Mine had upward drift for the first 4-5 weeks, and now has downward drift.
Sounds similar and have been looking for connections too.
What stage of growth is your plant in right now? Any flowering? Or has your branches started growing out staggered yet by any chance?
I’m on day 33 so I’m thinking it’s the end of vegetation since I can’t see any buds forming yet, but this is also my first grow so might not know what to look for quite yet. Not sure what you mean by growing out staggered?
Branches/leaves (actually, the nodes themselves) start by growing out in even pairs, but eventually they start staggering unevenly, like this. It has something to do with maturity and aging.
Also, that’s within a couple days age of mine as well, so it’s looking like a connection between the plants nutrient uptake changing for stretch and flowering. According to all the literature, most normal pH swings are caused by nutrient uptake altering the balance of the solution.
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Yes mine are starting doing the same thing.
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Are you still running 5/5/7 or have you been adjusting it each water change?
No I just gave it an extra shot of bloom and then not long after drained and focused more on balancing pH. I’ve just being doing 5/5/5 and still have had a couple fan leaves show deficiency but it’s not nearly as bad, mostly trying not to overdo it to fix it, like I did originally
Further up the thread around post 12, I put up GH’s feed schedule. Looking at that you’ll see how they have the ratio of mix change each week to meet the plants growth stage. The plants needs are changing as they go into flower. It’s looking to me like the pH change you’re seeing is a sign that your nute ratios need to be updated to more closely meet the plants needs, as reflected in the chart. Not necessarily the exact ratios as in the chart, but the numbers paint a picture of what the plant is asking for and when.
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Good point, the schedule on the back of the bottles is a lot more simple and just separates into veg and flower stages. Do you know of a similar, detailed schedule for autoflower? Or do you think it matters?
Edit: I think I’ll just use the ratios above and see how it goes, seems my issues have been deficiencies and not burn
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I know the chart uses the word “photoperiod” in the growth and bloom sections, but it’s the “Growth” and “Bloom” part that matters, whether photo’s or auto’s. Just because yours hasn’t actually flowered yet, doesn’t mean the plant isn’t signaling that it’s about to. It’s an autoflower, and its nodes are beginning to stagger. You might even be able to find a pair of white hairs at some of the main branch nodes, signaling sexual maturity and the “pre” flower mode, or what I guess the chart would call “Early Bloom”.
You can go to General Hydroponics homepage though, and there’s a link at the top for Feedcharts. Be sure you look for the FloraSeries ones, as they make lots of different products. There’s also “Medium” and “Light” feeding ratios in addition to the “Aggressive” one I posted above.
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I’ll give it a shot tomorrow, thanks!
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So it’s day 42 and one of my plants has fully reached the light. Should I leave it or cut off the top so it stops growing up? Not sure if that will mess up flowering
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@Reimaker, @Bubbala, @1HappyPappy I think I avoided falling off the cliff. My spots stopped with the bottom leaves and haven’t moved up the plant. I was using distilled water initially, then changed to tap water that I let sit 24 hours to get the chlorine out. It seems to like that better. And I’ve been changing the water every week, keeping the PH as close to 5.8 as possible, and adding new nutes. One of my girls hit the top of the light, so I rigged a 1 1/2" PVC pipe to add height to the light. Got a female to female, and 6 ft. USB cable to add another foot to my grow light. It seems to be working. I think I’m in the pre-flowering stage so will start my bloom regimen tomorrow. Fingers crossed. In the pic it appears that the bottom leaves are yellowing, but they are not. They’re green. It’s just the light giving them that color.
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Awesome, they look really healthy! Great work!
Checking the TDS of your tap water is another good use for a TDS meter. Plants can only handle so much “stuff” in the water, and that includes whatever is in the water source. That’s probably the biggest reason people use RO or distilled water, is to leave more “room” in the water for nutrients. If your tap water is low in TDS, then it’s probably fine for hydro.
RO and distilled water also strip all the good stuff out too, like calcium and magnesium, which is why CalMag is so essential when using stripped water like that. Right now I’m using a blend of 25% well water with 75% RO water. It doesn’t have to be all or nothing, but that’s what a TDS meter would show you.
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Good job man 
Keep doing whatever you’re doing cuz it is working 
I’ve made a few rookie mistakes that I will learn from next time (like trying to fit 2 plants in this small tent) but does anyone have tips for when your plants start to outgrow your tent?
That could be a buildup of your PH+
@Reimaker Not sure what to do when they are outgrowing the tent. I’m trying a different method since I don’t have to worry about size and smell. The bottom level of my house is my grow tent, and they are not incased in anything. So, I don’t have that problem. Not sure how this will work but will see in a few months.