Lost all hope...

Røman H∑mpire;2970197 said:

I have been worried to death about the progress of two plants that have been on the decline for the past 3-4 weeks. Im about ready to pull the plug on the two plants and hope for the best from my runt.
My problem is that i have flushed and flushed to clear out the soil after i knew that the fox farms was no longer containing enough food for the plants. I then proceeded to apply CNS17 (Grow) Coco & Soil Formula that i got as a sample from my hydro store. I use the same nutes in my hydro bucket as i do for the soil. However, two of my plants have been on a steady decline and my initial thought was nute burn, so i commenced another round of flushing with 6.0ph distilled water. Now i am back to square one AGAIN!
Could my CNS17 grow formula be killing my plants in the soil? It says right on the bottle "for coco substrates & soil mixes"...I even asked the hydro store guys from both locations the same question and they said that it 'is' applicable to both hydro and soil. I just dont know what to do anymore. Its obvious that the two plants need veg nutes but nothing is working. They appear to be in a stunted phase and the yellow is rushing up into the newer growth now and a TON of leaves have dropped off. Could topping and fimming have inhibited them in such a way? My faith is slipping on this grow...

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doc111 said:

Sounds like something is causing lockout. What strenght nutes are you using? What is your soil pH? What are you watering with? Tapwater or distilled? Perhaps post some pics.

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Røman H∑mpire;2970275 said:

Exactly my initial thoughts. Thats why i flushed them for a week with 6.0 ph distilled water. Both the info on this site and the hydro store guys said it was nute lockout so i flushed like he said with gallons and gallons of distilled water. I noticed a small comeback in life and then a nose dive again.
Im using CNS17 3-1-2 Grow formula at 1/4 strength application. I only water with jugs of distilled water that i adjust the ph to 6.0, and i am not sure of the soil ph. I wasnt aware that i needed to measure the soil ph if i preadjusted the distilled water. Is there some sort of ph buffer in the Fox Farms Ocean Forest soil?

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Røman H∑mpire;2970361 said:

Hmm, interesting... What should i adjust the ph of my distilled water to for my soil application? I have been using 6.0ph adjusted distilled water for both my hydro and soil plants. But none of my hydro plants are cannabis (yet). Im practicing with tomatoes and other herbs before i waste any seeds or attempt to take any clones. I was told that i cannot take clones from a plant that is in such poor health Once i purchase a soil ph meter, what should i strive to get my ph adjusted to in the soil? I am unfamiliar with adjusting the ph of the soil in conjunction with adjusting the water.

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doc111 said:

Hydro requires a much lower pH than soil. You want your soil to be 6.3-6.8. Your water should be like 6.3-7.0 in order for it to not drop your soil pH too much. It is very difficult to adjust soil pH once you've planted so try to use water that is more neutral in pH so it doesn't alter your soils pH. Hydro is a completely different story. If your soil is too acidic you can water with hydrated lime to try and bring it back up. Gypsum can be used to lower pH. I'm not sure what concentrations so see if your hydro shop can recommend anything that will help. What are you using to drop the pH of your distilled water?

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Røman H∑mpire;2970197 said:

My problem is that i have flushed and flushed to clear out the soil after i knew that the fox farms was no longer containing enough food for the plants. I then proceeded to apply CNS17 (Grow) Coco & Soil Formula that i got as a sample from my hydro store. I use the same nutes in my hydro bucket as i do for the soil. However, two of my plants have been on a steady decline and my initial thought was nute burn, so i commenced another round of flushing with 6.0ph distilled water. Now i am back to square one AGAIN!
Could my CNS17 grow formula be killing my plants in the soil? It says right on the bottle "for coco substrates & soil mixes"...I even asked the hydro store guys from both locations the same question and they said that it 'is' applicable to both hydro and soil. I just dont know what to do anymore. Its obvious that the two plants need veg nutes but nothing is working. They appear to be in a stunted phase and the yellow is rushing up into the newer growth now and a TON of leaves have dropped off. Could topping and fimming have inhibited them in such a way? My faith is slipping on this grow...

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Silky Shagsalot said:

so you flushed, and flushed because the ff soil no longer contained enough food for the plants.... what you do that for??? any nutes remaining in your medium pose no threat to your plants. you just totally flushed all the goodness out of your medium for no good reason. first, when flushing for that reason, it's 3x the container size, not until you get tired. second, if you're in soil, your optimal ph is 6.5, not 6.0. so you flushed everything out, and then made it impossible for the plants to take in anything because of no nutes and improper ph. a double whammy. do you have perlite in the mix, cause it sounds like you need it after all of the flushing. i'd STOP flushing, period. i'd start ph'ing to 6.5. it sounds like your plants are mature enough for full strength nutes. let them dry out, and immediately begin foliar feeding. they won't get better w/o food, and with more moisture. the roots are prob. screaming for air......

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Silky Shagsalot said:

so you flushed, and flushed because the ff soil no longer contained enough food for the plants.... what you do that for??? any nutes remaining in your medium pose no threat to your plants. you just totally flushed all the goodness out of your medium for no good reason. first, when flushing for that reason, it's 3x the container size, not until you get tired. second, if you're in soil, your optimal ph is 6.5, not 6.0. so you flushed everything out, and then made it impossible for the plants to take in anything because of no nutes and improper ph. a double whammy. do you have perlite in the mix, cause it sounds like you need it after all of the flushing. i'd STOP flushing, period. i'd start ph'ing to 6.5. it sounds like your plants are mature enough for full strength nutes. let them dry out, and immediately begin foliar feeding. they won't get better w/o food, and with more moisture. the roots are prob. screaming for air......

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Silky Shagsalot said:

what you can do to help speed up drying is to get a couple of tooth-pics. use them like a pitch-fork and till up the top of the medium. don't go real deep. if you hit roots, don't freak too much. sometimes are close to the surface. breaking a root or two is no big deal. maybe a fan lightly blowing on the top of the dirt too....

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Røman H∑mpire;2971031 said:

I dont think the soil is too moist. Im pretty familiar with the wet and dry weight of the containers, so id say that they should be watered or fed or both tomorrow? The soil is dry for the first 3 inches or so. When I begin foliar feeding, should i just water with the usual ph adjusted distilled water and foliar feed? Can I foliar feed by mixing up my 1/4 or 1/2 strength nute water mix in a spray bottle or is there a specific type of product strictly for foliar feeding?

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