Funny how one touch of success can make you a douchebag.
Since I started worrying about the problems with my Lady Cane x Blueberry yesterday, I've been on the hunt for help. I started with MNS forums and got some help there, but the real help came from the breeder of the seeds himself, E$kob@r of Sannie's Seeds. I started a thread at open grow, the Sannie's forums, about the LCxBB plants to get info about the genetics but the thread became more popular when the breeder (eskobar) answered the initial question himself.
I went with it and while I had him, I asked him about the problems I was having.
Here's what e$ko had to say:
(e$kob@r @ Jun 9 2011, 11:25)
Heya,
I dont say i am an expert on this area, but this is my opinion.
transplanting them would be a good start. That soil does not look ok to begin, also to little pots.
The pictures with the leave damage u show is more from other things then only that soil, its a combo.
Look at the tips from some leaves, they do crazy ... a combo of high nutes and to much water (so to long wet) is doing this.
The central nerve of the leaves twist to the outer sides, thats overnuting from your soil, pfew in such an early stage.
I would like to know the details how u water (fill up bottoms scales? or u water on top?, how much u give...
When the temp gets higher in your growroom, the damage will be bigger and faster, if u need to put your lamp higher ... u have to check that.
Its not a big problem what u show, really not. Your harvest does not comes in danger.
Take pictures when u transplant, i would like to see the bottom of those roots. I think u will see a browny mess, and not a white rootfestival.
So i think more in this direktion of to much water,
The damage will crumble away, the plant will flower normally. They can handle this. No panic, relax.
Sow,
Heat radiation? To long to wet? (to hot soil is clear to see ...) humidity? Color of bottom roots? Type of watering?
Do u give allready nutes to such small plants?
Its your time to investigate and look at your plants now.
Grdz e$ko,
He pretty much hit the nail on the head, reminding me that I'm a total noob and a tool for forgetting it. I let myself over water and over feed my plants almost to death (believe it or not it wasn't the soil).
*ughhh
I feel so dumb.
But humbled.
After I got eskobar's answer I felt like an itdiot. I had forgotten all the hard learned rules I learned through years of mistakes and was now making them again. So I did some soul-searching and a little research and found out what I already knew again and then some. I stumbled upon Mandala Seed's web site and they have some great information on soil, fertilizer, ec and more.
Here's some of the stuff they say about fertilizer;
Avoiding Misdiagnosis
A regular occurence in cannabis cultivation is that pH related symptoms are confused with deficiencies. The pH of your water or nutrient solution must always be adjusted to the correct value. Please read our
WATER & PH GUIDE for more details.
Some growers claim that their plants are thriving on very high EC levels and have no problems whatsoever. There are mainly two reasons for this assertion:
1. These are strains that are genetically predisposed to grow under high amounts of fertilizer (hydroponic generations, etc.)
2. The cultivator does not recognize the negative symptoms/damage from overfeeding (this occurs quite often)
Even if your plants look nice and green for some time, as you continue to fertilize with high EC levels eventually you will run into one or more of the following symptoms of overfertilization.
Symptoms of Overfertilization
- leaf curl
- leaf edge burn
- necrotic (brown) spots on leaves
- leaf wilting and leaf drop
- withering shoots
- multi-nutrient blockage
- overly lush & shiny green foliage (usually combined with slow flowering)
- "runaway" spindly & weak shoots
- uncontrolled growth
- slow root development
- delayed flowering
- high ratio of males
- male flowers on females
- elongated buds
- leafy buds
- sudden wilting of pistils
- premature end to flowering
- bud mold
- increased pest susceptibility
Examples of some of the above mentioned symptoms.
Common Mistakes
- insecurity and worries about not getting enough yield
- mistaking pH related symptoms with deficiencies
- mistaking natural reddish-purple plant colouration for phosphorous deficiency
- using recommended dosages of the product without measuring the EC
- not deducting the EC of the tapwater from the recommended EC
- using high nutrient levels in hydroponics or soil to "force" growth or flowering
- treating soil cultivation as if it offers no nutrients to the plants
- using small containers of soil and compensating with a standard "feeding schedule"
- combining low light cultivation with too much fertilizer
- fertilizing plants that are perfectly healthy (soil)
- fertilizing seedlings (soil)
- fertilizing plants prior to, or after, repotting in fresh soil
- ignoring individual nutrient requirements of plants (collective feeding)
- fertilizing indoor with pure guano
- fertilizing outdoor flowering plants with pure guano or fish emulsion
- using super-phosphate fertilizer, PK 13-14, or double digit NPK formula (i.e. 15-30-15 or similar)
- combining bud boosters or PK 13-14 products with the nutrient solution
- not testing new products on a small portion of plants first
Here was a category under common mistakes. Another one I made when I blended this soil.
X Bottom or top layer of Hydroton clay pellets or stones in containers: Not a good idea and based on the false assumption that this is beneficial (for example for drainage/water retention). Hydroton clay pellets have a poor pH that is very alkaline (pH 8+). When you water through these from the top you corrupt" the pH of the soil and cause minerals to become locked and unavailable for the plants. The result are symptoms of deficiency. Some manufacturers have now started offering clay pellets that are pH neutral. However, they still deplete the soil of potential nutrients, lower water retention capacity, and reduce available space for root development.
Roots grow down due to gravity. The majority of roots in a cannabis plant are to be found in the bottom half of the pot and in particular along the bottom (later, when the plants start to outgrow the pot the roots will fill it to the top). If the roots hit a dry layer of stones/clay pellets with many air pockets they shrivel, dry up, and the plant has less root mass to supply it's top growth. Again, also valuable nutrients and water are lost, because the bottom is not layered with potting soil.
Well after a long night doing research, I'm humbled.
I was getting arrogant about my abilities, now I'm back to square one.
