Plants falling over... Buds too big? -pics-

Hey Rollittup,

I could use some help here. I have two trays of Super Skunk, Purple Kush and Blackberry Kush going and although the Purple Kush and Super Skunk are doing great, the Blackberry Kush is having trouble staying up. The sides are drooping and I have been coming home to the plants laying down on the side of the tray. Not good. I am guessing I got a sick strain, but I'm not sure.

What worries me is the brittleness of the stems. Some of the fan leaves pull off without any effort, and if I take any leaf off and bend it to a 90 degree angle, it will snap like a twig rather than bend. The plants seem really healthy and the buds look great (not as big as I think they should be) so I'm not sure what the problem is. Its been doing this for about a week and a half. Nutes have been changed a week ago.

Using CO2, temps / humidity is great, 6in rockwool cubes with a coco mat underneath. pH is 5.5, TDS is 2200. This is week 5 of flowering.

The Purple Kush and Super Skunk are not having a hint of the same problem... so is the Blackberry a weak strain? Any help would be greatly appreciated.

THANKS GUYS!!!

They are tied up for now but I don't think they should be falling over like they are. Any advice I'd really appreciate. Thanks!

What PPM are you running?

I suspect you are running really hot, on the verge of nute burn...

I do ebb/flow @ 1400 PPM...

Could be part of your problem...

wow, i dont see any dirt under there, so unless u start pouring water over them u will soon have dead plants.

Why would hydro plants die without dirt????

did u have a fan on them when they were younger to build strong stemage?

just keep them ladies tied up, its highly possible you just got some faulty genetics which cause the plant to grow so tall and skinny. all you can really do is tie it up and just ditch any clones you have taken off her, either way looks like all the others are happy

captain chronizzle said:

wow, i dont see any dirt under there, so unless u start pouring water over them u will soon have dead plants.

Click to expand...

LOL I really hope you were joking...

I am running a little high on the PPM, at 2200, but I checked on my mothers which are running at around 1000 and all are strong except for the Blackberry which seems to have the same brittle stem problem. I suspect it is just the strain. I will be getting rid of it. The other two strains are doing well, but the blackberry has been a pain. Found out later it had spider mites on it and got my whole crop infested to boot.

I have always used two fans in the room, so it built up good stems. It was actually a little too much at one point and I had to back it off a bit.

Don't know what could be causing it, but I've only got another 3 weeks or so to go, so as long as they pull through I'll be happy. They seem really healthy otherwise, it's just the weak stems that are the problem. I suppose I will just have to string them up all over the place to hold them until harvest. I won't get as much yield as I could have, but as long as it's enough to get by I'll be happy.

Any other ideas let me know. Thanks for all the help!

Maybe potassium? This is from the grow faq.


Potassium
Potassium serves to aid in the process of photosynthesis, nutrient uptake, respiration, and is a key to sturdy stems and disease resistance. Having an adequate supply for the plant early in it?s life stage will keep your seedlings from falling over.

Potassium deficiencies are identified by necrosis on the margins of larger fan leaves. Necrotic patches can be seen on the leaves as well. Leaves will eventually turn yellow, brown and die off. Most of the plants that show signs of a Potassium deficiency are going to be the tallest and best looking plants you have.

Again, feeding with a good all-around fertilizer will clear it up as well.

You can also use wood ashes and water them into your soil to fix this. You'll need to replace your soil's holding capacity of Potassium, and have a surplus before it will become available to the roots again.

i simply said to flush. guess i kinda put my .02 out there with my attitude on growing mediums. i jus wanted you to start over with ur solution. flush ur plants as a safety measure, ie dump water on them. i wish you the best of luck. very nice table setup, lp aero? very crafty look.

I'm using KoolBloom which has a MASSIVE amount of Phosphorus and Potassium so that can't be it. I am also using Floralicious Bloom and Liquid Karma which should be providing plenty of phosphorus. I hadn't seen that though, good find and thanks. +rep.

BTW, thanks hamburgler. It's an ebb and flow system with two 4x4 trays. It's probably the easiest way to do hydro.