DP's Blueberry Organic Grow | Black/Brown freckling on leaf?

DabberDan

Member
Grow Environment
Lights: (2 x 68 watt 2100K CFL's) + (6 x 40 watt 5300K CFL's) = 380 total watts running at 18/6 timer
Space: 5' x 5' x 2' HoneyCanDo Wardrobe Closet(surprisingly great grow room) lined with Mylar)
Ventilation: 1 x 6 inch clip fan blowing directly in plants(Getting a exhaust system to install today)
Soil: 60% Organic Kellog's Topsoil x 20% Organic Worm Castings x 10% perlite x 10% Amendments
Potting: 5 gallon home depot buckets with holes for drainage.
Feeding: Arrowhead/Crystal Geyser Water(pH 6.8), or AH/CG amended with organic kelp, alfalfa, bat guano, or blood meal.
Humidity and Temps: R/H = 45% - 55% | Temp = 75º - 81º

Problems And Concerns
I've been growing this Dutch Passion blueberry plant for a little bit less then a month now and IT IS UNBELIEVABLY SHORT! After a month of growing under ~400 watts of CFL lighting(on 2 plants btw) its MAYBE totaling 5 - 6 inches tall. I mean, I know it's supposed to be a small plant but c'mon, this is just considered slow growth. Anyways, 4 days ago, i thought "hey, it wouldn't hurt to flush the soil. Maybe there's a nutrient lockup and that stunting the plants growth or something like that. I went ahead and ran 6 gallons of distilled water(pH 7.2) to flush and since I think its had more problems then before. Well, just 2 days ago I noticed 3 small black/brown dots on only one leaf. I figured it was nothing but I would monitor that leaf in case it got worse. Well, it got worse.. Today, the leaf is being consumed by these little black/brown freckle looking dots and I have no clue what it is. I've looked at the leaf and I see no bugs attacking it so I can rule out a bug infestation but I just flushed the plant so I know its not nute burn either. Deficiency or illness are my other two options I think it may be. I do not believe it's the black dot mold some plants get because my humidity is much to low to support fungal life while sitting at 45%. If anybody has some idea's or suggestions, it would be totally awesome and appreciated for a newbie grower like myself. Heres some pics of the issues:

Pictures
1/9/15 20150109_213601.jpg20150109_213649.jpg

1/10/15 20150110_110256.jpg 20150110_110220.jpg
 

thenotsoesoteric

Well-Known Member
Blueberry, especially DP's blueberry, is not an easy strain. When I ran it back in '02-'03, I noticed she didn't like a lot of nutrients, and it looks as though you've thrown quite a bit at her already going by your list. The flush wasn't enough water to really flush out 4-5 gallons of soil, but might have helped some but another issue is you put her in a 5 gallon container. You will have better root development if you start in a small cup size, then transplant to a 1 gal and let the roots fill out in there, then transplant from 1 gal into a 3 gal container and let fill out again, and if need then transplant into a 5 gal container.

I'd recommend trans planting the plant in a one gallon container until she has her roots wrapping around that, and then move up in pot size. It will be harder to fix soil problem with 4-5 gallons of soil. I don't think it will hurt your plant anymore than the damage already done.
 
Top