BEWARE of newbies "diagnosing" plants...a small bit of advice

[missnu]

I see this so many times a day and it is just ridiculous... There are even newbies making posts to help other newbies find the same misinformation that they themselves use...

So here is the deal with nitrogen

if you are feeding your plant slightly less than recommended dosage, or the recommended dose of nutes then those spots are not a deficiency, unless they are deficiencies caused by some other issue...as in if you have too much nutes already, or your pH is wrong, or you are watering everyday in a 3 gallon pot of soil or something equally as heinous...

If your new growth is super bright green and your old growth is really dark green then your plants are overfertilized... Adding Nitrogen will not make your new growth turn green again...I can veg a plant for 3 weeks and give it no nitrogen at all, then straight to flower...

It is easier and best to leave at least a week window between feeding nitrogen heavy nutes for veg, and then switching to flower...

A lot of people don't worry when their plant starts to turn a little colored when they first switch the lights, because if you were giving heavy veg nutes even with no bad symptoms in veg, that dose will be too much for flower, so if right after switching the lights a few lower leaves start to fry on the tips, or some top leaves curl, Just wait it out for a water cycle...by this I mean water the plant with plain water, then wait for the pot to dry, and then see where the plant is at...you canthen try some bloom nutes, or just more plain water...then switch to your bloom nutes...

So often I see poor people just starting out get really bad advice from other people that are just starting out and it ruins their whole grow...

Like when in early flower the new growth starts to yellow and all the newer people are there to say add some nitrogen to help with the yellowing they'll be fine...so this person says alright, they just need some food...feeds them and then sends this plant into a terrible flowering pit of despair that won't be anywhere near as nice, big, tasty, or strong as it could have been...

All I want new people to take from this is:
Don't listen to random people on the internet...if you do feel like someone is giving you good advice then check around first and see if they are well received and seem to know what they are talking about..just click their name and check some other posts they have made...
That reputation bar doesn't mean anything at all...
Check out the dates, and check some other posts before you decide to lash your cart to their horse so to speak...

I have messed up following other's advice, and I see so many people tell people to do the exact opposite of what they should actually do, so I just wanted to post a warning if you will of the ills of blinding following someone on the internet...

Don't be afraid to try things that don't involve chemicals, topping, training, scrog, and LST are all alright, and you can't mess them up...don't be afraid to try something like that....but when someone tells you that your plant needs something don't be so sure...

Another thing to think on...unless you use Reverse Osmosis or distilled water you will not have a calcium, magnesium, manganese, copper, Iron, boron, zinc, etc deficiency...
And I see people tell people they have micro-deficiencies all the time... Tap water and well water almost always have these things...and a whole lot of nute lines do too...so micro nute deficiencies in plants being fed nutes, and especially plants utilizing water from the tap will most likely not have micro nute deficiencies...no matter what freaking chart you found that tells you that you have an Iron deficiency---you probably don't...

Most of the time what is ailing a plant is that there is too much of something, not too little...

ok..I am done ranting...BEWARE NEWBIES DIAGNOSING PLANTS

That is all...

 

[PegCityMJ]

I am a noob, and it is very hard to find true information. I would think the best way to learn would be to do it.
I am just about to start my first real grow and I am a little nervous about using nutes.
Do I need to use nutes to get the best yield?
I was quite interested in trying topping, and perhaps SCROG.
I apologize if this was not exactly a thread to ask questions. :s

 

[DJ Retchid Kat]

Good post! cheers

 

[Bayou bud]

Excellent summary of the pervasive amount of ignorance out on this forum. One more tip of added advice. Pick one good grower and look at their environment. Too often I see a young neophyte attempting to "do too much" or incorporate to many different styles of growing thinking that they are taking the best of both/many worlds. Pick a good grower, examine his garden/set up... speak with him/her and ask the what's and the why's about their technique. Much better than coming on here every day, posting about how awful your plants look, and then listening to every bit of advice that you receive only to over fertilize, buy something you don't need to...etc.

Bayou bud

 

[drolove]

lol might be partially my bad. im pretty much a noob to this but i do like to pass on information if read or been told. if im not mostly sure on what im saying ill make a point stating im not sure and to wait for more advice from other users.

 

[alonefarmer420]

ya but just cuz someones post count is low doesn't mean that's how long they have been growing or around cannabis....

 

[cabinetgrown]

Well said missnu...I got a TON of bad information, from my local HYDRO SHOPS when I first started. Not to mention reading all the conflicting info out there. Though there is certainly a lot of science involved, it's often the art of growing cannabis that is lost in all the noise. You simply can't replace experience and getting to know your plants. I'll add my two pennies;

Keep it simple
More is NOT always better...in fact, more frequently- less is more
Keep it simple
There is not a magic formula for success
Did I mention to Keep it simple?

 

[scroglodyte]

its a krypton deficiency, imo

 

[cannabineer]

eeww ... I don't want bud that's been krypton. cn

 

[drolove]

superman bud ^^^^

 

[curious2garden]

.....snip......
Another thing to think on...unless you use Reverse Osmosis or distilled water you will not have a calcium, magnesium, manganese, copper, Iron, boron, zinc, etc deficiency...

Water across the world has different dissolved solid content. The effectiveness of RO is you know that there is virtually nothing else in your water but what you have added. I live/grow in CA which has some notoriously hard water. I almost lost all my plants in my very first grow to a Mg deficiency because I was pretty secure that all seedlings needed was just a little tap water or so many of the 'experts' said. The actual commercial growers I know said otherwise and kept telling me to go to a soilless medium and use RO.

I finally hauled out my chem gear and tested my water. Almost all the dissolved solids here were Ca! As soon as I boosted them with Mg they began to grow like, well, weeds. I added in an RO unit so I KNEW what nutrients my plants were getting and I was able to complete a grow without further incident.

The way cannabis needs Magnesium almost elevates it to macro nutrient status in my extremely limited experience for cannabis culture of this particular strain.

ok..I am done ranting...BEWARE NEWBIES DIAGNOSING PLANTS

That is all...

You are on the internet you should check out any information you get from anyone. Whether admitted newbie or not. I mean just how do you identify a newbie? Do you measure that by post count? Do you measure that join date? Do you measure that by grow journals? I've seen accounts with huge post counts with a very low signal to noise ratio. Join date is not a measure of growing experience as proof of growing is not a required element to join. Finally pictures can be appropriated from anywhere on the 'net and the 'nets resources tend to be very wide, unfortunately less deep.

Further just because someone gives, apparently, specious information, based on your knowledge and experience, does not mean that, that, is not their experience nor that it is not successful for them. Everyone is running their plants in different microcosms and it's important to remember that what works for one may not be generalizable to others.

So I'd just finish with consider carefully the validity of any information received from the 'net.

 

[Dutchmast3r]

the guy at the hydro store near me is just as clueless as my little sister wud be growing pot..gave me shit info and tried up selling me on some bs everytime lol

 

[richinweed]

I see this so many times a day and it is just ridiculous... There are even newbies making posts to help other newbies find the same misinformation that they themselves use...

So here is the deal with nitrogen

if you are feeding your plant slightly less than recommended dosage, or the recommended dose of nutes then those spots are not a deficiency, unless they are deficiencies caused by some other issue...as in if you have too much nutes already, or your pH is wrong, or you are watering everyday in a 3 gallon pot of soil or something equally as heinous...

If your new growth is super bright green and your old growth is really dark green then your plants are overfertilized... Adding Nitrogen will not make your new growth turn green again...I can veg a plant for 3 weeks and give it no nitrogen at all, then straight to flower...

It is easier and best to leave at least a week window between feeding nitrogen heavy nutes for veg, and then switching to flower...

A lot of people don't worry when their plant starts to turn a little colored when they first switch the lights, because if you were giving heavy veg nutes even with no bad symptoms in veg, that dose will be too much for flower, so if right after switching the lights a few lower leaves start to fry on the tips, or some top leaves curl, Just wait it out for a water cycle...by this I mean water the plant with plain water, then wait for the pot to dry, and then see where the plant is at...you canthen try some bloom nutes, or just more plain water...then switch to your bloom nutes...

So often I see poor people just starting out get really bad advice from other people that are just starting out and it ruins their whole grow...

Like when in early flower the new growth starts to yellow and all the newer people are there to say add some nitrogen to help with the yellowing they'll be fine...so this person says alright, they just need some food...feeds them and then sends this plant into a terrible flowering pit of despair that won't be anywhere near as nice, big, tasty, or strong as it could have been...

All I want new people to take from this is:
Don't listen to random people on the internet...if you do feel like someone is giving you good advice then check around first and see if they are well received and seem to know what they are talking about..just click their name and check some other posts they have made...
That reputation bar doesn't mean anything at all...
Check out the dates, and check some other posts before you decide to lash your cart to their horse so to speak...

I have messed up following other's advice, and I see so many people tell people to do the exact opposite of what they should actually do, so I just wanted to post a warning if you will of the ills of blinding following someone on the internet...

Don't be afraid to try things that don't involve chemicals, topping, training, scrog, and LST are all alright, and you can't mess them up...don't be afraid to try something like that....but when someone tells you that your plant needs something don't be so sure...

Another thing to think on...unless you use Reverse Osmosis or distilled water you will not have a calcium, magnesium, manganese, copper, Iron, boron, zinc, etc deficiency...
And I see people tell people they have micro-deficiencies all the time... Tap water and well water almost always have these things...and a whole lot of nute lines do too...so micro nute deficiencies in plants being fed nutes, and especially plants utilizing water from the tap will most likely not have micro nute deficiencies...no matter what freaking chart you found that tells you that you have an Iron deficiency---you probably don't...

Most of the time what is ailing a plant is that there is too much of something, not too little...

ok..I am done ranting...BEWARE NEWBIES DIAGNOSING PLANTS

That is all...

AWSOMLEE PUT...ive tried warning ppl before.....now i usually just ignore it as i get to much negative feedback when dealing with no-it-all noobs..post count means nothing(except they prob on welfare if they can post all day).altho some ppl cant work.....and rep also means dik......i dont come here for advice , been in the game way to long for that(but have found some decent info)....but i do PM the noobs whome have been told stupid or dangerious advice...(like the dood who was told it was ok to vent ozone into babies room....fukkin noobs!~...anyway i chime in when i get sik of disinfo bieng passed around by ppl whome make it up as they go along.....

 

[missnu]

Well you have to use some kind of something...you have to decide budget and preference wise what you want to do that with..you can use organic amendments that are pretty cheap, or get a line of nutes, and all you have to do is send botanicare an email and ask for a sample kit...they will send you everything you need to finish a grow, and a few things that you don't...but you should look into organic nutes and start taking a collection...I just got mine a piece at a time.

 

[missnu]

the guy at the hydro store near me is just as clueless as my little sister wud be growing pot..gave me shit info and tried up selling me on some bs everytime lol

I have run into those types of hydro guys...now my hydro guys just seem confused to see a girl...lol.

 

[missnu]

Water across the world has different dissolved solid content. The effectiveness of RO is you know that there is virtually nothing else in your water but what you have added. I live/grow in CA which has some notoriously hard water. I almost lost all my plants in my very first grow to a Mg deficiency because I was pretty secure that all seedlings needed was just a little tap water or so many of the 'experts' said. The actual commercial growers I know said otherwise and kept telling me to go to a soilless medium and use RO.

I finally hauled out my chem gear and tested my water. Almost all the dissolved solids here were Ca! As soon as I boosted them with Mg they began to grow like, well, weeds. I added in an RO unit so I KNEW what nutrients my plants were getting and I was able to complete a grow without further incident.

The way cannabis needs Magnesium almost elevates it to macro nutrient status in my extremely limited experience for cannabis culture of this particular strain.



You are on the internet you should check out any information you get from anyone. Whether admitted newbie or not. I mean just how do you identify a newbie? Do you measure that by post count? Do you measure that join date? Do you measure that by grow journals? I've seen accounts with huge post counts with a very low signal to noise ratio. Join date is not a measure of growing experience as proof of growing is not a required element to join. Finally pictures can be appropriated from anywhere on the 'net and the 'nets resources tend to be very wide, unfortunately less deep.

Further just because someone gives, apparently, specious information, based on your knowledge and experience, does not mean that, that, is not their experience nor that it is not successful for them. Everyone is running their plants in different microcosms and it's important to remember that what works for one may not be generalizable to others.

So I'd just finish with consider carefully the validity of any information received from the 'net.

So you are saying that you needed magnesium because your water was hard? Because the harder the water the more trace minerals, good and bad that are there...some tap water is unsuitable to growing and that is why some people use distilled and RO...I am just saying that if you can successfully use your tap water with no ill effects, then you don't need cal mag or a lot of micro nutes....they are already there...Or just gather some rainwater...that has it all too...lol. Some water is very very terrible for plants...when I run hydro I have to use Distilled water because our well water grows all manner of gunk in the rez no matter what I add to it, but likewise it is awesome for plants in soil.

 

[missnu]

Excellent summary of the pervasive amount of ignorance out on this forum. One more tip of added advice. Pick one good grower and look at their environment. Too often I see a young neophyte attempting to "do too much" or incorporate to many different styles of growing thinking that they are taking the best of both/many worlds. Pick a good grower, examine his garden/set up... speak with him/her and ask the what's and the why's about their technique. Much better than coming on here every day, posting about how awful your plants look, and then listening to every bit of advice that you receive only to over fertilize, buy something you don't need to...etc.

Bayou bud

I started with your opposite of ideal..trying too much at once...but i have to argue that I think it might be part of the learning process, cuz if everyone took everyone's word for everything nobody would ever move forward...so I say experiment away...but watch out what you try on your plants in the way of chemicals...and also watch out for people telling you to take all the leaves off your plant...that would also be no good...so don't listen to me... but if you don't listen to me, just be careful of who you do listen to...

 

[cannofbliss]

its a krypton deficiency, imo

damn no more like button... great post

 

[cannofbliss]

I started with your opposite of ideal..trying too much at once...but i have to argue that I think it might be part of the learning process, cuz if everyone took everyone's word for everything nobody would ever move forward...so I say experiment away...but watch out what you try on your plants in the way of chemicals...and also watch out for people telling you to take all the leaves off your plant...that would also be no good...so don't listen to me... but if you don't listen to me, just be careful of who you do listen to...

my favorite (sarcastically put) is the excessively overused "its a magnesium deficiency" for pretty much every disorder a plant could ever have, you will always hear artards spout that one out more often than ever... at least thats what i have seen most... lol

 

[cannofbliss]

Water across the world has different dissolved solid content. The effectiveness of RO is you know that there is virtually nothing else in your water but what you have added. I live/grow in CA which has some notoriously hard water. I almost lost all my plants in my very first grow to a Mg deficiency because I was pretty secure that all seedlings needed was just a little tap water or so many of the 'experts' said. The actual commercial growers I know said otherwise and kept telling me to go to a soilless medium and use RO.

I finally hauled out my chem gear and tested my water. Almost all the dissolved solids here were Ca! As soon as I boosted them with Mg they began to grow like, well, weeds. I added in an RO unit so I KNEW what nutrients my plants were getting and I was able to complete a grow without further incident.

The way cannabis needs Magnesium almost elevates it to macro nutrient status in my extremely limited experience for cannabis culture of this particular strain.



You are on the internet you should check out any information you get from anyone. Whether admitted newbie or not. I mean just how do you identify a newbie? Do you measure that by post count? Do you measure that join date? Do you measure that by grow journals? I've seen accounts with huge post counts with a very low signal to noise ratio. Join date is not a measure of growing experience as proof of growing is not a required element to join. Finally pictures can be appropriated from anywhere on the 'net and the 'nets resources tend to be very wide, unfortunately less deep.

Further just because someone gives, apparently, specious information, based on your knowledge and experience, does not mean that, that, is not their experience nor that it is not successful for them. Everyone is running their plants in different microcosms and it's important to remember that what works for one may not be generalizable to others.

So I'd just finish with consider carefully the validity of any information received from the 'net.

your magnesium was locked out from most likely the high chlorination and calcium content of your water... just sayin btw...


p.s. just so you know from my earlier post to missinu... dont think im calling you curious2garden an artard... it has nothing to do with you...

the Mg part you brought up just reminded me of the OP's subject thread and it reminded me of how i see alot of noobs will see a post with someone asking for help and then they get a bunch of wrong diagnosis and a majority of them will spout out "oh its def Mg deficient" and the poor OP asking for help will see that "most" have said "Mg" so they think thats whats wrong with their plants, when in fact it is something entirely different...

then they end up screwing up their plants even more by adding something they never needed in the first place...