Noob here growing 12 autoflowers (4 different strains) in a mix of soil, peat moss, and perlite. They are growing in 3 gallon fabric pots. They are 43 days old. 5 of the plants are doing well but the rest all show signs of deficiencies (yellowing leaves). I believe most if not all my issues are pH related. Due to my own ignorance and lack of knowledge, I never balanced the pH of my soil at the start. I just took some organic soil bought at Lowes (not miracle grow or anything with add chemical fertlizers) add some peat moss (not enough I figure) and some perlite. In trying to diagnose my issue, I did a flush with three gallons of water per plant. The water that I was using was adjusted to obtain a pH between 5.8 and 6.2. The plants that look good all had runoff between 6.7 and 6.8. The plants with issues all tested 6.9 to 7.6. I think the higher pH is causing some nutrient deficiencies. How much pHed water do I need to run through these before the pH in the runoff gets to the 5.8 to 6.2 range. Does the water actually affect the pH of the soil, or do I need to add something to the soil (more peat moss). In the future, if I find the right ratio of soil/peat moss/perlite that when tested has a pH of 6.2, and I water consistently with water adjusted to 6.2, I should not have these problems in the future. I have been feeding them fox farm grow big and tiger bloom at half strength (fed them twice). Forgot to mention plants are being grown in a barn under led lights. Are there any websites or videos that explain how all this works. I am trying to learn but seem to be confusing myself even more. I appreciate any advice you might have, and thank you.
Howdy
Merry Christmas 
Growing in soil ,you want your water or nutrient solution Ph to be between 6-7.
6.5 is ideal.
6.8 for flower.
How do I get the pots with runoff over the 6.8 lower. I did a flush with 6.2 water and there was no change to the runoff number.
usually u wanna make sure the pot is completely wet all the way through than run through more until u get about 20% of the water u put in to come back out the bottom.
I have these same questions about flushing. No problems last grow, once I learned how important ph is, but this one is different for some reason. Also I been going with the ph is supposed to be between 6.5 and 7.5 as per General Hydro which are the products I use.
Can you share some photos of the yellowing you’re trying to get across to us? May not be nute related at all, but I don’t really see how anybody can advise you without seeing the issue. Good luck!
The higher phd plants are locked out. We need to drop the ph but do it slowly without shocking the plants. Do you have any ph down solution?
First off; pictures.
You could top-dress dolomitic lime which will buffer the medium to a slightly lower PH. You also need to measure the TDS of the runoff because I believe your plants are hungry too. You will need to add supplements to keep them going.
Hello I am a new grower and have similar issues. My 3 photo white widows are 4 weeks old and are looking good besides the older fan leaves showing rust colored/ crispy tips that are advancing inward the older the leaves are. I ph my water to 6.3 but my soil is at 7.5 which is a bit high. Should i be lowering the ph water even more to balance out the soil ph or is that now how that works?
What medium are you growing in?
Happy Frog in 2 gallon fabric pots.
How are you testing ph? Are you soil slurrying or runoff? Have you fed? 2 gal pots have enough food for a few weeks max and thats it.
this kind of has me curious as well, how are u determining the pH of the soil itself?
do u have any pictures? pictures speak 1,000 words around here
They are 4 weeks old and i have fed them fox farms grow big twice now at 50% strength. And also gave them molasses at week 3
any tester that sticks directly into the soil like that is usually pretty inaccurate. its kind of a common misperception around here I’ve noticed.
i would recommend doin a slurry test to find out exactly how inaccurate those meters really are.
maybe its accurate, doubtful, but possible i suppose… anyways a slurry test will confirm it all.
here are some instructions i found, very easy to do.
i suppose since they are about a month old now, nutes could probably be used at this point on a regular schedule, based on the nutes u chose.
i highly suggest following through with a slurry test so u can get 100% accurate numbers on the values of the soil itself, should tell u exactly what u need for sure. lmk how it goes
Thank you for taking the time to help. Ill give the slurry test a go. Im hoping that whatever issue i had is over with now that their water schedule is more regular(compared to the seedling stage). Like i said all the new growth looks healthy. I should have also posted a pic of the girls idk why i didnt. They aren’t anything special because this is my first grow with a tent and powerful light so they stretched, could’ve been a little more aggressive with the light.
Update on the slurry test, it 6.8 so indeed the soil tester was inaccurate. Which leaves me to believe i either underwatered or didn’t feed them early enough…or both. Anyhow here they are now 4 1/2 weeks old at approx 15 inches above the dirt, topped 10 days ago. Planning on bending the top two branches down in a couple days.
Yes I am missing the bottom two sets of fan leaves 
looking really good at this point from the looks of it, very nice 
Thats the one lol
@Solidgold91 what did you adjust the diatilled water with