With A Little Help From My Friends.

[Ueru]

Hello folks!

Second time growing (never made it to harvest though), first time posting.

600W HPS ballast.
Temps range from 70-75 (night & day respectively), light is constant for help with temperature.
Humidity is 30-40%.
I have a 6 inch fan bringing in fresh air from the living room but no exhaust.
PH is 7.5-8.5 and PPM is 40 from tap.

I germinated bag seeds and transplanted them on 2/05 to 8" pots with Scott's potting soil. My growspace is about 6' (including reflector) so I chose to use small pots on my initial grow in a new location to see how high they would go. The first two weeks growth was slow, and I noticed that the stems started to turn very purple and the leaves started to turn yellowish, wilt shrivel and contort, as you can see in one of the plants huge deformity. After consulting many grow guides I started to believe I had nutrient lockout due to high or low PH. I purchased a cheap PH meter and it registered as 7. I wasn't very confident with the meter, so I ordered a Hanna combo electronic H98129. As far as nutes go, these were fed 1/4 strength Fox Farm Grow Big one watering only in the life of the plants. It took a while for it to get here, I received it on 2/23.

As soon as I got the meter I discovered the (first) of my problems. The PH of the water coming from the tap was very high ranging from 7.5-8.5. The house is really old, not sure on the fluctuation and I have calibrated the meter several times. I got some ph down and have been adjusting the PH to 6.5-6.8. On 2/26 I decided to leach the plants. I took 1 gallon of water per pot, adjusted the PH and put 1/4 Fox Farm Grow Big nutes along with 1/4 strength CAL/MAG and leached each of the plants.

After leaching, the plants are doing better - new leaves look better but are still not really dark green and completely healthy looking. The pictures were taken today on 3/01 (24 days total veg).

So, given all this information - I need advice on what I should do next. The plants look like they have quite a nutrient deficiency. On the next water which is scheduled for 3/05 should I increase nutrients or just use adjusted ph tapwater? Should I foliar feed? Any other advice?

Any suggestions would be greatly appreciated!

-Ueru

 

[10k]

They look very overwatered, which can cause a starved looking situation.
The high pH was certainly a factor along with poorly draining soil if you hadnt added @ 30% perlite to that potting soil to help provide for proper drainage.

Also, please list the ingredients from the label on that scotts potting soil.

From the looks of it, I'd feed em after they've recovered more from the wet feet.

ps...dont allow the planters to sit in a pool of excess runoff in those saucers under the planters.
They snap right off the bottoms of those plastic planters fairly easily btw.

hth

 

[MTF-Sandman]

^^Exactly my thoughts as well...

 

[Ueru]

I did not add perlite to the potting soil and it is at 0.07-0.01-0.03 on the bag.

The other item I forgot to add in the original post is the fact that roots are growing out of the bottom drainage holes. Could this also be an issue? I thought I could use smaller pots to control the height of the plants.

I will definitely not let the plants sit in excess runoff pools, thanks for the advice!

 

[Ueru]

I discovered something tonight - the pots are definitely too small. I decided to transplant 3 of the 6 plants into 12" 3 gallon pots, and I discovered they all had "root swirl" at the bottom. I plan to transplant the remaining 3 tomorrow sometime.

I read in Jorge's guide that 12" 3 gallon should be big enough for harvest. What do you guys think? My growspace height is only 6' counting the reflector. I hope I don't have to transplant again, these pots are huge and it would require luck to perform such a feat.

--Ueru

 

[Guest]

how much longer are you planning on veggin em? from the pics they could use more veg growth, at leaest a week maybe two.
three gallon should be good for the grow. i doubt you were rootboud at all.
let them dry out some between watering. lift the pot to feel if it is dry. the plants will do better being underwatered than overwatered.
just want to be sure, are the ph numbers the feed or the outflow?

 

[Ueru]

The PH, after I got my hanna, has been 6.5-6.8 both before and in runoff. PPM is around 200 due to the recent leach. I plan on vegging them for a couple more weeks if they recover . I decided to transplant the remaining 3 tonight.

 

[Guest]

it's also easier to transplant dry soil than it is wet. it will stay together better when it is pulled from the smaller pot. best luck to ya.

 

[B.C.]

I think if ya add 25-30% perlite ta yer soil you'd be less likely ta over water.Also addin more holes ta the bottom of yer pots will help too(alot more air ta the roots).Your soil dosen't have much in the way of ferts so don't be afraid ta feed em (full strength).No need ta add cal/mag,grow big has it covered,by doin so imo would be jus addin insult ta injury,esp usein hard water.Jus be sure ta keep that ph between 6.5-7.0 and think yull be fine.My 2 pennies Good luck and take care...BC