first grow plants dying...need help

So i started these plants about mid may for my first grow all were started as clones and grew great up until this point. in my veg room (where the mothers are staying for now) i have them under 6 32w 4' t8 daylight flourescents in 5 gallon pots with holes drilled in the bottom and a box fan blowing down the center of the plants. I recently had a problem with spider mites and gnats which i originally assumed was what was killing the plant. i killed off the spider mites with a dishsoap blend i looked up and added fly strips and hydrogen peroxide to kill off the gnats. I'm thinking about adding a layer of sand on top of the soil to kill off the remaining gnats (not sure if it will work) all in all im trying to avoid using chemicals if i can. about a week ago i noticed small yellow/white dots here and there on some of the leaves. just in a day or 2 those spots got way bigger and those leaves started drooping and now are just falling off. i ordered a meter for checking ph npk and moisture but im still waiting in the mail for it. ill post posts of the leaves. sorry the pics are crappy quality. please any help is greatly appreciated.

Safer Insecticidal Soap is organic - http://www.saferbrand.com/store/garden-care/5110 - You can find it locally also. I'm no expert but those look like damage from bugs. Other than that the plants look healthy. Personally I think the sand will just wash away into the soil when you water.

Come to think of it... I started getting the same colored spots on some of my clones, but it was burn marks from the HO T5 lights I use for clones, but they are not as spread out as yours. Despite what I have read they can burn your leaves. I normally get gnats on my other house plants when I over water, maybe let them dry out some between watering, works for my house plants.

well i know that i did make the noob mistake of over watering hense the gnats. so i am letting them dry out. also i just got my meter in the mail after posting this and checked my ph levels. im getting about 7.2 in all my plants and about 7.4 in my water res. on a couple of the plants i noticed just the tip 1/4" or so just folded straight down like almost a perfect fold all the way around and some of the edges of the leaves are turning yellow and brown is this because of the ph levels? my meter unfortunatly doesnt have an npk reading so i have to buy another one

also any thaughts on using a bug bomb in the grow room? i heard it was a great idea from a guy at the local grow shop just kinda not sure because i intend to smoke the bud not the bug bomb

make sure you don't have any spider mites still those bastards come back with ease! THATS MY MAIN ADVICE HONESTLY...but I must say your ladies arnt dying, Yes there may be an issue but lets not jump the gun here... Mary is a hardy plant and can survive some harsh and stressful conditions and your plants have not reached a critical level by any means, I think this being your first grow you may be freaking a little, which I understand completely, its hard not to OVER baby your babies,... wondering have you thought about getting them some better light maybe a 400 HPS? for flowering mainly

PeaceGrow said:

make sure you don't have any spider mites still those bastards come back with ease! THATS MY MAIN ADVICE HONESTLY...but I must say your ladies arnt dying, Yes there may be an issue but lets not jump the gun here... Mary is a hardy plant and can survive some harsh and stressful conditions and your plants have not reached a critical level by any means, I think this being your first grow you may be freaking a little, which I understand completely, its hard not to OVER baby your babies,... wondering have you thought about getting them some better light maybe a 400 HPS? for flowering mainly

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my flower room does have a 400w hps set up in it but my plans are a SoG. i already have 10 clones that have taken root and im about to throw under that. im trying to let the mothers dry out real good right now as i think the gnats are my main problem then i think im going to wash with mitey wash to make sure all the mites are gone. also my temps in the room stay at about 75 which is perfect but i think my humidity is staying high. it reads on average about 70%. is this bad for vegging mothers? does humidity really only matter in flower?

In my one tank I keep my ph at about 6.5 - 6.6, they prefer it to be slightly acidic. My soil plants I water with 6.6 to 6.8. Your humidity is too high, get yourself a dehumidifier. I keep mine around 30% - 40%, but that works for me. If you running several tanks, that explains the high humidity. Even opening the window (if you have one) will help a little, but watch the smell. Mine don't smell much in veg stage, but again that's just mine. In flowering high humidity can cause mold from what I have read, especially during drying, but I have not gotten to that point just yet.

go to wallyworld and get a bag of cedar bedding for rabbits or what ever, set a couple bowls bags or toss some on the floor.. i have put a small layer ontop the soil in my pot to keep bugs out,, just move them over or remove them to water the plant.. bugs dislike cedar chips.. i live on the side of a mountain and i put cedar chips everywhere best non chemical bug repellent around

at 7.4 PH in soil your locking out ALOT of nutes.
6.5 is target

bass1014 said:

go to wallyworld and get a bag of cedar bedding for rabbits or what ever, set a couple bowls bags or toss some on the floor.. i have put a small layer ontop the soil in my pot to keep bugs out,, just move them over or remove them to water the plant.. bugs dislike cedar chips.. i live on the side of a mountain and i put cedar chips everywhere best non chemical bug repellent around

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ok im gonna try the cedar on friday. i do see i still have knats crawling in the soil. do you think thats cause for the damage on the leaves?

Yodazherb said:

at 7.4 PH in soil your locking out ALOT of nutes.
6.5 is target

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thats what i was thinking as well so im trying lemon juice to bring it down. any other suggestions for raising and lowering? in a soil grow of course.and should i make a seperate water bottle or just lower my whole 5 gal water res?

The spots look awfully large, spread-out and brown to be mites.....?

Do you spray your plants at all? Even just a few water droplets with lights on, or small splashes of nutrient solution will burn the plant like that... also, calcium deficiencies often start with random tan spots...

I WOULD do whatever nessesary to prevent/dissuade any possible pests--
but you also need to look at your pH (way too high! And Lemon juice WILL make for more gnats & can ferment! Get pH adjuster- it's cheap!)
and the nutes you use, and be sure to NEVER put the plants back under thlights wet--
carry a spray bottle of plain water with you when you feed them- if you splash any nutes on them, spray it off immediately, then let them dry before putting them back under the lights.

The sand works great for gnats.... and I would think the cedar would work in pans around the plants (Great Idea BTW!)

You haven't said what or how much you feed them, or what soil they are in.. this may be part of the issue-- more info= more help for you!

I have only fed them once so far which i know is bad and it was after the spots started forming. I am using a line from organic solution for the food. Im working on getting an npk meter so i can better diagnose what my food res is at.also i was misting them with the water and peroxide mix trying to kill the gnats. I didnt think it would hurt them just under flouros but ill try to avoid that now.

indoorharvester said:

also any thaughts on using a bug bomb in the grow room? i heard it was a great idea from a guy at the local grow shop just kinda not sure because i intend to smoke the bud not the bug bomb

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NO!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! think of plants man, use a bleach solution in water and scrub your room. neem oil for bugs.

silasraven said:

NO!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! think of plants man, use a bleach solution in water and scrub your room. neem oil for bugs.

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Would yoy spray the neem oil directly on the plants or just the room around it and pots etc.?

Malathion and (wettable) sulphur! Mix up a little and mist your plants.

Yodazherb said:

at 7.4 PH in soil your locking out ALOT of nutes.
6.5 is target

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Correct. Which could very well be the cause of the yellow spots. Usually from ph issues. And in turn will cause many other signs of deficiencies

indoorharvester said:

Would yoy spray the neem oil directly on the plants or just the room around it and pots etc.?

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Neem oil water mixture applied foliar. Spray the leaves lightly. Get yourself a ph adjusting solution.

Im gonna try cedar first and if that dont work ill hit em with the oil but i think my npk/ph is the primary concern atm. Also i have a 400w hps for flower and i wanna do a sog in 1 gallon milk jugs. How many can i fit under this light? I wanna harvest every 2 weeks

i just took some better pics so here they are also i am using a line of nutes from general hydroponics i had it wrong in the previous post. i have mixed them into a 5 gal bucket at 50% strength of what it says on the bottle for a veg stage and i threw in an air pump to help sterilize the city water. i have only fed them once and it was the day after the first small spots started to form. now they are quite large and seem to be killing off all the leaves and fast. should i continue to use these nutes every other water? i really have not a clue on how im supposed to use nutes or how to tell when to use them so any insight on this would be greatly appreciated. btw i intent on having a SoG where cutting go straight into flower under a 400w hps after taking root. should i use only flowering nutes on the clones?