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the journey


chronixx
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could be better.... last week i thought i need to raise my ph soil with higher ph water but that was totally not right... and i gave them allready higher ph water so now they look pretty f*ckt.... :(. hope i can still save them with putting lower ph now... :(. i pray.

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  • 5 weeks later...

wow Shakur,

I empathize over your loss.  Obviously, the environment of your island is truely a difficult habitat for the culture of MJ. 

The Termite attack from below is a complete surprise for me.  I think this is the first time I have ever heard of termites attacking an MJ grow.

Apparently termites are a very active pest in your area.  If so, then it should not be difficult to find an effective soil treartment against the termites.  I see you have already bought something similar.

However, I strongly urge you NOT to treat your growing mediums/soils or plants with these poisons.  These poisons would most likely be absorbed by your plants and would pose a serious health risk to the consumer.

If you were to use Termite Treatments, they should only be used to treat the surrounding ground.  After viewing your pictures, I do agree that your current grow is lost.  Maybe you could save a handful of plants, but the affected plants are doomed to only a low-yield harvest for the purpose of butter, if even that.

Proposed Solutions:

1.  If you wish to attempt again the ground-Level method, then you may need to treat the ground before building your grow area.  In addition to treating the surrounding ground, maybe spreading a layer of a tightly woven Screen on the ground will help to keep any resistant ground pests in the ground.  Subterranean Termites cannot withstand dry conditions but they CAN build little channels from the ground up into wood or soil.  (They do this in homes through cracks in concrete and even on the outer surfaces of masonry but they are less successful on open-air plastic surfaces.)  So set your grow pots on top of another overturned grow pot.

2.  To treat your plants against leaf-eating insects and caterpillers, consider using Neem oil.  Neem oil is a natural oil pressed from the seeds and fruit of the Neem tree (originally from India).  It is widely used for insect control where industrial chemicals are not desired.  Insects don't like it, and it is relatively harmless to humans in the amounts used for insect control.  (Studies indicate that consuming Neem oil in high concentrations may contribute to fertility concerns for women who are pregnant or who wish to soon become pregnant.  Please see Wikipedia, or otherwise inform yourself.)

3.  You mentioned the possible use of Cups for seedlings.  Roots don't like light, so aviod clear or White plastic.  Optimally the Cups should be opaque.  But be careful of temperature.  A dark plastic will absorb the sun's Radiation and turn it into heat, cooking the roots or drying them out too fast.  Consider wrapping your pots with a light-colored material to reflect away the sun's energy, but not a material that would serve to attract unwanted pests (such as, newspaper might attract termites).

4.  The leaf curl:  A previous member posted the possibility that extremely low pH may be causing Mn toxicity.  I agree.  I have also experienced exactly the same leaf-curl, and at that time, my pH was too low.  Additionally, my soil was waaay too wet for a Long period of time.  I corrected the Problem with a good Long flush with water followed by a 3-day dry-out period.  Then I re-mixed my nutrients and adjusting the pH.

5.  pH Correction:  pH Correction should be performed carefully and slowly.  Also, the pH scale is not a linear scale.  It's not like adding a Cup of water with pH 2,0 to a Cup of pH 6,0 will yield 2 Cups of pH 4.0.  It doesn't work like that.  Also, working with pH values far removed from your target value will most certainly cause pH shock (if not chemical burns) to the roots.  It is far better to use the Approach-method rather than to risk overshooting. 

Example, MJ can live in an Environment where, through its lifetime, the pH swings between 5,4 to 7,4. Not permanent, but swings back and forth.  Ph swing is natural, but it should remain within reasonable Limits.  Charts are available online that Show how for MJ, some nutrients are better absorbed in the lower pH range while other nutrients are better absorbed in the upper pH range.

We know of course that MJ enjoys pH 5,8 to ~6,4 for Hydroponics where the ambient tendancy is for the pH to rise.  In this case, the target is 5,8.  Mix 5,8.  Over the next week or two, the pH will most likely rise.  If it approaches the upper Limits of our target range, then we must intervene.  (Some hydroponics growers work with Systems where the water and air cause the pH to tend to fall.  For them, their target is 6,4.  And over their next two weeks they may Need to adjust pH upwards.)

For soil, the target is usually ~6,2 where the tendancy is for the pH to rise.  However, in your case, your soil is quite acid, tendancy is to fall, so your target pH could possibly be 6,8.  If your soil pH measures around 4,5 then I would suggest first flushing with just water at 7,0/7,2 to wash away many of the free radicals (chemical ionic molecules that are causing the current acidity), then mixing your feedwater, pH adjusted to no higher than the upper end of the MJ-liveable range, ie. 7,2.  After flushing/feeding, you may notice a slight rise in soil pH.  Give it some time.  Remember soil is a buffer, and it is alive with activity.  pH will change with time, temperature, moisture, and with the biological activity within the soil.  After your normal soil-drying period, measure again.  Repeat the procedure as necessary.

 

Good Luck, Man.

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Sometimes I get lost trying to solve a specific Problem without stopping to back-up and take a look at the whole Situation.  (Can't see the forest because of all the trees in the way.)

If your current soil mixture creates too low a pH, and if it contains local ground-soil amendments that may have introduced pests, then it is not efficient to continue to struggle with poisons and pH adjustment chemicals to treat a failed Batch of soil, especially after you have experienced a significant grow failure with documented catastrophic pH measurements and pests.  Cut your losses, throw this soil into your composter.  Mix a new Batch of soil using the correct and sterile components.  I understand one's desire to want to be an Inventor, but there are proven recipes for MJ super-soil available online.  Why re-invent the wheel?

OK, your garden market doesn't have what you Need?  Then maybe you could insist that they Import the correct soils and components.  Look at the soil mixes that are being recommended by companies in Holland.  Look at the products from Fox Farm / Happy Frog of northern California.  And yes, Perlite is important.  It works better than Ton-balls in soil, whereas Ton-balls are better suited for Hydroponics. 

If the garden Center is simply too lame to order what its customers want, then that garden Center should be informed that they fail to Support their customers and that the customers will seek other sources, possibly to the Point that that will generate another competitor for the former. 

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  • 4 months later...

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