bottom leaves yellowing probably means the plant is feeding off of itself...moving nutrients upward in the plant leaving the bottom starved. You can pull solid yellow leaves off.

Get your lighting as close to possible to the plant tops without burning.

Like Verite said "Keep readin' "

 

[burninheavy420]

Yeah my cfls are about 2 inches away from my plant. Those cheap ph strips sound good to me so i gotta pick some of those up. Do the light brown spotting and yellowing go hand n hand? Both cause my the nutes def and not over-watering? Thanks for the input and I will keep readin cuz I can do nothin than learn more!

 

[Verite]

Blackvelvet you can stop giving out the shit advice with your stupid alternatives for ph adjustment. When they need to adjust ph they can go out and buy ph up and ph down. Its just as cheep and better when they dont have to work around issues like toxins in the alternatives. You dont have a clue as to what kinds of crap the automotive industry regulates in the use of their battery acid so please stop telling newbies to use this crap. Please go back to parroting the lucas formula and making up stories about fake gf's.

 

[burninheavy420]

lol i thought u were gonna end that w/some more advice