Animal Cookies - showing problems

[Max Frost]

Hi all,

These are three of my 7 Animal Cookies plants. As you can see in the pics, the growing tips are bright, lime green (almost yellow) and the lighter green is progressing between the leaf veins. In addition, the texture of the leaves seems "raised" and rough. I'm hoping somebody can tell me what this is. I "think" the problem may be taken care of, but I want to know what it is just in case it's not, or it should re-appear down the line.

Some quick background...the plants were started 3 weeks ago in Solo cups. They were showing signs of being hungry and I was seeing some yellowing/spotting of the old growth. The plants endured a ph "issue", where they spent the first week in the ground at a ph of around 5.5. (I was using distilled water and hadn't ph'd it -- rookie mistake!) I got the ph up and they started looking very hungry. I up-potted into larger pots with Fox Farm Ocean Forrest soil, mixed with chunky Perlite at the ratio of 1:3.

Since up-potting, they have recovered nicely...except for these 3 plants. I was not seeing this on any of the others. Since I just up-potted, it's possible whatever this is has already been addressed, and just needs a bit more time in the new pots. (I up-potted 3 days ago). The plant in the last photo had just started showing this. It's not affected as badly as the other two...yet!

Thanks in advance for your help and opinions!

Best,

Max :wacky:

 

[Seamaiden]

To my eye the pH problem in the rhizosphere has not yet been resolved. It appears that Fe or possibly S uptake have been interfered with due to pH imbalance. Don't use distilled water, RO or filtered is fine here, distilled can act as a solvent as it's actually too pure. I would inoculate with some beneficial microorganisms and give them a strong worm casting tea, then monitor. I might offer a foliar of rusty water (literally), or a good root drench, and see what happens, because I've never seen a Fe- in cannabis, but I have in other acid-loving plants and rusty water worked fantastic for reversing the problem.

 

[Max Frost]

Thanks Seamaiden. Lol...you're fast becoming a lifesaving tool in my garden!:nurse: Well...are you thinking the plants look like the pH was over-corrected and is too high now? Or maybe just corrected too fast (assuming that I've corrected it at all)? I'm going to try your slurry test this weekend and hopefully will have a more accurate picture of what's happening with the soil pH. I was thinking I'd flush with 6.5 water, and maybe put in a bit of Big Bloom as my guano tea on the last water that goes through. They were just recently fed, so if I do that, how long should I wait before resuming my regular feed schedule? I'm thinking on next water, since it will be pretty much devoid of nutes, but I'm wide open to suggestion! Does this Rx sound like a fix? I really want to turn these plants around. The strain is Animal Cookies, and so far these are the only fem candidates I have at this point. My thinking was that "if I fix the pH issues, shouldn't the foliage come around on it's own as the elements will no longer be locked out"?

Also...my RH is running too high. Today it meandered between 63-78%. I'm in veg now, but it's taking my 2 gal pots 4 or 5 days to dry sufficiently...which is too long. I worry about the soil becoming hypoxic. If I can't find a way to get the RH down before flowering...it's gonna be problematic I'm afraid! I'd like to stay away from a dehumidifier as I'm battling heat issues as it is, and still have another light to add...which will more than double the BTU's I'm cranking. (the 2nd light is hotter). I'm getting close to the max amp draw for my grow room circuit and also...my funds are extremely tight just now, so the cost is currently prohibitive too. I'm forced by necessity to exhaust my carbon-scrubbed air back into the grow room (bedroom...lol). I have no way to vent into or out of the room. My situation is FAR from ideal in almost every respect, but it's what I have to do right now if I'm going to grow at all. If you have any suggestions for me on the pH, or how I can lower my RH, I would be forever grateful! Thanks in advance!

Edit: I thought I should also mention that I'm using tap water, out-gassed for 36 hours. it's pH out of the tap comes in at around 7.2-7.3-4. After adding the nutes, it drops the pH and I have to add a bit of pH up to bring it to 6.5. My prior experience has been using RO, and this is my first time out using tap. Again...not ideal, but it's what I'm stuck with at present. Thanks again for your time, thoughts and willingness to help!

Best,

Max :wacky:

 

[cctt]

You mention battling heat but having 63-78% RH. What temperatures are we talking about? The VPD might be just fine.

 

[Max Frost]

You mention battling heat but having 63-78% RH. What temperatures are we talking about? The VPD might be just fine.

My temps right now are staying pretty consistent in the upper 70's. On hot days while I'm at work, my hi/low feature on my hygro/thermo shows highs up to about 82-ish. 84 is an all time high since I turned on my fan/filter. It crept up into the mid nineties while I was at work one day, so the fan has been running 24/7 since and now the temps stay consistent. However, once the flowering light is added, the room is going to heat up again. My only solution is to crank the central AC and freeze myself out. I've got vents shut off or cracked in strategic places, but I still freeze keeping the room where it is now. When the other light is added, I'll be wearing a winter coat inside in the middle of July and August! (THAT may even qualify as a security risk)! :coldfeet:

Thanks,

Max :wacky:

I hadn't heard the term VPD before, so I looked it up and found a wealth of fascinating info! Thanks so much cctt! For those who also don't know the term, here's the definition:

Vapor pressure deficit (VPD) is the difference (deficit) between the amount of moisture in the air and how much moisture the air can hold when it is saturated. VPD functions as a convenient indicator of the condensation potential because it quantifies how close the greenhouse air is to saturation. The air is saturated when it reaches maximum water holding capacity at a given temperature (also called the dew point). Adding moisture to air beyond its holding capacity leads to deposition of liquid water somewhere in the system. Vapor pressure (vpair) is a measurement of how much water vapor is in the air, that is, how much water in the gas form is present in the air. More water vapor in the air means greater water vapor pressure. When the air reaches maximum water vapor content, the vapor pressure is called the saturation vapor pressure (vpsat), which is directly related to temperature. Thus, the difference between the saturation vapor pressure and the actual air vapor pressure (vpsat – vpair) is the mathematical definition of VPD. The size of the VPD gives an indication of how close to condensation, and subsequently to disease, the greenhouse environment is operating.


Again, I lucked up on a fascinating page of info (where the definition above was copied from). If you're interested in checking it out, here's a link:

http://ohioline.osu.edu/aex-fact/0804.html

I recommend it if you have a few mins to spare!