Ugly plants, underwatering? too many nutes? 6ft tall plants

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If you have read my thread in beginners I apologize, but I thought I would try in the plant problems section. Ok......so.....I have these 3 northern lights. One is decent size and two are about 5-6 feet tall, and will not stop growing taller. They are NOT getting full at all. Even the shorter one that is full is not budding very well after about 5 weeks.

I water every 3-4 days and give bio-bloom nutes every other watering. I use the hps 600 light and it is above the shorter nicer plant by about 18 inches, but the two taller ones are to the side because the plants kept growing into the light and burning. Then I kept rising the smaller plant to be closer to the light every time I raised the light for the other plants, but I can not make the light higher anymore.

I ph the water to about 6-6.5 before all waterings, and I ph the soil too, and the ph is fine. So what else could it possibly be? The leaves are curling like crazy, getting crunchy, there are white hairs all over the place but they are not getting fuller, the plant just keeps getting taller.

Any suggestions at all? THANK YOU!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

A pH of 6 is too acidic for soil. You say you check the pH of the soil. What does it read at and how do you test it? Make sure to let the soil dry out well between waterings.

Mother's Finest said:

A pH of 6 is too acidic for soil. You say you check the pH of the soil. What does it read at and how do you test it? Make sure to let the soil dry out well between waterings.

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So the water ph should be different from 6 before I add to soil? When I tested the soil about an hour ago, it showed 5.5 and i use this little container, fill to a line with dirt, add some powder and fill with water, shake, and see where the color matches. What should the ph be before I add to the soil?

Soil ph should be from 6.5-7.5

The only pH that matters in the end is that of the soil. Regardless of what you water with, the damp soil needs to have a pH of very close to 6.5. Anything from 6.4 and 6.7 should be adequate. More is too alkaline and less is too acidic. Hydro, clones and most soilless systems use a slightly lower pH, closer to 6.0.

Your soil is way too acidic and is probably causing all of your problems. Lime is usually used to raise soil pH.

Mother's Finest said:

The only pH that matters in the end is that of the soil. Regardless of what you water with, the damp soil needs to have a pH of very close to 6.5. Anything from 6.4 and 6.7 should be adequate. More is too alkaline and less is too acidic. Hydro, clones and most soilless systems use a slightly lower pH, closer to 6.0.

Your soil is way too acidic and is probably causing all of your problems. Lime is usually used to raise soil pH.

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well something else that makes sense. The MORON? at the grow shop said not to worry about the soil because what you put into the soil is what the soil will be. You say lime, like corona limes? The fruit? If yes or no,how do I do this?

first of all i see this all the time someone says whats ur water PH and suddenly everyone is preaching ph this ph that ITS NOT PH!!!!!! rarely does this even cause a prob at all unless your ph'd Substance(water,soil ect....) is crazy outta wack

first and most importantly you are giving to many nuts and its burning notice the brown splotches on leafs and possible to much or to little water and theyre really elongated because the light is to weak or to far away and they are stretching for it.

how much nuts and water you use?

and top ur plants and they will slow down on growing taller DRASTICALLY!!!
and they will start to grow bushier

No. Garden Lime, Dolomitic Lime, Hydrated Lime. It's usually found as a fine white powder or in time-release pellets. It supplies calcium, often magnesium and neutalizes acids in the soil.

rob1234 said:

first of all i see this all the time someone says whats ur water PH and suddenly everyone is preaching ph this ph that ITS NOT PH!!!!!! rarely does this even cause a prob at all unless your ph'd Substance(water,soil ect....) is crazy outta wack

first and most importantly you are giving to many nuts and its burning notice the brown splotches on leafs and possible to much or to little water and theyre really elongated because the light is to weak or to far away and they are stretching for it.

how much nuts and water you use?

and top ur plants and they will slow down on growing taller DRASTICALLY!!!
and they will start to grow bushier

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I started off the flowering using a quarter of what the bio-bloom asked for per gallon. I am up to 2tsp per gallon, every other watering. The light, I did have it 15-18" away from plant but they just kept growing. I purchased some side lights yesterday to add lights towards the bottoms of the tall plants, but the hps is 600 and I was told that was perfect for the 3 plants under them, I could also add more. Todays watering was just plain water, but the next one I would normally add the bio-bloom, but another thread I had going someone else told me to stop the bio-bloom for a while, so I planned on not adding for the next watering. So, in your opinion, adding more lights and stopping the nutes for a while should help? We also tied them down a bit.

Mother's Finest said:

No. Garden Lime, Dolomitic Lime, Hydrated Lime. It's usually found as a fine white powder or in time-release pellets. It supplies calcium, often magnesium and neutalizes acids in the soil.

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Ok, I have just read elsewhere where to purchase this and how to use it. Funny how I hear lime and I think Corona! Im more of a shots girl though, with no lime

i would stop the bio bloom nuts ASAP! and just stick to what nuts got you this far b4 applying the bio bloom because you Definitely have Nut burn.

soil PH does matter though! its all the way down to 5.5 and thats really not good! and its way to low for a flush to fix... to correct this soil ph problem u cannot use dolomite lime or any type lime becuase just as Rob says its acidic and will lower it even further...peat moss helps to keep soil nuetral but its not something that will be corrected over night...

im not disrepecting ur knowledge at all rob, but as far as i kno he will continue to have problems with a ph of 5.5...at such a low PH the plant is unable to get the proper uptake of nutrients so what he feeds is sitting in the medium creating salt buildup, ultimately causing the ph to lower even further. what u are talking about to be nute burn is in fact the tree taken nutrients from itself due to the fact that the low ph is causing the lack of nutrient uptake...

lol don't feel bad. Most new growers think of the fruit first. I've seen two other people ask about limes just in the past few days.

Plants use the pH of the water for nutrient absorption. Check Google Images for "ph nutrient absorption chart" or some similar search. There are many charts that show which nutrients (Nitrogen, Phosphorus, etc.) are absorbed and useable at what pH ranges. For example, your plant is a light green color because the pH is making Nitrogen absorption and/or use harder.

Rasta is of course correct about everything but the lime. Here is one place showing the high pH of lime. http://webcache.googleusercontent.com/search?q=cache:BimcOfys8M4J:wiki.answers.com/Q/What_is_the_Ph_of_hydrated_lime+hydrated+lime+ph&cd=5&hl=en&ct=clnk&gl=us

12.4 is no where near acidic. There are millions of references on Google showing how lime works. Rather than post more, I invite you to run a search and see for yourself.

dolomite lime is has a ph of 7.Its used to buffer your soil to a ph of 7.I would top dress with dolomite lime and water in 2 tsp per gallon of soil.

Mother's Finest said:

Rasta is of course correct about everything but the lime. Here is one place showing the high pH of lime. http://webcache.googleusercontent.com/search?q=cache:BimcOfys8M4J:wiki.answers.com/Q/What_is_the_Ph_of_hydrated_lime+hydrated+lime+ph&cd=5&hl=en&ct=clnk&gl=us

12.4 is no where near acidic. There are millions of references on Google showing how lime works. Rather than post more, I invite you to run a search and see for yourself.

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cliffey501 said:

dolomite lime is has a ph of 7.Its used to buffer your soil to a ph of 7.I would top dress with dolomite lime and water in 2 tsp per gallon of soil.

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i stnd corrected...but dolomite or hydrated lime is not recommended for small grows in pots...it is mainly used for fields and what not...i have not seen one yet that recommends it for smaller grows...but a small dosage like that sounds a bit much...idk...i go with peat moss as it has worked great for me...buffered the ph nicely!

Wow, another ph discussion, I swear the melarchy around here is gettin outta hand. Its clear the guy needs a new bulb or needs to get it closer without burning them. Geez u guys are geniuses bantering about ph look at the pics a sec before just shootin off about ph like my man rob1234 said basically, fuk ph. I've never had a ph meter and my plants are beautiful. Give em wat they need and nuthin more and save the ph meter for sumone in chemistry class.

MutherfukaPH, peace,
Thumbz

buffer your soil with dolomite lime and you'll never have to worry!

i used it on plants in pots this year and they havent had any ph issues ive just been ph'ing water like usual and watering. i havent even tested the ph of my soil yet and im on the 2nd week of flower.

dr. greenthumbz said:

Wow, another ph discussion, I swear the melarchy around here is gettin outta hand. Its clear the guy needs a new bulb or needs to get it closer without burning them. Geez u guys are geniuses bantering about ph look at the pics a sec before just shootin off about ph like my man rob1234 said basically, fuk ph. I've never had a ph meter and my plants are beautiful. Give em wat they need and nuthin more and save the ph meter for sumone in chemistry class.

MutherfukaPH, peace,
Thumbz

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wat baffles me is how on earth can u think his problem is an old bulb? thats just crazy! look at the leaves the plant is def. ive never heared of a bulb causign a def. clearly the stretch has to do with the bulb...but thats half his problem right now... the plant is lacking nutrients and a light bulb doesnt cause that! he has been feeding it but the plant is still deficient...i dont see nute burn i see def. and for that to happen the plant is somehow not uptaking the right ammount of nutes so it is taking it from itself...only thing it points to is the fact the ph is rediculously off and not allowing the plant the uptake!

I appreciate all the help! Although I feel there is no reason for certain people to get their panties all in a bundle, I am really starting to think all the signs point to the ph. As Rasta said about salt build up, that is definitely happening. My lights really could not be any closer, I have tried, and the plants get burned. I have added extra lights on the sides so if the lights had something to do with it, that should help there. But in the soil there is obvious salt build up.

So, if I am treating for the ph issue, regardless if it is right or wrong, should I or shouldnt I flush? I will go to the grow shop and pick up something to stabelize the ph and see what happens, but first I would like to know about the flushing. opinions please, si or no?