Colorado High - Soil - CFL - Super Skunk - 2013

Day 11 of flowering and while the ladies have shown some growth of late the left lady is definitely not doing well and I think I've figured out what the problems is, finally! First of all, they have started to stretch. Since the start of flowering, the left lady gained 3" and is now 15" in height, the right lady has gained 4" and is now 12" in height. The environment has not significantly changed except for a slight increase in humidity due to the wet soil from the flush. The flush that I performed 5 days ago has helped me to better understand what I am dealing with here. First of all, I noticed that the right lady has recovered much better and faster than the left lady, you can definitely see the difference between these two ladies in the following set of pictures:

Group shot of the ladies on day 10 of flowering -

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Single shot of the left lady on day 10 of flowering -

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Single shot of the right lady on day 10 of flowering -

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What I couldn't initially figure out was why there was a difference between these two ladies, why was the left lady in so much worse shape both before and after the flush? The left lady started having significant leaf issues starting at the bottom working its way upwards and the top appeared to be the least affected by whatever was happening to her. All evidence pointed to a pH issue but it still didn't make sense why one plant was suffering so much more than the other since they had both been treated identically, or so I thought.

So, I went through my journal once again and when I came to post #74, I suddenly realized what I now believe is the root cause to all of these issues, it is the 6"x1" fabric/sod staples I started using on 1-27-2014, post #140, to help me LST the left lady. Before this point, they had similar issues and growth rates and looked very comparable to each other. Since then the left lady has had a much more difficult time. The kicker was that sometime between 2-05-2014 and 2-12-2014 I placed staples into the soil of the right lady in preparation of LSTing her and now she is beginning to show the same symptoms as her taller sister.

Close-up shots of the left lady showing leaf damage on day 10 of flowering -

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Close-up shots of the left lady showing leaf damage on day 11 of flowering -

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So, I have removed all of the staples from both pots and I am continuing to let them dry out before I do anything else. The staples were slightly rusted and there was a lot of soil caked onto them and I think some form of reaction occured between them and the soil which caused a significant pH imbalance within the soil. Hopefully, just the removal of the staples will prove to be enough to resolve this issue, if not, I'm prepared to perform a second flush if it becomes necessary. Right now, after 5 days since the flush, they are about halfway dried out so sometime during week 3 of flowering, assuming that the ladies recover fully during that time, I will begin the D&S Growology Step 3/Molasses water/feed program. I'm leaving the damaged fan leaves on the left lady mostly to avoid further stunting during the stretch phase of flowering plus they may aid in my determining how well she is recovering after the removal of the staples. Once the stretch phase is over, I will prune all of the damaged fan leaves off of both ladies.
 
then leave em. I thought I read recently you were mixing up something to give to them lol. they're not gonna produce well if you keep fucking with them.
 
Well, I disagree since one plant is doing much better than the other and the only difference is those staples. I've never had any issue with molasses before and I doubt that is causing this issue. Also, why would one plant get worse after the flush but the other recovers? How could that be related to molasses since it would have been flushed out by the flush 5 days ago? We will see if in the next week they start to come around or not.
 
Looks like you found, and remedied, your issue.
If the staples were rusty, you introduced Fe toxicity.
Fe toxicity will limit root uptake and photosynthesis, so that is why your plant is macro-nutrient deficient (N moderately, P severely).

Good to see you flushed already. Letting it dry should help, good call. I'm sure that you'll nurse those babies back to good health.
 
CH, as I was reading along your post and it made complete sense. I am thinking CareStaker nailed it!
The initial puncture into the root zone could be the beginning of problems and the rusting a follow up issue, giving off the 'wtf' scenario.
:thedoubletake:
 
I've unintentionally tortured plants in the past only to learn along the way and revive them into a second coming. Your plants still have life and I think you can nurse them back. Is it just me or is it a bit emotional to see sad plants? Hey ColoradoHigh just take it as a valuable lesson. I know we all feel for you. Good catch by the way and I think you have helped others learn here.
I have a suggestion but others will probably disagree. I would get some new quality soil on hand. I'd carefully by hand dig out as much of the top soil and rusty areas as possible without disturbing any roots (if possible) and replace with fresh soil. I'd try digging out the soil with a small spoon. I believe the rust in the soil will continue to leach as it has been deposited in solid form. Flushing will help but I think you'd need to flush for days to get all of the rust and iron out. Good luck CH keep us posted!
 
Interesting idea Calyx Hunter but I think I've done enough already for my ladies if you get my drift! ;) Interestingly enough, I think most if not all of the rust was/is still attached to the staples when I pulled them out. At first they looked like they were just covered in dirt with no evidence of rust at all, then after rinsing under water for a few minutes, the soil stubbornly came off and the rust underneath was quite evident. Ideally, I should have removed the staples prior to the flush and I would have had I known that was the issue. That's why I'm prepared for another flush if it is necessary however if they can recover on their own without another flush then I think that will be less stressful for my ladies.
 
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