First time grower seeking advice

[Menequadon1]

Hi there, I’m on my first grow using a 2 x 4 AC Infinity smart tent kit that I bought earlier this year and growing two plants in soil (fox farms happy frog/ forest mix) running with seeds from Therealseedcompany. I have deep chunk and Afton 90 and they’ve been growing since about the end of March. Chunk is doing well and overall quite healthy but Afghan has been suffering from mistakes that I made when watering. I’ve been using distilled water, which I add Calmag to and pH balance to somewhere between 6.3 and 6.7 usually.

My main problem is that I’ve been using Google Gemini to give me advice and I’ve realized that that’s not always quite accurate (who’d have thought). It led me to use water that was not pH balanced and did not have any calmag, essentially ruining the soil in Afghan and creating a lockout situation, which I then corrected by balancing my water to the right pH, but still not using any Calmag.
Long story short, Afghan has lost a good amount of her foliage and is now pale green to yellow on most leaves with a great amount of empty space.

If anyone has recommendations on how to fix this and where to go from here, I would greatly appreciate it, as well as any general advice on how you water and how frequently you add nutrients, what pH you aim for usually, etc.
thanks in advance, and I will attach photos of where I am at right now. Afghan is the plant on the left and chunk is on the right.

 

[Ninjadogma]

Based on the overall yellow tone of the plant, it looks it's sitting in high EC, not starving. A couple deep waterings can put it back on track. Doesn't need more cal mag, needs to get past what's locking it up. So you've got a yellow tone and burnt tips and if you're not overfeeding then you're not putting enough volume of water through the soil. No need to get hung up on pH. There are some buffers in that mix to help prevent drift. If you're mixing nutes you want to check because they can significantly change the value. Other than that, just let the soil handle it. Those pH pens are notorious for being inaccurate and you start messing with it in soil where there's no problems, your gonna have problems. But if you have an EC pen, it wouldn't be a bad idea to collect some of the runoff after you are done watering to see where it's sitting. Don't collect at the beginning... Wait til you're done to look at it.

 

[Menequadon1]

Ok thanks for the response! So should i just flush it again with distilled water? And should I balance it to any certain pH? I have a pH pen that also can measure EC. I’ve been working with a feed water feed kind of schedule where every other watering I add nutrients. At this point, I feel like I could have flipped them to flower, but with all the issues I haven’t wanted to stress the plants out too much before I do that and they do have some room to grow still.
Also, I’ve been adding about 1.8 teaspoons of calmag to the water each time. Is that necessary every time I water?

 

[MercDod]

Hi there, I’m on my first grow using a 2 x 4 AC Infinity smart tent kit that I bought earlier this year and growing two plants in soil (fox farms happy frog/ forest mix) running with seeds from Therealseedcompany. I have deep chunk and Afton 90 and they’ve been growing since about the end of March. Chunk is doing well and overall quite healthy but Afghan has been suffering from mistakes that I made when watering. I’ve been using distilled water, which I add Calmag to and pH balance to somewhere between 6.3 and 6.7 usually.

My main problem is that I’ve been using Google Gemini to give me advice and I’ve realized that that’s not always quite accurate (who’d have thought). It led me to use water that was not pH balanced and did not have any calmag, essentially ruining the soil in Afghan and creating a lockout situation, which I then corrected by balancing my water to the right pH, but still not using any Calmag.
Long story short, Afghan has lost a good amount of her foliage and is now pale green to yellow on most leaves with a great amount of empty space.

If anyone has recommendations on how to fix this and where to go from here, I would greatly appreciate it, as well as any general advice on how you water and how frequently you add nutrients, what pH you aim for usually, etc.
thanks in advance, and I will attach photos of where I am at right now. Afghan is the plant on the left and chunk is on the right.

Just my opinion but,

Using distilled water has nothing ( meaning NO cal or Mag or any other micronutes) in it so I would at the least use cal-mag. I am assuming you have no other useful water available? I would think that spring water would be better and PH as you have. I use cal-mag through the first 2/3 of my grows sometimes longer. I use my well water which has cal and mag but very low amounts.

Other things to consider, what are you feeding it? How big are the pots your using (3 gallon or 5)? These are a few of the main factors that determine the answer to how you water and how frequently you add nutrients.

Again this is only my opinion and suggest you do more research on why distilled water is not the best for cannabis and check alternatives that will work better.

Remember research, research, research depending on your criteria

 

[Gmix]

Ok thanks for the response! So should i just flush it again with distilled water? And should I balance it to any certain pH? I have a pH pen that also can measure EC. I’ve been working with a feed water feed kind of schedule where every other watering I add nutrients. At this point, I feel like I could have flipped them to flower, but with all the issues I haven’t wanted to stress the plants out too much before I do that and they do have some room to grow still.
Also, I’ve been adding about 1.8 teaspoons of calmag to the water each time. Is that necessary every time I water?

Agree distilled water isn’t cannabis friendly on its own.
That sounds like a load of Cali mg mind especially in soil during veg.
You may want to check the that as it could be adding to your problem.
To much ca can mess a grow up.


Hopefully someone that uses ca will help
As don’t use it as my water & nutes have plenty
Nor do I need to ph as I grow organically in soil
Anyway I read about wanting to flower don’t do that until your plant has recovered

 

[Menequadon1]

Agree distilled water isn’t cannabis friendly on its own.
That sounds like a load of Cali mg mind especially in soil during veg.
You may want to check the that as it could be adding to your problem.
To much ca can mess a grow up.


Hopefully someone that uses ca will help
As don’t use it as my water & nutes have plenty
Nor do I need to ph as I grow organically in soil
Anyway I read about wanting to flower don’t do that until your plant has recovered

 

[Menequadon1]

What kind of water do you use? I have a filter on my kitchen sink that removed a good amount of poullutants, but my water is very hard by default so idk if itd be any good. Chunk has been doing good compared to afghan so idk what the difference is thats holding afghan back

 

[Menequadon1]

Just my opinion but,

Using distilled water has nothing ( meaning NO cal or Mag or any other micronutes) in it so I would at the least use cal-mag. I am assuming you have no other useful water available? I would think that spring water would be better and PH as you have. I use cal-mag through the first 2/3 of my grows sometimes longer. I use my well water which has cal and mag but very low amounts.

Other things to consider, what are you feeding it? How big are the pots your using (3 gallon or 5)? These are a few of the main factors that determine the answer to how you water and how frequently you add nutrients.

Again this is only my opinion and suggest you do more research on why distilled water is not the best for cannabis and check alternatives that will work better.

Remember research, research, research depending on your criteria

That makes sense. I have an aquasana water filter on my tap, but my tapwater in my town has naturally high levels of chlorine and is very hard. I may have to give springwater a shot unless you think I could get away with my tapwater, which out of the sink has an ec of 1270.
Also, I have them in 5 gallon fabric pots and when I do feed them, I give them one of the fox farms, trio nutrients, currently it is the Grow Big at about 50% mix every other watering.

 

[Menequadon1]

Here they are currently. Deep Chunk is the first one, looking good I’d say, and afghan is the second 2, looking stressed I’d say

 

[Gmix]

What kind of water do you use? I have a filter on my kitchen sink that removed a good amount of poullutants, but my water is very hard by default so idk if itd be any good. Chunk has been doing good compared to afghan so idk what the difference is thats holding afghan back

Straight up tap water
You have to let it stand for 24hrs to “gas” off to remove the chlorophyll
I’m in uk mind so our water may vary

 

[Gmix]

Do have gnats or is the sticky yellow paper just in case.
If you do try nematodes they will eat them for breakfast.
You can order from Amazon eBay or buy locally

Fungus Fly Killer Nematodes

What are Fungus Flies? The Fungus Fly, also known as the Sciarid Fly, can cause severe damage to plants. These tiny flies will lay eggs in compost or soil, from which larvae will develop. The larvae feed on young plants and seedlings at propagation. Fungus Fly are also a common pest in...

dragonfli.co.uk

A fair few of those yellow leaves won’t recover
Re reading as I would like to help but you need advice on the Cali mg first
A few weeks ago I could have tagged a few that would but the site went through major changes & they left, least said about that the better mind.
One thing I did read was ( unfiltered ) hard water that’s the good stuff ( when it comes to cannabis) soft water isn’t

 

[Gonnnn]

Do have gnats or is the sticky yellow paper just in case.
If you do try nematodes they will eat them for breakfast.
You can order from Amazon eBay or buy locally

Fungus Fly Killer Nematodes

What are Fungus Flies? The Fungus Fly, also known as the Sciarid Fly, can cause severe damage to plants. These tiny flies will lay eggs in compost or soil, from which larvae will develop. The larvae feed on young plants and seedlings at propagation. Fungus Fly are also a common pest in...

dragonfli.co.uk

A fair few of those yellow leaves won’t recover
Re reading as I would like to help but you need advice on the Cali mg first
A few weeks ago I could have tagged a few that would but the site went through major changes & they left, least said about that the better mind.
One thing I did read was hard water that’s the good stuff ( when it comes to cannabis) soft water isn’t

Good point. Once leaves are heavily damaged, the goal is usually to stop the problem from spreading rather than expecting those leaves to recover. I’ve noticed some of the more affordable TSP genetics handle minor nutrient and water issues surprisingly well, but getting the Cal/Mag and water situation sorted is definitely the first step.

 

[Jmaes Mabley]

First thing Id do is check PH of soil.
2nd thing Id do is can that fertilizer, and never have to deal with Cal/Mag again.
Id switch to??
Master Blend
4 18 38
Epsom Salts
Calcium Nitrate
NOTHING else needed.
Also if you want to use your Tap Water?? Dilute it 50%+ with Distilled/RO Water. Id cut it 65% myself, but also check if you can, the sodium content. If high, scrap it.

Ocean Forest-Forest Mix PH is best at 5.8-6.2
And water is best PH to the same 5.8-6.2
Grow Big is Hybrid, and is to be TREATED AS A CHEMICAL GROW, NOT ORGANIC
NOT 6.2-6.4, and your ph water up to as high as 6.7, is an extremely bad idea.
OF-FOREST MIX often bottoms out at 5.0-5.5 PH.
Forest Mix as other OF soiless mixes are low in Calcium, and Moderate in Magnesium.

I would have also cut the Forest Mix with 30% perlite. Forest Mix I believe is heaviest of all the OF products, and is not conductive to good root aeration.
If medium needs PH correction??

I recommend using 2/3 parts Calcitic Lime and 1/3 pars Dolomite. While I dont know what amounts youd need, Id use that ratio as that is what most Peat based Manufacturers like Premier use to correct PH/Buffer Peat Based Soilless Mediums.
I myself use Promix BX, others like HP, as it is a bit lighter, but I use HID/HPS and like the bit of extra water retention. Both are A#1. Next time, if possible use wither Promix BX, or HP.
But Id can the fertilizer and switch to
Master Blend
Epsom Salts
Calcium Nitrate.
Also they have to mixed in that order.
PH water after EC Achieved. I try and get PH water under 5.9
Use EC of .8 on seedlings from Day ONE-13 on a 56-70 days flowering strain.
EC 1.6 Veg
Early Flowering
EC 1.6 from Day 1 12/12-Day 20
Also EC is based on 500 Scale
EC 1.8 Day 21- day 48
EC Day 49-70 1.6

 

[Menequadon1]

Straight up tap water
You have to let it stand for 24hrs to “gas” off to remove the chlorophyll
I’m in uk mind so our water may vary

Ok yea i have a filter on my cold water line that is supposed to remove chlorine pretty well, but I don’t know about chlorophyll removal.
I’m thinking about trying some water from the sink and mixing in nutrients when I do feed and always balancing it out on the pH levels before I water.

 

[Menequadon1]

Ok thanks for the response! So should i just flush it again with di

Do have gnats or is the sticky yellow paper just in case.
If you do try nematodes they will eat them for breakfast.
You can order from Amazon eBay or buy locally

Fungus Fly Killer Nematodes

What are Fungus Flies? The Fungus Fly, also known as the Sciarid Fly, can cause severe damage to plants. These tiny flies will lay eggs in compost or soil, from which larvae will develop. The larvae feed on young plants and seedlings at propagation. Fungus Fly are also a common pest in...

dragonfli.co.uk

A fair few of those yellow leaves won’t recover
Re reading as I would like to help but you need advice on the Cali mg first
A few weeks ago I could have tagged a few that would but the site went through major changes & they left, least said about that the better mind.
One thing I did read was ( unfiltered ) hard water that’s the good stuff ( when it comes to cannabis) soft water isn’t

Stickt traps are just in case, dont have much of a gnat problem luckily.
So you saw they said hard water is good huh? Im def gonna try some on afghan. Probably dont need to add calmag to that then?

 

[Jmaes Mabley]

NO! DO NOT FLUSH.

Let the plant dry back, but not to the point of drooping.
Then, ph water-5.8-6.2- EC 1.0-1.2. WATER UNTIL LIGHT RUNOFF ONLY!!! DO NOT FLUSH. Also, if you use the Master Blend-Epsom Salts-Calcium Nitrate, in the correct ratios, which are 1 part Master Blend at a rate of 1 -.5-1 of which in my case, with 450ppm initial tap water is 1.0-1.2 Grams of Master Blend per gallon of water. 1/5 Gram Epsom Salts Per Gallon Water and 1-1.2 Grams Calcium Nitrate Per Gallon of water. These are the correct ratios from start to finish at all stages. The only thing that changes is the EC AMOUNTS. You use the Same amounts of Master Blend, and Calcium Nitrate, and Half the amount of Epsom Salts. It really cant be more simple than that. And the main thing is to keep it simple, but make it work, so you do not waste TIME, or money. And dont chase bloom busters and the like either. All you do is change the correct ratios, and interfere with absorption. Generally from Seedling- flowering is from .8 EC- MAX 1.9 EC. Ten taperrr back to 1.6 EC late flowering. I use middle ground averages for EC levels. If they dont drop leaves. And nice color, growing fast as they are supposed to, and exhibit no deficiencies, I see no logical sense to experiment. Others run higher sometimes, but when you do you risk over fert, Hermi, lower yield, and potency. Its like trying to force feed ones self. All you get is fat, and no benefit. BUT GET THE MB-EPSOM SALTS-CALCIUM NITRATE!!!!!
Adding the Calcium Nitrate ( 19% CALCIUM ) , and Epsom Salts is ( 10% Magnesium-13% Sulfur, whaich makesss Epsom Salts a crazy easy way to get your sulfur-helps terpene production. The Calcium, and Magnesium in these, with the introduction of 5.8-6.0 PH water-Id go closest to 5.8 as possible will also help stabilize PH 5.8-6.2 over time. The low Calcium, and Mg, and possibly over watering is most likely to also be causing a PH crash, not to mention PH water of up to 6.7.
Id also water EC 1.0-1.2 2x in a row.
Then Id water from EC 1.3-1.4
After you see positive changes, IN NEW GROWTH- UP EC to 1.6.

 

[Menequadon1]

First thing Id do is check PH of soil.
2nd thing Id do is can that fertilizer, and never have to deal with Cal/Mag again.
Id switch to??
Master Blend
4 18 38
Epsom Salts
Calcium Nitrate
NOTHING else needed.
Also if you want to use your Tap Water?? Dilute it 50%+ with Distilled/RO Water. Id cut it 65% myself, but also check if you can, the sodium content. If high, scrap it.

Ocean Forest-Forest Mix PH is best at 5.8-6.2
And water is best PH to the same 5.8-6.2
Grow Big is Hybrid, and is to be TREATED AS A CHEMICAL GROW, NOT ORGANIC
NOT 6.2-6.4, and your ph water up to as high as 6.7, is an extremely bad idea.
OF-FOREST MIX often bottoms out at 5.0-5.5 PH.
Forest Mix as other OF soiless mixes are low in Calcium, and Moderate in Magnesium.

I would have also cut the Forest Mix with 30% perlite. Forest Mix I believe is heaviest of all the OF products, and is not conductive to good root aeration.
If medium needs PH correction??

I recommend using 2/3 parts Calcitic Lime and 1/3 pars Dolomite. While I dont know what amounts youd need, Id use that ratio as that is what most Peat based Manufacturers like Premier use to correct PH/Buffer Peat Based Soilless Mediums.
I myself use Promix BX, others like HP, as it is a bit lighter, but I use HID/HPS and like the bit of extra water retention. Both are A#1. Next time, if possible use wither Promix BX, or HP.
But Id can the fertilizer and switch to
Master Blend
Epsom Salts
Calcium Nitrate.
Also they have to mixed in that order.
PH water after EC Achieved. I try and get PH water under 5.9
Use EC of .8 on seedlings from Day ONE-13 on a 56-70 days flowering strain.
EC 1.6 Veg
Early Flowering
EC 1.6 from Day 1 12/12-Day 20
Also EC is based on 500 Scale
EC 1.8 Day 21- day 48
EC Day 49-70 1.6

Thank you for all that information and going so in depth
1. How would I check the pH of the soil?
2. Are those fertilizers you recommended for separate stages of growth?
3. I don’t have access to R/O water, and the EC of my tapwater comes out to 1339 give or take.
4. So you want the soil pH to match up with the water you’re putting in it?
5. What is the difference between a chemical grow and an organic grow? Are the fertilizer you recommend recommended completely organic because I do like to keep it chemical free.
6. I almost did add per light to my ocean forest mix. I’ll use that on the next run.
7. What is the pro mix that you’re talking about? Are those things that you add into the soil when you pot the plants or can you use them in water?
8. is EC the same as salt percentage on the testing pen? What unit of measurement is it?

 

[Menequadon1]

Good point. Once leaves are heavily damaged, the goal is usually to stop the problem from spreading rather than expecting those leaves to recover. I’ve noticed some of the more affordable TSP genetics handle minor nutrient and water issues surprisingly well, but getting the Cal/Mag and water situation sorted is definitely the first step.

Yeah, I expect all those yellow leaves to just drop off and that’s what they’ve been doing. Still trying to figure out what to do with my water and what source to use getting a lot of helpful information, but it makes it hard to choose where to start.

 

[Menequadon1]

NO! DO NOT FLUSH.

Let the plant dry back, but not to the point of drooping.
Then, ph water-5.8-6.2- EC 1.0-1.2. WATER UNTIL LIGHT RUNOFF ONLY!!! DO NOT FLUSH. Also, if you use the Master Blend-Epsom Salts-Calcium Nitrate, in the correct ratios, which are 1 part Master Blend at a rate of 1 -.5-1 of which in my case, with 450ppm initial tap water is 1.0-1.2 Grams of Master Blend per gallon of water. 1/5 Gram Epsom Salts Per Gallon Water and 1-1.2 Grams Calcium Nitrate Per Gallon of water. These are the correct ratios from start to finish at all stages. The only thing that changes is the EC AMOUNTS. You use the Same amounts of Master Blend, and Calcium Nitrate, and Half the amount of Epsom Salts. It really cant be more simple than that. And the main thing is to keep it simple, but make it work, so you do not waste TIME, or money. And dont chase bloom busters and the like either. All you do is change the correct ratios, and interfere with absorption. Generally from Seedling- flowering is from .8 EC- MAX 1.9 EC. Ten taperrr back to 1.6 EC late flowering. I use middle ground averages for EC levels. If they dont drop leaves. And nice color, growing fast as they are supposed to, and exhibit no deficiencies, I see no logical sense to experiment. Others run higher sometimes, but when you do you risk over fert, Hermi, lower yield, and potency. Its like trying to force feed ones self. All you get is fat, and no benefit. BUT GET THE MB-EPSOM SALTS-CALCIUM NITRATE!!!!!
Adding the Calcium Nitrate ( 19% CALCIUM ) , and Epsom Salts is ( 10% Magnesium-13% Sulfur, whaich makesss Epsom Salts a crazy easy way to get your sulfur-helps terpene production. The Calcium, and Magnesium in these, with the introduction of 5.8-6.0 PH water-Id go closest to 5.8 as possible will also help stabilize PH 5.8-6.2 over time. The low Calcium, and Mg, and possibly over watering is most likely to also be causing a PH crash, not to mention PH water of up to 6.7.
Id also water EC 1.0-1.2 2x in a row.
Then Id water from EC 1.3-1.4
After you see positive changes, IN NEW GROWTH- UP EC to 1.6.

I guess I’m going to order the master blend and Epsom salts as it seems recommended. For pH it seems like 5.8 to 6.2 is better for my watering? My tapwater comes out with PPM of. 685 initially, salt PPM a little lower around 678, salt percentage says .06, and pH starts at 7.6 give or take, with total siemens reading at 1328.

 

[Gmix]

I guess I’m going to order the master blend and Epsom salts as it seems recommended. For pH it seems like 5.8 to 6.2 is better for my watering? My tapwater comes out with PPM of. 685 initially, salt PPM a little lower around 678, salt percentage says .06, and pH starts at 7.6 give or take, with total siemens reading at 1328.

A quick one Your in soil right not coir
Soil ph range is roughly 6.3-6.9
Coir ph in veg is roughly 5.8 & flower 6.0