Newbie needs diagnosis. The Rub.....

[manoplata]

Seems like a PH issue and an attempt at correction has gone South.... A fan of vinegar for ph down in soil in prior grow, I saw posts that recommended using re weak sulfuric acid as an alternative. Overdid it with strong mix acid to water, and think I burned the cxxx out of the girls. Two days ago, I flushed with tap water 7.8 ph +/- and then (yesterday) repotted next day with fresh soil/ soil mix. Terracraft Potting soil and Promix BX combo. Prior to flush and potting up, there were lots of tan, yellow ad brown spots on new and older growth, and numerous crispy dying leaves.

Today I noticed an almost white speckling on some of the leaves. NO signs of mites or critters underneath leaves and it is not consistent on the plants as I would think if it were critters. I suspect it has something to do with the super low PH plants endured for almost 48 hours.
Today: Plants soil seems stable now about 6.5 -7, but deterioration continues.

Q1. Since I don't see mites or other bugs with hand lens, could whitish splotches and speckling (especially plant 3) be related to splashing of overly low ph'd water splashing on plants? Or ph nute lockout ? or Burn from the super low acid soil drench?
Q2. Plant 2 larger lower leaf has splotches but is not as evenly mottled as 1 and 3. They seem more random and appears to be a different reaction/issue.

Will watch a few days to see if things recover, but would appreciate any advice from more experienced growers. Gracias...

 

[exploziv]

A whole plant pic would be way better for diagnostic. Also.. no reason to take leaves off when plant is struggling. What you describing could be Ca deficiency from PH too low.
And don't expect them to bounce back so fast. If no new problems appear its a good sign they are recovering. Give them a good environment and they should bounce back, what I mean by that is new foliage looking better. Old leaves won't get fixed.

 

[Steviewunder]

The speckling on the leaves is usually a sign of a insect infestation. Spider mites are likely the culprit. As they chew on plant tissue it will cause a die off of cells in the area they ate... literally sucking the juice from the plant.. take a 30x jewelers loupe and look under the leaves along veins of the leaf for any signs of mites or eggs. webbing that looks similar to cob webs will also be present if the infestation is getting bad. to see the webs better in bright light.. mist them with straight water to see the webs easier. thrips cause similar damage, once you rule out bugs it will be much easier to diagnose deficiencies when they are present. https://www.icmag.com/forum/marijua...ete-guide-to-sick-plants-ph-and-pest-troubles take a look at post #6 in this guide

 

[exploziv]

I was thinking thrips cause those leave speckles like that.. but he did say he checked and seen no pests.

 

[Hombre del mont]

picture 1 and 3 look like thrips.

 

[TanzanianMagic]

Seems like a PH issue and an attempt at correction has gone South.... A fan of vinegar for ph down in soil in prior grow, I saw posts that recommended using re weak sulfuric acid as an alternative. Overdid it with strong mix acid to water, and think I burned the cxxx out of the girls. Two days ago, I flushed with tap water 7.8 ph +/- and then (yesterday) repotted next day with fresh soil/ soil mix. Terracraft Potting soil and Promix BX combo. Prior to flush and potting up, there were lots of tan, yellow ad brown spots on new and older growth, and numerous crispy dying leaves.

Today I noticed an almost white speckling on some of the leaves. NO signs of mites or critters underneath leaves and it is not consistent on the plants as I would think if it were critters. I suspect it has something to do with the super low PH plants endured for almost 48 hours.
Today: Plants soil seems stable now about 6.5 -7, but deterioration continues.

Q1. Since I don't see mites or other bugs with hand lens, could whitish splotches and speckling (especially plant 3) be related to splashing of overly low ph'd water splashing on plants? Or ph nute lockout ? or Burn from the super low acid soil drench?
Q2. Plant 2 larger lower leaf has splotches but is not as evenly mottled as 1 and 3. They seem more random and appears to be a different reaction/issue.

Will watch a few days to see if things recover, but would appreciate any advice from more experienced growers. Gracias...

1) I would immediately water with 200 PPM of high P/K late flowering nutrient solution, and 50 PPM epsom salt. This will both stimulate root growth and milden the soil a little.

This is also why coco coir is ideal for transplanting into more coco coir - it has no nutrient charge at all.

2) When you transplant, you should always transplant onto a 1 inch layer of soil that is weaker in nutrients than the rootball is, and fill in the sides with more weak soil.

The best way is to have a drainage layer of growrocks, then your fertilized hot soil, then a layer of an inch of mild soil, plant the rootball on top of that, and fill in the sides with more mild soil, and water with 200 PPM high P/K and 50 PPM epsom salt.

Another trick to reduce transplant shock is to slowly raise the PPM in the plant that is going to be transplanted over a couple of weeks.

3) Terracraft Potting Soil has bat guano in it.

Thanks to its nutrient charge, this performance soil means you can wait longer before applying fertilizer, giving you a garden that’s low on maintenance and high on reward.

Promix BX is 75%-85% spagnum peat moss.

SPHAGNUM PEAT MOSS (75-85%)

Peat moss is pretty acidic, and needs to magnesium lime - a tablespoon per gallon.

4) pH

For organics, the pH 7.0 is the goal - for the soil and the liquid nutrients. So take it easy on the pH-down, or better, don't use it at all.

 

[Hammerhead]

Looks like something was sprayed or dripped on the leaves?. Have you sprayed anything?. Is there more leaves like this ? .

 

[Devoted2rolling]

I take photos of plant deficiencies for a living.

​

Nearly all indoor Cannabis grows have the same deficiency, expressed in dozens of different symptoms depending on different scenarios.

This room is "-B via HiCa, low VPD"


Don't listen to these internet grow clowns. Every indoor Cannabis grow has the same problem thanks to Led transpiration. Remember this so you can laugh at all the "pros" along with me in the future. Eventually being a poser growgod wannabe will go out of style again. Going to the library and checking out a book on plants has never been illegal in this lifetime. Internet weed experts all believe it has been.

Mix up 50ppm (2 tsp/gal I think) boric acid and adding 60mL to each gallon of irrigation will prevent any major blistering. They drink so slow its obvious when you narrow the symptoms down. If the war paint turns orange expect potassium issues. You added calcium and didn't support it with B. That's like taking a shit and not flushing it or wiping your ass.

Now, you'll probably ruin your crop with trace mineral overdose because boric acid sounds scary and TM7 from da weed grow store doesn't. The smell will vanish once you've locked out S. You'll convince yourself yellow floppy growth is normal, and that your plants shouldn't smell until bloom anyway. At least that's how it normally goes. Only products sold at the weedbro store can grow plant's. But I'm not charging for this advice so go ahead and overdose on some off the shelf weedbro mineral cocktail, I won't feel bad.
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[HempKat]

First off I'm not sure why people are so against using food grade ph up and ph down for adjusting ph. It's based on two of the macro nutrients your plant need (Potassium for one and phosphorous for the other I forget which is which)so it's safe for plants and they use this stuff in pools and aquariums so it's safe for people and fish and if you're doing things right you should never need to be using much at any given time relative to the volume of water you're treating. I get that people going the organic route want to be purists and never use anything that even sounds like a chemical but most organic options are much slower acting and much harder to get just right. Plus no matter where it comes from once it's broken down and taken in by the plant it's all basically organic. Sulfuric acid seems much harsher and riskier to use then ph up or ph down and your experience seems to bare that out as true. The only other thing that might turn people away is the cost except the stuff isn't that expensive unless you buy it in large quantities. When I've bought it I usually get 8 ounce bottles and that will last me for several grows unless I get some fertilizer I'm not used to that dramatically shifts the ph. Even then 8 ounces of each is enough to get me thru at least one full veg and full flower cycle and you can get both for under $18 if you shop around.

Now you definitely had some ph issues for sure but you know that and I assume you also know for soil grows you want your ph right around 6.3-6.7 at all times although 6.5 is often considered the ideal value to shoot for. That being said, I agree with those that have said your damage looks like classic signs of pests but all I can go by is you saying you checked and found nothing but these pests can be very tough to see with anything less the 30X magnification. Now with that said, I've never worked with sulfuric acid in the grow room before and since at one pic did resemble a splash mark I can't rule out that completely either.

I agree that it would be easier to evaluate with whole plant pics but I recognize too that people are often afraid they might get judged badly if they put up a pic that shows a plant looking too badly. All I can say to that is if you want and need help don't worry about what others think, just worry about getting your plants healthy.

 

[Hammerhead]

Once you get 50 posts you can PM any for help. It's not hard finding good growers here.

 

[manoplata]

Thanks for the many suggestions and tips. Found a lot to read since posting originally. Borrowed camera and took more photos. Will try to provide more detail here and in later posts, but wanted to get these posted first and see if more tips and ideas get floated. Got 30x out and still no view of critters on or under leaves. But Im old as dirt and eyes dont do what they used to. hehheh

 

[Creeperpark]

Pro-mix BX is made to hold a lot of water because of the addition of vermiculite. When you mix that with Terracraft potting mix and the addition of their forest product you have excess water holding capacity. If you use tap water you can still get water spots on the leaves no matter what pH you have.

 

[Creeperpark]

I don't recommend mixing soils because the people who put these growing models together are professional horticulturists or scientists. If mixing the two soils was appropriate, then they would have already mixed the two together. Keep the soil the way they are and use the two side by side to find the right potting soil for you and don't mix them.