Please help me with this girl

[brand7778]

Hi everybody,



This is my first grow ever.....(!)



It's a White Russian, 5 weeks, in a 3 gallon container with a mix of 33% vermiculite, 33% potting soil ( already pre-fertilized for 3 weeks) and 33% topsoil from my garden.

I gave it 24H light; in my garden during the day, and three LEDS of 75W equivalence during the night.



7 days ago there were 4 days of very bad weather with summer shower rains and cold temps ( around 18 degrees celsius) and they stayed in the garden during all this time, as there was no one to take them inside the house.



It's when i started having problems:

Tiny brown spots started appearing on the middle leaves, looking like calcium deficiency:

Here's a close-up:

Then the color of the leaves went darker, and their tips started to dip:

I have too bugs of all sorts starting appearing at the same time: leaf miners on the very bottom leaves

Here's a close-up:

I think on this image, both the calcium deficit and the leaf-miner show themselves.



Then i have another problem: tiny white spots on one of the middle leaves:

Yet, I can't see any bugs crawling on my leaves.

A close-up seems to show, after many hours of head scratching by me, white mites ( tarsonemediae) which is very bad news...

The new shoots at the top seem healthy:

But in a close-up, one can see tiny holes already appearing:

Other middle leaves are showing the same tiny holes, with no visible bugs:

Here's a close-up:

Do my diagnosis stand ?

The PH of my soil is between 6.20 and 6.70, which seems perfect.(measured with a digital PH meter on moist soil)

I did not give them any fertilizer at all until now, as i hoped the soil mix i prepared would suffice.

My tap water is 150 ppm, and i always adjust the PH to 7.



Neem oil, pyrethrum to control the pests ?



Thanks for your help and patience with a first grower.

 

[FlyinJStable]

WoW bro sorry to hear about your problems with your grow that can turn a new grower south fast.

1st before anything welcome to the farm a great source of information and great growers

2nd the best thing to do is read everything @Seamaiden has ever said in the infirmary here
she knows her Stuff. as well as @Capulator OG BioWar

clear out a space in the soil and find the Roots under a Mag Glass

The other most important thing I learned here is the most healthy plants are using a root builder for fighting bugs and other
plant issues

I have found starting with seamaidens threads I can usually diagnose most of my problems IMO

Good luck Bro
FlyJ

 

[Seamaiden]

Hi everybody,



This is my first grow ever.....(!)



It's a White Russian, 5 weeks, in a 3 gallon container with a mix of 33% vermiculite, 33% potting soil ( already pre-fertilized for 3 weeks) and 33% topsoil from my garden.

I gave it 24H light; in my garden during the day, and three LEDS of 75W equivalence during the night.



7 days ago there were 4 days of very bad weather with summer shower rains and cold temps ( around 18 degrees celsius) and they stayed in the garden during all this time, as there was no one to take them inside the house.



It's when i started having problems:

Tiny brown spots started appearing on the middle leaves, looking like calcium deficiency:

Here's a close-up:

Then the color of the leaves went darker, and their tips started to dip:

I have too bugs of all sorts starting appearing at the same time: leaf miners on the very bottom leaves

Here's a close-up:

I think on this image, both the calcium deficit and the leaf-miner show themselves.



Then i have another problem: tiny white spots on one of the middle leaves:

Yet, I can't see any bugs crawling on my leaves.

A close-up seems to show, after many hours of head scratching by me, white mites ( tarsonemediae) which is very bad news...

The new shoots at the top seem healthy:

But in a close-up, one can see tiny holes already appearing:

Other middle leaves are showing the same tiny holes, with no visible bugs:

Here's a close-up:

Do my diagnosis stand ?

The PH of my soil is between 6.20 and 6.70, which seems perfect.(measured with a digital PH meter on moist soil)

I did not give them any fertilizer at all until now, as i hoped the soil mix i prepared would suffice.

My tap water is 150 ppm, and i always adjust the PH to 7.



Neem oil, pyrethrum to control the pests ?



Thanks for your help and patience with a first grower.

Good morning and welcome to the farm!

First, you don't appear to have much trouble in the deficiencies department. The spotting you say is appearing mid-plant does not appear to be Ca-, nor does it fit with a Ca-. However, I've seen hailed on plants that look pretty much like what you're showing here, so I'm thinking they just got kinda hammered but are doing ok.

Leafminers aren't a problem, IME. It's cosmetic damage, nothing more. The white spotting looks like thrips, if you've found white mites then treat accordingly IF they're the kind of problem that gets much worse than what you're showing.

Leaves clawing like that is usually one of two things--overwatering (unlikely) or N+ (much more likely). The darkening of the green is usually an indication of a P-, but I'm not seeing the reddened petioles that usually appear beforehand. Honestly, in my opinion, with this being your first grow, I'd wait most of this stuff out. I'd have some rubbing alcohol, neem oil, Bt spray (Safers caterpillar spray), maybe along with some Spinosad and castile (vegetable oil-based) soap. Those are likely to be all the treatments you'll really need.

In the meantime, you'll need to start thinking about feeding. I'm a fan of Dr. Earth dry mix fertilizers, they can be used as top-dressing, in soil prep or made into teas.

 

[brand7778]

In the meantime, you'll need to start thinking about feeding. I'm a fan of Dr. Earth dry mix fertilizers, they can be used as top-dressing, in soil prep or made into teas.

I already have a dry organic fertilizer ( 4-8-10, +Mg0, + 32%bone meal and stuff) for tomatos and fruits, and as i just started the photoperiod for flowering 12-12 ( i have 2 other plants, which aren't feminized) so it will indicate, what would be the quantities ( in grams) and frequency of fertilization you would advise me ( for a 3 gallon pot) ?
I know during flowering, the plants use more nutes.

Thanks a lot for taking the time to help me, i really appreciate.

 

[Seamaiden]

Looks like a decent fertilizer, but in the beginning I think you'll find it to be a bit too scant on the N in relation to the P/K. It's difficult for me to recommend quantities, but if it's anything like Dr. Earth, then for a 3gal pot I would be top-dressing (scratch it into the soil surface so it doesn't cake, if it cakes you won't get water penetration and the ferts can't be used by the plant, plus you risk causing a fungal disease) about 3T, or 1 tablespoon per gallon to start, about every 2 weeks or so, maybe a little less frequently depending on the plant's growth rate. Once cannabis begins 'kicking in' (with growth) it's going to be EXPLOSIVE and it goes through a lot of food.

 

[brand7778]

Once cannabis begins 'kicking in' (with growth) it's going to be EXPLOSIVE and it goes through a lot of food.

Well, after the plants will indicate, i will transfer them into the ground in my garden ( so not in containers) and revert them to vegetative state for one more month before flowering them.

I suppose once into the soil, the cannabis will find enough nutrients by itself for both vegetative and flowering ?
My soil has a PH of 6.85 (when not wetted) and 6.30 ( when wetted; if that makes sense, lol)

It drains well and has a good texture; do you think i need to add the dry fertilizer to it ?

If god forbid i encounter a nutrient deficiency later on during flowering, does adding fertilizers to the soil correct the problem ?

 

[Seamaiden]

Well, after the plants will indicate, i will transfer them into the ground in my garden ( so not in containers) and revert them to vegetative state for one more month before flowering them.

Do not do that. Do not force them back into vegetative growth phase and expect them to produce buds for you. What you'll get will be a leafy mess that's a huge pain to even try to trim up. Once they're in flower, keep them going. You can certainly transplant into the ground once they've started flowering, but do not, I repeat DO NOT FLIP BACK TO VEG or you will be very sorry you did it.

I suppose once into the soil, the cannabis will find enough nutrients by itself for both vegetative and flowering ?
My soil has a PH of 6.85 (when not wetted) and 6.30 ( when wetted; if that makes sense, lol)

Yes, makes perfect sense and as long as you use soil food web methods, absolutely, the plants will "find" what they need already in the soil. Organic cultivation begins and ends with this one concept--feed the soil, not the plant.

It drains well and has a good texture; do you think i need to add the dry fertilizer to it ?

I would at this time because the plant is containerized. If it's an organic fertilizer it won't easily overfeed the plant.

If god forbid i encounter a nutrient deficiency later on during flowering, does adding fertilizers to the soil correct the problem ?

Yes, along with direct feeds and foliars.

 

[brand7778]

Do not do that. Do not force them back into vegetative growth phase and expect them to produce buds for you. What you'll get will be a leafy mess that's a huge pain to even try to trim up. Once they're in flower, keep them going. You can certainly transplant into the ground once they've started flowering, but do not, I repeat DO NOT FLIP BACK TO VEG or you will be very sorry you did it.

:nailbiting:

You seem quite categorical.

I always value more the advice of experienced individual growers like yourself over commercial books like Rosenthal, etc...

Could you elaborate on this more, or if that's too lengthy, point me to an online source on why flipping back to veggie is a bad idea ?

Does this advice apply too when it comes to regenerating a plant ( harvesting once, not killing the plant and steering it back into veggie for a second harvest later on) ?

 

[Dunge]

Is the plant currently flowering?
I am confused by your original lighting description.

 

[brand7778]

Is the plant currently flowering?
I am confused by your original lighting description.

Actually, i've began giving them 12 Hours light- 12 hours darkness cycle (for the past 5 days) so they would indicate, then i would pick the females and flip them back into vegetative for one more month.
Now, it seems it wasn't such a good idea ?

 

[deathband]

It's not a big deal to find sex by flipping to 12/12 but u will need longer than 30 days to revert back more like 60 days so if u have the time is ok , if not don't do ,

 

[brand7778]

Damn.
Will the plant grow during these 60 days, or will growth be stunted ?

 

[deathband]

Itwill grow but slowly for the first 20 or so days do 18 hour light cycle ,24 is much roots need time to develop , and only do so in dark , plus u were in 12/12

 

[Dunge]

I think you need to just flower them out.
Wasting that much time, might just start new seeds.
And believe me, two months is minimum.
I have some experience:
https://www.thcfarmer.com/community...e-yields-fresh-seed-order-and-grow-log.61673/

 

[Seamaiden]

:nailbiting:

You seem quite categorical.

I always value more the advice of experienced individual growers like yourself over commercial books like Rosenthal, etc...

Could you elaborate on this more, or if that's too lengthy, point me to an online source on why flipping back to veggie is a bad idea ?

Does this advice apply too when it comes to regenerating a plant ( harvesting once, not killing the plant and steering it back into veggie for a second harvest later on) ?

Absolutely unequivocal, and it's based on my direct experience with clones (sexually mature plants) and seed starts (immature, non-sexed plants) and growing indoors and out and the time it takes to get a good harvest.

The thing with putting a sexed plant outside has to do with photoperiod, and the fact that cannabis is a photoperiodic plant. You already kind of know this because you know that you can put it onto a 12/12 schedule to help it show its sex. Our new farmer friend @deathband has touched on part of the problem with doing so--the time it takes for reversion from one phase of growth to another, the two phases being vegetative and regenerative (flowering).

In my experience, when a sexually mature plant has begun to flower, getting it back into a good vegetative phase (that means leaves growing with the appropriate number of lobes per leaf--singles and triples are not normal and are in fact indicative of "hormonal confusion" as it's hormones that control growth types & phases) takes weeks, enough weeks that you're into months. And that's a LOTTA wasted time that you won't have for growing outdoors unless you're in a location with a climate that will allow for such, EG Hawai'i, deserts that don't get freezing cold in winter.

 

[brand7778]

Thanks.
That settles it; sexing will be done from cuttings, not the mother plant.

I've heard a clone will grow as big as a seed, when placed in similar growing conditions ( although with no sizeable taproot): could you confirm ?

And is regeneration a bad idea too ?

 

[deathband]

Regeneration is a bad idea unless u r trying save the strain, because it may no longer be available

 

[deathband]

U can take cutting from mother and put in 12/12 and cut will show sex even with no root , just have to keep fresh water in cup

 

[DarkSpark]

I've heard a clone will grow as big as a seed, when placed in similar growing conditions ( although with no sizeable taproot): could you confirm ?

Clones are at no disadvantage compared to seed grown plants, provided they are given the same growing conditions and same amount of veg time.

 

[Seamaiden]

Agreed, many people do clones only. However, in my experience, a clone's growth habits are rather different from a seed-start, and so you've gotta watch out for, and take care of what I call "the hairiness." Branchlets.