Help!!! What am I doing wrong with these plants????

[GiovanniJones]

I'll post updates as things move forward.
I appreciate everyone's comments here ... I'm taking them all seriously and will do my best to figure things out.

 

[GiovanniJones]

What I can say though is that last summer, I found my outdoor plants a lot easier to grow than the indoor ones. In a natural setting, it's so much harder to screw things up.

 

[MicroHaze]

Atmospheric conditions are a huge deal indoors dude. Particulary with soil in my opinion. I would make sure that your VPD is in check. VPD or Vapour Pressure Deficit
is sort of just a fancy way if saying “relationship between temp and humidity”. This relationship needs to be sussed out as part of the troubleshooting process. For example if you have temps of 80f and RH of 29% your plants are going to look miserable. I just want to throw that in there as it should be part of the conversation in the same way cal mag / compost teas / brands of soil are discussed as possible solutions. Google “cannabis VPD” in images. Print out one of those charts and make sure you are in a Temp/RH safe zone.

 

[Bugeye]

Your photos show zero evidence of undernourishment, just the opposite. I think you misdiagnosed them and probably compounded issues.

 

[GiovanniJones]

I would make sure that your VPD is in check. VPD or Vapour Pressure Deficit is sort of just a fancy way if saying “relationship between temp and humidity”.ess. For example if you have temps of 80f and RH of 29% your plants are going to look miserable. I just want to throw that in there as it should be part of the conversation in the same way cal mag / compost teas / brands of soil are discussed as possible solutions. Google “cannabis VPD” in images. Print out one of those charts and make sure you are in a Temp/RH safe zone.

I get so excited when I get an email that someone has responded to my thread, lol.

This is new to me and seems like great words for me to learn from, thanks for that. I'm definitely in a red zone with my VPD ... totally not good.
My problem is that with my furnace on, it's hard to ever get to 40% RH in my home. With a small humidifier, I can barely get it to go above 40%.
I am considering getting a Honeywell whole-house humidifier installed to my duct system. They're not cheap but I wanted one to make the air better to breathe. It should help the plants, but I can't get it right away.

Any advice?

 

[GiovanniJones]

Your photos show zero evidence of undernourishment, just the opposite. I think you misdiagnosed them and probably compounded issues.

Is it possible to overnourish with just Stepwell's living, super soil (and earlier, a bit of Fox Farm Happy Frog) with only reverse-osmosis water? I haven't added any nutes. Sorry, if I sound like a total noob, I am. This is just my second grow.

I've heard that using reverse-osmisis water can lead to cal-mag deficiencies. But I've seen what looks like it might be nitrogen claw on some plants. Can it be over in some nutes and under in others?

I went the organic soil route to make things simpler, but it's not so simple still. I'm going to try somehow to correct my low-humidity issues asap, as well as use a different soil when I transplant to larger pots.

There's a place near me called Pagonis that makes super soils. They use no peat moss whatsoever and their base is 40% EWC, which they make on their own earthworm farm because they really focus on microbial activity. Maybe I'll have better luck with a better balanced organic soil. I've heard that lately that many are way too high in peat moss to cut costs.

 

[GiovanniJones]

I had my humidifier outside my grow near the intake vent. I'm going to place it inside the room so that the humidity is direct and better contained, but the mist might hit some plants. Is this ok?

 

[JohnDee]

I get so excited when I get an email that someone has responded to my thread, lol.

This is new to me and seems like great words for me to learn from, thanks for that. I'm definitely in a red zone with my VPD ... totally not good.
My problem is that with my furnace on, it's hard to ever get to 40% RH in my home. With a small humidifier, I can barely get it to go above 40%.
I am considering getting a Honeywell whole-house humidifier installed to my duct system. They're not cheap but I wanted one to make the air better to breathe. It should help the plants, but I can't get it right away.

Any advice?

As a short term thing...it is possible to locally create a micro-climate in your grow room. I've used trays of water...wet towels...whatever.
JD

 

[MicroHaze]

Yeah I agree with the above statement- if you have a tent - once your plants are big enough and fill the tent the presence of the plants will up the humidity just by existing. Although i’m not sure it applies to you as you’ve got a ton of plants not sure if You have a tent

Regarding the stepwell soil: i’ve used it before and my opinion was documented over at the peakseeds thread. Fact of the matter is i’ve never seen anyone “kill it” with their product.
I’m not saying its not possible to do well with step well - I just have nt seen it. From my experience the one key nutrient that stepwell is missing is oxygen. Stepwell is some dense stuff. Felt like I was growing in clay.

I would find a soil mix that is well documented has proven results, and go for it. Build your own. Check out greenhighlander’s basic medical grow part 1/2/3. The guys slays growing peak seeds strains with his mix and is recipe is all stuff available in Canada. Even he’ll admit that blueberry is a bit sensitive to his mix. And he does nt normally fuck with that strain.

One last word- You could look at it this way:
Optimal VPD would mean your plant is breathing /transpiring optimally. If you are
In the VPD red Zone your plant is not in a position to feed optimally.

Hope that helps dude.

 

[GiovanniJones]

Thanks for such a thoughtful response.
I’ll do my best to correct the humidity right now and work towards better soil mixes soon.

Quick question though ... I built a walled, 5x5 grow room (and posted pics on my IG account). Is it ok to have a humidifier right inside the room? I’d love to do it but I’m scared of mold issues if the mist coming out of it falls on some leaves, keeping them perpetually moist. Should this be a concern or should I just do it and not worry?

 

[JohnDee]

Thanks for such a thoughtful response.
I’ll do my best to correct the humidity right now and work towards better soil mixes soon.

Quick question though ... I built a walled, 5x5 grow room (and posted pics on my IG account). Is it ok to have a humidifier right inside the room? I’d love to do it but I’m scared of mold issues if the mist coming out of it falls on some leaves, keeping them perpetually moist. Should this be a concern or should I just do it and not worry?

If it's the kind with a reservoir with a belt on rollers dipping into water. They require maintenance and can be a source of mold. So I would say no to that type.
JD

 

[Bugeye]

Is it possible to overnourish with just Stepwell's living, super soil (and earlier, a bit of Fox Farm Happy Frog) with only reverse-osmosis water? I haven't added any nutes. Sorry, if I sound like a total noob, I am. This is just my second grow.

I've heard that using reverse-osmisis water can lead to cal-mag deficiencies. But I've seen what looks like it might be nitrogen claw on some plants. Can it be over in some nutes and under in others?

I went the organic soil route to make things simpler, but it's not so simple still. I'm going to try somehow to correct my low-humidity issues asap, as well as use a different soil when I transplant to larger pots.

There's a place near me called Pagonis that makes super soils. They use no peat moss whatsoever and their base is 40% EWC, which they make on their own earthworm farm because they really focus on microbial activity. Maybe I'll have better luck with a better balanced organic soil. I've heard that lately that many are way too high in peat moss to cut costs.

If the plants you took a picture of are an all organic mix with only RO water added, I would look for a different soil for sure, not good. I water an all organic grow with rainwater, similar to ro in being very soft. Sometimes I do supplement with liquid cal/mag if I see signs of plants needing it.

 

[knowing]

I doubt ur problem is RH. I grow in the winter indoors here RH can sit at 30% for days an my plants don’t mind it. Low Humidity will not do that.
Check your PH runoff.

 

[GiovanniJones]

If the plants you took a picture of are an all organic mix with only RO water added, I would look for a different soil for sure, not good. I water an all organic grow with rainwater, similar to ro in being very soft. Sometimes I do supplement with liquid cal/mag if I see signs of plants needing it.

Do you think that cal/mag would help? I've never added nurients before.
I will definitely try a different living soil next time.

 

[Bugeye]

I don’t have any quick fix ideas for this crop. If your soil is just plain bad, you are in a tough spot.

 

[GiovanniJones]

I don’t have any quick fix ideas for this crop. If your soil is just plain bad, you are in a tough spot.

Ok. I guess it is what it is and I can learn from it. This weekend I'll be pulling out all the males, which will give me the space to transplant into larger pots.

For this, I will be using the best soil available locally (which is actually supposed to be pretty darn good ... I hope it's true). I'll keep everyone here updated and can't thank you all enough for your support.

 

[Harry Bonanza]

You just havent made a tea hot enough yet and burnt your plants with it yet I guess,
but yes you can over do it with compost teas.

No I guess I haven’t but my teas aren’t designed to deliver nutrients to my plants. They’re designed to feed my soil. Maybe I’ve always mixed weak but I’ve never burnt my plants since I’ve gone organic. I’ve had PH issues but never nute burn. The idea behind my soil is that the plant takes what it needs. It’s also new to me, this will be my 2nd year with living soil. Im certainly not against being corrected.

 

[madvillian420]

No I guess I haven’t but my teas aren’t designed to deliver nutrients to my plants. They’re designed to feed my soil. Maybe I’ve always mixed weak but I’ve never burnt my plants since I’ve gone organic. I’ve had PH issues but never nute burn. The idea behind my soil is that the plant takes what it needs. It’s also new to me, this will be my 2nd year with living soil. Im certainly not against being corrected.

Same. Ive mixed compost teas for a single plant so strong i abandoned measuring teaspoons for giant handfuls of ingredients and even then didnt see any burn

 

[Harry Bonanza]

Same. Ive mixed compost teas for a single plant so strong i abandoned measuring teaspoons for giant handfuls of ingredients and even then didnt see any burn

I’m not one to demand I’m right but I just finished reading “Teaming With Microbes” and remember it specifically saying “you cannot overdue it with compost teas”. I’ll look for the quote because I’m now doubting myself haha. I was most definitely high when I read it but it’s the premise of the book. You don’t feed the plant, you feed the soil. The plant eats what it wants and the rest goes back into the soil food web

 

[GiovanniJones]

I just finished reading “Teaming With Microbes”

Hi Harry, since you brought this book up, what made you decide to read it? Would you recommend it for learning about organic soils, as well as any other books?