Need Help With Nutrients / Deficiencies & Light Burn?

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GrowForJoy

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Hello everyone.

I am brand new to growing and would love to get some insight on what is happening with my plants. I saw a forum post that gave a lot of good points on what information you may need to help me diagnose the issue with my plants, so I will include my entire log that I have written since day one.

I am growing from seed in a 4'x4'x6'6" tent with rock wool. Plants are on day 25 and stand just under 4" tall. I have used Kick Start on the seedlings and water at 5.6Ph with RO water at 66-71 degrees fahrenheit. I was using a T5 but switched over to a Mars Hydro reflector 192 recently.

Essentially, I have noticed some small yellow spots on one of the plants, and yellowed tips on another that started to curl upwards. the cotyledon are quite progressively yellow on all the plants. The first four that I transplanted grew into the new rock wool block flawlessly, however I did the transplant in a way I thought would force root growth ( it seemed to work very well ) for those plants. The last plant was transplanted in a way I read on the internet ( soak the rock wool in a Ph balanced solution and let it drain excess water ) however that plant seemed to drown out within two days which will be a different question I have for later.
What I would like to know, is when do I start giving nutrients to the plants. I have Sensi grow A and B for the vegetation phase. Are the yellow spots on the plants a sign of malnutrition or light burn? What about the irregularities in the leaves on Do you see anything wrong with what I have been doing with the plants?

Thanks everyone for your time and shared knowledge, I am looking forward to these girls growing big and strong!

~~ Grow Log ~~

Cheese Grow Log

Hydro drip system, Rock Wool, Hydroton, RO Water, Mars Hydro 192 LED, T-Tek T5, Advanced Nutrients,


September 20, 2018


Day 1 - Germination begins. Seeds have been placed in room temperature, distilled water. This was at 6pm.


Day 2 - After the seeds have soaked for 12 hours, I tapped them and they sunk. Two hours later (8am) I transferred the seeds to a damp paper towel placed on a plate. I spaced the seeds about one inch apart and made sure the paper towel was very wet but not soaked. They were put on a heated mat set to 80 degrees fahrenheit.


Day 3 - In the morning after 8 hours of not watering, the paper towel was almost dry and three seeds were cracked open a little. I soaked the towel every 6 hours and checked the seeds each time.

** Planted **

Day 4 - Four of the seeds have sprouted, the remaining seed doesn’t to appear to have cracked yet. Distilled water is being used to wet paper towel when necessary.
34 hours after being in damp paper towel, the seedlings have all sprouted a tap root. At 6pm they were transferred to rock wool soaked with 5.6PH balanced water with 1ml of kick start added to (500ml) water, with the tap root facing down. CFL lighting was placed one foot above the seeds.


Day 5 - 12 hours after being planted in the rock wool, one sprout has popped out the top, the others have not changed. (The one that sprouted was almost too big for the rock wool cube and as a result I couldn’t fully cover it).
No water was needed, however the seed with the large tap root seems to be pushing upward as opposed to rooting downward as a result of being too large for the rock wool. Try for 1/4 or 1/3 inch next time before planting in rock wool, larger than 1/2 of an inch seems to be inefficient. One other seed has sprouted, the others have not broken through the top of the rock wool.

** The light was moved from 15” to 7” away from the seedlings **

24 Celsius (75 fahrenheit)

60% Humidity



Day 6 - A total of 4 seeds have popped through the rock wool. I helped the tallest seedling shed its shell as it seemed to be having a hard time, and the leaves inside seemed to be dying. I watered with 5.2ph balanced water accidentally opposed to 5.5-5.8 after 36 hours even though the rock wool was fairly damp (6am). 6 hours following the watering, the seeds seem to have exploded with growth.
When I checked at 9pm all 5 seeds have sprouted from the rock wool. One is slightly deformed and seems to have had a hard time coming out of the rock wool or seed, another is over an inch tall and has almost the full seed covering the leaves.


** Seedling Stage **


Day 7 - In the morning the plants were all standing almost 3” tall, except the one caught in the rock wool. The seeds were still on the top of two plants, one seedling was stuck on the inner casing of the shell so I removed it, and the other seedling was getting large but seemed to be stuck in the shell so I also removed that seed.
By the evening all of the seedlings have began growing a second set of leaves with the exception of one of the seedlings I pulled the seed off today. All seedlings look healthy, however the one that was stuck in the rock wool yesterday still seems to be slightly deformed.


Day 8 - Not much growth since last night, all the seedlings look healthy including the one with some shell casing stuck to it. This morning (6:30am) the rock wool was light yellow with lots of air pockets, it was quite light and seemed to be getting dry. I watered the rock wool with 5.6PH balanced distilled water with 0.8 ml of kick start at 71 fahrenheit. The seed that has a minor deformity has corrected its self and looks good
Three of the seedlings have one root through the bottom of the rock wool. I removed the shell casing from the remaining seed, and one of the leaves looks unhealthy. I have set the plants on a 18 on 6 off light cycle.


Day 9 - The plants are looking healthy with the exception of the plant with the unhealthy looking leaf. The rock wool appears to be getting dry, I may have to water again tonight. I have removed the humidity dome and moved the light to 5” or 6” away, as a result I have to watch carefully so the plants don’t grow too close to the light. Around 9:30 am I used the electric kettle to boost up the humidity from 44% - 68% and have turned on the fan full time.
At 6pm I checked the plants and the seedling that was slightly too large for the rock wool had fallen over sideways likely from the fan. The root is still in tact so I dug out a bunch of rock wool, and sort of weaved the root in the space I made and covered it to prevent any light penetration. I periodically have to turn on the kettle to maintain 60% humidity in the tent. The leaves on the deformed plant are very hard, however the next set of leaves are still growing so I will continue to monitor it.

The temperature fluctuated from 19-24 within the day and 44% - 70% for the humidity.


Day 10 - Growth seems to have slowed down a lot. The plants still look healthy, however they don’t seem to be getting much bigger or fuller. Adjusted the humidity as required.
In the evening I could see a second node of leaves beginning on two of the plants, I will set the humidity to 60% before the lights go out.


Day 11 - Rock wool was getting quite dry by the morning. I watered the plants with 5.7PH balanced water with no nutrients, however I did not warm the water so it was 63 fahrenheit.
Plants have grown significantly since watering. The first node has lifted from the beginning set of leaves and the second node is much more prominent. The second node has started on 4 plants but is very visible on 2. Temperature spikes to 80 fahrenheit (27 celsius) at random points through the day, likely from the furnace vent above the tent.


Day 12 - Plant growth has accelerated significantly since watering yesterday, all plants are growing their second nodes and the first plant to grow its second node has lifted off of the first set of leaves. There isn’t much growth in terms of height, but the stems have gotten a little thicker in the past few days.
One plant has a small leaf deformity on its first node, I will watch to make sure it stays healthy. All the leaves have nice colour on all plants and they seem to be doing well so far.

The temp appears to drop to 16 celsius in the night time, I will have to monitor it and attempt to fix it.


Day 13 - 7:30am the rock wool was quite dry by the morning with the fan running 24/7 and the high temperature spikes in the past days. I watered the plants with 5.5Ph balanced water at 70 degrees fahrenheit, with 0.5ml of kick start in 500ml of water. The second node is much more prominent on all plants with all the first nodes lifting up above the seedling leaves .


Day 14 - All plants look healthy, although the plant that had its first leaf bent back because it was hardened is starting to develop a slightly purple stem, there was a huge snow dump and the temperature drop likely has something to do with it. I will make changes to keep the temperature higher when the lights are out at night. Roots are starting to grow out past the rock wool on two of the plants, I will have to transplant them before they become root bound so the water can trickle down the roots properly. It also appears that the rock wool is getting dry after a day and a half, likely because the root development has increased drastically and the plants can now pull more water.


Day 15 - 4 plants have significant root growth on the bottom of the rock wool, some roots are coming from the sides on two of the plants ( 5 - 7 roots total ). Today I transplanted the plants to a 4”x4”x4” rock wool cube. I soaked the bottom 2/3 of the cubes in 5.5 Ph balanced water at 72 degrees fahrenheit for about 10 seconds until I could see the water at the bottom of the cut out for the old rock wool ( Thats about how high the water line was ). I shook out lots of the water and placed it on a tray, continuing the process for all 4 rock wool cubes. I then started at the first rock wool and shook out almost ALL the water so the roots would have lots of water pockets and not as much water to take in, and continued this for all the rock wool cubes. After basically all excess water was shaken out of the rock wool I added 5ml of water to the surface where the old rock wool will touch to give the roots a close but limited source of water. After transplanting I soaked a small piece of rock wool and squeezed most of the water out, tearing it up to plug the spots where the old rock wool did not fill in the gaps. I watered 2ml of water at the base of each stem and placed them back under the light 5” away ( The top 1/4 of the rock wool cubes are still bone dry in an attempt to force out roots ). The last plant was 3/4 dipped in to the water and placed in a cup half filled with hydroton to keep the plant at the same height as the others, it had no root growth coming from the bottom or sides of the rock wool however it is also the plant with the slightly purple stem and bent back leaf.


Day 16 - First thing in the morning I tipped the plants upside down for 10 seconds to let the water drip through the rock wool partly and give a little extra water to the plants. I also rotated the plants from right to left on the drip tray.
At 6:30pm I held the plants upside down for 20 seconds and let the water from the rock wool travel upwards to the plants. The third node has just barely begun growing on three of the plants, and one nice root is coming from the bottom of the plant in the cup that has fallen behind.


Day 17 - At 6:30am I watered the plants with 15ml of 5.7Ph balanced water at 72 degrees fahrenheit. I rotated the plants on the drip tray from right to left.


Day 18 - The third nodes are starting on all the plants that have been transplanted. One plant appears to be missing a leaf segment on one of its second node leaves. The plant in the cup has three roots coming from the bottom of the rock wool. The plants were rotated from right to left.


Day 19 - As the plants get larger mostly all seem to have some small irregularities. This could be normal, however I thought it was worth noting. Plant growth has slowed noticeably, possibly because they aren’t getting as much light as they need or perhaps they have transplant shock but I am unsure.
The plant that has not been transplanted is catching up to the others and will need to be moved to a rock wool cube soon. Tomorrow the LED will arrive and I will adjust the environment for its final set up. The plants were rotated from right to left. The plants leaves were starting to droop in the evening, I will water them in the morning just after they wake up.


Day 20 - At 6:30am I watered the plants with 500ml of 5.7Ph, 71 degree fahrenheit water with 1ml of kick start. I watered all the plants in the middle 3/4 of the rock wool cubes.
Some of the plants in the large rock wool cubes are showing root growth on the bottom of the cubes. The third nodes are emerging on all plants, and they are about to enter the vegetative state.


^^ ^^^ ^^

** Fertilizer ( Kick Start ) may have been too much at this stage **

vv vvv vv


Day 21 - Today I set up the LED light 20” away from the plants and set them up in the centre of the light to get the most PAR from the LED’s. The LED seems to make the air dry, I will need a humidifier soon and will also have to set up the inline fan.
The plant in the small rock wool has 7 roots emerging from the bottom of the block, It was transplanted to a rock wool cube with 0.5ml of kick start in 700ml of water at 71 degrees fahrenheit. I soaked the whole rock wool cube and let the excess water drain, I then placed the plant in to the cube and covered the spots where light could get to the roots. The plant also appears to have stopped growing upwards, I will monitor this and make sure something didn’t happen.


Day 22 - In the morning three of the plants had minor light burn or calcium deficiency. I have moved the light to 23” away, this evening I will check to see if it has progressed and If I need to start a nutrient routine. The plant that was transplanted yesterday seems to be droopy which is a sign of over watering.


Day 23 - The burn / deficiency has slowed but continues. Root growth has increased drastically on the bottom of the first four plants that were transplanted. I watered the 4 plants with 5.6Ph balanced water at 66 degrees fahrenheit. Temperature drops to 17 degrees celsius at night, I will need to figure out a way to use the heater without blowing the power bar.
In the evening the last plant transplanted was VERY droopy, I folded up some paper towel and placed the rock wool cube on top of it to wick out as much moisture as possible. The rock wool looks quite dry on the bottom, however it has some weight still so I will set it on paper towel again tomorrow morning if it appears to need more moisture removed.


Day 24 - The droopy plant looks like its going to die. The wilting has progressed heavily and I will likely have to run some hydrogen peroxide next watering to kill the bad bacteria that has possibly grown due to drowning and potentially killing / rotting roots.


Day 25 - Three of the best growing plants have a nice progression on their third nodes, and they have begun growing their fourth node. The fourth plant has some signs of malnutrition or some kind of stress. The droopy plant is still stunted, however it seems to have slightly improved.
 
G

GrowForJoy

11
3
The first pic is the plant I feel has drowned.

Image

Image


This is the plant that may have malnutrition or light burn
Image


Cotyledons yellow / yellow spots on leaves.
Image


I can take better pictures if required.
 
H

hawkman

2,209
263
keep at least 18 inches above them - NO nutrients, just water and a good root stimulator. You are in seedling stage that will last for 2 weeks then veg stage and start feeding. Happy Cultivation )No over-watering !!!!!!!!!!
 
G

GrowForJoy

11
3
keep at least 18 inches above them - NO nutrients, just water and a good root stimulator. You are in seedling stage that will last for 2 weeks then veg stage and start feeding. Happy Cultivation )No over-watering !!!!!!!!!!

Thank you hawkman for your information, I have a question for your response though. You said the plants are in seedling stage for 2 weeks and then I start feeding, but I started germination 25 days ago and they have been planted for 22 days. Does this mean they are in vegetative state already as its been three weeks?
Also I am quite curious about the yellow spots and what I would describe as burnt tips, is that just light burn? I had my light 20" away when light burn affected the plants and have moved the light 24" away as a result which seems to have stopped the burn and the plants aren't stretching so I would guess they are getting enough light.
Thanks again!
 
H

hawkman

2,209
263
Thank you hawkman for your information, I have a question for your response though. You said the plants are in seedling stage for 2 weeks and then I start feeding, but I started germination 25 days ago and they have been planted for 22 days. Does this mean they are in vegetative state already as its been three weeks?
Also I am quite curious about the yellow spots and what I would describe as burnt tips, is that just light burn? I had my light 20" away when light burn affected the plants and have moved the light 24" away as a result which seems to have stopped the burn and the plants aren't stretching so I would guess they are getting enough light.
Thanks again!

Go by this ;
Germination stage - 3-14 days
Seedling stage - 1-2 weeks (when there are 5 sets of true leaves then in veg)
Vegation stage - 1 - 3 months (60 days being the norm)
Pre-flower stage 1-2 weeks once in 12/12 - it's the time it takes to develope buds)
Flower stage - 1 -4 months 2 mos' being the norm (flower time depends on strain)

24 -28 INCHES WORKS WELL --- have done 18-20 -- and as close as 10-12 inches for flower ---- 300 WATT LED
 

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