Too much or not enough

[tree top flyer]

Is this toxic buildup or do they still need more nitrogen? or am I completely wrong. They were the most lush and healthy plants and then i was unable to view them for a week and they began a down turn. I've fed them once since and they seem to be rebounding, lots of new growth and greener leaves. What can I do to keep them getting better?
SOIL:

How long has this problem been going on? about 3 weeks
What STRAIN are you growing? Menage a trois
What was the establishing technique? (seed or clone?) seed
What is the age of your plants? about two months
How Tall are the plants? just over two feet
What PHASE (seedling, vegetative or flower) are the plants in? veg
What Technique are you using? (SOG, SCROG etc)
What size pots are you using? 12" pots one plant per
What substrate/medium are you using? Perlite
What brand of soil mixture are you using? ProMix perlite, originally mixed with seafood compost and petemoss
What Nutrient's are you using?How much of each with how much water? How Often? Fox farm's 2-4-2 once (one tablespoon per gallon)
What is the TDS/EC/PPM of your nutrients used? ???
What method of pH test was administered? Using Strips? pH pen? Strips, ph is about 5.8
How often are you watering? once the medium drys, about once a week
When was your last feeding and how often are you feeding? about a week ago. First time fed
What size bulb are you using? 400w CMH
What is the distance to the canopy? about two feet
What is your RH Factor? about 30% humidity
What is the canopy temperature? about 70 F
What is the Day/Night Temp? Under 24/7
What is the current Air Flow? Fan
Is the fan blowing directly at plants? indirectly
Is the grow substrate constantly wet or moist? yes until about three days before the next watering
Is your water HARD or SOFT? Hard
What water are you using? Reverse Osmosis (RO)? Tap? Bottled? Well water? Distilled? Mineral Water? Bottled and tap
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? No

 

[tree top flyer]

 

[southpaw]

I'd say hungry, not overferted. Start a balanced feeding program, or just go ahead and pot up into a new container with fresh compost and fertilizers. At two feet in that medium, she (fingers crossed) will appreciate the extra space. Then again, you say it takes days for the medium to dry out, so the transplant could probably wait a couple weeks.

I've gotta ask, are you flowering under a bigger light? You're probably looking at a four foot plant minimum, which is pretty tall for a 400.

 

[tree top flyer]

Thanks for the info southpaw. I was kinda leaning towards hungry but this is my first indoor. I just got settled into my new home on a very small island and these babies came over in a 14 foot skiff so the fact that there alive has been my only concern, they haven't gotten all my love. To top off the excitement my parents are coming to check out the house and so I have to hide them, they just don't understand why they can't meet my parents yet...

The end product is set to be a 60 gallon DWC under my two spankin' new 400W HPS all SCROG'd up. The closet is currently being remodeled and I'm actually inquiring as to whether these plants can be cloned. I took pictures of the worst of the four, the others don't look so famished. Any thoughts? Will the clones take or just die?

 

[tree top flyer]

What do you mean about balanced feeding, ie on a schedual?

 

[southpaw]

What do you mean about balanced feeding, ie on a schedual?

I was just being purposely vague, since your setup is pretty flexible. With a soilless mix plus good compost, you've got all kinds of fertilizing options (chemical, organic, liquid, granular). I wasn't going to pigeonhole you into just one.

That setup you've got planned sounds really, really nice. As for meeting the parents, sometimes those introductions can't be avoided... been there before.

If it's a matter of stealth with no other good options, go ahead and take the clones now. I imagine they'll root, but it may take a little longer, and it will be extra important not to use too much and too bright of lighting. If you have a week or so to waste, green them up and get some strong growth going first.

"Menage a Trois"... now there's a strain that has some work to do to live up to its promise.

 

[tree top flyer]

Hahaha, southpaw you couldn't be more right and given my outdoor climate playin shell games for a week can't happen. Dad always loves a new girl, it's mom thats gonna tweak. I have about a week till the visit and the soil is almost completely dry so I can give them some more nutes today and give them some time to green up before I clone. Hopefully I'll have 50 posts by the end of the week and I'll send you a PM with a link to the grow diary. Thanks for all your help.

 

[stinkyattic]

2 feet tall in one gallon pots that tehy have probably been in quite a while- locked out and unable to uptake nutes.

Flush at correct pH, feed at 1/2 strength base fert right away, allow to dry out fairly well, transplant to 3 gallon pots of fresh light soil, resume normal feeding schedule.

 

[tree top flyer]

Thanks stinkyattic. Should i use a neutral medium or should I add compost? Oh, know anything about thrips? Northeast hemisphere of the us...

 

[stinkyattic]

NE US here too, lol. And BOY do I ever! Grrrr.... > thrips are evil. I will get tothem shortly.
I don't know your general grow style but a neutral medium with a bit of extra perlite is far easier to troubleshoot and maintain if you re-pot often. Promix is pretty generic and easy to deal with but remember any peat based medium WILL drop in pH over time so re-pot every 4-6 weeks on a steady schedule to avoid exactly what you are seeing. If you like the idea of running compost, add plenty of lightener to it. I like compost too; I get the store-brand composted humus + manure at Agway and cut it by 30-40% with perlite. It's crumbly, chunky, and still light.

Okay, thrips. I bomb for them in veg and early flower if they get out of hand. Lately I have not been having a problem with them since I hung a couple of those no-pest strips but those are kinda nasty- dichlorvos was developed as a chemical warfare agent, no lie- and wouldn't use them in a living space. Pyrethrin bombs and sprays are great; bomb once, wait 4 days, bomb again, wait 4 more days, bomb again. Thrips have a weird life cycle. The female oviposits in the meristematic tissue of the plant, the larvae emerge to CHOMP your plants, when they are all full and ready to pupate, they drop off the plant onto the soil surface, burrow in, and emerge a couple days later as winged sexual adults, have nasty bug sex, and leave you a gift that keeps on givin'. You can fuck with them by covering the surface of the soil with a paper plate with a slit cut to the center to slip over the stem. Taht way the larvae can't complete their life cycle, and starve to death on your growroom floor, where the little shits belong. Fuckers.

 

[highallthetime]

What PHASE (seedling, vegetative or flower) are the plants in? veg
"I would say flower...

Use a bloom nute schedule "Bloom Burst + Cal/Mag Supplements"
Watch PH always. 6.8 for soil and 5.8 for hydro
PH buffers work 100% of the time. Worth the time. FYI
Flushing can also lead to root rot. If not well drain soil or soil less mix's

Also keep eye on humidity. When they start packing on weight..

See how the branch's are altered. I would say they showing there signs now..
What was your light schedules ? Ready for 12/12 and cloning.


Super Crop IT...

 

[minds_I]

Hello all,

Tree top, quite a few folks use dolomite lime in their peat based soil mix to raise pH to an acceptable level. A heaping tbsn per gallon of soil nails my pH at 7.

In addition, D.lime adds needed Mg and Ca.

minds_I

 

[tree top flyer]

Stinkyattic- I'm going to take your advice on the soil mix. The idea was to keep my two healthier girls as mothers and flower the other two with an extra light I have just to see what happens while the clones begin to root. I'm repotting and fertilizing today. I removed many of the thrips by hand, tapping affected leaves genlty over a piece of white paper, and then squishing the shit out of the little bastards. I might not be able to bomb so I'm gonna try to curb the the problem with your paper plate idea. Thanks again for all the help.

Highallthetime- Thanks for stopping in. I still have them under 18-24 hours light because I wasn't quite ready for clones, that is all changing today. I have this giant list of things to get once I get back to the mainland, PH buffers are now a part of that. What are you referring to when you say press signs? These thrips have caused a bit of trouble timing wise.

mind I- I just picked up some dolmite lime (the one growing supply my podunk hardware store actually has) and I'm going to get my new pots setup today. What would you suggest to add the needed Mg and Ca?

 

[highallthetime]

Sorry must have been a typo....
Bug free here as of now here. Thrips are a to exterminate.
Was it store bought soil ?
If you are re using old soil. Best to put on baking sheet and place on roof or in a oven for few hour's. Just to bake out any germs, bug's, & ext...
Check your humidity may be to high. "High humidity causes pest, mold, & other infesting. That would not be good for anyone...

 

[minds_I]

Hello all,

Tree top, I feel comfortable saying that if you 1-2 tbsn per gallon of soil dry is good. The varition in the amount may be influenced by the water you use.

I have soft city water (low sodium/Mg/Ca) and find that I have to add Mg and Ca with my waterings. That being said, if you add too much D.lime your pH is nailed at about 7 and stays that way for the duration of the grow. This is in my experience.

Go to the organics section and click on the organics for beginners sticky for more exact ratios.

minds_I

 

[tree top flyer]

thanks for the info on d lime mind I, i'll keep that in mind for the next soil grow. I'm afraid I had to scrap the four plants. My mother thought it be best my landlord accompany them for the journey, and they had an unsupressable (though intoxicating and euphoric) odor. Now I just have 60 clones and I'm holding my breath that some of them take. I hope you'll tune into the grow diary.