OH the rotten yellow! help!

[DoctorSax]

I have four Satori ladies in the third week of flower. Organic soil grow under 400W HPS, minimal ferts (EarthJuice). Recently the fan leaves have begun turning yellow, now to the point where some are completely neon yellow, some starting to brown and curl. However, all the leaves around the bud sites seem to be completely untouched. I originally suspected a nutrient def. and gave them a strong serving of nutes (still well under the recommended dosage). However it seems to have made no effect, and I am completely helpless. This is my first grow and up until this point has gone very well.

Please Help!




The condition has actually gotten worse since I took these pictures, a few of the bigger leaves have curled up and dried.

Also, the fourth girl is in bad shape. It appears that all the leaves are drooping heavily, with some minor brown burning, but no yellowing.


These seems like it should be a very basic condition, but I havent been able to find any help on this, my first grow.
Thanks for your input!

 

[Organic Hydro]

Check your soil's PH, alot of the time it will turn more acidic as the grow continues due to adding fertz, also always remember to add a cup or 2 of dolomitic lime to your mix to keep this from happening.


Peace

 

[Chamba]

yeah, it's probably a case of the pH being out of the ideal range - low to mid sixes is the range you want it with potting soil...when the pots are lighter and ready for watering, let the solition sit for an hour ( after mixing in ferts) then adjust it to ideal pH range 6.2 ~ 6.5 pH.

make sure to fine tune your watering....water consistantly by monitoring the weight of the pots ....90% of pot plants in pots grow poorly or die due to over watering...depending on your soil mix, you may show faster recovery by watering about 12 ~ 18 hours before the plants droop with dehydration

.I'd suggest trying another fertilizer as this one ain't working for you, try something else with low N and high to medium P & K....the best are home made fertilizer teas!...another way is to top dress with a mulch containing compost, coarse sand, worm castings and organic flowering nutrients then water it in......

if using chem ferts, it's best to water the pots with plain pH adjusted water (rain water is good!) first then water in the fert solution at 1/3 ~ 1/2 strength and take it from there

how long have the plants been in these pots? ..what brand's the potting mix? and waht additives? ...what size pots? etc etc

 

[Guest]

looks to me like low pH. i suspect your soil pH will be about 4.5 for such intense orange. time to flush... run 3-5 times the pot's capacity of water through the soil.

 

[Master Kush]

Take a look at this link ---> http://www.icmag.com/ic/showthread.php?t=11688 It has a lot of great information about deficiencies and how to fix them.

The pics you posted closely match the Boron\Manganese deficiencies in the link above might want to take a look at that.

Good luck.

 

[DoctorSax]

The plants are in plain old ProMix, in 4L pots, since about 5 weeks ago. The soil already has lime and perlite added, so I did not feel the need to add more, which may have been a mistake. The only additive has been organic worm castings. I do not have a pH meter (i know, i know, but i spent all my budget on the seeds and the light).

How can I make a good fertilizer tea? I want to the mix to be organic and I would prefer not to use any sort of animal (by)products, as I am a vegan and I want my pot to be as well!

In the meantime I will try and pick up a pH meter and attempt to flush the soil.

Also, is it safe to transplant plants in this stage of flowering. I did not add perlite to the bottom of the pots for drainage, just soil. I could do that and add a bit more lime, then continue with your instructions on watering.

Thanks guys for your help.

 

[Chamba]

if you have to water every day then I would transplant up into the next size pot, but it would of been better to do this prior to flowering or in the first few weeks as the roots tend to not expand so well into the new soil once the plant is full-on into flowering...as they in 4 litre pots now then the biggest I would go to is 6 ~ 8 liter pots..... but if they are only 4 weeks from harvesting I wouldn't bother and would just feed them with the correct pH solution...next time around transplant into 2, 3 or 4 gallon pots about a week or two before 12/12 so they will establish a good root system spreading throughout the medium

organic teas are made by soaking compost, fertilizer pellets, guanos, blood & bone, manures, worm castings etc in an old stocking in a bucket of water for a week or so ..then dilute 10X ~ 20X and pH adjust before watering in......but from the info you gave, I think they need flowering ferts today - I'd water (@ 6.25 pH) in a half strength solution of 10-30-20 or similar that is well balanced with macro and micro nutrients and you should see improvement.

Keep us informed!

 

[Chamba]

the most accurate way is with a functioning pH meter....another way is with pH test paper that is available from chemical/lab supply shops

a cheap way to test your pH solution is with pH test paper (that comes in a roll , dispenser and with a color chart..the one I use is "full range pH 0 ~14")....once you get used to the shades of color, it is quite accurate and is fast and easy to use for simple soil gardening purposes..just tear off a couple of inches of test paper, dip a half inch of the paper in the solution (that has been well stirred) and then hold this damp end of the strip of test paper against the color chart to give you a rough idea of the pH..at first it seems difficult, but with practice you will be able to recqonize within .3 or .4 accuracy...many of the organic solutions I mix up are too alkaline and require a few drops of an acid (vinegar or pH Down) to bring it down to the desired levels..while some of the chemical ferts that are sold as neon colored granules are often acidy and require raising up...I often combine alkaline and acidy ferts with water to form a nutrient solution of around low to mid sixes on the pH scale.

 

[DoctorSax]

Chamba, thanks man for your help. First thing tomorrow I will acquire some pH paper and follow your instructions to get my ladies back on track.

Again, thanks guys. I will keep you updated.

 

[DoctorSax]

This may seem like a stupid question, but where is it possible to get a pH test kit like the one described by Chambas. All I can find, looking in hardware stores and pool supply stores, is the pool test kits that come with the little bottles and the charts. I have yet to find any sort of solution test kit, with pH paper.

Thanks

 

[Jahkaya]

Try fish or pet stores. They should carry a variety of PH tests.

 

[DoctorSax]

Excellent Jahkaya! I had not thought of that.

 

[DoctorSax]

Vinegar to lower the pH, what can be used to raise the pH?

I tested the plain tap water I use for water, and it appeared fairly neutral. Yet when I added the bloom fert, it seemed to make the solution farely acidic. Does this sound right? And what can I add to the solution to make it more basic?

 

[Chamba]

pH adjustment with common household chemicals


an acidy solution can raised up the pH scale to low to mid sixes using bicarbonate of soda, wood ash or lime

to lower an alkaline solution you can use nitric acid, sulphuric acid, citric acid ( Vitamin C) and vinegar

(derived from Ed Rothenthal's "Marijuana grower's Handbook"....it's over 25 years old but still a good source of info for the cannabis grower with less than a few years experience)

 

[powdergreen]

i wouldn't transplant when into flowering it will stunt your bud growth, but next time make surewhen you flip to bud they are in at least 8 litre 2 gal pots.
aLSO the liquid ph tester for pools and aquariums are find as lonmg as they read between 6 and 7 if you are uin there you will be find ideally for a soiless soil mix 6.5 for veg and 5.8 - 6 for flower


good luck

 

[wikidcalibudgrl]

some of that damage almost looks like heat stress, though the tiny spots are somethings else,, how close is your light?? just a second thing to check too maybe...

 

[DoctorSax]

Okay, the four Satoris were just flushed with tap water adjusted to ~6.3 pH with a bit of vinegar. I really hope this works...

Thanks calibud, I think your right, the light has been too close for the last week or so. I raised it 3-4 inches today.

Thanks for your input everyone.

 

[DoctorSax]

Photos

Photos

Some photos from the front. I didnt excpect any change so soon, and none has happened, so I'm still hoping for the best. But anyway, I got some better pictures of the condition I am trying to fix: