H
hm7
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Hey guys,
This is my first time running organic soil and I keep running into issues about every 3-4 weeks. I was hoping this was going to be more straight forward with less to deal with compared to hydro or cocoa, but the problems keep coming and I'm not sure how to rectify the situation while sticking with organic.
The first time I saw issues was a week before flipping to flower. Yellowing of leaves / general issues. I was running Ocean Forest in a 3gal during veg when I first saw this. I've been using Gaia Green to top dress with per their instructions, as well as Glacial Rock Dust, Gypsum, Epsom, and also the occasional batch of recharge.
Top dressing didn't seem to do anything when I encountered this problem, so I figured my only real shot at fixing it was to transplant her into some new soil / a larger pot. She was not root bound. I transplanted her into a 5gal and put her in some Strawberry Fields soil amended with some Gaia Green and EWC. After a rough week of transplant shock - she sprung back to life and was looking great - until now. Things started taking a turn for the worse about a week ago, despite following the Gaia Green top dressing instructions.
I'm in w4 of flower now, and things are yellowing again badly. I have been top dressing with Gaia Green, Glacial Rock Dust, Gypsum, recharge, and also Epsom every couple weeks - per their instructions. I've also tried top dressing a couple of days ago with EWC and I also tried making a EWC tea that I had brewed. Maybe it's too early to tell notice anything, but she's continuing to worsen.
It's pretty clear that the top dressing / amendments I've been doing so far aren't working/giving her what she needs for whatever reason, and I'm not sure why. I've read so many people have great, smooth grows with minimal problems using GG.
She's starting to look pretty rough, and the yellowing is creeping up further and further - I'm not sure she's going to make it at this point.
The only real course of action I can think of is to try to transplant her into a larger 7gal with some new soil and see if that helps bring her back, but I'm reluctant to transplant this far into flower fearing to stress her out. Even if I do transplant her with minimal shock, I expect I'll be running into this same problem around week 7-8 of flower - which isn't going to be great either.
To me, this looks like a Nitrogen and maybe Mag deficiencies? I'm not really sure what I should do to correct the problems quickly and keep it from continuing to occur or worsen, and why the Gaia Green isn't seeming to give her what she needs.
Any tips/help/advice? Thanks much!
Hello and welcome to the forum.
I do see some signs of light stress. What light are you using how high above the plant and power setting is it in these pictures?
You Main problem now is hot soil. More than light stress.
You need to stop feeding nitrogen of any kind.
Your plant has finished growing. It's budded up and is in flowers production mode!
Take a good look at your plant.
That dark green almost toxic Nitrogen color. Your tips are burned. Leaf edge points are burned.
I know your thinking old growth yellowing climbing up the plant is lack of nitrogen.
Go to the store and grab a soil test kit. It's like $20 bucks. Test for nitrogen and it will be off the scale high.
Fox Farms Ocean forest is very hot to start with. When you transplanted into it is when this went wrong on you.
Then you transplanted into another heavily amended soil Strawberry fields.
You have hit it with Recharge.
Then top dressed with Gaia Green likely 4-4-4 how many times now?
I'm surprised it has not crawled out of the pot. Really.
Please understand that it is not my intent to pick on you bud. I'm just telling you what I see k. I can't help you if I don't tell you what I see. This really is not your fault. It's a simple trap to fall into. This is why I do not use pre amended soils of any kind. Ya just don't know what is in there.
Please post Everything you have fed this plant in the last 90 days, as best you can.
Please include N-P-K numbers on all products.
I'd really like you to very slowly flush this plant with about 20 gallons of room temperature water to get rid of all the nitrogen stored in your medium.
Give it a little something like this. 0-10 -10
View attachment 2082033
And let her dry out for a week.
Even then likely most of her leaves will likely burn off, but you may be able to save the plant and end up with some bud. Nice mainline job buy the way!
I must step out for a bit. I will pop back in after a while. I'd like to read any options your thinking.
Will post a few videos that will help you in your next grow.
Ron
Yeah but light burn should be restricted to the top of the plant.It looks to me like you have some light stress or burn. The praying leaves and white tips indicate that to me. The leaves pray or curl to protect themselves from the light. What looks like N or Mg deficiency could occur because the leaves are getting more intense light than they can handle. So, I suggest adjusting the light.
Which Gaia Green product are you using? It should be Power Bloom at this stage.
You're definitely going to be able to save her, no worries.Appreciate the help and detailed response Ron - thank you.
I believe the light I'm using is a Mars Hydro FC3000. It's currently sitting 25" above the canopy and is at 60% intensity. I don't really understand why it's getting stressed out when the light is so high and also turned down so low?
What you're saying about the soil being hot makes sense to me somewhat, but on the other hand it's also confusing me.
When I started this out, I was reading OF was supposed to be the go-so oil for people to use. I've seen so many people claim to have used Ocean Forest start to finish without issue, and others praising Strawberry Fields to be used for transplanting into when flowering. I started this seedling out in the same bag of OF I have been using without her having issues or getting burnt.
I've been doing coco and synthetic nutrients the last few runs without too many major issues. After seeing so many people use OF with Gaia Green and just water - I was hoping this was going to be an easier, less hands-on grow. While it's admittedly been far less work and involvement, I've had nothing but problems this run. It's very frustrating, especially seeing so many people running perfect, flawless grows without issues for their first times when I've got quite a few under my belt now (but all with coco/hydro).
According to recharge, it's not supposed to harm/burn plants? My understanding was, recharge was basically meant to be food for the beneficial bacteria inside of the soil?
Appreciate the comment about the mainline. This was the first time I've attempted it, and it turned out well. I had really high hopes for this run, but yeah - I'm not sure I can even save her at this point. Let me dig through my notes and see if I can find details of what I've fed and when.
This is a rule of thumb that I use. Start with the light high, and lower it by a couple of inches a day. Once the plants start to pray and your tent is full and you want more coverage, raise it by an inch. If you don't have anything in the corners/sides of the tent, continue daily lowering until the leaves pray at a 45° angle. At this point you're giving the plant more light than it can use, so can raise the light about an inch and you're done.Thanks for all the help/info Ron. Really appreciate it. This has really helped me understand what I've been doing wrong with soil.
After having very complicated/cumbersome setups with both hydro and coco before this, I was looking to keep this as simple/straight forward/easy as possible - thus why I went with preloaded soil. I just wanted to find something that worked without having to screw around with stuff for once. I got so tired of measuring out everything with hydro/coco, and dealing with water changes, etc. I was hoping soil was going to be more of a 'plant it, water, and ... that's pretty much it".
Yeah, the whole light height vs intensity thing has always given me trouble. My first light I started with had no dimmer so it was always at 100%. It was much older and smaller though. Since I've gotten this new larger one, I've had a very difficult time understanding how high to raise it and what intensity to set it at. The light itself has been great, but the instructions that came with it were not real helpful.
Yeah this seems like the way to do it. I might have to give this in the future.I got ya bud. There is a learning curve to any grow.
I don't use any cannabis fertilizer.
I grow in 50% Peat 50% vermiculite.
Add
40 grams Dolomite lime cubic foot
10 grams Gypsum cubic foot
Watch this video to understand why.
I know he likes 20-10-20 but I like 12-4-8
This is about as easy as it gets.
This is great info. Thanks! How do you handle setting the intensity though? That's what's tricky for me.This is a rule of thumb that I use. Start with the light high, and lower it by a couple of inches a day. Once the plants start to pray and your tent is full and you want more coverage, raise it by an inch. If you don't have anything in the corners/sides of the tent, continue daily lowering until the leaves pray at a 45° angle. At this point you're giving the plant more light than it can use, so can raise the light about an inch and you're done.
Then just look at the plants as they stretch and raise the light when their leaves get back to 45°.
I don't know. I worked this out through observation. I just didn't want to use light meters, etc.Yeah this seems like the way to do it. I might have to give this in the future.
This is great info. Thanks! How do you handle setting the intensity though? That's what's tricky for me.
This is very helpful! Thank you! The last bit about watching the leaves to determine height makes a lot of sense.I meant to post this earlier but got side tracked.
Oh ya. Hey bud feel free to say hello any time. I'm off helping another guy k. Hope you enjoy the information I shared. The fertilizer calculations will change how you grow for the better really really. Feel free to pm me any time.This is very helpful! Thank you! The last bit about watching the leaves to determine height makes a lot of sense.
Oh ya. Hey bud feel free to say hello any time. I'm off helping another guy k. Hope you enjoy the information I shared. The fertilizer calculations will change how you grow for the better really really. Feel free to pm me any time.
I will pop in and out.
Ron
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