Katins's 2nd Micro Grow - White Widow Fem - 1 Square Foot Under LED

Hi K - I can't answer you on whether PH is the issue, could be... could be not... My question is though, is the current soil different from your last grow (as in the mix you're using)? And do you have a ph checker for the soil rather than the liquid that runs off? I'm not sure checking the runoff will really give you an accurate idea about the soil. A guide maybe, based on ph in ph out of the water, but I don't know how reliable that is.

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Amy Gardner said:
Hi K - I can't answer you on whether PH is the issue, could be... could be not... My question is though, is the current soil different from your last grow (as in the mix you're using)? And do you have a ph checker for the soil rather than the liquid that runs off? I'm not sure checking the runoff will really give you an accurate idea about the soil. A guide maybe, based on ph in ph out of the water, but I don't know how reliable that is.

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Yes, the soil is different from the last grow.
Regarding runoff as a sample for pH testing - I was doing it my last grow and it was giving me 6.5-7 pH depending on the stage of grow. My water ph is around 7. Between 6.7 and 7 to be precise. So I consider it pretty good indicator.
 
Week 3 day 1 above soil

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Katins said:
Yes, the soil is different from the last grow.
Regarding runoff as a sample for pH testing - I was doing it my last grow and it was giving me 6.5-7 pH depending on the stage of grow. My water ph is around 7. Between 6.7 and 7 to be precise. So I consider it pretty good indicator.
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Yeah, ok then. Maybe your idea about repotting is a good one then. There could be something other than soil PH effecting the run off though, don't you think? I mean, I'm not saying it didn't work in your last grow, maybe it did. If this soil is different you can't really be sure. Did you ever do a direct soil test just for reference? What if excess salts or something are washing out? Couldn't they lower the run off without being an indicator of soil Ph?
Did you post earlier in this journal about what soil you're in now? It might help someone answer your question about whether it's a ph issue or not.

Oh, & just because I haven't asked you enough questions yet, How often do you water? .

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Amy Gardner said:
Yeah, ok then. Maybe your idea about repotting is a good one then. There could be something other than soil PH effecting the run off though, don't you think? I mean, I'm not saying it didn't work in your last grow, maybe it did. If this soil is different you can't really be sure. Did you ever do a direct soil test just for reference? What if excess salts or something are washing out? Couldn't they lower the run off without being an indicator of soil Ph?
Did you post earlier in this journal about what soil you're in now? It might help someone answer your question about whether it's a ph issue or not.

Oh, & just because I haven't asked you enough questions yet, How often do you water? .

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Haha, yeah, quite a few Q's .
I see a lot of peat in my soil. I did not see it at first, because it was wet and black like a good soil should be. But when it dried out a bit, I can see loads of peat. And peat is acid. That I know for sure . so a logical cgain "poor plant-runoff pH low-peat" seems plausible even though I do not have a soil pH tester.

Excess salts - where did they come from then? I did not feed yet. Soil seems a bit hot, but I don't think there is excess.

She only tasted water for a second time. So it converts to once a week :)
 
So what 'brand' is the soil? Do you know it's make-up beyond seeing that it has peat? Heaps of soils have peat and are not too acidic as there's all sorts of other stuff in there balancing it out and buffering against ph fluctuations. I used 'salts' as just an example - there could be 'something' washing out of the soil that's effecting the runoff while having no impact on the soil - or even raising its ph. I really think you can't know unless you test the soil.

If the soil is maybe a bit hot, as you say, it could be that. Some details about the soil will help anyone equipped to advise you. I've grown mostly outdoors so still a novice with indoor container gardening. I only check ph at the start of the season to make sure it's in the ballpark and have never had cause to check it again. I do know that you want a range of ph in the soil as different nutes get absorbed at different ph levels.

It's tricky because there are 3 things different from your last super success, so trouble-shooting is not straight forward. If you're convinced it's not light or heat, which you seem to be, and for sound reasons, find out some more about the soil. A too hot mix would possibly make a seedling unhappy... (she's not super unhappy though, just a bit wiggly .)

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Just read back over and saw this...
Katins said:
No idea. The bag says it is 5.5-6

I took off the humidity dome yesterday. Maybe too early. Those LED's dry the air quite significantly.
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So yeah - that's a low ph soil. Plus that low humidity you mentioned there... and here again a week or so later...

Katins said:
Humidity here is 55-60. But the QB120 just torches it down to 35 inside the box.
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Is it still dropping to 35rh in the box? That could be a contributing factor as well.

Really it doesn't look too bad - certainly not anywhere the worst I've seen .. But if it were me I probably would change the soil/re pot and keep a dish of water or a fully soaked towel in there to up the humidity a bit. But I'm still a novice indoors. .

I'd also suggest you post in the grow support/FAQ section of the forum and maybe get some better advice. Just make sure, if you do, to give heaps of details about the setup. ..

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Amy Gardner said:
Just read back over and saw this...

So yeah - that's a low ph soil. Plus that low humidity you mentioned there... and here again a week or so later...


Is it still dropping to 35rh in the box? That could be a contributing factor as well.

Really it doesn't look too bad - certainly not anywhere the worst I've seen .. But if it were me I probably would change the soil/re pot and keep a dish of water or a fully soaked towel in there to up the humidity a bit. But I'm still a novice indoors. .

I'd also suggest you post in the grow support/FAQ section of the forum and maybe get some better advice. Just make sure, if you do, to give heaps of details about the setup. ..

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So I just went and bought this pH meter .

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If it has any accuracy then my soil is 6.75-ish pH

She is growing her 5th node, so I'll be topping her as soon as I'll be able to comfortably put scissors on her with my shaky hands . so the repot will have to wait a bit. Like you said, she is not super unhapy, so I think she can handle it .

Also I went and bought the same soil I used in my previous grow for the upcoming repot/uppot.

Regarding the brand, it does not really matter, it is a locally produced flowering mix, and I could bet a lot of money that noone will know it . You just go to a grow shop, explain what you want and simply hope the seller was not a schmuck .
 
Into the final pot she goes.

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Repoted her before topping, because I noticed she slowed down on vertical growth. Burnt tips and "serrations" here and there. Figured I shall put her on a soil that worked well last grow, to eliminate one more variable.

Did not take pictures, but roots looked white and healthy, with a lot of tiny little hair on them. And there were lots of them. Way more than in my previous bagseed grow.

By the way, she started to smell like weed :)
 
Whaaaaaaaat? Already 6 pages in?!?! Damn I better start catching Up fast! Your girl is bushy! Well Done .
 
Katins said:
Into the final pot she goes.

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Repoted her before topping, because I noticed she slowed down on vertical growth. Burnt tips and "serrations" here and there. Figured I shall put her on a soil that worked well last grow, to eliminate one more variable.

Did not take pictures, but roots looked white and healthy, with a lot of tiny little hair on them. And there were lots of them. Way more than in my previous bagseed grow.

By the way, she started to smell like weed :)
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Smokin' K! She looks good in there, and that 'root report' sounds perfect .. I love that light fragrance they give off when they're young - like they're saying "I might be small to look at right now, but get a load of my perfume!!" A promise of things to come.

..
 
Just did a watering and how funny, runoff pH was 6.6 with new (old) soil. That coresponds to the soil pH tester readings. Also after a repot, the plant almost instantly showed signs of recovery.
 
Katins said:
Just did a watering and how funny, runoff pH was 6.6 with new (old) soil. That coresponds to the soil pH tester readings. Also after a repot, the plant almost instantly showed signs of recovery.
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Cool!.
So what was the water going in? Enquiring minds want to know ....
 
Did not test it :) I don't go through all the procedures that I used to in my learning grow :) But from previous grow I know my tap water stays between 6.6 and 7 pH
 
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