[F1cultivator]

 

[MercDod]

ty, Ray! so the setup so far has a 6" inline exhaust fan, a clip on fan in the bottom right front corner, clip on in the top left back corner. intake vent open at the bottom left side, exhaust tube out the top right side. i'm hoping i've made the vortex air flow i was told to aim for! with the hygrometer reading the way it has been, bud rot has been on my mind a lot over the past week. i don't see any signs of it but i've also never seen it in real life. also, yeah, my water usually reads 100-150ppm before i add a single thing to it!

Good Day,

I expect that everyone you ask will probably give you a different response however this is what I do.

My intake ductwork starts with a nursery pot that has a plastic cage (like a mini tomato cage) attached to it with the bottom of the nursery pot cut out. A pair of women’s panty hose are covering the plant cage to filter dust. My 8” ductwork fits snugly around the bottom of the nursery pot with the other end attached to a 8” inline fan with speed controller. The 8” duct leaves the inline fan and attaches to the bottom of tent after making (2) 90 degree turns (to reduce plant perceivable light coming through the duct). I had to wrap part of the 8” duct with black plastic trash bags due to light leaks. I never open the vents at the bottom.


Inside the tent at the top, I have a 6” Carbon filter attached to a 6” inline fan with controller. I then have a 6” blacked out duct going out of the tent (top right back), making (1) 90-degree turn to the left and blowing out the lung room door. I have to leave the lung room door open as that is my only way to cool the room as I have no AC in lung room.


I run (4) 6” hurricane fans, three attached to the corner poles with tie wraps so I can slide them up or down as needed. I would run another in last corner but I have a power strip there with a electricity watt meter and timer. The last 6” hurricane fan is mounted at top of tent blowing down to help cool light.

 

[BubblesBudsAndBerries]

first grow, DWC, based on web research, i think it's a mag issue but i used cal mag when i mixed her res. i mixed in the right order, no fallout, i've been on top of pH and ppm. i'm wondering if the franklin water has something to do with it. base ppm from the tap water reads 200-230. maybe what's already present is conflicting with the maxigro or cal mag. so far i've been doing 1. dechlorinate with a pinch of pure vitamin c powder, half the recommended dose of cal mag, half the recommended dose of maxigro (dissolved in a separate cup of warm water first), then ph balance, then hydroguard. I've got the environment dialed in now, humidity and temps are in the right ranges. thanks for any feedback and i hope you're all doing well!

 

[Respect79]

I’ve been looking for VA-specific info and noticed that they were scattered all over the site. Thought it might be easier to have one thread that gathers everything for Virginia.
The purpose of this thread is to unite Virginia growers so we can all share our experiences, tips, tricks, recipes, etc., and keep the Virginia marijuana community growing.


I’ll start it off.
Total newbie to growing (and even to gardening).
First grow. Growing two plants outdoors. Don't have an indoor setup.
Even though I've done something wrong at nearly every stage, my plants appear to be doing fairly well.
They're not ready to harvest yet, but guessing in the next 2-4 weeks?
But, the weather is quickly cooling off with lots of rain.
It's in the 50's today.
How much do I need to worry about possible negative effects caused by the weather?
I keep hearing about bud rot, etc.
What can I (should I) do to take these two plants across the finish line?

Hope there’s some interest in a VA thread.
Thanks!!


View attachment 2055484View attachment 2055485View attachment 2055486

Looking good

 

[Respect79]

Good Day,

I expect that everyone you ask will probably give you a different response however this is what I do.

My intake ductwork starts with a nursery pot that has a plastic cage (like a mini tomato cage) attached to it with the bottom of the nursery pot cut out. A pair of women’s panty hose are covering the plant cage to filter dust. My 8” ductwork fits snugly around the bottom of the nursery pot with the other end attached to a 8” inline fan with speed controller. The 8” duct leaves the inline fan and attaches to the bottom of tent after making (2) 90 degree turns (to reduce plant perceivable light coming through the duct). I had to wrap part of the 8” duct with black plastic trash bags due to light leaks. I never open the vents at the bottom.


Inside the tent at the top, I have a 6” Carbon filter attached to a 6” inline fan with controller. I then have a 6” blacked out duct going out of the tent (top right back), making (1) 90-degree turn to the left and blowing out the lung room door. I have to leave the lung room door open as that is my only way to cool the room as I have no AC in lung room.


I run (4) 6” hurricane fans, three attached to the corner poles with tie wraps so I can slide them up or down as needed. I would run another in last corner but I have a power strip there with a electricity watt meter and timer. The last 6” hurricane fan is mounted at top of tent blowing down to help cool light.

Wish I could have a nice set up. Gotta do all my growing outdoors.plan on buying a 8x8 building come spring time.wanna keep the beauts away from all those annoying pests lol

 

[Respect79]

first grow, DWC, based on web research, i think it's a mag issue but i used cal mag when i mixed her res. i mixed in the right order, no fallout, i've been on top of pH and ppm. i'm wondering if the franklin water has something to do with it. base ppm from the tap water reads 200-230. maybe what's already present is conflicting with the maxigro or cal mag. so far i've been doing 1. dechlorinate with a pinch of pure vitamin c powder, half the recommended dose of cal mag, half the recommended dose of maxigro (dissolved in a separate cup of warm water first), then ph balance, then hydroguard. I've got the environment dialed in now, humidity and temps are in the right ranges. thanks for any feedback and i hope you're all doing well!

Some people go all out on additives for their plants.i really don't think u need all that stuff to have a nice crop. More of a headache and way more costly.(my opinion). Good soil and constant checking does me good rather then spending allot money on stuff. Only used topsoil as a base.then garden soil mixed with black kow compost is all I use.well until the flower started then I did but bloom booster

 

[F1cultivator]

first grow, DWC, based on web research, i think it's a mag issue but i used cal mag when i mixed her res. i mixed in the right order, no fallout, i've been on top of pH and ppm. i'm wondering if the franklin water has something to do with it. base ppm from the tap water reads 200-230. maybe what's already present is conflicting with the maxigro or cal mag. so far i've been doing 1. dechlorinate with a pinch of pure vitamin c powder, half the recommended dose of cal mag, half the recommended dose of maxigro (dissolved in a separate cup of warm water first), then ph balance, then hydroguard. I've got the environment dialed in now, humidity and temps are in the right ranges. thanks for any feedback and i hope you're all doing well!

You are correct in questioning the water,
I have well water and had similar issues. I cut the cal/mag out of the regimen completely. I found a pinch of Epsom salt and some ph down fixed my problem. Not saying its a cure all... but its cheap thing to try.

 

[MercDod]

first grow, DWC, based on web research, i think it's a mag issue but i used cal mag when i mixed her res. i mixed in the right order, no fallout, i've been on top of pH and ppm. i'm wondering if the franklin water has something to do with it. base ppm from the tap water reads 200-230. maybe what's already present is conflicting with the maxigro or cal mag. so far i've been doing 1. dechlorinate with a pinch of pure vitamin c powder, half the recommended dose of cal mag, half the recommended dose of maxigro (dissolved in a separate cup of warm water first), then ph balance, then hydroguard. I've got the environment dialed in now, humidity and temps are in the right ranges. thanks for any feedback and i hope you're all doing well!

Waiver!!! I put your issue to AI which can be wrong but sometimes gives me something bounce ideas off of and this is what it said. Maybe something makes sense. What do you think?

AI said:

Your diagnosis is on the right track: you are looking at a classic nutrient lockout caused by your tap water's high base mineral content conflicting with your supplements.
Even though you are using a halved dose of Botanicare Cal-Mag and General Hydroponics MaxiGro, your tap water's starting PPM of 200–230 indicates that it is already dense with hard water minerals (primarily calcium and magnesium carbonates).
By adding extra Cal-Mag on top of that base, you have likely oversaturated the reservoir with Calcium. This excess Calcium is directly competing with and blocking the uptake of Magnesium, causing the interveinal chlorosis (yellowing between the veins) you are seeing. Simultaneously, the clawing is a classic reaction to root-zone stress, salt buildup, or an overabundance of Nitrogen relative to what the plant can currently process.

---

Why Your Mixing Process is Missing the Mark
While your order of operations is mechanically correct, the chemical profile of your starting water is the underlying variable:

1. • The "Cal-Mag Trap": Cal-Mag is designed for Reverse Osmosis (RO) water or soft tap water (under 50 PPM). Since your tap water is already at 200+ PPM, it is highly likely you do not need Cal-Mag at all.
   • Mulder's Chart (Nutrient Antagonism): When Calcium concentrations in a hydroponic reservoir become too high, it creates an antagonistic lockout against Magnesium and Potassium. The plant sits in a pool of Magnesium it simply cannot absorb.
   • Vitamin C & Carbonates: Vitamin C (ascorbic acid) is great for neutralizing chlorine/chloramine. However, because your tap water is hard, it contains heavy bicarbonate buffers. When you add Vitamin C followed by a heavy dose of MaxiGro and then try to adjust the pH, you may be causing subtle, temporary micro-fallouts or severe pH swings in the root zone between reservoir changes that aren't registering on your meter.

---

Direct Breakdown of Symptoms

• Interveinal Chlorosis: Magnesium deficiency. Because it is a mobile nutrient, look to see if this is happening mostly on the lower and middle fan leaves. If it is, the plant is draining its older leaves because the roots cannot pull Mg from the reservoir. [1, 2, 3]
• Leaf Clawing: This points to Nitrogen Toxicity or general Osmotic Shock (the roots struggle to drink water because the salt concentration/PPM around them is structurally imbalanced). MaxiGro is quite high in Nitrogen; combined with the trace Nitrogen in many Cal-Mag brands, the plant is getting overwhelmed.

---

How to Fix It

How to Fix It

How to Fix It: Step-by-Step Recovery Guide
Step 1: Reset the Res

• Action: Flush your system with plain, pH-balanced water (5.8 for hydro) for 24 hours.
• Why: Dissolves and clears out the built-up excess salts and Calcium blocking the roots.

Step 2: Cut the Cal-Mag

• Action: Eliminate the Cal-Mag supplement entirely from your next routine.
• Why: Your Franklin tap water already provides all the baseline Calcium your plant needs.

Step 3: Mix the New Res

• Action: Dechlorinate → Skip Cal-Mag → Add MaxiGro (at 50% strength) → Adjust pH → Hydroguard.
• Why: Lowers the overall PPM and prevents the Calcium-to-Magnesium antagonism.

Step 4: Targeted Mg Fix

• Action: Mix 1/2 teaspoon of pure Epsom Salt (Magnesium Sulfate) per gallon of water and use it as a foliar spray. Only do this if you are still in the vegetative stage.
• Why: Bypasses the locked-out root zone entirely to deliver Magnesium directly to the leaves for quick green-up.

Pro-Tip for Future Runs:
If you want to completely eliminate tap water guesswork in the future, switching to Reverse Osmosis (RO) or distilled water will give you a true 0 PPM blank canvas where your current half-dose Cal-Mag + MaxiGro recipe will work perfectly.

 

[Respect79]

You are correct in questioning the water,
I have well water and had similar issues. I cut the cal/mag out of the regimen completely. I found a pinch of Epsom salt and some ph down fixed my problem. Not saying its a cure all... but its cheap thing to try.

I was using tap water for a bit then had to change to a rain catch system with a 55 gallon barrel

 

[Respect79]

Getting close on a few

 

[Respect79]

Hope all your grows are flourishing!

Is it too late to start an autoflower for an outside grow?
I'm in N. VA.

Yea I wouldn't push it that's close.

 

[Respect79]

Candy kush

 

[Respect79]

I'm a S.W. Virginia grower and I just hung two of mine on the 3rd of this month, and also lost one to bud rot. I do both in and outdoor new to the indoor growing only a year or so, but prefer outdoor organic growing. This is the two drying. About your plants just keep a check on them every day, and keep them as dry as possible. When it hits it spreads fast. View attachment 2056018View attachment 2056019

Yea I've had to already pluck off about 2quarters off few of my plants due to bud rot.if I start seeing more frequently then ima have to operate early and chop away and save what I can even though potency and flavor might be somewhat damaged but better then throwing whole plant away if I can help it. Relentless rain in good ol va

 

[F1cultivator]

Looks nice and DANK!

 

[Respect79]

Looks nice and DANK!

Guess I will findout soon enough

 

[Budtirement]

Overview.
I harvested 14 ounces dry from the 2 Jack Herer autos from Triangle Hemp Seeds in the tent. They've been curing a month now. Very nice taste and smell and a trippy buzz. I'll run that again sometime. I like the sativas. We didn't just bust out in laughter as soon as we smoked it but we did have great conversations deep into the night without couch lock or falling asleep.
I also harvested 16 ounces dry from 1 of the Puna Buddaz crosses from outside in the garden before the Nor'easter rain event. Those had a grassy scent drying in the tent but now in the curing jar for about a week they are beginning to buff up in the terpene department.
The other Puna Buddaz I just harvested a few days ago. I left a few 1/2 ounce sized buds on the plants and I'll pull them just before we get a frost just to see. It looks like the temps will reach down to 28f in the western parts of the state this weekend so it probably won't take long for frost to get to the piedmont.
So for my summer season efforts I've got close to 3 pounds of flower which is plenty and more bong hits for my purposes. I hope everyone has managed well and are enjoying the fruits of your labors. Virginia is for growers!