What is going wrong?

[BubbleGrower]

Hey guys, I could do with some help identifying this problem and hopefully someone could suggest a solution please?
This is my second time growing so I'm still a noob at all this, didn't have many problems last time except a horrible case of nutrient burn (a mistake I'll never make again!)

This is my set up...it's been a bit of a disaster so far...planted 10 BigBud seeds 9 of which turned out male! Aslo planted 2 BubbleGum seeds and got one female. I'm using a 250 watt HPS light.

BigBud is on the left and BubbleGum on the right. The BubbleGum is doing OK, the BigBud is the one with the problem!

Most of the leaves seem to have gone really thin and started to curl downwards!

I have flushed the pots about 3 days ago but no signs of improvement yet.
The PH seems to be about right as well >>>>

I noticed some discolouration on the fan leaves as well...

If anyone could tell me what is going wrong and how I could fix it I would greatly appreciate it!

Thanks,
BubbleGrower.

Oh and just because I'm a bit prouder of my last effort I thought I'd share a few pictures....Had 3 BubbleGum in there and the taller one at the back is a NorthernLights.

 

[Damagoman]

I'm using a 250 watt HPS light.

for veg?
Cannabis Plant and Pest Problem Solver - Pictorial
"Calcium (Ca) -Macro Nutrient and an Immobile element.

Calcium is another important element that helps the plants cell walls, cell division in making the plants stems, stalks, branches stronger, as well as contributing to root growth, mostly the newer root hairs, Calcium also helps enhancing the uptake of K in the the plants roots. Calcium moves really slow within the plant and tends to concentrate in roots and older growth.

When plants exhibit a Calcium deficiency the younger leaves are the first to show it as well as older leaves. The Leaf tips will die back, the tips may curl, and growth of the plant is stunted. The plant can show a weakness in the stems and branches, as well as a under developed root system that can lead to bacteria problems with roots dieing off. Having slow plant transpiration rates can aggravate the uptake of calcium. Make sure your soil isn’t very acidic, for calcium gets harder to be absorbed through acidic soils, Which leads to having a plant that is deficient in Calcium. The leaf tips, edges and new growth will or may turn a yellow/brown colour that happen in spots and often surrounded by a sharp brown outlined edge and then the leaf tips die back. If too much calcium is given at an early stage of growth it can stunt the growth of your plants. Having to much of calcium will also flocculate when a concentrated form is combined with potassium. The parts affected by a calcium deficiency are the roots. Stem or petiole, young or old leaves.

Too much Calcium will lead to other micronutrient deficiencies. Calcium fixation is caused by many types of mediums such as: clay soils, unbuffered coco and humus. The lime tends to bond to these soils very easily. The stems of the plant will not be able to hold the plant up and will exhibit a white brown in between the veins of the leaves when having too much calcium. Also having to much potassium and or nitrogen will cause a calcium lockout."

 

[gio77]

I don't think you should have the two plants side-by-side like that with one having such problems...? Granted different strains eat differently, but most all of mine have worked within a certain band. I've only really had an exception with pure sativas & a hybrid cross f1. So...?

To me, it seems you have a few issues going on with that plant where my gut feeling is lockout due to pH issues. I can't read that meter but it is essentially useless... that type of meter (from the local store) is highly inaccurate- they just don't work, unless +/- 1.0 in pH is okay... that's actually a 100x difference in acidity/alkalinity. And this is about what that meter is good for.

There are no good soil meters unless you are willing to spend in excess of $400. I haven't tried those, so am still a little wary of it as I do know that soil pH'ing is very difficult. It is soil cut w perlite, right? You essentially need to take a core sampling of the medium & utilize distilled water to soak the sample. You take a pH measurement from this solution & it is only a rough estimate at that. Even the $100-150 solution meters can vary .5pH on the same solution sample, despite both being calibrated properly. I've seen it, though this depends upon a lot of factors such as meter maintenance, how & when you measure, & even battery charge.

It is very difficult giving accurate & helpful advice, especially without actually being there. At this point, there just isnt enough info to narrow it down, but I do believe in the above. I would at least recommend getting a decent pH solution meter & check your starting values along with run-off, at differing levels of total ro solution. This will give you a much better idea of what's going on in the medium (and how your plants are eating). My best guess is that you are very acidic & have lockout. Best brah!

 

[BubbleGrower]

Hey guys thanks for the responses!

The plants are flowering at the moment for just over a week...but yes I've used the 250 Watt HPS light for their whole life, except at the start when I used a fluorescent light.

The PH meter is reading just under 7...I know it's a load of crap and I could probably do a better job of testing the PH by licking my finger and sticking it in the soil but unfortunately it's all I could afford...struggling to pay the rent let alone spending $400 on a PH tester lol...

Yes the soil is cut with perlite and vermiculite...will flushing the soil do anything for the PH?

I will try foliar feeding the plant for a while...unfortunately my nutrient is a load of cheap crap as well so I'll go slowly with it!

ahhhhh I just can't wait for harvest time now....I haven't had a smoke since the stock of my last grow ran dry...almost 4 months ago now!!

 

[Ms.Fox]

What are your temps?

 

[gio77]

Agreed that temp could be exacerbating the sit. And yes, I've always found that flushing with a lot of properly balanced & pH'd solution does wonders. It can never hurt. Go your normal rate x.75, pH'd & run through 3x to 4x the volume of your medium with solution. This will be a lot of solution (wasteful) but the plants will respond well. Give the medium time to dry a little prior to your next feed/watering. Best.

 

[BubbleGrower]

The temperature gauge is reading 26C, is that too hot?
That fan in the background is not turned on at the moment...I will turn it on to see if it cools things down a little.

I have loads of distilled water which I unstand is PH neutral...would that be OK to flush it with instead of using solution?

 

[gio77]

To tell you the truth, it has been a while since I have been with soil. I know it isn't hydro & the flush recommendation I gave is for hydro. If I recall properly, flushing the soil may not be as effective as the nutes are released over time. A post I recall suggested that pouring more & more water through soil only releases more & more nutes.

My apologies here- think I should withdraw as not overly qualified & inadvertently gave you the wrong advice. Sorry about this... got ahead of myself typing & temp forgot you were in soil. I'm sorry brother, my bad. I'm just not for sure anymore...

 

[BubbleGrower]

That's OK mate, you've been of great help anyway...I think you might be right...being too acidic, because I tested the PH of the BubbleGum and the BigBud is showing as being more acidic than that one...the reading on my PH meater may not be accurate but it is definately showing one pot being more acidic than the other!

Hopefully *fingers crossed* I will be able to post some pictures of my plants nice and healthy in a few days time...

Thanks again and happy smokin

 

[Grooven420]

I would definitely agree with Gio77 it would be a very good investment to buy a good PH meter, I recently bought a Oakton waterproof handheld and after using a PH meter like yours it opened my eyes to how ridiculously inaccurate the HomeDepot type of meter is.

First make sure your H2O + Nutes is balanced in the 6.5-6.8 range, go out and get some Natural UP(Earthjuice xtals) and PH up to have at your side for PH'ing your H20 + nutes. If your soil is aleady on the acidic side I would recommend PH'ing it on the 6.8 side.

As I recently found out if you let your plants go long enough in Veg to get pretty good size the PEAT in the soil will start to turn acidic. To counteract that go get some 'Soil Sweet' which is Pulverized Dolomite Lime. You can rough up the top 2" of soil being careful to not disturb roots and sprinkle in 3-4 tablespoons and mix it in the the top 2" of soil. Or if you don't have a big tight root ball already you may even consider transplanting the plant into another pot
and mix in a cup of Pulverized Dolomite lime with the soil right off the bat.

Low PH has been the culprit of all my issues but now that I realize that I am mixing in the Soil Sweet lime in all my soil before I transplant and making sure that the girls that are already planted that are in Veg state have enough enough Soil Sweet to get the PH in normal ranges before I move them into the Flower room as that is where I tend to see all the major Def's show their ugly head because of the PH imbalance...

Hope it helps...

L8R,
Grooven420

 

[Gordon d'Angelo]

hi guys i have been reading your posts i too have a leaf issue and went and bought a £45.00 ph tester i also bought distilled water at a ph neutral of 7.0ph and buffer of 4.0 now ive been testing the last few days with the new meter and it is perfectly reading ph so if this helps check out my meter at grow journals in progress weedtasics white russian soil grow ive also posted in the problems pests etc......one of the guys here metioned some sort of fungi check my post to see wot ive done ...hope this helps.....be lucky.....weedtastic