Any doctors in the house?

[CG Buds]

Hey all, I need some help figuring out what's going on with my baby. This is my first attempt, be gentle!

1. Are you growing from seed or clones? Clone
2. How old are your plants? 5-6 weeks
3. How tall are your plants? 14-16 inches
4. What size containers are they planted in? 1 gal
5. What is your soil mix? Unknown.
6. How often do you water and what type of water do you use? 1-2 times/week, bottled
7. What is the pH of your water? 6.5
8. What kind of fertilizer do you use and what is its NPK ratio? N/A
9. Do you foliar feed or spray your plants with anything? Not anymore. See insect info below.
10. What kind of lights do you use and how many watts combined? (HPS, MH, fluorescent, halogen, incandescent "plant lights") Fluorescent T5HO 96 watts @ 8000 lumens, cycle at 16 on 8 off
11. How close are your lights to the plants? a few inches
12. What size is your grow space in square feet? open space under my desk, 2x2
13. What is the temperature and humidity in your grow space? 50-65 (unheated room in so-cal). Humidity? Do not know.
14. What is the pH of the soil? Do not know. I have a digital PH meter and up/down my water to 6.5 before I water. How do I pH test the soil?
15. Have you noticed any insect activity in your grow space? Previously a few spider mites. Mites seem to be gone but am experiencing major yellowing and brown spotting. Last treatment was over a week ago.
16. How much experience do you have growing? Real, none. Dreaming, lots.

I found a few spider mites on the plant 3 weeks ago. Signs were a few leaves that were yellowing and had brown spots. Most other leaves seemed to be healthy. I also noticed some of the stems of the leaves were turning a dark brown almost purple color. I found a few black tiny mites crawling under the leaves in question, no webs. I treated by altering mite-rid and SNS217 every few days, for a few applications each.

I left town for a few weeks and had to have a friend help out. I had them continue to water with just plain bottled water that they would pH to 6.5 and verify using a digital pH meter. Meter is a new Oakton Eco Testr pH2. I haven't calibrated it but it's new out of the box and is supposed to be good to go. Can I check the calibration using pH up/down or do I need something special? Not sure which solutions to use to do so.

Since I've been away she has gotten way more yellow, and the brown spots are taking over several of the leaves. Several leaf stems are a dark brown purple color. Veins on the bottom of the leaves are almost solid white. Leaves feel very rough/dry. I did read the big post at the top of this section and I'm thinking it may be a phosphorus deficiency, but even if that's right I'm not sure what to do or in what order to do it.

I've attached some photos which hopefully will help identify the culprit. I'm planning to get a digital thermometer/hygrometer, can anyone recommend a model that I can buy at a local store (not online). I'm also wanting to double check the accuracy of my new pH meter and would appreciate some info on what solutions to use to properly calibrate.

Thanks in advance!

 

[purpleberry]

You need to feed

 

[Steve Z]

thats what i was going to ask! how much has your friend been feeding it???

has he stayed up on the anti mite applications???

i'd transplant, as well.

 

[LBH]

- Use calibration solution to calibrate the ph pen, comes in 7.0 and 4.0. This stuff is also what you fill the cap with for storage so the globe doesn't dry out. Have you been storing it dry??? Any decent hydro shop should explain this when you drop the $50 for the pen. If not to educate the customer, to get the $20 add on sale,lol. I have the ecotestr II also, love it.

 

[CG Buds]

She's been fed every 4 days or so. Just plain water adjusted to 6.5 ph using up/down solution. I'll be picking up some calibration & storage solution tomorrow to double check my tester for accuracy. When you say she needs fed are you meaning she needs nutrients or just more water? I got some svb, sva and fox farms grow big from a friend. He told me not to use them before flower though?

Speaking of flower, I think she's ready. My current plan of action is...

1) Flip to 12/12
2) Start feeding with nutes.
- Add the three nutes above to my water first, then test ph and up/down if necessary to get back to 6.5. How much sva, svb and ffgb do I add to say 1 gallon? 3-5 ml each?
- I only have one plant in a one gallon pot. How much water with nutes should I mix up at a time, is it bad to premix and let sit for a week before use? Or should I mix it up in small batches every time I water? How much water should a plant in a one gallon container need if watered every four days or so?
1) LST, maybe even build a mini scrog net with 1.5 inch cubes and total size of 1.5 ft by 1.5 ft. and bend the branches down under her.

Thank you so much everyone. I've never grown anything till now, but used to read OG back in the day. This site is the only one that I've found that even comes close.

Peace!

 

[Steve Z]

you need to learn basic horticulture bro.

no disrespect but you cant teach someone how to make a pizza when they dont even know what cooking is.....


GROW big is used for VEG. if you used that for flower you'd be pissed off at your friend SUPER FAST. it needs nutrients like yesterday.

if you flipped to flower now would be horrible. you never want a plant to go into flower stressed or deficient. put 1/2 tsp grow big/per gallon til looks like she can handle, then move up anywhere from 1-3 tsp per gallon. when she's lookin nice and green then flip.

now would probably end in you getting bummed and quitting. promise i've seen it. but with just a little patience and getting that thing prime before you flip, you'll be stoked on it.

 

[Melvan]

Do not flip back to 12/12, and do not transplant, she'll die for sure from the stress.

You need to veg 3-4 more weeks and get her healthy. Steve Z is giving you excellent advice, follow it and be patient and you'll be a happy harvester before you know it.

 

[CG Buds]

Steve Z - thanks bro, no disrespect taken! I appreciate all the help and am aware I need to get the basics down. I've been reading the FAQs and what not but it's a bit overwhelming how much info is out there. I will keep her on my current 16 on / 8 off cycle as I begin feeding nutrients. Speaking of, I've been recommended to do 18 on / 6 off. I cut two hours off b/c this is setup in my room and if I do the full 18 thats 2 hours I'm trying to sleep with this light on. Do you think me adding the extra two hours will help enough to make it worth me dealing with the light being on earlier in the morning? Or is the 16/8 ok?

I'll start with the 1/2 tsp per gallon ratio you recommend and then ramp that up once she starts to perk up. The FFGB bottle says I can also use it for foliar feeding with the same 1/2 tsp/gal ratio. Do you think that could help speed recovery? Or I should just stick with adding it to my regular watering?

Any info you can give on the sva and svb products I have? Are those for flower or veg? I can find them online for purchase but not much about their proper use.

Melvan - thanks for the advice and encouragement. I'm hoping to get this little lady back in shape!

 

[Melvan]

Your girls need all the help they can get right now, put them on 24 hours of light for the rest of the time you veg. MJ grows as long as she is receiving light, she does not need any dark cycle at all during veg.

You want to save these girls you need to give them all the energy they can get, and right now that's going to come from lots of light. All you're doing on a short cycle is delaying their recovery and stressing them further. They're getting confused, not sure if they should flower, not sure if they should veg.

Always veg on 24, always flower on 12/12. That's a basic rule that should always be followed.

Clarke's Marijuana Botany can be read for free online, it is the bible of weed growing, imo, and the opinion of millions of others. It's a technical manual, and a hard read, but wade through it, you'll be amazed at how much you'll learn.

 

[CG Buds]

Just googled that book and found it online in plain text. Looks like I have some good reading ahead of me!

I'm not sure if I'll be able to handle 24 on. Reason being this is just out in the open in my room and I need to sleep! I'll give it a shot though, and if I can't sleep right I'll at least bump it up to the 18/6.


Thanks Melvan!

 

[CG Buds]

Just googled that book and found it online in plain text. Looks like I have some good reading ahead of me!

I'm not sure if I'll be able to handle 24 on. Reason being this is just out in the open in my room and I need to sleep! I'll give it a shot though, and if I can't sleep right I'll at least bump it up to the 18/6.


Thanks Melvan!

 

[Melvan]

Is there any way you can maybe put up a curtain, maybe hang it from the ceiling so it drops down and blocks the light? Do you have access to a big box, like maybe from a big screen tv? You could line it in mylar or paint it white and keep it wrapped around the plant with the light dropped down enough to block it from the room?

Just curious about how you plan to do the 12 off? The plant will need complete darkness, not one speck of light for 12 hours, with a temp drop of about 10 degrees, while still getting proper ventilation.

Edited to add: You should keep your eyes open for a cabinet to grow in. Look for something like 2x2x5 or taller, something like a wardrobe. Lots of times you see people selling the old cheap ones at rummage sales for almost nothing. It would make it easier to control your grow and give you an opportunity to harvest some nice bud.

 

[Seamaiden]

Do not flip back to 12/12, and do not transplant, she'll die for sure from the stress.

You need to veg 3-4 more weeks and get her healthy. Steve Z is giving you excellent advice, follow it and be patient and you'll be a happy harvester before you know it.

:harvest:

 

[CG Buds]

It's been four days since the last watering. Upper few inches of soil finally felt dry enough to water again. I mixed about half a cap full of fox farms grow big with 1 gallon of water. Using a pH pen, the mix measured at 6.6 so I left it right there and watered. After adding 1 quart no water came out from the bottom of the one gallon pot. I let it rest while I jumped in the shower to see if any would seep out. Nothing was there afterward so I added about another 1/4 quart. Water started coming out the bottom so I stopped.

Using the pH pen I measured the runoff to be 5.2. Which is obviously a bit low. I did some searching and it seems that there is some debate if this method is best to approximate or adjust soil pH.

Being my lady is yellowing w/ brown spots and is losing lots of her green color you all are saying she needs fed nutes. My only concern is now that I just started doing that today that she wont absorb them if the soil pH is too low.

So, whats my best move to confirm soil pH? Should I go to the store and get one of those soil test kits with the little vials/pills? Or should I get one of those $10 soil pH probes? Which is more accurate? If it does turn out to be low would the best solution be to add dolomite lime or is there something better that is faster acting?

Thanks!

 

[Melvan]

I never said feed, I agreed with getting your ph corrected. I also pointed out you need to purchase a ph down/up additive.

You need to do a flushing with just ph'd water. Adding nutes when you're on lockout is just a waste. I would flush, let them go through the dry cycle, water again with just water, then go back to feeding.

 

[CG Buds]

Melvan - I appreciate the help but I don't see where you said not to feed? I fed them nutes based on an earlier response from Steve Z that said to do so with the 1/2 tsp/gal mix. You posted immediately after him and said he was giving good advice and to follow it. I don't see anything from you that says anything about feeding, just light cycle? Not trying to be a dick, I'm just trying to follow the direction I'm getting and don't see where I went wrong based on the posts in this thread.

I'm also working on finding a cabinet to put her in once I start 12/12. I'd like to find a decent looking wardrobe that I can put in my bedroom so I'm scouring craigslist and maybe going to check out Ikea. I'll work on building that over the next few weeks to include ventilation and a mount for the light.

I completely understand that if my soil pH is not right that she wont absorb nutes no matter what I do. I'm trying to test and correct my soil pH and am trying to get some direction on the best way to do that. Should I measure water runoff using my pH pen? Should I test the soil media itself using one of those vial/caplet testers or use one of the probes with the little meter on top? I just want whatever method I use to be accurate.

Once I figure out if it's high or low what are the best methods to adjust it? Spiking the water using up/down to counteract the soil? Or is it best to use additives such as dolomite lime and sulfur?

Thanks all and I do not mean to be ungrateful, just trying to make sense of the advice I'm getting!

- CG BUDS:rasta2:

 

[Melvan]

I found these instructions a long time ago and have followed this method when I needed to ph water, which I don't do now as I have a spring fed well which maintains a ph of 8.0, when I use my nutes the buffers take it to around 6.5. And I didn't know that until a few weeks ago. I just never had ph issues in all the years I've been using this water so I never tested, just did it on a whim. Hope this helps you.

Step 1 ... get yourself a ph tester, this is the one i use it has a ph test, moisture tester & light tester all in 1.. its called (DRAPER 54655 PH / MOISTURE /LIGHT INTENSITY SOIL TESTER)


Step 2... Get an empty 2 littre drinks bottle and clean it out with bleach and make sure you dry it out well. Now fill the 2 littre bottle with cold tap water and let it stand for at least 24 hours with the lid off.

Step 3.... now get your ph tester and make sure that the probes are really clean, and now insert the probes about 2 inchs into the water and wait about 1 or 2 mins and then write the ph level down. (in most cases tap water will read a ph level of about 7.5 to 8.5)

Step 4.... ok now take out the probes and wash them with tap water and dry them very well, ok now its time to get that ph level down between 5.8 & 6.3.

Step 5... go to your local supermarket and buy some lemon juice make sure its not pure lemon juice coz that can sometime be to strong for the plants, buy the lemon juice that you put on your pancakes. Ok now take the lid from the 2 littre bottle and fill it up with lemon juice and then add it to the water. Now insert the probes and wait 1 - 2 mins and then write your ph level down. it will 100% be lower than your first reading.

Step 6.... just repeat the above step untill you get a ph level of about 5.9 and then let the water sit for another 24 hours and test it before you water the pants everytime.

If your water ph is right then your soil ph should be right. Just be sure to add the nutes and give the buffers a bit to work to make sure you haven't gone too low. This may take some trial and error, and you may end up having to throw away some nutes before you get it right, but you'll figure it out.

Good luck.

Edited to add: Dude, cut me a break, you know, we are all mostly stoned when we're on here, I can't always remember everything I've read, especially since I'm old and been tokin my whole life. I agreed with his ph suggestions, didn't even remember any feed suggestions.

 

[CG Buds]

I have an Oakton pH pen to check my water pH. I picked up the calibration solutions and recalibrated. I am getting the same results so I'm pretty sure none of my issues are coming from incorrectly pH'd water.

Im trying to get info on the best method to test soil pH. I don't like ordering things online to my house so I picked up a soil pH tester probe that looked similar to the Draper model you mentioned. It's a Rapitest 4-in-1 that I found at a local hardware store. However, based on some of the amazon reviews for it I'm not sure it's all that accurate. For starters, when in pH mode the meter reads at 7 without contacting any medium of any kind. Pretty sure air doesn't have a pH, so that's a bit scary. Once I put the meter in the wet soil (watered in the morning, tested soil pH at night) the pH reading lowered to 6.5. Does anyone have experience with these rapitest/draper probe type soil testers? Do they typically display a pH reading when not in any media? Or should I return this and try another method?

On a side note, the meter has a "fertility" mode that supposedly measures the amount of combined nutrients NPK. When in this mode it showed the nutes were low, which based on the condition of my plants and the supposedly good soil PH this makes sense. Just not sure if all this is reliable info. Going to head to the hydro shop and see if they have some better measuring devices there.

-Melvan- No prob man! Thanks for all of your time and effort.

 

[HeadGrow]

Not sure about that brand of pen but my Hanna pen does the same thing. It's not an issue. As long as your pen reads 4 in the 4 solution and 7 in the 7 solution (assuming you have calibration solutions) then you're all good. Don't worry about what it's reading when not in medium. Just wait for the reading to stabilize when testing something. I wouldn't trust any reading of the run off unless you are using an established method to collect and test the run off.

One thing i'm missing is what kind of soil mix are you using? I know you said it was unknown but if it's a pretty inert soil then you're going to need to start adding calcium and magnesium. I use Botanicares cal/mag and it works fine. It looks like ur girls could use some micronutes as well as macro.

Your two sva and svb ferts are veg ferts, they should say on the bottle what recommended dosage to use in what stages. Don't use those in bloom though. The Super Nutrient company also makes SBA and SBB which are their two part bloom ferts.

 

[CG Buds]

HG - my pens all good, just checked calibration. Im using Fox Farms Ocean Forest soil. She's been responding well to the FF Grow Big so I'm upping that to full strength and will add in some SVB, SVA and Enzymatic Formula as well now that I have her moved into a 5 gal. pot.

I just started a thread in the micro grow section with new pics if you want to check em out and follow this grow there.

Thanks to all of you for your help!

CG BUDS