HI Guys, just started noticing this about 6 days ago. Got 4 plants going and this Aurora strain started showing signs of being “Unhappy” to put it mildly. Prior to this she was one of the healthiest.
Using FFOF, last time I use it full strength, maybe would use a quarter+ at most mixed in with something like Roots Organics (had a full bag of ffof left over from last grow so had to use it).
In any case, been pretty cautious on the nutes, mainly CalMag at quarter strength and been using for about a month. Did add some Grow Big & Big Bloom at 1/3 strength along w SLF 100.
Also would use of Mega Crop on alternate waterings by itself at about 1/2tsp per gal. I’ve only used it twice so far.
Watering: been watering, till this week every three days including the day of watering (soil was usually pretty dry at this point)
Lights: (in a 5x5 tent). (2) HLG 260 XW, these just went into the tent at 80% on saturday
(prior to saturday I had only (1) 260 xw and 1 HID running @ 400w. I dont think the lights could be culprit but? I have them hanging right now about 15" ±, not hot at all directly below them.
PH run off has been pretty good, 6.6 for a while and recently dipping to 6.1 (this one plant dipped down to 5.9 on may 2nd.
TDS has been ok as well, all in the 750 - 900 except for this one, her readings have always been higher than the rest @ 112-130 x10 (she’ not eating as much as the others girls?).
Watered them w Plain Water and PH Up on may 6th, was able to raise Her particular ph up after aggressively PHing water Up to 9.4 and would get Run Off reading 6.0 (after going through almost 3 gals of water, had to keep adding ph up).
Here are some pictures, Thank you for looking.
IMO you should start at 6.5 and keep adding water until you get a runoff at 6.5 that’s just how I do it. Maybe you can get it like your doing it but this is the first time I here flushing like that!!
Thanks @Jarnkat
You mean ph the tap to 6.5 and flush her till I get her run off to 6.5 (6.5 is my ideal/target ph),
I shouldnt use Sledgehammer? just water.?
Yes exactly I don’t know what sledgehammer is I’d have to do a little more research. But yes pH your water to 6.5 and just keep running through until you get the same pH and ppm that you are putting in and she should be good to go
Something I took from your pics, your issues seem to be for most part under light. Back parts of plant don’t seem to have as big of issues. I agree you can’t take ph that high trying to offset root zone.
You can use sledgehammer if you want, but I really don’t know that you need it. Looks more like a lockout or deficiency to me. And you may want to raise lights a little too, they look kinda close.
Thanks Guys! @dbrn32, you got a great eye, the back side of plant is fine. Love the QBs, but they are a whole new animal. How high shold the lights be approximately? Should I also back them down to 75% till this gets resolved.?
Thanks @Jarnkat, I think I’m going to skip the nute though, they compromise the ph, drop it real fast, I guess along w the hot soil it always drops the ph, had somewhat similar problems last time but never got this bad.
I would raise it to probably 24" and drop power a little for now. That will lower intensity and slow down photosynthesis until you get the plants dialed in. Having high light intensity will kick photosynthesis into overdrive putting a lot of strain on nutrient load.
I think if you get ph dialed in and feeding set you should be in pretty good shape.
This is the wild card for me, the nutrients always drop the ph unpredictably, gonna have to keep a really close eye on this particular aspect of my grow.
When that stuff starts happening I put what I’m doing under scrutiny. Based on what you posted above, take a look at what you’re using and how you’re using it. Mixing and matching lines isn’t a big deal, but they don’t always behave well together. Some nutrients have ph buffers, some don’t. Some react differently when ph is adjusted if they have those buffers.
I would try deciding between the fox farms stuff and megacrop, and then make sure you have basics covered for each line. I believe megacrop is pretty solid with just calmag, but double check. Or use the fox farms, doesn’t really make difference to me. But once you decide, mix following manufacturers recommendations then allow to rest for 45 min or so. Go back and check ph after resting and see if ph changed any, then adjust your ph from there.
Great advice @dbrn32, I will keep a close eye on my nutrient options. I usually pre mix at night for use the next day. I’ll have to be more vigilant. I will eventually default to one line to keep things “simple” or as simple as you can get with this hobby.
Thanks again
Thank you @Missiles, I couldn’t agree more with you @dbrn32 everyone here have been very helpful as always. This is the first full frontal shot of all the girls. I did not start a journal this time around cause I knew I would not have the time to keep it updated properly. Spring and summer are really hectic around here lots of yard work plus I have a ton of firewood to split the the leaves come into play but I digress.
Those lights are something else arent they!? I got the old HID on about 25 tomato plants for another week or two then its off.
It is very difficult to change the pH of soil with pH’ed water ONLY. You need to add buffers in nutes (phosphates) at the appropriate pH6.5 or slightly higher to move the pH. At 6 and below you are likely locking out P,Ca, Mg
or as simple as you can get with this hobby.
