Deficiency! Could I be doing better? Healthy looking plants

The plants are still struggling but growing nonetheless. The tallest one is getting frosty/swelling and the other two are still growing pistils. One of my girls has a crazy stretch issue going on. I think it is because she is growing under the biggest cfl (3000k 85w) and the reflector hood is shorter than the length of the bulb; therefore, the light is less concentrated and more spread out. That is what I think at least- the two branches are stretching outward and not toward the bulb. I was reading that potassium (K) deficiencies could cause a stretch also but I don't know.

It is kind of odd because they are stretching from the bottom of the stalk horizontally toward the wall where it isn't getting much light. So I am thinking I should cut them off so that energy isn't wasted. It has been 4 weeks into switching to 12/12 so is it too late to cut them? Should I cut one and see the reaction?

So this has started to appear....

View attachment 2659198

Those girls are making you work man! Do you have any books on growing?

PattyWagon said:

Those girls are making you work man! Do you have any books on growing?

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Yeah they really are. I don't own any books but I have read around the forums and have read Ed Rosenthal works. Also tutorials around the web.

Here is a video:

[video=youtube;zdCnsUE6DUI]http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_detailpage&v=zdCnsUE6DUI[/video]

Is their another area I can post to get help? Some one please?

Decided to try distilled water for my res change. Lets see if that makes any difference.

whats your PPM?

LAX Skunky BwS said:

whats your PPM?

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AS of now pretty low. It is at 500 ppm and they are in their 4 week since switching to 12/12.

Bump, so one of the branches of the girl that is mid way into budding has gotten red. What could that mean? DWC EXPERTS I NEED HELP!!!

Red stems are a 50/50 chance of a nute deficiency(most common P.) or a trait that happens to be unique to the strain. I had a Bubba Kush that had purple stems and leaves that was 100% healthy.

You might be able to get more help with your problems here.
https://www.rollitup.org/marijuana-plant-problems/

Yeah it think it may be a P issue but I am not sure if it is a deficiency or a lock out. I realized that I haven't been topping off the water or measuring the ppm correctly. You're supposed to add water back to your 6-gal mark if is below it and then measure the ppms right? What I have been doing is measuring the ppms before I re-add the water the next day, that is why they were rising as the solution became more concentrated. So I am going to fix that. Also I think I have been ph-ing to frequently or checking it incorrectly which further increased the salt concentration.

Lets say I check the ph when the lights come on at 12pm and it is at 6.0 and I swirl the sample in a cup with the pen in it and it gets to a 5.7 (does that mean it was at a 6 or a 5.7??). Then before the lights go out at 12am I check the ph and it reads the same. Does that mean they are not eating?

I have already posted on the MJ plant problem page but still haven't gotten any answers...I am thinking of flushing them tomorrow and leaving them in plain water for a day. I really wish someone could explain how to know what the right ratio of nutes to mix is. I know it depends on the plant but since mine have gotten brown crispy all over it is even harder to read.

I also think my buds stopped swelling or growing. They don't seem cloudy anymore. I was reading on other sites that some strains start cannibalizing themselves towards the end of a cycle. Can anyone share any info on that?

A deficiency is a lack of a specific nute and a lockout will eventually lead to a deficiency. It's going to be tough if not impossible to please every plant since they may be different strains in a single rezzy. You may just have an unstable strain that is going to be difficult no matter what you do. And at the end of a lifecycle with the lack of Nitrogen in the mix the leaves can turn yellow as the plants eat what's left of N in the leaves. A bloom supplement may be nice in your situation as you can increase the P and K with out having to crank up the ppms too much. Just my 2 cents.

learning05 said:

Yeah it think it may be a P issue but I am not sure if it is a deficiency or a lock out. I realized that I haven't been topping off the water or measuring the ppm correctly. You're supposed to add water back to your 6-gal mark if is below it and then measure the ppms right? What I have been doing is measuring the ppms before I re-add the water the next day, that is why they were rising as the solution became more concentrated. So I am going to fix that. Also I think I have been ph-ing to frequently or checking it incorrectly which further increased the salt concentration.

Lets say I check the ph when the lights come on at 12pm and it is at 6.0 and I swirl the sample in a cup with the pen in it and it gets to a 5.7 (does that mean it was at a 6 or a 5.7??). Then before the lights go out at 12am I check the ph and it reads the same. Does that mean they are not eating?

I have already posted on the MJ plant problem page but still haven't gotten any answers...I am thinking of flushing them tomorrow and leaving them in plain water for a day. I really wish someone could explain how to know what the right ratio of nutes to mix is. I know it depends on the plant but since mine have gotten brown crispy all over it is even harder to read.

I also think my buds stopped swelling or growing. They don't seem cloudy anymore. I was reading on other sites that some strains start cannibalizing themselves towards the end of a cycle. Can anyone share any info on that?

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Any update man?

Yeahh all three of the plants are still budding. They still show deficiency signs. But since there isn't any new growth but the bud sites its hard to tell if my issues have been resolved. I have stopped adjusting the ph daily. Now I drop it to 5.5 and allow it to reach a 6.2. It usually gets to a 5.9-6.0 in two days then I wait till it rises till 6.1 to adjust it.

I believe they aren't eating as they are supposed to and it seems as if things are progressing slowly. But bud sites are growing and the buds on the one plant that is furthest into budding has calyxes that are starting to swell daily.

I am fighting heat & humidity now since the temps have gone up. Even with cfls I am having trouble keeping the grow space around 75 f. As of now its is at 85-86 F. I have to do a res change soon but I herniated by back so I am having trouble with doing that.

On the positive side, one of my plants look like it has the potential to be a high yielder in comparison to the other two since there are so many long branches that have bud sites. But I need to get them healthier.

All in all, I have come to a point where I will do what I can for this grow. I still need to verify that my ppm meter is calibrated (I have neglected doing this bc of a lack of funds).

I will post pictures soon. I have also switched to distilled water.

This experience has taught me a lot though so I am sure my next grow will be better. If all three of these plants grow till harvest I should have a minimum of 3 ozs. I am sure they could have produced more but being nute burned, nute locked out, deficient, and them competing for space/sharing a res, as well as my drastic attempts to save them I think I significantly lowered the yield. But for my second grow in these conditions I think it is a decent outcome.

Also not sure if I can let them go to harvest because it looks like that will take another month possibly more if they continue growing slower.

Legit you scored a heavy yeilder at least. Well at least you learned a lot and are ready to get better next time. If your worried about bud lasting till next harvest mabey start some seeds up so you can start flowering this upcoming harvest. Make a little veg area if possible. Cuts down the harvest turn around time.

Red stems huh?

Sounds genetic. Nothing I would worry about.

Lets get down to the point. What your gonna wanna do next grow is upgrade your reservoir. You know the secret to dwc? It's stability.

Get a igloo cooler( even one you have laying in the garage) any ice chest is vastly better than a tote or bucket.

1: Light Proof
2: Usually has a drainage hole
3: insulated.

I shit you not you will be wondering why the fuck you didn't use this in the first place. It keeps my temps stable for a much much longer time. That is the key, stable temp makes sure the water doesn't boil and change the ph of the nutes. Everything is super dark and super chiller. The temp changes much slower. Just cut holes in the top of the lid and drop net pots in. ...

Again dynagro or any other ph buffered liquid mineral is simple. My water is clear AF and stable and that's what makes a plant blow up. White roots etc. your temps could be worse but are fine. I'm usually at 82-85 air temp.
Your water shouldn't EVER go beyond 70 for more than 3 hours. Just don't ever be there. That's when cloudy water and algae... All that shit that defeats new growers.

Also for the love of god always use dual spectrum lighting. This is another secret to getting medical grade. I cannot stress enough how these two things improve yield. I just put a two liter of frozen water into my Rez and it stays under 67 for 20 hours. It's an old cooler I'm gonna upgrade soon so I can have 50-65 degree temps for 4-5 days straight! This slow drift is what makes the plant so stable. Ph should naturally drift from 5.8 - 7.0. This is totally natural and again stable. Don't ever constantly adjust ph. Ever. You will absolutely lock out nutrients and over dose on others. Let it climb over a couple days.


I don't think I'm ever in the 5.9 range dude. And also me and alot of others don't even use those ppm meters.

Always have 2700k and 6500k spectrum at all times. I have 2000k and 7200k. Two lights, equally spread out on two plants.

I expect 12 zips at least of medical grade.

From what I hear the sh nutes are stable. But if you listen to this advice you will vastly save time. I cannot even word it all right (I'm on an iphone).


Good luck bro, and I'm also on my first marijuanna grow too. I dunno if this is your first but I went all out and studied for two months then did a tomotoe and here I am. Knowledge is what seperates the elite growers from the average.

I ditched the 14gal tote so quick when I realized a cooler is the absolute best option. No more browns roots, no more temp making me trip. It's too easy now.