Hempy Buckets, yellowing on lower leaves, help please <3 [HQ PICS]

bucketgirl2

bucketgirl2

Member
Hello there!


Doing my 3rd grow with my boyfriend, hempy bucket method used. In all 3 of my projects thus far I've had this lower leaf yellowing/dying issue and have yet to resolve it,...I assume it's lowering my yield but i have exhausted my problem solving skills with this one.....I'd appreciate some help! It does not outright KILL my grow but it's really bothering me. Heres the facts:

  • Hempy Bucket Method
  • 100% Perlite
  • Lucas Forumula (GH nutes....0ml-5ml-10ml per gal of micro/grow/bloom)
  • Cal-mag added in 1ml per gal every other feeding
  • Gradual increase in nute strength...just now reaching full power
  • Nutes made fresh for every feeding (2days)
  • RO water, PH balanced after mixing in nutes to 5.8-6.2ish (eyeballed....using a dropper for PH testing)
  • Mixed CFLs for lighting
  • Temps ok
  • Proper volume of intake/outtake in box

My box is in a closet....the only thing I can think of is that I'm not providing a fresh air intake from outside....its using the air in my room. But I'm very clean, and keep the filters on my AC and stuff all fresh.

Here's what it's definitely NOT:

NOT temps
NOT lighting
NOT watering incorrectly or using dirty water
NOT nute burn (ok im 99.9% sure here....I know it looks like N deficiency but I really don't think it is)
NOT ph issue (again, 99.9%)

I've tinkered with just about every aspect of the grow and have not solved this yet.

As you can see these plants are very young...started these germinating at the beginning of December and already the dreaded yellowing is rearing its ugly head. This will continue throughout the grow becoming increasing more severe as the plant gets bigger, eventually drying up and killing lower foliage entirely. Like I said...it doesn't KILL my plants but I know this can't be good. Help a girl out please, guys!

Thanks,

bgirl








UPDATE 12/30/10

I've given my plants increased Calmag (last feed was 5ml micro, 10ml bloom, 5ml cal-mag). The back of the cal-mag bottle suggests 1-2ml per gal so this is quite a bit more...the reasoning (provided by shnkrmn) is that the RO water I'm using is completely devoid of the calcium usually in tap water so this calmag is meant to cover that. In a couple of days I'll take a few pictures and we'll see how they are doing!
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B

bob stine

Member
looks hot hard to tell ventilation makes a huge difference i let a fan run when they get big (12" tall) 24/7 those dots on u'r leaves look like a combo of calcium and potassium to me....another thing i'm flowering in hempy's and i use 1 part vermiculite to 4 parts perlite the verm keeps the nutes more even trust me through out the medium and makes a good buffer (salts dont seem to build as much either)....just my take on it not saying its fact...i'd definitely up the calcium though
 
bucketgirl2

bucketgirl2

Member
In regards to mixing 25% verm 75% perlite, I had done that in the past but I'm trying pure perlite for the first time. I had the same issue using the verm mix as well
 
bucketgirl2

bucketgirl2

Member
My issue is slowly worsening, as expected...is RIU the place to be posting these questions? I haven't been around so I may be out of touch, but this place seems very quiet.
 
shnkrmn

shnkrmn

Well-Known Member
1ml/gal cal-mag every other watering is not enough to offset using RO water. I'm hydro but I've grown plenty hempy and I always use RO. 5ml/gal cal-mag during veg and bump it to 7-10ml/gal during the first couple weeks of flowering. Your spotting leaves are a Ca deficiency fairly certainly.

All my plants used to look like yours. They would get me a harvest, but . . .

I always used pure perlite except once. I didn't like the verm because it held too much water.

RIU responds to questions asked loudly and repeatedly. You have 21 posts in in 15 months, so people hardly know who you are. Not exactly establishing a brand, eh?

Anyhow, I hope this helps.
 
H

Hash Hound

Well-Known Member
Hi bucketgirl2
Just finishing up a Northern Light hempy grow. I had a lot of yellowing problems from the time I started her on 12/12. Never really figured out the problem. Now she is in the 13th week of flowering and hasn't had a large leaf left since week 9 or 10. However the plant is still growing. Fox tailing like crazy and doesn't want to stop growing. Only leaves left are small single ones on the buds. I'm not sure that's good, but that's the situation at hand. Probably going to let her go a while longer. I posted a question for some advice in a few forums. Some say pull her and some let her grow. Going to leave it up to my friend. He has a greener thumb. I am more the techno research guy, lol
Best of luck with yours
 
shnkrmn

shnkrmn

Well-Known Member
The first few weeks of flowering really increase the demand for calcium and magnesium. That's why your plants started looking bad as soon as they start flowering. Losing all your fan leaves is the typical outcome of this deficiency if left untreated.
 
J

Japanfreak

New Member
I used to use lucas for years in dwc and when I made the switch to Hempy buckets I continued out of force of habit but wasn't very happy with my results, decided to use the recipe on the back of the bottles and got much better results and yield.

If you know your ppm of your tap water and if it's under 300 here is my advice. Stop using R.O., throw out the cal-mag and just follow the recipe on the bottles with a pinch of epsome salt per gallon.
 
bucketgirl2

bucketgirl2

Member
Ah, I will bump up my calmag to 5mg/g and see what happens, thanks for the tip.

I did not know the side effect of using RO water exclusively was a cal deficiency.... I just assumed calmag was a good idea since it was recommended almost universally with the hempy system users.

In regards to using tap....I don't have an EC or PPM meter but did take a sample of my tap water (well water) to a hydro place and if I recall it was over 500ppm so I banished the thought of using it.


Thanks for the replies...I'll post back in a couple of days with results of calmag testing
 
Snow Crash

Snow Crash

Well-Known Member
Plants need a surprising amount of Calcium. My 5-4-3 nutrients have 4.5% calcium in it (more than P and K). That's with the expectation of having around 100ppm of Calcium in the tap water most people to use. Good call on that advice for sure!

Second thing I'd like to bring up is the foliar feeding.

Are you including a surfactant in that? What is the solution inside it contain and at what strength? Are you raising the lights when you do it?
Basically... If the answers aren't "Yes, a little micro nutrients, yes" then you're probably doing that wrong as well. Look into proper foliar feeding methods if you'd like but I think you'd be better served focusing on your root zone rather than trying to offset its weakness by feeding the leaves directly.

Finally I need to point out that your pH methods are at best approximate and that is just too unreliable when dealing with a nutrient deficiency. $40 might seem like a lot right now for a Hanna pH meter, but it will pay for itself in one grow, I promise you that. You need to keep that pH closer to 5.8 to keep the presence of pH spotting from creating a variety of issues that become nearly impossible to diagnose.

If you think you could use more ventilation then you probably could but I don't think that's the issue or solution in this case.

Honestly though, I don't think they look too bad at this point for being clones. They're still pretty young and could probably use a few weeks of stability before making any rash decisions. Getting that Cal-Mag solid and just balancing the pH to exactly 5.8 every time is going to help you ensure that the causes of this problem are not nutritionally based. Then I think it'd be safe to address other things like off gassing plastics or things like the Mosaic Virus.
 
Grumpy Old Dreamer

Grumpy Old Dreamer

Well-Known Member
Snow Crash said:
Plants need a surprising amount of Calcium. My 5-4-3 nutrients have 4.5% calcium in it (more than P and K). That's with the expectation of having around 100ppm of Calcium in the tap water most people to use. Good call on that advice for sure!

Second thing I'd like to bring up is the foliar feeding.

Are you including a surfactant in that? What is the solution inside it contain and at what strength? Are you raising the lights when you do it?
Basically... If the answers aren't "Yes, a little micro nutrients, yes" then you're probably doing that wrong as well. Look into proper foliar feeding methods if you'd like but I think you'd be better served focusing on your root zone rather than trying to offset its weakness by feeding the leaves directly.

Finally I need to point out that your pH methods are at best approximate and that is just too unreliable when dealing with a nutrient deficiency. $40 might seem like a lot right now for a Hanna pH meter, but it will pay for itself in one grow, I promise you that. You need to keep that pH closer to 5.8 to keep the presence of pH spotting from creating a variety of issues that become nearly impossible to diagnose.

If you think you could use more ventilation then you probably could but I don't think that's the issue or solution in this case.

Honestly though, I don't think they look too bad at this point for being clones. They're still pretty young and could probably use a few weeks of stability before making any rash decisions. Getting that Cal-Mag solid and just balancing the pH to exactly 5.8 every time is going to help you ensure that the causes of this problem are not nutritionally based. Then I think it'd be safe to address other things like off gassing plastics or things like the Mosaic Virus.
Click to expand...
They are seedlings, not clones.
 
J

Japanfreak

New Member
Snow Crash said:
Plants need a surprising amount of Calcium. My 5-4-3 nutrients have 4.5% calcium in it (more than P and K). That's with the expectation of having around 100ppm of Calcium in the tap water most people to use. Good call on that advice for sure!

Second thing I'd like to bring up is the foliar feeding.

Are you including a surfactant in that? What is the solution inside it contain and at what strength? Are you raising the lights when you do it?
Basically... If the answers aren't "Yes, a little micro nutrients, yes" then you're probably doing that wrong as well. Look into proper foliar feeding methods if you'd like but I think you'd be better served focusing on your root zone rather than trying to offset its weakness by feeding the leaves directly.

Finally I need to point out that your pH methods are at best approximate and that is just too unreliable when dealing with a nutrient deficiency. $40 might seem like a lot right now for a Hanna pH meter, but it will pay for itself in one grow, I promise you that. You need to keep that pH closer to 5.8 to keep the presence of pH spotting from creating a variety of issues that become nearly impossible to diagnose.

If you think you could use more ventilation then you probably could but I don't think that's the issue or solution in this case.

Honestly though, I don't think they look too bad at this point for being clones. They're still pretty young and could probably use a few weeks of stability before making any rash decisions. Getting that Cal-Mag solid and just balancing the pH to exactly 5.8 every time is going to help you ensure that the causes of this problem are not nutritionally based. Then I think it'd be safe to address other things like off gassing plastics or things like the Mosaic Virus.
Click to expand...
Her nute balance and strength is off. Is it really that hard to say? The rest of your advice is nonsense.
 
bucketgirl2

bucketgirl2

Member
Lets all be friends! I'm really excited to see what happens when i dose up that calmag since I've had this problem spanning over 3 grows and have yet to try this. Feeding them increased calmag nutes today so the next few days should be promising...pics to come...

PH testing in hempy - is it required? I dunno. I'm trying to emphasize it more (testing nutes after letting them sit, testing runoff, etc) just because I've got this yellowing problem. If it turns out the calmag completely solves it then I don't think it is necessary to continue fucking with it. To be honest, I rarely adjust it anyway even if I notice the color is a little off in my dropper kit. All that being said I am planning on getting a digital tester since I'm considering using other hydro tech for my next grow (unless these hempies turn out as beautiful as I'm hoping they will).

I'm glad that I've attracted a couple hempy experts out there...information on this method is sparse and generic. It's a shame since this is such a great way to grow hydro! There used to be a thread on here by a guy named Azgrow I believe....it was a great resource but became bogged down with flames and such and was eventually pruned off the forums. Maybe sometime the small collective of hempy growers can pool together and start a new one, with solid information like this. You know how much stress I could have avoided if I knew there were drawbacks to RO water? I'm by no means a pro but I have learned a thing or two myself and would be glad to contribute.

with green love,
bgirl
 
J

Japanfreak

New Member
profgerbik said:
im going to tell you from experience not to spray your plants while the light is on, the light will be magnified and literally burn holes into the leaves of your plants even with well ventilated areas,
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Use a drop of liquid dish soap as a wetting agent and it's fine.
 
J

Japanfreak

New Member
profgerbik said:
personally this is why i always use bubblers, aeroponics and drip systems to get the job done
Click to expand...
You use those systems because her nute balance is off? That makes no sense to me. I've also grown in all those systems and if she used the same balance she's been using it would happen in all of them.
 
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