micro def? ph problem?

[DiscoBiscuit]

What's wrong with my plant?

SOIL:

How long has this problem been going on?

3 weeks

What STRAIN are you growing?

bag seed

What was the establishing technique? (seed or clone?)

seed

What is the age of your plants?

~7 weeks

How long have they been in the soil mixture they are in now?

~3 weeks

How Tall are the plants?

13 inches

What PHASE (seedling, vegetative or flower) are the plants in?

22 days in flower

What Technique are you using? (SOG, SCROG etc)

LST

What size pots are you using? (Include how many subjects to pot)

1 plant in a 1 gal pot

What substrate/medium are you using? What brand of soil mixture are you using?(percentage of perlite, vermiculite...etc?)

Scott's Topsoil 30%
Black Kow Composted Cow Manure 30%
Perlite 30%
Peat 10%
Lime 2 to 3 tsp per gal of soil

What Nutrient's are you using?

GH Flora 3 Part Grow, Micro, Bloom
CalMag+

How much of each nutrient are you using with how much water? *Knowing the brand is very helpful*

I use GH Flora 3 part with the same ratios as the chart for veg (3:2:1) and CalMag+, a transition in the first three weeks of flower from the veg nutes to Lucas(2:3 micro:bloom) and CalMag+.

How often are you feeding?

once a week

If flowering, when did you switch over to using Bloom nutrients?

2nd and 3rd week transition from 2:2:2 GMB to 2:3 MB

What order are you mixing your nutrients? (example: veg nutes 1st, bloom 2nd ect)

Micro, Grow (if used) Bloom, CalMag+, GH PH up

What is the TDS/EC/PPM of your nutrients used?

I start about 200ppm the third week of veg from seed and I end up with about 900ppm prior to flush.

What is the pH of the "RUN-OFF"?

1st week 6.95ph
2nd week 7.15ph
3rd week 6.9ph
4th week 6.75

What method of pH test was administered? Using Strips? pH pen?

Hannah Checker

How often are you watering?

every 4th day

When was your last feeding and how often are you feeding?

Jan 11, ~once per week

What size bulb are you using?

78w CFL for veg (3 - 26 watt) 150w HPS for flower

What is the distance to the canopy?

~7 inches in flower for the hps

What is your RH Factor? (Relative Humidity)

53 rh

What is the canopy temperature?

76 to 78 f

What is the Day/Night Temp? (Include fluctuation range)

days up to 78 - nights down to 63

What is the current Air Flow? (cfm etc.)

95 CFM total, speed controller on slowest speed

Tell us about your ventilation, intake exhaust and when its running and not running ?

I have ~13 cubic feet NGB split for veg and flower. I have a 4" exhaust, 14" intake total. Each grow chamber has it's own intake. Each grow chamber vents to the utility room then out the cab. Cool tube for hps. Pc fan in each grow chamber blowing on the bulbs and the tops of the canopy. All fans run 24/7.

Is the fan blowing directly at plants?

Somewhat, the pc fans are low cfms, only blowing across canopy

Is the grow substrate constantly wet or moist?

I water thoroughly and wait for the pots to dry before watering again.

Is your water HARD or SOFT?

soft hard, lol

What water are you using? Reverse Osmosis (RO)? Tap? Bottled? Well water? Distilled? Mineral Water?

Town water (15ppm) 7.5ph.

Are you using water from a water softener?

no

Has plant been recently pruned, cloned or pinched?

No.

Have any pest chemicals been used? If so what and when?

No.

Are plant's infected with pest's?

fungas gnats, not very bad. I may see 3 or 4 when I pull the pots out to water. I've been trying to let the pots get a little dryer between waterings than usual. I try to water before I see any dry droop.

I hope you can help me out, here's the pics:

First signs, the plant is medium green, might be a slight nitrogen def. Then I get this: (appeared in the second week, bottom of plant, large fan.)




Second to third week, nitrogen def not as bad with exception of afflicted lower fans:



Beginning of 4th week, plant size is somewhat diminished, bud size is small for this stage of growth: At first, half the leaf seemed to be affected. Now, one or two individual leaves seem to be affected on both sides (second pic.)







Thanks

 

[Weedhound]

Personally I'm not sure what's wrong. But my guess would be that your plant is getting a bit rootbound in that one gallon pot and needs a bigger container with some fresh soil etc.....Quality soil into larger pot may well solve your problem.

good luck.

 

[DiscoBiscuit]

thanks, I'll need it.

 

[Weedhound]

You're welcome. The leaves have that bowing down look that seem to say "we're cramped" especially since you just put her into flower and they take a big growth spurt at first. The standard formula is a gallon of soil per foot of main stem.......you've now passed that and your plant is going into high growing gear. Be careful with with the roots when moving her, use a quality soil and I bet she'll do fine.

 

[HeadyPete]

What are you adjusting your nute ph to before watering? That runoff seems high. Are you mixing and giving time (at least 5 minutes) for the chemical reactions to occur before testing ph? If you test too soon, it won't be accurate and the ph will continue to change in the pot after you've watered.

I second the advice about rootbound. You will get all kinds of problems that look like deficiency (which it is) from rootbound pots. There is too much root compared to soil and the soil present cannot trap enough nutes for consistent feeding.

BTW, mix your calmag into the water first, then your other nutes, then ph adjusters.

Finally, some more pix would help, especially complete shots of the whole plant, including pot.

 

[DiscoBiscuit]

What are you adjusting your nute ph to before watering?

week 1 - 6.75ph
week 2 - 7.0
week 3 - 6.85
week 4 - 7.0

That runoff seems high. Are you mixing and giving time (at least 5 minutes) for the chemical reactions to occur before testing ph? If you test too soon, it won't be accurate and the ph will continue to change in the pot after you've watered.

I haven't paid that much attention, probably not. I could mix a batch the day before and adjust for ph prior to watering? How long can I keep a pre-mixed batch of chemical nutes, ex. 48hrs? 72 hrs?

I second the advice about rootbound. You will get all kinds of problems that look like deficiency (which it is) from rootbound pots. There is too much root compared to soil and the soil present cannot trap enough nutes for consistent feeding.

I agree the ~1 gallon pot is small. I have a small 150w HPS grow (15"x23.5" footprint). The plants I grow are small. I used 4 of these pots last grow (same strain) and harvested ~3.25 ounces dry bud. The largest plant was over 1 ounce dry bud. This plant is only a third the size of the last ones. I'll see if I can get square pots, maybe I can fit bigger pots this way.

BTW, mix your calmag into the water first, then your other nutes, then ph adjusters.

I've been using calmag when watering with otherwise plain water. I don't use calmag when feeding GH flora 2 part. I've only fed calmag half strength every other watering/feeding. Any thoughts on this?

Finally, some more pix would help, especially complete shots of the whole plant, including pot.

I seem to be having trouble uploading pics at the moment. Will add as soon as admin allows.

Thanks for the tips.

 

[Weedhound]

Ok well I got lost between you've had the problem for two weeks or the plant has always been scrawny? Which is it? I personally would aim for runoff NO higher than 6.8.

 

[DiscoBiscuit]

Ok well I got lost between you've had the problem for two weeks or the plant has always been scrawny? Which is it? I personally would aim for runoff NO higher than 6.8.

This was originally posted last week in Stitch's thread. I never got an answer so I posted here. I've since edited this thread to reflect 3 weeks. This plant was fine in veg and first week or two of flower. Started looking scrawny about 3 weeks ago.

 

[Weedhound]

Ahh...ok thanks for clearing that part up. I still think a transplant into good soil and a larger container will help you out. And I agree with Pete to try to lower your soil ph. If you transplant however, a good quality soil should already be ph correct and hopefully you should be good to go.

 

[Weedninja]

2 questions for ya, disco.

1. What kind of lime are you adding? Does it contain mag?
2. What is the ppm of your water after you add cal-mag but before you add nutes?
3. Which forum is your bamboo ripper thread in?

OK, so that's 4. Sue me

 

[DiscoBiscuit]

Weedninja, I'm using Lime-Rite Pelletized Dolomite. Looks like lawn and garden stuff. Mag is not listed, in fact Imery's doesn't list it on their Web site.
I've been adding cal-mag ~1/2tsp per gallon, never measured the ppm strength. Assuming my lime has no added mag, should I increase cal-mag strength?
The bong is in Growrooms, Designs and Equip. thread.

 

[ForbiddenFruit]

The plant looks to be large for that folgers coffee container, keeping plants in confined containers means you have to feed slightly higher doses of fertilizer than normally to support the plant life above the soil. Up your nute formula several ml and or transplant.

If we could see a complete plant shot that would be helpful.

Just a suggestion since you are using GH 3 part nutes already, for a trouble free garden I would switch over to a soiless medium promix or coco and use the lucas formula or a variation of it.

The good results from this method are because its very simple. Take your pots fill with pro-mix/perlite in my case and plant into it. Dial in GH nutes for a complete nutrition that you control.

 

[Weedninja]

OK, I'll throw in my 2 cents. Here's what's standing out to me:

#1 We know you need a bigger pot, you know you need a bigger pot. Do yourself a favor and get a bigger pot.

#2 Your soil's pretty hot. I'm pretty sure I can see some nute burn in the 3rd pic.

#3 Your tap water has very low ppm(it's soft ). If you bring it up to 200 ppm, that will ensure that you get your micronutes. Cal-mag contains some nitrogen, so you may have to tweak your nutes a little. Almost all nutes (GH included) depend on you providing some calcium and magnesium with your tap water. Soft water doesn't do it.