Deficiency! Could I be doing better? Healthy looking plants

[PattyWagon]

A tiny film of salt build ups can accumulate on the probe tip after many uses altering your results. A difference of .1 isn't that bad. It's better to shoot for a range rather than an exact number. The battery level doesn't affect the readings.

 

[learning05]

A tiny film of salt build ups can accumulate on the probe tip after many uses altering your results. A difference of .1 isn't that bad. It's better to shoot for a range rather than an exact number. The battery level doesn't affect the readings.

Is there a way to clean it that won't mess the probe up?

 

[PattyWagon]

Very carefully take a paper towel a dab the probe lightly. Try to use it like floss.

 

[PattyWagon]

BTW, 2 females out of 3 so far must have you pretty stoked! Compared to last grow. Keeping my fingers crossed the third will be one too.

 

[nameno]

For a long time I let my water sit to get the chlorine out,until I was told didn't have to do that.
I tried it and sure enough it didn't have any effect on it,so last year I quit doing that.
For what it's worth.

 

[learning05]

BTW, 2 females out of 3 so far must have you pretty stoked! Compared to last grow. Keeping my fingers crossed the third will be one too.

Oh yess!! I am super stoked but what worries me is that only the top of one of the plants is showing pistils. The other areas have that upside down tear drop shape but no pistils coming out of them. The 3rd one still hasn't shown any signs and is the shortest/slowest growing out of the three.

The tallest-female is doing well. Pistils are growing in all over and I think it finally stopped growing vertically. Bud sites are all over the horizontal branches but they are not as sturdy as the center stalk. I have had a fan circulating around them in the hopes it would lead to thicker branches/denser buds. Is there anything I can do at this point to increase yield or density?

 

[PattyWagon]

Not all strains or phenos show sex at the same time once induced. About the 5th week in some people including myself will chop fan leaves that are covering up bud sites. So more light to the shaded nugs. Don't want to over do the trimming and stress the girls in their most critical time. It can alter the hormones to replace old foliage instead of heavy bud production. It's easier to read the plant and see where the secondary buds are forming the hardest and get those ones more direct light.

 

[snutter]

At this point (during vegetative growth) you want to focus on the macro nutes not micro so much, and making sure your PH level is correct when trying to diagnose a problem. Always start with PH level and then make sure your N P and K nutes are correct. Looked like a nitrogen deficiency to me, which I saw some people mentioned. I admit I didn't read the whole thread. Anyways, good luck and I hope you figure(d) out the issue. Cheers!

 

[learning05]

On my tallest plant, I am not sure if I will need to remove my fan leaves because they don't seem to be interfering with light penetration to the bud sites. But lets see, maybe...I think I see a pistil coming out of the shortest-3rd one. If it turns out being female that will be AMAZING making all three females.

For $50 with shipping- I am thinking of getting:

- One 105w 2700K mogul cfl with 60 lumens per watt
- A reducer adapter to make the mogul (e28 ) fit my standard medium (e26) base.
- Two adapters which split a single standard socket into to two.

In total, I should have a 85w 2700k, a 105w 2700k, 2 40w 2700K. Also one 85w 6500k and two smaller watt 6500K bulbs. I figure I place them around the bud sites in hopes the dual spectrum will increase yield/potency. Is that too much light?

I am still getting a little browning on the tips of the new growth. And even after adding 3 tsp of cal-mag plus/6 gal, there appears to be a magnesium issue. I have also been foliar spraying 10 min before the lights turn off with 1/4 tsp cal-mag plus mixed into a 1.2 liters of water.

Majority of the yellow washout is from the 2700k bulbs. Without the lights very little yellow is visible. I can't seem to get a decent picture any other way. I guess, I may have to turn off all the lights besides the one 85w 6500k to get a clearer picture...but anyways here they are:



Please let me know if you see something wrong or anything of concern!!




These two were on the left of the 85w 2700K cfl. They are not yellow as they appear but the "slight beige-brownish" spots are there. What could be causing that?



No clue why this keeps uploading upside-down:

Is my humidifier being so close to the plant bad thing? These leaves are right above it.

 

[learning05]

At this point (during vegetative growth) you want to focus on the macro nutes not micro so much, and making sure your PH level is correct when trying to diagnose a problem. Always start with PH level and then make sure your N P and K nutes are correct. Looked like a nitrogen deficiency to me, which I saw some people mentioned. I admit I didn't read the whole thread. Anyways, good luck and I hope you figure(d) out the issue. Cheers!

I am in the flowering stage as I have switched my lights over to 12/12 about 2.5 weeks ago. But thank you, they do seem to be doing better. I think I have corrected some of the issues but I still seem to be missing something because there is browning happening on the tips of the new growth. Check the pics out let me know what you think please

 

[PattyWagon]

I'm gunna agree on the issue as being a Mag problem. Your set up is one of the nicer CFL grows I've seen. The browning of the tips may be over fertilization of the foliar feed is to hot. Mabey some other people will chime in and comment on the issue. I was always taught the more light the better as long as the heat doesn't pose a threat. Dual spectrum of that kind won't influence potency. UVB lighting is being tested to increase potency. But defintley put some light on lower nugg sights. In the future you may want to consider an HID or Led lamps. You already have enough wattage to equal that. Btw I love your attention to detail, it shall reward you in the end.

 

[PattyWagon]

You also have some dead leaves in the middle your plants. May want to pull them out to keep pests unattracted and airflow increased.

 

[learning05]

I'm gunna agree on the issue as being a Mag problem. Your set up is one of the nicer CFL grows I've seen. The browning of the tips may be over fertilization of the foliar feed is to hot. Mabey some other people will chime in and comment on the issue. I was always taught the more light the better as long as the heat doesn't pose a threat. Dual spectrum of that kind won't influence potency. UVB lighting is being tested to increase potency. But defintley put some light on lower nugg sights. In the future you may want to consider an HID or Led lamps. You already have enough wattage to equal that. Btw I love your attention to detail, it shall reward you in the end.

Thank you. I try to be as precise as I can and have been logging the ppms/ph daily. I wanted to do the HID/HPS route but I didn't have enough money initially to pursue them. I have just recently learned about LED grows in the journal section. I will do some research on that. But before I started I decided since I already have two cfls from my first grow, might as well budget and upgrade.

I have been trying to shine lights on the lower budsites but I need to figure out a way to mount the lights on some sort of stand alone posts so that I can place a few around the res aiming at the lower growth. If I do that I will prob duct-tape my res with the silver tape to reflect/prevent light from getting inside the res.

As of now, I can't seem to find a good way to hang the lights that will allow them to be close enough to the lower growth.

 

[learning05]

You also have some dead leaves in the middle your plants. May want to pull them out to keep pests unattracted and airflow increased.

I was worried about it causing further stress. I have already removed dead leaves on the lower growth but I have read removing leaves during flower isn't recommended until closer to harvest? I may be wrong or mis-read. If their stems are still normal (healthy- not dried up like the older leaves I removed) does that mean they're not dead?

 

[learning05]

Managed to get two more 42w 2700k bulbs into the grow area. I directed light to the lower growth by duct taping a reflector hood to the wall. It not the best method esp if I need to keep moving it but it was easy and works for now. So I am still trying to figure out what is wrong with my plants. I want to learn how to prevent clawing, tacoing, and the browning of the leaves. I am still missing something.

In terms of Nutes this is what I am working with:

• Botanicare Cal-Mag Plus is a 2-0-0 (NPK). Here is what it contains:
  
  
  
  Here are the amounts/ingredients for each of the Fox Farm Trio Nutrients
  -start-
  
  Big Bloom (.01-.3-.7) with Earthworm Casting and Bat Guano
  (Micro)
  
  - Total Nitrogen (N) = .01%
  -.002% Ammoniacal Nitrogen
  -.001% Nitrate Nitrogen
  -.005% Other Water Soluble Nitrogen
  -.002% Water Insoluble Nitrogen
  
  - Available Phosphate (P205) = .3%
  - Soluble Potash (K2O) = .7%
  
  Derived From: Earthworm Casting, Bat and Seabird Guano, Rock Phosphate, Sulfate of Potash Magnesia, Norwegian Kelp
  
  Tiger Bloom (2-8-4)
  (Bloom)
  
  - Total Nitrogen (N) = 2%
  - 0.10% Ammoniacal Nitrogen
  - 1.90% Nitrate Nitrogen
  
  - Available Phosphate (P205) = 8.0%
  - Soluble Potash (K2O) = 4%
  -.5% Water Soluble Magnesium (Mg)
  
  - Boron (B)= .02%
  - Copper (Cu)= .05% (Chelated)
  - Iron (Fe)= .12% (Chelated)
  - Manganese (Mn)= .06% (Chelated)
  - Zinc (Zn)= .05% (Chelated)
  
  Here is an image of a Older Tiger Bloom Label. Mine doesn't have Calcium or Molybdenum.
  
  Grow Big (3-2-6)
  (Grow/Veg)
  
  - Total Nitrogen (N) = 3%
  - 0.15% Ammoniacal Nitrogen
  - 2.85% Nitrate Nitrogen
  
  - Available Phosphate (P205) = 2%
  - Soluble Potash (K2O) = 6%
  - Calcium (Ca)= 2%
  - Magnesium (Mg)= .5% Water Soluble
  
  - Boron (B)= .02%
  - Copper (Cu)= .05% (Chelated)
  - Iron (Fe)= .10% (Chelated)
  - Manganese (Mn)= .05% (Chelated)- Zinc (Zn)= .05% (Chelated)
  
  -end-
  
  Both Grow Big and Tiger Bloom seem to have a little zinc in it. As of now my res is filled with:
  
  - 6 gallons of tap water at 140 ppm
  - 4 tsp of Cal-Mag Plus
  - 3 tsp of Tiger Bloom
  - 1 tsp of Grow Big (Since the cal-mag had Nitrogen I didn't want to put too much at one time so I may add 1/4 tsp of big grow when I add plain water to top it off back to 6-gals)
  - 1 Tablespoon of Big Bloom
  - I also added 1 tsp of 3% hydrogen peroxide as a preventative.
  
  In total my ppm is at 590 with 140 from the water so 450. It is about 100 ppm higher than my last res change. I will top off with plain water until I see the ppm drop.
  
  
  ​
  
  

 

[PattyWagon]

Is the new growth showing the issues your dealing with? Even if the stem of the dead leaf is healthy the leaf is still dead. Stress usually comes with the removal of healthy leaves. Cannabis is a very hardy plant, have trust in her.

 

[learning05]

No, the "newest" growth looks healthy but eventually some of the growth right below the tops of the plant get brown tips. Usually the older more mature the leaves on all three plants start showing deficiency signs, taco/become crispy, turn brown staring from the tips to edges till it reaches the stem and then eventually die. Others leaves show a little browning on the tips but thats all.

My understanding is the problem lies in my feeding/nutrient because the plants are sucking stored resources out of the older leaves. But if that is the case then it means that they are under-fed and have to resort to using stored resources or is that part of the natural life cycle? I have the ppms up to 625 (140 being from my tap) today with 6.3 gals of water

I know there could be other reasons such as heat stress but I have CFLS and the room never gets >80 f on the hottest days. So frustrated in trying to figure out what I am doing wrong lol.

They are growing! They seem to be "filling in more" now instead of growing vertically.

 

[PattyWagon]

Has the PH been spiking or remaining stable? It does sound like a certain nutrient is being locked out. What about airflow? i didn't see any fans in your precious pic. Air circulation is huge regarding bud development.

 

[learning05]

Its been stable. I usually adjust it when the lights first come on and right before they go off. During the light and dark period of the 12/12 the ph usually rises from a 5.5 to 6.2. I do have a fan inside the closet all the way on the top and a standing oscillating fan outside the door on a low speed blowing in towards them and at the lights. I have a inline fan in my window pulling cold air into the room.

I don't have a fan sucking in the air near the bulbs tho. I've see cool tubes with that but I didn't think it would matter if my temps are 72-75 F.

 

[PattyWagon]

Nah your right about not needing a cool tube for cfls. Damn man I can't really think of what's wrong. All your environmental factors seem spot on. Is there anyone else trolling that may be able offer solutions? Last thing I could think of would be some sort of defiency resulting from the plants competing for specific nutes.