riddleme
Well-Known Member
One of the most common things you see on this (and other) forum is experienced growers telling the new growers that you need to learn how to read your plants.
I was thinking about this and decided that a thread to steer new growers in the right direction by sharing with them how we do this might be fun.
The plants will always tell us when something is not right, understanding what it is they are telling us is key to reaching our goals of happy plants and higher yields
If you are a new grower, hangin out here to learn, one of the best things you can do is spend time in the plant problem forum reading threads and looking at the pics then watching the answers. Several things will happen, you will start to see who the more experienced growers are giving you a better idea of threads you might want to follow or just read. You will start to see what we call forum retoric, things that are repeated without actual experience ie: ph problem (actually very rare) and Mag deficiency. Some of these can be very confusing to new growers so seeing these patterns is a big help in overcoming this potential confusion.
A huge help in this process is a book called Marijuana Garden Saver $15 as it covers all the deficiencies, pest, diseases with pics, explanations and all known cures as well as preventative measures.
there are spots, burns, color changes, tips curling up or down, serated edges curling up or down, the dreaded eagle claw, stems drooping or standing erect, leaves drooping, the list goes on and on.
But one of the things we don't see a lot of is an explanation of what a happy plant looks like? they are green, not to dark, not to light (varies with strains) they are relaxed leaves not drooping or erect just kinda hangin out with no tips or edges curling. They tend to use more water staying on regular watering schedules. They grow faster exhibiting regular growth spurts. They only lose the leaves they are done with that are no longer needed for thier intended goals. Happy plants live in perfectly dialed in gardens where all elements light, water, medium, temp, humidity,PH, nutes, airflow circulation etc have been tweaked to the very best possible.
If you do spend time in the plant problem forum you will see so/to many threads where the grower will not know what the humidity is? will not have a way to check PH? Have no understanding whatsoever of what a plant needs. In fact a big percentage of these threads start out with "threw some seeds in some dirt and now this is happening,,,,,,,,,HELP???"
You will start to understand why we say Less is More and KISS Keep it Stupid Simple.
But learning to read and understand the problems that occur is just one part of your journey. You must also get a grasp on simple botany, learning to understand what plants are doing and what makes them tick? What exactly is it that they want? They will tell you if only you will listen? For example did you know that calcium levels need to equal the sodium levels in your water? That too much molasses will bind with N and lock it out? Most new growers don't have even the notion of what it is that needs to be learned, let alone how to learn it?
And finally the best kept secret of all, they will actually talk to you! Not verbally, not with statements that you hear, it's more like metal telepathy, kinda like a vulcan mind meld. Here is how to recognize that this is happening, pay very close attention to what you do in your garden and more specifically WHY you do it. That sudden urge to go check your plants during dinner or in the middle of your favorite tv show, only to find droopy leaves or some other problem? An unknowing desire to add something to your nute regimen. If you pay attention you will start to see what I'm talking about and you will become more open to it. Once this relationship fosters you will have a much better understanding of what is going on in your garden
I hope other experienced growers will chime in with how they read thier plants and that perhaps this thread can become a good foundation for all the new growers out there looking to learn.
I was thinking about this and decided that a thread to steer new growers in the right direction by sharing with them how we do this might be fun.
The plants will always tell us when something is not right, understanding what it is they are telling us is key to reaching our goals of happy plants and higher yields
If you are a new grower, hangin out here to learn, one of the best things you can do is spend time in the plant problem forum reading threads and looking at the pics then watching the answers. Several things will happen, you will start to see who the more experienced growers are giving you a better idea of threads you might want to follow or just read. You will start to see what we call forum retoric, things that are repeated without actual experience ie: ph problem (actually very rare) and Mag deficiency. Some of these can be very confusing to new growers so seeing these patterns is a big help in overcoming this potential confusion.
A huge help in this process is a book called Marijuana Garden Saver $15 as it covers all the deficiencies, pest, diseases with pics, explanations and all known cures as well as preventative measures.
there are spots, burns, color changes, tips curling up or down, serated edges curling up or down, the dreaded eagle claw, stems drooping or standing erect, leaves drooping, the list goes on and on.
But one of the things we don't see a lot of is an explanation of what a happy plant looks like? they are green, not to dark, not to light (varies with strains) they are relaxed leaves not drooping or erect just kinda hangin out with no tips or edges curling. They tend to use more water staying on regular watering schedules. They grow faster exhibiting regular growth spurts. They only lose the leaves they are done with that are no longer needed for thier intended goals. Happy plants live in perfectly dialed in gardens where all elements light, water, medium, temp, humidity,PH, nutes, airflow circulation etc have been tweaked to the very best possible.
If you do spend time in the plant problem forum you will see so/to many threads where the grower will not know what the humidity is? will not have a way to check PH? Have no understanding whatsoever of what a plant needs. In fact a big percentage of these threads start out with "threw some seeds in some dirt and now this is happening,,,,,,,,,HELP???"
You will start to understand why we say Less is More and KISS Keep it Stupid Simple.
But learning to read and understand the problems that occur is just one part of your journey. You must also get a grasp on simple botany, learning to understand what plants are doing and what makes them tick? What exactly is it that they want? They will tell you if only you will listen? For example did you know that calcium levels need to equal the sodium levels in your water? That too much molasses will bind with N and lock it out? Most new growers don't have even the notion of what it is that needs to be learned, let alone how to learn it?
And finally the best kept secret of all, they will actually talk to you! Not verbally, not with statements that you hear, it's more like metal telepathy, kinda like a vulcan mind meld. Here is how to recognize that this is happening, pay very close attention to what you do in your garden and more specifically WHY you do it. That sudden urge to go check your plants during dinner or in the middle of your favorite tv show, only to find droopy leaves or some other problem? An unknowing desire to add something to your nute regimen. If you pay attention you will start to see what I'm talking about and you will become more open to it. Once this relationship fosters you will have a much better understanding of what is going on in your garden
I hope other experienced growers will chime in with how they read thier plants and that perhaps this thread can become a good foundation for all the new growers out there looking to learn.
