Yellowing tips, discolored leaves, some look chewed on...does she need a flush?

elheffe702 · January 20, 2018, 5:42am

Hello, and thanks for reading! My white widow fem looks, overall, pretty healthy. But there are a few things concerning me, and my gut tells me it’s nutrient buildup in the soil causing…everything.

First, the yellowing tips. Pretty sure this is nutrient burn, plain and simple:

This is on mostly new growth. Then there is the discolored leaves:

…and the “chewed” leaves:

I put “chewed” in quotes, because I’ve looked, looked again, and again and again, and I haven’t seen any kind of critters. The kitty can’t get to the plant. And I feel if it were critters, by the time I’d seen these leaves, I’d have a bigger problem.

Also, the salt buildup on the smart pot is something else. Is this normal? Is it safe to say that is it’s built up that much there, it’s probably nearing toxicity in the soil? Or does all that nice bright green new growth say I’m worrying about nothing?

The soil is pretty dry this evening, I’ll be watering tomorrow. My main question is this: what is the best way to go about flushing her soil? I planned to take her to the tub, and water with my typical filtered, dechlorinated water, more than the typical 3 quarts-ish, and just let it run off. But, how much more? Should I do a flush over a couple waterings? Or just stat, flush flush flush?

Thanks in advance for all the great advice I know you guys and gals will have for me. This forum is great! Happy growing!

Edit 1: I should add that she is in week 1 of flowering, switched to 12/12 this past Sunday night.

Edit 2: Sorry…short term memory loss…Also, I’ve been feeding General Organics Go Box since about the fourth node I believe. 1ml each of Grow, CaMg+, Bio Root, Bio Weed, Bio Marine, and for the first few feedings, 1ml of Diamond Black, all to the 3 quarts of filtered, dechlorinated water. Pretty mild dose, and in FFOF with about 1/3 perlite added. I’m I doing something wrong? Should I be feeding less often?

Myfriendis410 · January 20, 2018, 6:01am

Let’s start with a support ticket. Please be as complete as possible. How you measure ph as well. What type of soil etc.

COPY/PASTE: This “Support Ticket” into your forum post.
Answer these simple questions the best you can.
If you do not know, or do not use something; Just say so = NA

Strain; Type, Bag seed, or NA

Soil in pots, Hydroponic, or Coco?

System type?

PH of runoff or solution in reservoir?

What is strength of nutrient mix? EC, or TDS

Indoor or Outdoor

Light system, size?

Temps; Day, Night

Humidity; Day, Night

Ventilation system; Yes, No, Size

AC, Humidifier, De-humidifier,

Co2; Yes, No

Add anything else you feel would help us give you a most informed answer. Feel free to elaborate, but short, to the point questions and facts will help us help you

M4ur · January 20, 2018, 6:02am

The tips are brawn because of the nutrient burn (to much) so I recommend feed water water.
I don’t think she needs to be flushed.
The salt will build up on the fabric pot(if that you use) it’s normal. Maybe you can fill the support ticket.
Also you need to keep your away from new on because you will get a lot of hair in your buds and trust me, you don’t want that
nice @Myfriendis410

elheffe702 · January 20, 2018, 6:22am

Sure thing!

Strain is White Widow feminized seed from Canuk.

Soil in pots, Hydroponic, or Coco? FFOF (2/3) perlite (1/3) in 3 gallon smart pot

System type? N/A

PH of runoff or solution in reservoir? I was told this is unnecessary in soil with General Organics go box…however, runoff was 6.5 consistently the first ten times I tested, and every time since, here and there that I’ve tested. No change whatsoever.

What is strength of nutrient mix? I do not own a meter to test this. However I think we’ve already answered the issue in this thread…while I’ve been feeding less than the nutrient manufacturer’s recommendation, I’ve just been feed, feed, feeding…no straight water in between. This has probably caused my soil to build up some of those nutrients.

Indoor, 14 cubic foot freezer converted. Grow space is roughly 18 x 23

Light system, size? AgroLED Dio-Watt 288, 175W Full Spectrum Low Profile Grow Light…about 80-100,000 lux at the canopy.

Temps; 75-80°F Day, 65-70°F Night

Humidity; 35-45% Day, 40-50% Night

Ventilation system; 177 cfm 4" inline duct fan and 4 x 15" carbon filter for exhaust, two desk fans (no idea on their cfm) pull air in through two 4" inlets…LOOOOTS of fresh air.

AC, Humidifier, De-humidifier, Central a/c stays between 72-74°F, and there is a one-gallon warm mist humidifier nearby…only brings it up 5-10%, but it’s quite dry here most of the time, so it helps.

Co2; No

M4ur · January 20, 2018, 10:46am

Everything seems to be in range, except the 1/3 perlite, that it’s a little high, the mix should have 25% perlite or 1/4(just my opinion on this) but is not a big deal .
You must get a tds meter to measure the mix that you give them and also the runoff, that will help you to “understand” them when are hungry .
My opinion only so I recommend you to wait a final answer from a expert
P. S. Them are healthy!

HJL · January 20, 2018, 4:31pm

I have the exact problem with my Canuck seed WW minus the nute burn. I have chewed leaves and the same marks as your pics. Mines been in 12/12 for 3 weeks now but has not flowered yet. Thought on the forum was I may have a light leak in my grow room. I put my girl in 24 hours of darkness as advised. Just put her back in the tent this morning. I’ll see how it goes. When I saw your pics I thought it was my plant. You’ve only been at 12/12 for a week though. I also looked for critters and didn’t find any. Plus I have four other girls in there with no symptoms. Strange.

elheffe702 · January 20, 2018, 8:22pm

Was yours a freebie, @HJL?

Stomper · January 20, 2018, 8:27pm

This mostly looks like too much food. I would just give plain water for one or two rounds. Keep ph in range to help transport the nutes better.

elheffe702 · January 20, 2018, 8:54pm

I think that’s the consensus. I just watered this morning, and plan to do the same for at least another watering, maybe two more.

bob31 · January 20, 2018, 9:47pm

@elheffe702 FFOF is a pretty nutrient rich soil and without checking the TDS you have probably given too much nutrients.

Recommend you consider purchasing an inexpensive TDS meter and only giving more nutrients when your TDS is lower than the TDS recommended by your nutrient line.

TDS Meter

https://www.amazon.com/HM-Digital-TDS-EZ-Measurement-Resolution/dp/B002C0A7ZY?tag=greenrel-20

TDS Calibration fluid

https://www.amazon.com/General-Hydroponics-Calibration-Solution-Gardening/dp/B001TNAA5W?tag=greenrel-20

HJL · January 20, 2018, 10:14pm

Yes it was a freebie. Maybe genetics?

HJL · January 20, 2018, 10:21pm

I thought it was too much feeding as well so I did a flush. I’ve monitored my pH and tds ever since and all have been in range. That was 4 weeks ago and I have the same issues. I’m in Promix soil. I think it’s genetics but I’m no pro. This is only my third grow.

elheffe702 · January 20, 2018, 10:54pm

This is my first grow, too. Genetics makes sense, especially since it’s free lol! I purposely grew it first, not expecting fantastic results…a: my first grow, and 2: freebie seed, gotta be a reason it’s free.

Most of my problems are definitely from over feeding, though. Lesson learned! I have been watering/feeding right, but just too often and without straight water in between feedings…it just built up. I was aware that FFOF is a fairly “hot” soil, so I didn’t feed for about the first month or so, and she’s never shown any nutrient burn before now.

As far as measuring the ph of, and tds in, my runoff, I feel like if I had been feeding properly, this would be unnecessary. The ph of the runoff has been rock solid, 6.5, from day one, and still is. I was able to read water quality reports for my area, and after testing the ph, I was satisfied with using filtered tap water. Our whole family drinks this same water with no issues. But I will pick up a meter to help diagnose future issues, and to rule it out completely.

Thanks to everyone for the quick responses and good advice! It’s great to have a community of experienced growers for help when needed. I’ll update later!

Happy gardening!
Jeff

Myfriendis410 · January 20, 2018, 11:48pm

FYI, Fox Farms recommends periodic flushing to remove salts that their soil has a habit of collecting.

garrigan62 · January 21, 2018, 12:05am

@HJL

By the looks of it your plant has " Nutrient Burn "

Nutrient burn is one of the most common beginner cannabis growing problems. The yellow or brown leaf tips are caused by too-high levels of nutrients accumulating in the leaves.

Here is a pic of Nutrient Burn

(Nutrient burn is often called “Nute Burn” in the cannabis growing community).

When the roots take in more nutrients than a cannabis plant can use, the overabundance causes a brown or yellow “burn” on the tips of your leaves. If nutrient levels are not lowered, the burnt tips start traveling inwards and the ends of leaves start becoming crispy and twisted.

Take me straight to the solution for cannabis nute burn!

First sign of cannabis nutrient burn is often yellowing at the tips of the leaves

As nutrient burn progresses, the tips start getting bronze, crispy, curled and sometimes twisted. Although you can stop nutrient burn from getting worse, the burnt appearance won’t go away on the leaves that were already affected.

Burnt or brown looking tips of marijuana leaves means nute burn - this plant is in the flowering stage, which is when nute burn becomes more serious

Nutrient burn is most common when feeding cannabis too-high levels of bottled nutrients and especially chemical or mineral nutrients. This is what you’ll find in most non-organic plant food.

Mineral-based nutrients can help increase cannabis growth rates and yields compared to organic-based nutrients due to the fact that these nutrients are so easily absorbed by the plant roots. The plant doesn’t have to do any “work” to get the nutrients. The downside is your plant can easily take in more than it can use if the nutrient levels are too high.

Nutrient burn affects the tips of marijuana leaves. You may just see it on one or two leaves, or it can appear all over the plant.

Example of brown leaf tips from cannabis nutrient burn

Nutrient burn can also happen when plants or seedlings are grown directly in soil that has a high level of nutrients (a “hot” soil or growing medium) such as fresh compost, manure or a nutrient-amended soil mix. This usually happens to young seedlings, and they will “grow out of it” as they begin to use up all the nutrients in the soil, as long as more nutrients are not added.

In general, plants use overall higher levels of nutrients as they get more light. Therefore plants in relatively low light conditions can get nutrient burn at lower levels of nutrient than the same plant would under bigger grow lights.

Each cannabis plant is different, so you might have just one out of many plants get nutrient burn! That is completely normal.

Sometimes you’ll also see nutrient burn leaf tips also curl or “claw”. The clawing can be caused by an overabundance of Nitrogen (Nitrogen Toxicity), which is common for plants that are experiencing nutrient burn from overall high levels of nutrients.

Example of a marijuana plant with nutrient burn on the tips. The clawing is caused by a Nitrogen toxicity

Problem: You will notice the tips of your marijuana leaves showing the first signs of nutrient burn by turning yellow, tan, gold or brown. A light case of nutrient burn will only affect the tips of your leaves.

The yellow tips will eventually turn rusty brown and crispy. If you do not correct the problem, you may also notice the burn slowly spreading from the tips to the whole leaf. At this point, if you haven’t done so already, you should immediately treat your plant (directions below) before there’s more damage.

Brown burnt tips on leaves - The first signs of nutrient burn on a marijuana seedling

Nutrient burn can also manifest itself as brown or bronze spotting around the edges of the leaf serrations (often when there’s a problem with proper absorption of potassium), or with leaf tips curling downwards (tips pointing down is often associated with too much nitrogen).

garrigan62 · January 21, 2018, 12:06am

@HJL

By the looks of it your plant has " Nutrient Burn "

Nutrient burn is one of the most common beginner cannabis growing problems. The yellow or brown leaf tips are caused by too-high levels of nutrients accumulating in the leaves.

Here is a pic of Nutrient Burn