Leaves curling and dying

Xtexan

New Member
Gentlemen:
I have a problem with my now 8 week old plants. They are two White Widows, and two Bubble Gum plants.
I have them in a 36x36 shower.
Each plant is in a five gallon bucket with holes drilled in the bottom and around the bottom about 1/2" on the outside, giving good drainage.
The soil was complicated, but I'll try to detail it.
I used Fox Farm 12 qt dry Fish Farm, divided equally among the four containers. It is mixed with Green Thumb potting soil with extended action fertilizer (I know, I know) and some off brand basic 'raised garden topsoil'. These equally mixed with the four 5 gallon buckets along with 1 C hardwood ash, and 1 C of crushed eggshells each.
My ground soil here is very alkaline, and I added the last ingredients to my custom dirt to raise the PH to 7 with success. The soil still maintains a PH of 7.
Before transplanting my plants, I poured half gallon of boiling water into each bucket to sanitize the soil.
The seeds were started soaked in paper towels until sprouting, then transplanted in peat pots with same soil as buckets, until plants were 4" tall.
I scored the sides of the peat pot with a sharp knife to allow roots to break through the sides.
Things went well for about 4 weeks. The plants grew nicely in their vegetative state. They were very green and bushy. I did not use any fertilizer at all during this time.
I started two Dreamcatcher plants and added them to the already flourishing four plants.
It was this time that I began to add fertilizer, a renown brand, Fox Farms for flowering. I mixed 3 tsp into a gallon of water, and mixed another batch of vegetative fertilizer for the the Dreamcatcher plants.
The Dreamcatchers also are in five gallon buckets. They are on the standard 18 hour a day lighting, as the four others were.
I began the four on their 12 on/12 off, and fertililzed them all at the same time; with their appropriate fertilizers.
I am fairly certain that the withering and leaves turning color happened overnight. The Dreamcatchers also.
I have a pic, but is difficult to see with the odd lighting coloration.
plant190.jpg

plant_344.jpg

this is new growth taken today...
plant276.jpg


For lighting, I was using a T5 HO 48" fluorescent with a 6300K bulb and a 10000K bulb, combined with an LED set up containing 100 LEDs covering a full spectrum of light. When I began the flowering stage, I pulled the T5 and used it for the Dreamcatcher plants.

I have flushed one of the Dreamcatcher plants, with no visible difference.
I set the other four outside and flushed them well with a garden hose.
The new growth is showing some signs of recovery as it looks like it it starting to flower.
The four are in a shower stall, with a curtain, behind a door that I close and open to keep out ambient light during its dark cycle.
The Dreamcatcher plants are actually doing very nicely.
The question is this: is it worth trying to get these to recover, or shall I pull them and start over?
Thanks in advance...
 
I am pretty much convinced now that the problem is nutrient burn.
It was suggested...no, nobody answered...I have left them alone except for a flush and trim the damaged leaves. I have stopped using well water and gone to r/o water. The new growth looks very nice on these obvious female plants (my first attempt). The fertilizer (Fox Farms) suggested 3 tsp per gallon which was too much for plants containing slow release fertilizer. It has been a little over two weeks now and they are much improved. I'll probably not pull them up at this time.
 
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