This plant is entirely too sensitive. Need assistance.

[MIGrampaUSA]

I posted a link in another message but it says it needs moderator approval first.

The video is on Youtube. I just searched for "soil microbes tap water" and it was the first video.

Thanks for that. Very interesting .... hmmm

Keep this in perspective though ... My uncle, who is now VERY retired ... was the one who told me never to use chlorinated water. He's got a Ph'D in plant pathology. Again, chloramine is a newer process and he's an old man.

 

[MIGrampaUSA]

Thanks for that. Very interesting .... hmmm

Keep this in perspective though ... My uncle, who is now VERY retired ... was the one who told me never to use chlorinated water. He's got a Ph'D in plant pathology. Again, chloramine is a newer process and he's an old man.

More digging because seems like some things were not adding up.

In my case, it's not dissipation of chlorine at all. When you aerate your water, it's exposed to carbon dioxide which makes weak carbonic acid and THAT is what is lowering my pH. Wow ... I guess we should always challenge things if they don't seem right.

I learned some new things today

 

[LiveandLearn502]

What is going on bro is you are over thinking your grow, you say your not over feeding, the leaves say different, you must understand you do not run autoflowers like a photoperiod plant, they are all sensitive, some people say fox farm is a hot mix it's not it just has allot of nutrients, at day 21 i start feeding very lighley, bc they grow so fast by about day 30 (strain dependent) they have used up most of the nutrients in the mix and sometimes turn into pigs, this is were a nice light food comes in, i use botanacare pro grow all it is is basically fish mulch and nitro, i have a meter but rarely check ph, it is normal for leaves to turn yellow towards the end of your grow, i save my eggshells grind them into powder and throw some in my mix at beginning, very rarely do i get a deficiency, and yea if your plants get real bushy you can prune them but again some autoflowers dont mind it one bit others dont like it, once your leaves are burned they will not recover, you can prune offThis the really bad ones this will improve airflow, dont overthink, go easy on nutrients, prune when nessasary to get your main and minor branches into the light, flower grows on branches not leaves, if you are uncomfortable pruneing leaf tuck, what happens when you feed is important, after a feed observe your plants if in an hour your leaves are vertical you most definitely overfed, it took me a year to teach someone online to grow autos the problem was he could not wrap his mind on how easy they are to burn more is better right? Not with autoflowers! Just dont over think and if it's not broke dont try and fix it, go real easy on nutrients and let her do her thing, once you bring in a crop you will gain confidence and in the end you will be fine, one more thing if your plant is getting to big for it's space you can top it or fim it, do not grow multiple strains of autos at same time time this will save you grief, pic is my last little red dwarf, just popped samsqatch og, if u need help or advice ask.

This is what i needed to hear and i apprecaite it a whole lot. So do you mind if i pm you? got a couple questions for you.

 

[LiveandLearn502]

Lime can be used to increase Ph. There are a few forms of lime, which is a somewhat general catchall for calcium carbonate and similar compounds. Quicklime, which is sometimes used, is very powerful and can burn the sh!t out of your plants. It activates much quicker than bone meal, egg shells, oyster shells, etc. The main problem with using lime is that the Ph usually keeps rising as the lime breaks down, and trying to adjust Ph in a container full of growing medium that has gone astray.
It is MUCH better to have everything right in the first place if at all possible. If you make a mistake, the few dollars it will cost to replace the soil with something good will quickly be offset by increased and better yields. Growing is like laying bricks... you start with one piece and build from there. Pretty soon it will be 2nd nature and so easy you wonder how you struggled!

Thank you for the advice. i dont think ima use lime again. egg shells is probably the way to go honestly. but this is my first grow and i couldnt catch the plant and it spiraled out of control so i just let it go after i flushed it.

 

[LiveandLearn502]

I had a nightmare of a grow not long ago when I added lime to some Pro mix, it's tough to flush out! the whole grow was a disaster

I'll go back and re-read what you got going on after I get a few things done and see if I can make a recommendation, in the meantime a current plant pic would help

Those pics are literally however many days old this post is. not much has changed with it but i can definitely fulfill that request if still needed. But this is my nightmare of a grow right now, just with that plant though. my other two plants are doing fabulous.

 

[Jimster]

Thank you for the advice. i dont think ima use lime again. egg shells is probably the way to go honestly. but this is my first grow and i couldnt catch the plant and it spiraled out of control so i just let it go after i flushed it.

Egg shells take a long time to break down and are better used either outdoors or in compost, at least in my experience. Crushed oyster or clam shells produce a decent buffer, and chalk works suprisingly well without being too hot. I use wood ashes to raise Ph quickly if needed, but unless they are mixed throughout your soil, it won't help over the long run. The main problem with thrying to change Ph in a container is that the stuff is added to the top with the idea that it will filter down. It does to some degree, but it also follows hidden channels in the growing medium. Some areas get a good dose of Ph modifier, while other areas don't see as much. You have learned some good lessons and the next time, make sure to get the soil or medium correct before you plant... your plants and you will thank you!

 

[LiveandLearn502]

Egg shells take a long time to break down and are better used either outdoors or in compost, at least in my experience. Crushed oyster or clam shells produce a decent buffer, and chalk works suprisingly well without being too hot. I use wood ashes to raise Ph quickly if needed, but unless they are mixed throughout your soil, it won't help over the long run. The main problem with thrying to change Ph in a container is that the stuff is added to the top with the idea that it will filter down. It does to some degree, but it also follows hidden channels in the growing medium. Some areas get a good dose of Ph modifier, while other areas don't see as much. You have learned some good lessons and the next time, make sure to get the soil or medium correct before you plant... your plants and you will thank you!

aye man i appreciate that advice. Ive never heard anybody tell me get the soil correct before planting. Is this just basically running a gallon of water through it and seeing what ph the runoff comes out to be?

 

[LiveandLearn502]

So in the future: What I would do next grow is first I would start adding 1/3 by volume #3 perlite to my ffof, also mix in 1 level tbs. Dolomite per gallon of soil

I recommend you pH everything you pour in whether it's plain water or nutrient water to 6.5 every time.

I also recommend you check run off pH & ppm often, it doesn't have to be every time you water but it should be frequently, record these readings so you can see trends, like if your pH is dropping or salts (ppm) are rising

As far as the plant in the picture there's really nothing you can do to change its course; you can decide to finish it or pull it, but you can't do much to correct it at this point in my opinion. Hope this helps, good luck

This is what i needed. Thank you, ima upload some new pics and i got a couple different questions regarding a couple different topics about growing. you've been a big help and i appreciate it.

 

[MIGrampaUSA]

This is what i needed. Thank you, ima upload some new pics and i got a couple different questions regarding a couple different topics about growing. you've been a big help and i appreciate it.

Here's a very nice article that explains how you can test your pH at home: https://blog.hannainst.com/soil-ph-testing

 

[LiveandLearn502]

Did some checking ....

Chloramine doesn't dissipate at the rate that chlorine does. However, so much less is needed and I might not need to do this with chloramine.

My municipality uses chloramine. When I draw the water from the tap, it's pH is about 8.5. However, when I let it sit a few days, it's pH reads 7.0-7.5 depending on the number of days. What is causing this if it's not something dissipating from the water? (I have no issue using water in soil with a pH of 7.0-7.5) I am using air stones in the water as it sits.

I started this practice in the 80's when municipalities were more likely to be using chlorine. It's a habit. It's been working so I won't change this either.

I do know that you don't want to kill soil microbes because that will cause issues with nutrient uptake.

Educate me ... there's always new things to learn.

i like this, appreciate the knowledge.

 

[Jimster]

aye man i appreciate that advice. Ive never heard anybody tell me get the soil correct before planting. Is this just basically running a gallon of water through it and seeing what ph the runoff comes out to be?

I usually use Promix, which is devoid of any signifigant nutrients and just has some buffering added to keep the Ph between 6 and 7. If you run a gallon of water thru it, you should just see the extra minerals from the buffering agent and not much from nutrients. This would be my starting point. Adding Perlite (which I don't because Promix already has it mixed in) won't change your Ph. The only things that will change your Ph are nutrients, which tend to be slightly acidic, bad water, although most soil type of grows will mitigate this problem unless it is really bad, like mine drainage. Any municipal water source should be OK with soil, 95% of the time. When you start adding a lot of other things, like Cal-Mag, Ph up/down, and even nutes, the Ph is a lot more likely to stray outside of the comfort zone. This is why I recommend using a minimal amount of nutes...adding extra won't make the plants take them up, it just accumulates and causes multiple issues. Cal-Mag can raise the Ph... most tap water has an acceptable amount of minerals in it, like magnesium and calcium, to make it unnecessary to use Cal-Mag unless you use RO or distilled water.
This is what I mean by getting the soil "right" before planting, so that you aren't trying to fix problems from the start and can concentrate on growing instead of diagnosing. It's pretty simple, but almost too simple for newer growers to realize that it can possibly work. Most problems are caused by the growers adding too much water, nutes, etc. Get everything ready before you plant, and yo will have a much smoother time with everything. I try to replicate nature as much as possible with lower nute levels and growing taller plants, but you are on the right track and should have a good outcome.

 

[LiveandLearn502]

I usually use Promix, which is devoid of any signifigant nutrients and just has some buffering added to keep the Ph between 6 and 7. If you run a gallon of water thru it, you should just see the extra minerals from the buffering agent and not much from nutrients. This would be my starting point. Adding Perlite (which I don't because Promix already has it mixed in) won't change your Ph. The only things that will change your Ph are nutrients, which tend to be slightly acidic, bad water, although most soil type of grows will mitigate this problem unless it is really bad, like mine drainage. Any municipal water source should be OK with soil, 95% of the time. When you start adding a lot of other things, like Cal-Mag, Ph up/down, and even nutes, the Ph is a lot more likely to stray outside of the comfort zone. This is why I recommend using a minimal amount of nutes...adding extra won't make the plants take them up, it just accumulates and causes multiple issues. Cal-Mag can raise the Ph... most tap water has an acceptable amount of minerals in it, like magnesium and calcium, to make it unnecessary to use Cal-Mag unless you use RO or distilled water.
This is what I mean by getting the soil "right" before planting, so that you aren't trying to fix problems from the start and can concentrate on growing instead of diagnosing. It's pretty simple, but almost too simple for newer growers to realize that it can possibly work. Most problems are caused by the growers adding too much water, nutes, etc. Get everything ready before you plant, and yo will have a much smoother time with everything. I try to replicate nature as much as possible with lower nute levels and growing taller plants, but you are on the right track and should have a good outcome.

AWESOME reply! really appreciate you taking the time out to type this and im gonna take note of that soil you used. Im going to try that for my next grow after i run out of this FF soil i have left over. So do you only use tap water? do you let the chlorine evaporate out of it or what is your process? Do you use PH up/down? ive heard this is not necessary or its harmful but im not sure how to take that info.

Also, if you dont mind and have the time can you check these two post out as well and let me know what you think(they're my other two plants: northern lights and silver haze).

New Deficiencies shown - northern lights

So with this grow here are some facts to be stated: Didnt start Ph'ing my water until about 3 weeks into veg (i know my mistake) Its ffos (fox farm ocean Soil) its still in veg (not sure how many weeks of veg its in) amended soil before with Earth Dust veg. before planting. been feeding it...

www.thcfarmer.com

See video - Silver haze - need help please!

So I got a silver haze auto flower going. Here are some known facts. Didn't start ph'ing my water until about 3 weeks into veg. It's growing in ffof soil (fox farm ocean forest soil). Not sure how many weeks of flowering its in. Been feeding it about 13-15ml of fox farm big bloom, 3ml of...

www.thcfarmer.com