having tons of trouble and really considering dumping my whole garden and starting over

[ebenezerfagglegold]

I don't know what I'm doing wrong. The only thing that is obviously wrong is that the soil I have isn't the greatest and contains time released micro nutes (.1,.03,.03) and my perlite does too(.7,.7,.7). I've been having one problem after another after another. Bad temps/airflow at first which led to stunted growth. But since then I've had constantl drooping and cupping leaves, red/purple stems, pests, brown spots on leaves, nute burns when I haven't added any extra nutes, etc. I've tried my best to remedy everything. I've got plenty of light (10 26w equivalent CFLs (7 Daylight, 3 Softwhite), great airflow and humidity, temps range from 73-77 constantly, humitity at 45-55 always. No wind blowing my plants down. I've got the foxfarm trio, calmag plus. I got some safer spray and some azamax for pest control(which really hasn't been that bad) and just yesterday I started adding miniscule amounts of calmag, big bloom w/ grow big, and a moderate amount of azamax to clean out the fungus gnat larvae I saw in one pot. I had to shorten the light schedule because the plants looked like they wanted to die at the end of the day, so now I kill the lights at 9 and back on at 6am. What the hell else can a person do?? I just can't seem to get them to really pop, and I'm seriously considering dumping them, but its been a lot of work, and money. I'm really bummed it sucks.

has anyone had gardens like this that just don't want to work for you? I have been very cautious about overdoing ANYTHING. I don't feel like I overwater. For instance I watered a plant lightly this morning that hadn't been watered for 5 days, though the soil was pretty hard, the pot was VERY light compared to others that had recently been watered, but it didn't stop drooping. It gets really frustrating trying to get it right, and Its a weed. I thought it would be easier than this. I mean I've got tons of equipment. A great growbox with mylar covering the walls with a really decent fan blowing right out the top. Small intake fan at the bottom. I mean on paper everything is correct but its just not doing well. I don't even know what I'm asking but if anyone has any input id appreciate it, im just dumbfounded now.

 

[ErieR33FER]

Well firstly, you shouldn't be giving little plants like that bud bloom, when they're not even budding, and they're already in fertilized soil?

With all the product your using, your way over doing it bro.

Plants that size only need moderate doses of nitrogen in chemical or organic form... and other micro's obv in that stage of growth along with a healthy diet of clean water

 

[ErieR33FER]

Don't scrap em just lay off the nutrients for awhile, continue to normally water when pot feels light and don't wait any longer because they will wilt.

After they recover (could take a week or two be patient) only feed light amounts of a nitrogen based fert ONLY every other week.

Start giving em the bud bloom only when you start to see pre flowers even then they dontneed much cas ur soil is conditioned.

 

[ebenezerfagglegold]

big bloom isn't necessarily a blooming agent, its just a micronutrient rooting agent. it has .01,.03,.7 and even so I am giving them 1/5 the labeled dose for seedlings. I've only used these nutes ONCE yesterday and that's it. I had nute burns from the premixed micro concentrations in the soil and perlite, yet yellowing leaves leading one to believe there is a nitrogen deficiency going on. Perhaps I should just use the calmag and that's it. But the azamax was necessary due to fungus gnat larvae. I don't think I'm overdoing it at all man, I only fed once because of symptoms that looked like deficiencies, and even then I only used a 1/5 of the label for seedlings, even on my largest plants... Big blooms name kinda misleading. It isn't a strong blooming agent, but a micronutrient supposedly to be used for the entire life of the plant. Tiger Bloom is foxfarms blooming agent. Thanks for the reply and advice, I hate it when I have issues and get like tons of views but no responses, it sucks.

 

[ErieR33FER]

Why would they have anitrogen def when they're that small, and you soil is conditioned with fert?
Very unlikely
It's a weed bro your over thinking it.

I gave my two cents but it's up to you what your gonna do lol...good luck

 

[ebenezerfagglegold]

well the older leaves are yellowing like crazy and they're getting plenty of light even down there. you can see the bottom leaves that are yellow in the first pic. N deficiency is the only thing I can think of.. but the damn drooping and purple stems, and brown spots. I just don't get this shit, everything would seem like run of the mill stuff except for the fact that these plants, even that tiny fucker, are like a month old!

 

[ErieR33FER]

How about nutrient burn lol.

Dude I growmy beans twice the size ofthat in un ferted soil before I give anything other than Very light doses of nitrogen.

If you don't believe me keep pumping nutes to them and see what happens lol your choice..

 

[Red1966]

"10 26w equivalent CFLs" is like 80 watts. Ignore the "equivalent" rating. Its bullshit.

 

[ebenezerfagglegold]

im sorry they are 26 watts. 100watt equivalent. I've also got some 40w 200 watt eq in there as well. And for Erie, no I'm going to lay off all nutes except calmag but what do you think is causing the lower leaves to turn yellow? and why all the drooping if I'm letting the soil dry for like 5 days in some cases before I water? I'm just so dumbfounded at this grow. Maybe its literally just that the soil sucks donkey dick and that's the cause of all of my problems. But remember, I only fed 1 time at 1/5. all the problems were there before I did that.

 

[ebenezerfagglegold]

f

How about nutrient burn lol.

Dude I growmy beans twice the size ofthat in un ferted soil before I give anything other than Very light doses of nitrogen.

If you don't believe me keep pumping nutes to them and see what happens lol your choice..

hey man I just want to tell you that I appreciate the response and advice. That's exactly what I plan to do. I'll give them calmag(which is 2-0-0) every third watering until they recover. I suppose you're right. I just hate that I used this potting mix with the time released nutes. I guess I hadn't educated myself when I first planted these seeds. I do have 12 seeds left though and three bricks of coco coir on deck for the next one. I'm just really trying not to quit on these, but they are REEEALLy a pain in the ass.

 

[ErieR33FER]

f

hey man I just want to tell you that I appreciate the response and advice. That's exactly what I plan to do. I'll give them calmag(which is 2-0-0) every third watering until they recover. I suppose you're right. I just hate that I used this potting mix with the time released nutes. I guess I hadn't educated myself when I first planted these seeds. I do have 12 seeds left though and three bricks of coco coir on deck for the next one. I'm just really trying not to quit on these, but they are REEEALLy a pain in the ass.

Hey man no worries sorry it's a learning experience. You will be fine bro your still in the game as long as they are alive.

Patience .

I'm having a hard time myself with pests at the moment just gotta keep truckin

 

[kotaburnz]

I had the same prob with time released nutes. They kept making my ph drop to insane levels (4.7ish) and burning leaves. I ended up transplanting into soil from my outdoor garden amended with a shitload (50/50) of perlite which will kill off all insects/larvae in soil and make for nice drainage. Theyre all in theyre final weeks of flower right now and looking nice. So I guess if youre in a pinch you could try what I did. Just a suggestion. Peace

 

[Deusracing]

Good luck.. I hope they come back and thrive for ya... i too respect these guys and gals on here for their speedy responses and just kindness.

 

[ASMALLVOICE]

Hate to hear of your misfortunes with the plants m8.

If I had but one bit of advice to give, it is a simple one. Research, research and when you think you have an idea, research some more.
I personally researched for a little over 5 months while building my grow room before I ever cracked a bean and I still got knots knocked on my head.

To be successful, and this applies to a great deal in life as well and that is to begin with the end in mind. Research and study are the only cure for what ails you.

Peace

Asmallvoice

 

[racerboy71]

to me, it seems like you're letting them get way too dry before watering for one.. don't get 5 days, especially in small pots like those, in between waterings imo.
that's probably what's causing your droppiness.. under watering, and over watering both cause droppiness believe it or not.. but if you said they still felt light after watering them, my guess is you let the soil get to dry, and most of the water is just running off, and not really saturating the soil..i've had this happen in the past, and what i did was take them into the tub, turn on the water, not too hard, nor too soft, and then i'd place the pots under the running water, but make sure you don't wash all of the soil out of the top of the pots.. let them sit there for a good bit.. pick up the pots and get a feel for how heavy they're starting to feel.. once they're watered well, you'll notice a significant difference in weight.. after you get them nice and watered, just leave them in the tub for a good 10, 15 minutes or so as they'll be draining for a good few minutes..
once you get the soil rewet again, just make sure you water them more often.. stick your finger in the pots, and if they feel dry about an inch or so down, they're thirsty, and water till you see a good bit of run off coming out of the bottom of the pots..
secondly, stop feeding them for now... you've already got a lot of nutes in that soil imo..

 

[waterdawg]

As racer says dont let them dry out per say before watering. If you cant get them to a tub use multiple waterings, half then wait half hour and do the other half. Sorry about your issues! Ii had shit luck growing indoors with soil myself and quickly changed to hydro. Been a great rewarding hobby since! Good luck in sorting it out. There are some veryknowledgeable soil guys here fyi so listen up and they'll help you through this.

 

[waterdawg]

Also if you think its the soil get them into some new stuff. Im sure there are some great ones that could be suggested.

 

[ebenezerfagglegold]

Thanks yeah that was one issue I had early on was that my plants were wilting and for the life of me I couldn't figure out why. You hear so much about overwatering and how cannabis grows in the deserts of Afghanistan and loves it dry. Well anyway after trying like hell to figure out why my two young plants were failing, I watered them, checked an hour or two later and it was like nothing ever happened. quite awesome actually. Thanks for all the info guys, yeah I'm right next to a bathroom so I always take them to the tub. Man what a mess watering can be, I always have to turn the shower on to hose down the bathtub after I'm done. I watered yesterday and one thing that concerns me is that my runoff water ph was like dead on 6.0, and the water I put in was like 6.5-6.8. Can you REALLY alter the ph of your rootball by just phing your water, or do you really need sulfer and dolomitic lime and peatmoss and all that stuff?

 

[applejohnny]

Don't give up on them. It's a learning experience. If you think it's the soil then repot them. But I think they look ok - just not getting much light.

 

[DonAlejandroVega]

you used a poor medium, and knew you were; do I have this right?

*Jacque Cousteau's off back of boat*