Watermelon auto from RQS was doing great, then it wasn't.

[DZ NutHouse]

Watermelon was doing great until the end. About 2 weeks before harvest I got catapillers, picked em off, but the leaves started to dry up and go crispy, and some of the buds dried right in the plant… I’m pretty conservative with the nutes. Could PH be a factor. I’ve never checked, just use tap water and have had several successful grows, however I here that poor PH can cause some pretty significant issues.

 

[013]

Hey what’s up DZ??

Nice plant! Yes if you have mostly green buds then a stray brown bud… cut that brown biotch out and toss it. Better to lose some rather than all. Caterpillars are notorious for crapping where they’ve eaten and outdoors it gets activated by rain… that coupled with thick buds it’s risky business.

2 biological products one is BTi which targets fungus gnats, the other is BTk for caterpillars. Just wanted to name drop the 2 in case you are not familiar.

BTi aka mosquito bits or mosquito dunks can be added to your water buckets to soak overnite to activate your water. I’ve been adding them in the reservoir of my SIPs & SWICKS with no problems. They can also be used as top dress but worth mentioning there’s no need to use it as a foliar spray since fungus gnat adults and larvae live in the soil.

BTk targets caterpillars and is intended as a foliar but I also spray the top of soil too for systemic uptake. Think the 2 prong approach here is the ticket…

Need to test your tap water first to see what the ph is. Heres the deal- the ph range of your feed water needs to match the type of grow media you are using. For dwc, hydro, hempy & coco your ph should be set in the 5.8 range for soil it needs to be adjusted to the 6.3 range.

When the ph range of your feed water doesn’t match the grow media - a portion of those nutes just go out the window…

 

[DZ NutHouse]

Outstanding information! Thank you. Just got a ph meter and soil tester. Appreciate the solid response!

 

[013]

Hey it’s my pleasure!

 

[JiggiLotus]

Also, it's not unusual for a plant to consume it's leaves the closer it gets to harvest. It's known as scenscene. I actually look for it to help judge it's completeness of my plant. As well as checking trichomes an pistol ripeness.

Good job on your watermelon

 

[DZ NutHouse]

Also, it's not unusual for a plant to consume it's leaves the closer it gets to harvest. It's known as scenscene. I actually look for it to help judge it's completeness of my plant. As well as checking trichomes an pistol ripeness.

Good job on your watermelon

That’s great info. I’ve seen it said before but confirmation that the plant will basically eat itself nearing readiness is great. Especially as I climb deeper down this amazing rabbit hole. Thanks!