Drooping, crispy leaves & purple stem

i know youre not supposed to start a thread if theres a similar one, but all of them say the same thing (over/underwatering) and its definitely not that. Ok, im completely new to indoor growing and after this trial is over with, im switching to bubbleponics but i dont wanna lose my nyc diesel for now. I got some clones already rooted from a friend, repotted into larger containers. Im using 1 part perlite, 2 parts soil that contains no added nutrients. I ph balance my water to 5.5 everytime because it seems like no matter what i do, it always jumps back to 7-7.5 a day after i water. tempsrange from between 72-78, moisture is at 40%, use 3 300 equivilant cfl's and 3 150 equivilant cfl's and keep them about 2-3 inches away (on 24/7), and i havent used any nutes yet (which hopefully is the only problem). Theyre about 14" tall but they look really sad. Almost all of the leaves are completely drooped and some are crispy dry, except for the new nodes that grow on top, but when newer ones grow, the older set droops. Also the same thing happens with the stems (as soon as the newer nodes form, the older ones turn purple and look weak) the lower leaves are yellow around the tips and some have small holes like theyve been burned or eaten, but im almost positive its not spider mites. Ive tried to put every detail i can think of and ive asked numerous ppl before posting, but no one so far has been able to help. I have 3 pictures but when i try to upload em from my desktop, it says its 157 kb and the max is 19 or something.

please help me save my babies!!!

The site should resize your pics automatically. Just use the attachment manager. Check out the stick in the newbies forum.

Maybe a nutrient def. mag. maybe. I really don't know a lot about ferts but the number one reason for drooping, wilted leave is root damage via over/under watering. Also if your soil is not uniformly miost, like with dry pockets. It can cause wilting.

TheBotOnist said:

Also if your soil is not uniformly miost, like with dry pockets. It can cause wilting.

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are you serious? i never heard that....

can it really?

needhelp said:

are you serious? i never heard that....

can it really?

Click to expand...

yes, water the pot, not the plant.

shnkrmn said:

yes, water the pot, not the plant.

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im pretty sure i uniformly water the entire pot. Ive got a pitcher that i use and i distribute the water all around so the whole pot gets some water. Then i wait till some flows all the way thru and im done untill my moisture meter says its time to water again. Ive got everything i need for my bubbleponics setup, would it be useless to try to take a cutting from a plant that may be unhealthy? Im also unsure about going to 12/12 while it doesnt look 100% bc im afraid it will further damage my plant. I really dont wanna lose this strain.

you know whats funny.... even when you think you evenly water your pot, it really doesn't, unless you water till you have a good amount of drainage... but if you water just to have a little drainage, that drainage can be coming from oneside of the pot.... i noticed this because i use 3 liter soda bottles and wrap the sides... i like looking at the bottom so i dont overwater... but when i think i'm watering evenly... when i look from the bottom, its sometimes draining from one side.... i know bottles and pots are different, but i figure its the same thing...

i'm not sure if i can help, but it might be a nitrogen deficiency.... what you described sounds like what i'm going through and i gave them some nutes strong in nitrogen (but diluted alot) and i'm waiting for results, but so far it seems to be working... but like i said , i think we have the same problem... i don't think you need transplanting because the whole stem would have changed to a golden brown working it way up to the leaves... damn...wish i could help...but give them their vegging nutes since you said you having been feeding them... their probably hungry... a man can't just survive on water you know?..

needhelp said:

you know whats funny.... Even when you think you evenly water your pot, it really doesn't, unless you water till you have a good amount of drainage... But if you water just to have a little drainage, that drainage can be coming from oneside of the pot.... I noticed this because i use 3 liter soda bottles and wrap the sides... I like looking at the bottom so i dont overwater... But when i think i'm watering evenly... When i look from the bottom, its sometimes draining from one side.... I know bottles and pots are different, but i figure its the same thing...

Click to expand...

well if thats the case, how the hell am i supposed to be able to water evenly? Ive been going thru trial and error for about 4 months now with seeds, cuttings, clones, etc. Ive ran into almost every problem i can think of and im starting to get discouraged. Ive spent a good amount of money now, spent a rediculous amount of time researching, and i feel like i should be knowledgeable enough to where i can get a successful grow and get some of my money back!! Ive got nutrients for a bubbleponics setup, i cant use any of them for my soil grow can i?

Thanks needhelp, that was the only thing i could think of, guess ill try that

The best way to make sure the soil is evenly miost is to wet the soil then mix it up then load it loosly into your pot. Soils with dry peat of spagnum are notorious for not wetting evenly. Its best to soak it overnight, or even add the tinyiest drop of simple dishwashing soap to the first watering of the soil. That helps reduce the surface tenson of h2o which helps the peat/spagnum absorb water.

I know it sounds bad but it really works an I have never hurt a plant with it.

Even if water runs through, it can still just be wetting a few little channels of dirt to the bottom. Best to wet all the dirt before the plant goes in I think.

Also on another subject, i have everything i need for a bubbleponics setup but i bought a 5 gal bucket and a pretty big net pot (8"), i know ur supposed to start out with a smaller one, but is there any way i can use what i have?

I think so. Just put your rooted rockwool cube in the middle of the net pot and add stones/ clay for support after you feed the roots thrugh.

Ok i figured out how to reformat my pics so that theyre small enough, but now theyre too small, but if anyone can identify what they think the problem is, let me know please!!!!

Haha!!!! So after work i went to a local hydroponics store and asked if i could use my hydro nutes on my soil grow and explained that i was phasing out soil and thats y i didnt have any soil nutes and he said it would b alright. So i went home, made my mixture, poured it in, left for 5 hours, and when i came back it was like i had 2 completely different plants!!! Theyre all perky and happy now!! Thats all i needed the whole time? Man i feel like a jackass, but im glad i didnt kill my babies while i was trying to figure it out. Now that theyre healthy, im taking a cutting from each, and starting my flowering stage

woohoo!!!!

Also i noticed i have a few spider mites that i thought i had gotten rid of. Anyone know a cheap and easy way to get rid of em? I was told to just kinda rub lightly on the leaves where they are to squish em, and make sure u spray the underside of the leaves cuz they dont like wet areas, but apparently that didnt get all of them

https://www.rollitup.org/view.php?pg=faq&cmd=article&id=588
check this info see if any apply...rob

I think i figured it out

anybody heard of using soap suds to get rid of spidermites? Think im gonna try that tonight

so it was the nutes? ha, congrats.... so both of us made out...good shit

Ok so anyone know how long its supposed to take for a plant to start recovering from being topped?

I know ur not supposed to do it right before flowering, but i didnt find that out till too late

its been about 2 weeks and there are no signs of re growth