auto northern lights

[treacle]

top pic is the best one 11/9/10

second is runt 11/9/10 both after no water for at least 5 days only 1 folage feed, soil is well dry and dusty and finger tested down the pot,soil looks dark as its sedge peat.

this is how it is now : 8/9/10

2nd PIC: HEALTHY ONE 5/9/10

BOTTOM PIC :HOW IT STARTED 5/9/10

BOTH PICS WERE TAKEN WHEN THEY JUST FINISHED THEIR DARK CYCLE HENCE DROOPY LEAVES

4 weeks old, noticed that the runt out of the 4 was losing more of its first leaves than the others,the other leaves were going yellow first as the norm but the runts were going brown and crispy altho there is new shoots growing healthly from where the leaves have died bk ,all the other plants were fine and healthy,until today when they looked like the top pic all 4 of them! they were looking good this morning!(8/9/10)

They r being grown in sedge peat(soil),20 hours of light a day using cfls, they r in 6 litre pots,using household water was boiling it and leaving it to cool down as i thought it was better (advice given that it was not any good so stopped boling),watered every 3/4 days altho advice given as maybe too much (so stopped ) have had 1 small feed of nitrogen about 5 days ago(10npk) humidity is 70 and temp is between 26.8 and 27.4(80.24f and 81.31f) have also noticed that when the plants come out of dark they have droplets of water on the leaves that when dry goes white,please help i dont want my babies to die!

[anguscr]

Treacle... I'm not geting if you're growing hydro or soil, What's the PH & EC you're using? What kind of CFL's? Are u using PH & EC meters? Can u place some pics? If I cannot help you somebody else will, but more info will be better...

[treacle]

thanks very much for ur reply.

They r being grown in sedge peat as it has the lowest ph(its says in the jorge cervantes bible that sedge peat has a ph between 6 and 6.5), veging on a 250 blue and flowering on a 250 red ,i dont understand what u mean by ec reading can u elaborate please.

This is first attempt at growing (on a budget) my tent is only a 60 by 60 but will be upgrading, temperture range of inside tent between 26.4 and 27.1 with vents open,hope to upload some pics by 2moro this is only the 1 plant the other 3 r thriving hence y puzzled

[anguscr]

Treacle... I guess that you are not using PH & EC meters & you're just following the instruction on your nutes & using booling water as it comes from the pipeline or botle (Boiling helps just to eliminate bacteria & stuff, has no relation with the PH & EC). Your sedge peat is ok & what Jorge Servantes was refering is that is the medium that has a minimum or not PH at all as rockwool has the highest concentration of them all (about 0.2), but first the PH you should be concern is the one in your water, normaly pure water has a PH of 7.0 & it's high for the cannabis so you may need to lower it to match your strain needs (ussually between 5.8 to 6.2 is ok) I would say that as is an auto strain, they should be similar to the green-o-matic, here''s the link to the GHSC fedding chart: http://www.strainhunters.com/portal/content/ghsc-official-feeding-chart

To lower the PH you need to get a formula that acomplish that. The EC is the Electrical conductivity of a solution & rules the nutes, if you have a low EC just ad nutes, if it's to high just ad water. simple as that & you'll see the results, probably you're managing your nutes correctly reson why your other plants are ok, but a high PH ussully afect the roots & close them down & your plants will absorve less or not nutes all all.

If you cannot or do not want to expend $$$$, you can buy the PH meter use in aquariums, it gives you an average, but works ok, never the less, the electronic gives you the excact & are worth the $$$$, I started to manage the EC recently & it helps a lot.

[Guest superbluehaze]

Hello and welcome to the forum.

You are either watering too much, or you have a nutrient deficiency, which is probablya lack of nitrogen.

Or both watering too much and have a nutrient deficiency.

How often do you feed?

What do you feed her?

Why do you boil the water for - this drives out all of the dissolved air in it, and the roots need as much air as possible.

The plants need to dry out as the roots need oxygen to absorb nurtrients and to stay healthy.

If you water too much the roots drown, as the water displaces the air in the nedium.

We really need some pictures, but I think your problem is watering too much

In that size pot you should water no more than about every 3 to 4 days, if you are watering more than this cut back on the water.

Put your finger down into the medium and if it feels wet at about 2 inches down, then do not water until it feels bone dry at a depth of around 2 inches.

Also, lack of air at the root zone produces the ideal conditions for root rot and other nasties.

Do not worry, once you post some pictures we will be able to help you more.

welcome to the forum, and happy growing,

john

[treacle]

thanks for the info :-) i have added some pics now too x

[Guest superbluehaze]

I am not really sure what the problem is; it does not look like a nutrient deficency; though it could be.

Firstly, do not boil your water - it does nothing except dispell the dissolved oxygen in it.

If you can drink your water, then it is fine for your plants to drink.

Draw your water 24 hours before you use it and let it sit; this gets rid of the chlorine in it.

If u can get an air pimp and air stone and run air through the water for a long as possible before u use it.

If u can get some beneficial fungi and use them.

Cut back on your water - water no more than about every 3 to 4 days, depending on the soil and how damp it is.

I think this your problem, the roots do not have enough oxygen and are being attacked by bad fungi, or if this is not the case, they are too wet.

The roots love to be damp but not wet all the time, when they are the plant displays all sorts of strange symptoms. I am not sure, but I think if you do the above, then it will clear up. Can u post some more pictures of all the plants, as I need to see the whole plant, as well as the others to really help you. Your soil does look to wet, and always mix about 20 to 30% perlite with your soil. This lightens the soil and allows for lots of air spaces. The weed does not like wet soil, as the roots need lots of oxygen. It may also be a ph problem happy growing john

[biggreenbuds]

i would just do everything john said ...

your problem seems to be that you are over watering your babies and also like he said you do not want to boil the water as this actually causes problems ...

instead of watering every 3 or 4 days ... do a wet / dry cycle ... this is when you water your plant and then you wait till the soil is fully dried out to the point of the plant wilting ... the reason you let the plant get to a point of wilting for the time you get used to the wet/dry cycle is so that you get more familiar with your plant and how often she or he needs water ... i personally do this ... i water and then once i think they need to be watered again i push my index finger down in the dirt about 5 inches .. if 5 inches down the soil is fully dry and i mean fully dry .. not even a cool feeling in there then i give it one more day ... by then your plants should start to wilt and then water ... if you stick to this wet/dry cycle you will not have any problems anymore with watering.

i would like to see you get the watering cycle corrected before we go any further to help your plants as it really most likely is as simple as a little thing like watering ... which watering actually is one of the most hard things to master ... and people never understand or fully respect that ... so lets get that under control

also make sure you are not over feeding them as this can cause block outs and other problems especially with over watering ... for now i would cut back your food to 1/4 stregth and then see how they take it .. if they seem to need more go up to 1/2 strength ... if you are using organic nutes then you can go all the way up to full strength but just make sure you dont go from nothing to full strength ... go up a 1/4 at a time and then you can get to full stregth after you see how your particular strain handles it ... if you are using not organic stuff i personally do not like to go over 1/2 strength.

so cut back a little on feeding for now also ... let your plants fully dry out to the point of wilting ... then water them with 1/4 stregth food and make sure water is at a stable Ph.... once you water stick to the wet / dry cycle even if you think they need to be watered or really want to water them just wait till they begin to wilt and also check the soil with your finger. if your plants seem to take the 1/4 stength food well then you can go up to 1/2 if you would like ... and just keep to the wet / dry cycle and things should clear up for you

unless you already have some root rot which i really dont think you do ... then everything will be fine ...

the only other thing that i would say it could be is a phosphorus defficency but lets not worry about that yet as i really think once you correct your watering things will really be great.

good luck

~Bgb

[Guest superbluehaze]

i agree with biggreenbuds;

it will not hurt to let you plants wilt a little bit, if you watch the leaves, they will start to drop a bit first, at the bottom of the plant, once watered again you can see the leaves lifting again from the bottom up as the plant draws up the water.

A plant can survive for days, if it is wilted before it is harmed in any serious way.

Plants are survivers, especially weed, and in nature this does happen, and plants have evolved to deal with this.

Do as bgb advises, and then get back to us.

happy growing,

john

[Guest samuelo]

remove the effected leaves - hopefully the plant will flourish

good luck

[biggreenbuds]

ok well here we go ...

it looks like your ladies seem to have gotten worse over night but this seems easily fixable as cannabis is a very rasiliant plant and can really take tons of abuse ...

we need to really get the wet / dry watering cycle in play and get the plant used to this .. i think the over watering is the root to the problems that are occuring ...

your humidity which is at 70 should really be a bit lower as 70 is a little higher than you want .. you also need to pic up a ph tested so we can make sure that the ph is in check.

over watering causes all types of problems as we have shared with you .. so until we get that under control it will be harder for us to diagnos your problems with your ladies ..

this is what i would do though ... first of all get your bio bizz from your friend and make a 1/4 stength foliar spray and foliar feed them .. do not water them with the food yet though until they are ready to be watered .. and once you are ready to water do a 1/4 strength also ... once you do the foliar feed we should see some progress in plants health as i think from the over watering it has caused some block out of nutrients as your roots are not breathing and they are having trouble with the uptake of the nutrients they need .. i beleive it is a mixture of a maganese , phosphorus , magnesium and potasium defficency .. these are all very easily correctable , you just need to really get the watering in check.

so get the food from your friend and do 1/4 strength foliar feed , stick to the wet / dry cycle no matter how badly you think watering them will help .. trust me it will not , also lower your humidty levels and pick up a ph tester.

your ladies are just in some stress but they are gonna come around

in a week or maybe even less you should notice a huge change in the health of your plants

also a little tip for the foliar feeding .. when you do foliar feed try to do it either when the lights first turn on for the day or what i preffer is to do the foliar feed right when the lights are going to turn off .. like say 1 minute before they are gonna turn off just make sure this gives you enough time to close everyting up so you dont have any interuption for the sleep of your ladies ... if you foliar feed while the lights are on and are gonna be on for a while then it will cause the water and food to evaporate more quikly than the food and water can be absorbed .. this causes salt build ups on the leaves which will lead to block out on the leaves and will clog the tiny holes on the leaves as i will put it which lets the plant breath .. you dont want that to happen ... also only foliar feed once a week and no more than that

it does look as though your soil is still very very moist even though it has been a couple days since you have watered .. the top of soil should be dried out by now atleast ... im really hoping we are not dealing with root rot ... take a pencil or somting similar and push some holes down into the dirt to help airate the soil a little and let some air get down there.

also you said you gave your ladies a small feed of nitrogen about 5 days ago ... what did you use ? how did you give the nitrogen to the plants ?

hope this helps

good luck and keep posting pictures and any new changes in the health of your babies

~Bgb

[Guest superbluehaze]

I still am not sure, but do everything Big green buds has said, cut back on your water and follow his instructions;

and he told be there is water on your leaves when the lights go on, and this could be part of your problem, but

Firstly, do not believe everything you read, as it is all a matter of opinion, and everyone's growing situation is different.

Coco, if it is made by an excellent company is a far better medium then the one you are using, for many reasons. here are some of them;

it is a buffered organic medium that has a balanced water/air mixture which helps to keep the root zone healthy.

coco is made from the husks of coconuts according to a very precise ageing and treatment process.

It is free from parasites and diseases, and certain brands of coco contain naturally occuring bio-organisms, such as trichodera, that fight off bad bugs that will attack the roots of your plants.

It has a stable ph, ideal for growing plants in and an almost insignificant ec level(this is coco brought from an excellent company;( there are cheaper brands that may not be as good as I am stating)

Even when it is saturated it still contains 30% air.

It is possible that a microorganism is attacking the roots of your plant, and it may have been in your medium when you brought it.

Or else,

when the lights come on if the leaves are wet, then they may be being burnt by the light, but it seems logical that if this was the case then the brown edges on the leaves would be at the top of the plant, more so than at the bottom of it.

It could be a ph problem or a pest problem;

I am very sorry, but this one has me stump, I am not sure - can you test the ph of your medium, sometimes peat moss is acidic;

what about your water - what is its EC level?

is your local water hard?

Your boil it, does it come from the tap?

if so does it have a high level of chorine in it?

If your water does have a high level of chorine in it (does it smell a bit like bleach?) then draw your water 2 days before you use it, and let it sit and the chorine in it will evaporate out of it. This is a good things to do anyhow.

what is your temperature during the dark cycle?

Do not worry we will do our best get to the bottom of it for you;

happy growing,

john

[treacle]

hi :-) just to update u i had no luck getting a ph tester today i tried everywhere but im going out of town 2 moro and they have them over where im going,i did buy some bio bizz grow (what i had was bloom) its npk is 8.0-2.0-6.0 and im gonna do a folage feed just before the lights go out tonight,i have also done what u said with the pencil to let more air in and i promise no watering! humidity is now down to between 58 and 63 and temp is 28.8 (83.84) i asked a shop if they knew roughly what our water ph is here and was told between 7.8 and 8 ( live in soft water area) will post some more pics in a few days, as for the small dose of nitro they were given it was normal house plant food and it was a very small dose in with the water for watering.

all the best hear from u soon xoxox :-)

[Guest superbluehaze]

that is your problem. We have solved it, I think;

The ph of your water is too high and is causing nutrient lock out.

Your water is very alkaline, and will cause the micro nutrients to precipitate out.

It will be a hit and miss affair, but until you do get a PH meter or some way to test your ph, then put perhaps1 ml per liter of vinegar in the water, before you put in your fertilzer.

have you tried a garden shop? They sometimes sell PH testing kits, that are a bit like litmus paper, or if you know some one who goes to high school, ask them if they can get some litmus paper from their science teacher.

I think we have solved your problem, but water as we recommend, and as soon aspossible find a way to measure the PH of your nutrient.

I am pleased because I think we have solved your problem, but I am not certain it is completely solved yet; you still have to water less.

happy growing,

john

[Guest superbluehaze]

Even better than that buy some distilled water( make sure it is distilled water though and not deionized water - your locak supermarket should have it in stock); then you know that it is the correct PH, and use that, as your local water may not be very good for growing plants, ask around and see what others have to say that grow garden plants.

happy growing,

john

[anguscr]

Treacle... The PH is a very important factor (as well as the EC), I though that was your problem from the begining; to high PH (use the GHSC feeding chart), John's giving you great instructions to follow & you're going to be ok if you follow them, if you cannot get a digital PH meter around your home just get it on line a lot of guys from England buy their stuff at: http://www.basementlighting.com/ph_and_ec_control.htm

Or at least get one at an aquarium, at least you'll have the average.

[Guest superbluehaze]

Article 3-5 I am growing in Sunshine Mix

I am growing in sunshine #4 and coconut fiber mix. I use Supernatural regularly but have poor quality well water as a result plants are showing signs of nutrient deficiency/buildup. The leaves turn yellow, go spotty, curl up, are dry and fall off. Younger plants are not growing as they should. The problem we figure is the poor water. Because we do not have access to a hydro store, what can I do at home to fix this? Is there a home leeching agent I can make?

Nutrient Deficiency: I can relate to the problem you're having. I once had to have water trucked in for a small scale commercial greenhouse due to the low quality of the well water available. Well water is often high in calcium, magnesium, and sulfur. It may also be out of range regarding pH. If you are using water that has been "softened" for residential use you are likely have sodium toxicity occurring. Raw well water is safer to use than softened water. You may consider purchasing a small residential Reverse Osmosis filter or consider distilling the water. Solar distillers can be constructed for use in warmer, sunny months. No I don't have any recipes, I am afraid I can only recommend using plenty of distilled water to flush your containers. Make sure t adjust the pH of the leeching water accordingly. Final Flush and like products can be obtained through mail order. General Hydroponics makes a Hardwater micro formula, although I have no feedback regarding the product to share. You can also make your own fertilizers lower in calcium, magnesium, and sulfur. Have a sample of your water tested, and build a fertilizer solution that works with it, not against it. You can contact Can-Gro Consulting (in Max Yield) to help you determine what additional elements are required for a complete fertilizer solution.

something for you, my friend,

happy growing

john

[biggreenbuds]

If the first picture is the most recent ... it looks like things are getting better ...

when you foliar feed make sure to only do it once a week and no more ... try and foliar when the lights first come on or i personally do it right when the lights are turning off.

keep updating as the grow goes along

things are looking good

good job

~Bgb

[biggreenbuds]

how is the grow coming along ? have things turned towards the better ?

update if you have the time

hope all is well

~Bgb

[Guest superbluehaze]

I was wondering too, bigbuds how it was going, but i guess no news is good news.

I think it is doing fine.

happy growing,

john