Lights are Unit Farm UFL 3000 5x5 tent with 2 lights hanging 16 inches over canopy.
I feed with Foxfarm liquid nutrients trio
I used Cal Mac and PH Down when I last feed them 18 hours before this started. I may have used to much pH down my gage was not working and I didn't realize it till I was done. Today the little bit of water that was left read pH 3.5 on new gage.
Sup
@PopPop67?
So to start things off, you are growing in a peatmoss/perlite mix, with some
home made compost.
The growth you've had so far looks great, and the problem started shortly after feeding.
You checked the left over nutrients that you didn't use and it came to 3.5 pH? Or did you check the run off and it came to 3.5 pH? Because that would be a lot worse, please clarify.
Luckily it's not the end of the world, and since you are growing in the peatmoss/perlite mix, which has dolomite lime added to in from the manufacturer, because the spagnum peat moss is mixed with composted pine bark and the mixture is naturally acidic.
So the peatmoss/perlite mix has dolomite lime in it, which dissolves slowly. This will counter the low pH of the spagnum peat moss, and the pine bark, but requires that the soil medium be moist enough to dissolve the dolomite lime, and the moisture has to be in contact with the dolomite lime for a prolonged period. So keep the soil moist for the next few days until you see improvement from the incerased dolomite lime activation.
Give this article a quick read, it's from the Pro-Mix official website, and can give you some more detailed insight.
Learn how to adjust pH with limestone, then monitor its balance in your substrates for optimum plant nutrition and growth.
www.pthorticulture.com
In order to correct the issue you will need to flush your soil, to make sure the pH does not remain too low. The article suggests a 2:1 ratio of water to soilless medium, however you can flush the plant out with quite a bit more than this. If you can do this in the tub or a sink that would be ideal. Just don't wash away your medium running the water with too much flow, lol...
Flush your pots out, and let the run off go down the drain. After an hour or two, come back and give it just enough water to get some additional run off, then check the pH of the run off. If your run off is in the acceptable range, then you can place your plant under the light, but dial the light back a bit just to observe and to avoid any furthering of the issue.
You're going to want to avoid any feeds for a day or two, and if the issue isn't correcting, then there is a more serious issue at hand.
Once the coast is clear and the damage has stopped, plus you observe that the new growth is starting to continue as it was before the issue, then you can go back and return to a light feed to get back into the usual growth.
Ps. I wouldn't remove any damaged leaves until you know the issue has resolved, and the new growth is continuing as usual. Older growth is taking the damage to protect the more vital parts of the plant, such as the main cola, and the shoots. Those in most cases will be damaged last, before the plant becomes too damaged and dies.
One other thing, is make sure the compost in your soil is not breaking down and causing the soil to literally become hot, as this will destroy the roots and your plants will eventually die. If the compost is not fully broken down, then some reactions can occure when you add nutrients and pH Down, etc... So just as a precaution, stick your finger into the soil to make sure there is not a chemical reaction causing heat in the root zone, as this can happen with organic nutrients as they break down.
Lastly, I'd get rid of that pH Down, because it's not needed, and has clearly caused some issues here. So best to avoid it and not repeat the same mistake. Tjere are reactions that happen in the soil as soon as the nutrients hits it, and the pH starts to change, so measuring the pH before feeding is not always necessary, the soil compostion from the manufacturer is made to counter the low pH, so we shouldn't be hindering that effect.
Of course if you had very high pH water to begin with, then you may need to use a pH Down product, however I am assuming you have good clean water that's treated by your city.
I hope some of what I've said here helped you move past this issue and get back on track with the nice growth you've had so far!
