Can't get my plants to look good.

[xX Kid Twist Xx]

so it kinda looks like this, this is the best picture i could find right now if i find better i will add them later.
but you can see were i cut the bottm larf/popcorn off. this will give you bigger buds up top that get direct light

 

[biggun4me]

Justice,
I calibrate my PH meter to 4.0 and 7.0. I do not have an EC meter yet.
I do not get much runoff. My plants are very dry by the second day and I lift and check the weight before watering. There is almost no weight and the plants are drooping pretty bad.

I do not know the % now - should say on the bag when I check tomorrow.
I have used Cal/Mag and Roots Excelerator. I have been using Azamax to get rid of gnats.

Dude My plants did the same thing when I hit them with Azamax... I think I use it to strong, Did you? Peace

 

[robbiedublu]

good idea to get them healthy before blooming. If your pH is off, it doesn't matter how much nutrients are in the coco. On another tip, I hope you didn't use straight coco- it needs to be mixed with vermiculite or something similar so it doesn't pack too tightly. Tightly packed mediums have a tendency to lock out phosphorous, if my thc-riddled memory serves me correctly.

Hey altitude farmer, I respectfully disagree that straight coco needs to be mixed with something. I run in straight cana coco for years with no issues. I think the brand of coco used makes a huge difference and nowhere does he mention what brand of coco he's using, so that may or may not be an issue.
I think this guy has other problems also. #1 in my mind is his lights. I think it's unlikely to grow strong healthy plants that are 3 ft tall under cfls. They just don't have the penetration power. The lower leafs are gonna brown up and fall off. Trim it up as suggested. I would also trim all the tops and flower it as soon as new growth is established so it doesn't outgrow your lights penetrating power as it flowers. Just my 2 cents.

 

[altitudefarmer]

That's the first I've heard of not mixing coco for better drainage, but I'll buy it for a dollar :). I agree with the CFL statement, also. You can get decent nuggage from CFLs, but only the stuff right next to the bulbs will be any good.

 

[Seamaiden]

I didn't like the feel of the Botanicare coco without anything to break it up a little bit, perlite fits the bill.

I'm pretty sure Vape mentioned the coco, Ready-Gro. I'm not familiar with it at all.

Vape, DTW = drain to waste. That means the girls spend not one minute sitting in their feed. Before I had the trays I used a wicking system to get the feed away from their feet, but the trays are far better.

The pix I see make me think potassium problem. VapeIt, now I can't remember, I gave you that Integral Hydro link to read, yes?

 

[VapeIt]

This is a pic of what I put them in @ a month ago.

I know I need to get them in flower, but I was trying to build the room and it took longer than planed. Now I am trying to get them healthy before 12/12.
I was not planing on using the floro's to flower.
I have 6 - 600w hanging and ready to turn on now.

SeaMaiden, yes on the link - thank you.

I'm off to transplant now. Going with 4gal buckets.

 

[altitudefarmer]

Consider smart pots- the bigger the better, with any pot. Good luck buddy. With the good advice from these coco growers, you'll get those babies tuned up in no time. And the lighting upgrade will supercharge them for sure.

 

[brookstown]

I'm unsure if anyone has mentioned it but, I've recently switched to the coco and I've had the best results when i mix nutes lower than recommended. And I noticed my plants are healthier when i let it run off for a few seconds.

Do you use any bene's

 

[Seamaiden]

I don't think I mentioned it here, but yes, you're right, I do mix my nutes at FAR below reco'd levels. I inoculate with benis at the beginning, but not again.

 

[Colorado]

Use CAL MAG every time you add RO water, adjust to 150ppm before adding nutes. The larve from the critters will lock out your nutes as well.

Fill a bowl or container with vinegar. Gnats love it. Cover it with cling wrap and poke small holes in the top. Set it in a place where you are noticing the gnats the most. The gnats will be drawn to the vinegar and once they are in, they will die. Replace your vinegar as often as you need to. (Let me know if you try this)

 

[Seamaiden]

When I get home I'm doing this in my veg-table. Vinegar's cheaper than sticky traps AND Azamax.

 

[VapeIt]

Brookstown, Seamaiden, - What Bene's? Can you tell me what brand, ect...?

Colorado, I think I finished off the gnats, have not found one live one, but they may still be eggs in the Coco. I will put out Vinegar. I also read to put bear in a yellow dish. (edit - I meant beer)


Altitude Farmer - I just bought 5 gal plastics, I saw the smartpots in the store, but didn't get them. I only got half of them transplanted, so I may pick up a few smartpots and finish with those.

Biggun - I don't think I used Azamax too strong, but maybe for too long. Stopped for over a week now.

Thanks all.

 

[Seamaiden]

When I want to inoculate with benes I use Dr. Earth dry ferts. Now they're owned by Gardener & Bloome, but they weren't to have changed the formulations, yet they did with the Organic 4 I use. Since I'm not home I can't tell you what G&B has done with the rest of their formulation. I use it because I can source it locally, it's inexpensive, and it's a good organic product. Other sources can be found much more expensively at your local hydro shop. If you don't want to waste money, then go to eBay and find the folks at Blue Mountain Organics and get some Super Plant Tonic.

How are you gonna keep the bear in the yellow dish? Chain it up? <grin>

 

[VapeIt]

I should proof read before posting.

I got Great White at the hydro shop. They said that was good stuff.

I am getting closer to 12/12.

Thanks.

 

[VapeIt]

I need help with container sizing.
My plants got way too big while waiting for my flower room to be built. I just finished transplanting them into 5 and 4gal pots. I mixed coco and perlite 70/30.

Now, someone is telling me that I should not have needed to transplant and that you can have taller plants in 1 1/2gal coco, than in soil. Is that right?

Anyway my question is, I am getting 12 more plants that are @ 12-18", what size pot should I put them in? Remember I am using coco/perlite, hand watering every other day if possible. 3gal, 4gal, 5gal?

Thanks.

 

[ronvmpc]

Fill a bowl or container with vinegar. Gnats love it. Cover it with cling wrap and poke small holes in the top. Set it in a place where you are noticing the gnats the most. The gnats will be drawn to the vinegar and once they are in, they will die. Replace your vinegar as often as you need to. (Let me know if you try this)

I grow produce for wholesale, farmer type markets. When you harvest gnats get gnarly especially since i live so close to the beach. This method works awesome to control flies. Doesn't get rid of them all but definitely works. They like apple vinegar a lot more too.

 

[Seamaiden]

I need help with container sizing.
My plants got way too big while waiting for my flower room to be built. I just finished transplanting them into 5 and 4gal pots. I mixed coco and perlite 70/30.

Now, someone is telling me that I should not have needed to transplant and that you can have taller plants in 1 1/2gal coco, than in soil. Is that right?

Anyway my question is, I am getting 12 more plants that are @ 12-18", what size pot should I put them in? Remember I am using coco/perlite, hand watering every other day if possible. 3gal, 4gal, 5gal?

Thanks.

You can have taller plants in coco than in soil? I don't quite understand the statement. Do they mean you can achieve taller plants? Or do they mean that coco can handle taller plants better? Or that they'll straight up grow taller in coco than in soil, which I would debate?

Size of container is determined by a few factors. Do you wanna grow trees? A larger pot is going to make that a lot easier. It's also a lot less likely to fall over (I came home to find rocks in my pots cuz they were falling over). Because of my own physical limitations, I really like using 2gal pots. Previously I was using 3gals, for me it does make a difference in ease of handling.

Larger pots will need more feed/water, will not dry out as quickly, and won't become rootbound as quickly. Smaller pots will require less feed/water, will dry out more quickly, will become rootbound more quickly. These are not listed as pros-cons because each "issue" can be a good or bad thing depending on what you want to do. For instance, someone may not want to have to look at the plants every day, so larger pots that need more time between feedings may be better in that situation.

 

[antimatter]

Id flush them out good the next couple waterings till they yellow normally and then feed at an ec of 1-1.2, I had the same problem with coco when I first started with the medium was trying to hammer them with 1.6+ ec in veg and all it did was lead to leaf death like your showing.