Problems identifying deficiency!

Hey all I'm new to growing and have some problems with my plants that I need some help with!

First things first:
*The plants are a Jacky white and Nebula feminized fromparadise seeds sativa champions and are at 6 weeks in veg.
*They are in a cupboard 2.5ft by 2.5ft by 3.5ft high under a130 watt 6500K CFL 3 inches from tips.
* Ventilation is sufficient with an 80cfm fan as an exhaustand a 6inch passive intake.
*Temps are around 26C lights on and 21C lights off.
* Soil mix 2 Parts perlite, 2 parts potting mix & 1 partcoir peat also a handful of lime.
* I have been watering with tap water left about a day,sometimes less. PH I’m unsure of.
*I have fertilized twice with half strength Nitrosol liquidplant food purchased from the supermarket with the following values: N 10.5% P 2.3% K 6.8% C 1.68% +trace elements.

The 2 plants were tied down at the 4th node and left tobranch out and were not topped. They have bushed out nicely and remainedhealthy until the past 3 weeks. Both plants are exhibiting similar problems.The lower leaves have started to yellow and are brown and dry at the ends.Overall it looks as if the entire plant is becoming a lighter green especiallyin the newer areas of growth and drooping slightly. Thestems of the leaves and branches have also turned a slight purplish colour.Some of the mid shade leaves are showing a purplish colour too. There is aDelahaze strain in there too and it is perfect, no problems at all and had thesame nutes and water?


I have absolutely noidea what this could be or if it is a number of things. At first I thought anitrogen deficiency because of the yellowing lower leaves, or possibly aMagnesium deficiency because of the curling leaves on the new growth and thelight colour. Or I’m not sure if it’s the PH. I have no idea where to start, ifI should attempt to fertilize or to flush them? Im trying to post pictures and it doesnt seem to be working. Hopefully someone can make a better diagnosisthan me! Any help would be appreciated.

Thanks!
 

Monkeyfloss

Active Member
Pics would be good.

Lower leaves often turn yellow naturally. If you say your whole plant is losing some green you could up the veg nutes. but ....... you say your 6 weeks in veg and your cupboard is only 3.5ft high, Shouldn't you not be turning to flower photoperiod??? That plant will stretch loads in flower and even when tied down is going to completely take over your little cab.

EDIT:
Just looking at your soil mix, it doesnt look rich enough, especially for 6 week veg. I would add some worm castings (vermicast) and some guano next time. For now you could make a tea for your plant. She'll love it!
 
I am LSTing them so they are very bushy at the moment with about 7 short branches. The cabinet is actually a little larger than that, its basically a swuare corner unit which has my bearded drangon terrarium on it. Its got heaps of room left. Ahhh I cant upload because of the image size, whats the best way to resize the image?
 
Here are some pics, notice the comparison pic. The nebula is left, JW centre and Delahaze right. The Delahaze is fine, it was a little stunted as a seedling but is now infinitely healthier than the others. In the topview pic the jacky white is on the left, notice the purpling fan leaf at the top of the frame. Suggestions?
 

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watchhowIdoit

New Member
They look hungry, feed them a full strength dose of your nutes since half strength didnt hurt them...with that much perlite I would use feed,feed,feed,water,feed,feed,feed,water for your feeding schedule...
 

Rj41

Well-Known Member
Soil mix 2 Parts perlite, 2 parts potting mix & 1 partcoir peat also a handful of lime.
Are you SURE you're using real soil? Where I live, anything with 'mix' on the bag is soil-less.
You may want to look at the potting mix ingredients just to be sure.

Your plants look big enough to be using full strength on the fert. They gobble up lots of N during the veg stage. That's probably why there's yellowing of the bottom leaves. When it's hungry and there's not enough food in the medium, it starts using it's own stored up N. Starting with the lower fan leaves.
 

ylem

Well-Known Member
classic deficiency symptoms. i'd recommend going to a garden store and getting a bag of sheep/cow manure or worm castings to brew fertilizer tea with a full range of tasty organic nutrients. i've never had a deficiency i couldn't fix with a good helping of manure tea. good luck with them
 
So feed them full strength fert 2-3 times a week watchhowl? No sorry its not soil I used that term loosely. I did think it looked rather random when I got it. I purchased the potting mix thinking it would be soil but it looked like chopped up bark and composted stuff? How is that potting mix lol?! I used it anyway, the medium is exremely light... Should I re-pot with a different medium? So it pretty much looks like my plants need a good feed, Nitrogen in particular? Is the light colouration in the new growththe same problem? Thanks for the feedback guys, much appreciated!

Would Charlie Carp be ok to feed as a fast acting fert?
 

massah

Well-Known Member
it could be a lack of nitrogen causing the light new growth...probably actually...or a PH issue locking out the nutrients...so start feeding it quite a bit more...if within a week you don't seen improvements then back to the drawing board :)
 

watchhowIdoit

New Member
I would stick with the mix you have. As long as you dont watering 3-4 times a week. And yes feed the heck out of them, within reason of course...with the nutes you are using you may even be able to work your way up and past a full recommended dose, you plant will tell that though.
 
Should I give them a flush just be sure? And how long should I wait for the plants health to increase from the state they are in now till I flower them?
 

Rj41

Well-Known Member
Flushing is for hydroponics. Flushing soil/soil-less mediums is not a good thing and should only be done as a last resort. Your girls aren't looking bad, it's a good thing you spoke up early. Technically, you could flower them right now but I wouldn't recommend it. Clear up the nute def 1st and you'll have better results. Next grow I strongly urge the use of soil. It's WAY more forgiving than what you're using now. Good luck.
 

garden11

Active Member
Looking at your pictures, do you have any sort of system for your exxess water to get out? You migth be looking at a long term root rot problem if exxess water and the bottom soil cant get any air. Just a thougth from peeking a look at your pic :) Happy growing!
 

Monkeyfloss

Active Member
Too much perlite, not enough of the good stuff Monkey?
Yes, too much Perlite, not enough ggod stuff. ... Perlite, coco, and alot of the stuff in your potting soil doesnt contain any 'goodness' , its used primarily as aeration for the soil. For growing cannabis in soil you need to add more decaying humus material. .... Worm castings, Guanos, leaf mold, manure , seaweed extract, molasses .... you need alll that sort of stuff
 
Thanks everyone for the feedback, I really appreciate it!
So basically I should just keep feeding nutes at normal strength every 3-4 days something high in N and see if the condition corrects itself?
Garden11 I have 5 or so large holes at the bottom of the pot, it wouldnt hurt to punch a few more out?
 
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