Arghh! Plant problem please help!

quicklike

Active Member
Okie dokie, so I have 2 plants growing in vegetive state about 23 inches high, both in fox farm soil, and I am using fox farm grow big nutrients.

I've grown them to where they are now, and had few problems, (wish I had a camera for u guys) but lately, especially on one plant, the lower leaves are yellowing, and it is SLOWLY, moving upwards. The leaves become so weak that just touching the stem of the leaf would make it fall off from the branch...

The new growth is steady and appears to be perfectly fine, but I am worried that this will continue destroying my beautiful babies.

I PH my water/nutrient solution to 6.5-7.0, the soil PH is 6.8 says my PH wand....

I just don't know what I did wrong, over water? and Should I flush the plants, let them go, opinions ? thanks in advance guys.
 

mogie

Well-Known Member
What is the temp in your grow room? What kind of lights are your using? What strenght? How often? Do you use a moisture wand? What size of container? What kind of soil?
 

quicklike

Active Member
The tempeture is almost constantly 80 degrees, slightly dropping at night, never above 80.

400W Sunsystem metal halide / Exhaust fan, and fan blowing on plants

Panda filmed the corner of my walk in closet, floor covered also.

I'm using fox farms soil / 5 gallon buckets

I do not have a moisture wand.
 

quicklike

Active Member
I was following fox farms feeding schedule but I did nute them twice in a row as they don't recommend I guess... ( regular water every other time )

I also think I might have been giving them to much water... I'm not really sure on how much water I should be giving them in 5 gallon buckets....

I've been using 1 tspn per 50OZ of water as my pump sprayer holds...
 

babygro

Well-Known Member
Firstly, why is it nearly 2 feet tall in vegetative growth? Is it a mother you're keeping for clones? If you're going to put it into flower, you're looking at a plant that's going to double or treble in size - hope your grow rooms big enough!

Secondly, regarding the yellowing leaves, that sounds like Nitrogen deficiency to me and these plants use a lot of nitrogen in veg growth. Don't automatically assume that because it's Nitrogen deficient you should start giving it nutrients - whats the pot size? Have you repotted recently or has the plant become pot bound? What often happens when a plants been in the same pot for a few weeks is that it uses up all the available nutrients existant in the soil, but if it's out-grown it's pot size, then you need to repot into fresh soil which will provide the nutrients it needs for growth. Plants about 4 weeks old or longer should be in 2-3 gallon pots or larger.
 

quicklike

Active Member
Ya I know I have seen countless pictures are read so much I can't find a place i havent read, I guess I just don't trust myself enough to make a decision lol.

I think I overwatered, overferted them, or they have lockup or somethin... I think I am going to flush the plants ...

One thing I still have never been able to get a good answer on, is how much water should I be giving them, in 5 gallon buckets, soil down about 3-4 inches from the rim of the pot ... that is what I really need to know..
 

mogie

Well-Known Member
I use and recommend the single probe Rapidtest moisture meter. It is available from most of the major garden centers for under $20. This meter reads consistently without using batteries. It is invaluable for determining watering schedules, which vary tremendously from plant to plant, overwatered conditions, and uneven moisture distribution within the container. Rapidtest also sells a shorter, two probe model which should be avoided. Make this investment, monitor conditions regularly, and reap the rewards at harvest.

Growers that allow their medium to dry out to the point at which the leaves "droop" are reducing their final yields and quality. The medium contains a certain amount of salts that dramatically increase in concentration as the water dissipates. The roots can be repeatedly stressed going through this technique called "wet/dry cycle". The plant is being deprived of moisture that would be available to fuel additional growth and suffers.

The moisture meter's probe should be inserted to various depths to accurately assess conditions. The Rapidtest has a 1-4 scale on the meter, but what is imporatant is relative moisture. The lower potion of the medium in the container should not be so consistently and constantly moist as to "bury the needle" at the top of the scale. The middle depths of the container should be kept in the upper half section of the meter's range and the top should be allowed to dry out to the lower half of the range before rewatering.

This is far more accurate to the lifting and guessing game played by many. The weight of the container does not indicate where the moisture is inside. A grower would never really know if things at the bottom were oversaturated without a probe to tell them. If the bottom is soaked and never dries out, the container feels "heavy" even though other areas may be quite dry. Many grower use large, tight grids of 3-5 gallon containers which can amount to 40-100+ containers. How could they use the lift and guess method, if they can hardly reach some of my plants just to water and prune them. It would be impossible and bad for their backs to use anything except a moisture meter. In other situations the plants are attached to fixed supports, such as SCROG or simply tied up prohibiting movement. There is no more accurate or versatile way to determine your watering schedule.
 

quicklike

Active Member
thank you i appreciate that... one thing I have noticed in these 5 gallon buckets when I water them enough to saturate the entire soil, the bottom of the pot is quite moist for a long period of time because it gets no heat or anything, its almost as if they bottom of the bucket retains all the water that settled, i do have drainage holes, I guess I am seeing that 5 gallon buckets arent the best ?
 

quicklike

Active Member
Hey mogie, I just got a rapidtest meter and, leached the plants with 7 gallons of good water each. The rapidtest meter read 2 even after I flushed the plants, kinda weird, any insight on that ?
 

Air

Well-Known Member
I have heard from a good friend of mine (who has many crops under his belt) that 400 watt metal halides can only protrude about 2 feet into your canopy at max) How close is the light to your plants? I would believe that the cause of your yellowing leafs is bad lighting down low to em. They are so damn tall If I were you I would start flowering them now and just pluck all those branches that are yellow off.
 

quicklike

Active Member
I wish I had a better camera cuz this little logitech usb is making my plants look horendous. I totally believe that my light is no longer penetrating the lower portion of my plants enough at all. I am trying to sell this sun system light so I can purchase a 1000W hps light and just flower them asap they are definately getting to big !

I leached the plants last night with " superleach " and tons of water, and this morning they look very very happy.

Still don't understand why the rapidtest read 2 when my soil is completely soaked ?
 
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