First Timer with a deficiency

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bigz

Active Member
Hey guys, im a first time hobby grower, and my ladies seem to be having a problem.

I posted this in the cfl section, but thought it may get a quicker response here.

All 3 of my ladies were started from seed, 2 of them are about a week and a 1/2 ahead of the other.

For soil im using 1/3 mix3, 2/3 garden soil, with manure.

For nutes, Jobe's 13-4-5 Plant food sticks.

I water using de-chlorinated water with a tsp of molasses per L of water.

Here are some photos to show my problems.







If you need any other info let me know.
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bongrippinbob

Well-Known Member
As the plants grow, you will begin to lose lower leaves. But it could also be from lacking light down there, or it could be from being rootbound.

If at all possible, get rid of those fertilizer spikes. If nothing else, get some cheap liquid ferts from home depot. Those sticks dissolve from the water, so you can't feed when they need it, only when the stick dissolves. You will have much better results with a liquid or powder nute you mix with water.

Your plants look pretty healthy, so I would not assume its a def of anything. Most of the plant is dark green, too dark green is a sign of an excess of N so you may want to watch for that. I am guessing it is either just dropping its lower leaves which is pretty much normal. It may be because you are only using CFLs or because it is rootbound. Unless you start losing a ton of leaves, I wouldn't worry about it too much.
 
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bigz

Active Member
Hey thanks for the quick response, the plants dont seem rootbound yet, they are in 6" round pots.

I will watch the amount of light they are getting, but im pretty sure thats fine, i have 8 23watters (4 above 4 surrounding, 4 soft, 4 bright light)

Alright, i will try and get rid of the sticks, but they seem to break when removing them. Ill look into a cheap liquid fert as a replacement.

Im also noticing a much lighter color of my tops. Do you think that could also be caused by the cheap spike ferts?

-Honkey thanks, ill pick up those liquid ferts, and see if i can find worm castings.
 
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bongrippinbob

Well-Known Member
The very top new growth will be a little lighter than the rest of the plant. Because it is new growth, it hasn't had the time to become saturated with chlorophyl. Give it a few days and that growth will green up as well.
For veg, you can use like Alaska Fish Emulsion which you can get for like $5 at home depot. For bloom, get a bloom ferilizer. Or you can use a simple nute with a ratio of 1-1-1 for the entire grow. These can vary from 5-5-5, 10-10-10, 20-20-20, etc. Just look for one that is equal in NPK and you can use it the entire grow. Not for the best results, but for better than those sticks will give you. If you want better results in flower, spend the $25 for a bottle of decent nutes. GH have their FloraNova which is a one part flower and veg nute. My buddy has great results with the flower formula.
 
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bigz

Active Member
bongrippinbob said:
The very top new growth will be a little lighter than the rest of the plant. Because it is new growth, it hasn't had the time to become saturated with chlorophyl. Give it a few days and that growth will green up as well.
For veg, you can use like Alaska Fish Emulsion which you can get for like $5 at home depot. For bloom, get a bloom ferilizer. Or you can use a simple nute with a ratio of 1-1-1 for the entire grow. These can vary from 5-5-5, 10-10-10, 20-20-20, etc. Just look for one that is equal in NPK and you can use it the entire grow. Not for the best results, but for better than those sticks will give you. If you want better results in flower, spend the $25 for a bottle of decent nutes. GH have their FloraNova which is a one part flower and veg nute. My buddy has great results with the flower formula.
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thanks guys, really appreciate the tips.

I will likely invest in some real nutes for flower, i acctually have a 30/15/30 flowering nute in the garage for the outdoor garden, but I will deal with that when its time. For now I need to get these wonderful ladies through veg, and i will look into some nutes, i have seen a couple different ones, i think a 8-3-5 or something along those lines, and not in the miracle grow family :D
 
honkeytown

honkeytown

Well-Known Member
add worm castings to your soil then water...castings are 1-0-0....then at the same time give them some veg nutes...you will be just fine :mrgreen:
 
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bongrippinbob

Well-Known Member
Don't use those flower nutes for you bud plants. That are completly the wrong ratios. That is a 2-1-2 ratio. You want something with less N and more P.

You can get GH Flora Series nutes, its a three part, and use that for the entire grow. It will cost you about $30 for the small bottles. You adjust the amount of each part you put in depending on the stage of growth they are in. This way, you only have to buy one set of nutes and use them the whole time.
 
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bigz

Active Member
bongrippinbob said:
Don't use those flower nutes for you bud plants. That are completly the wrong ratios. That is a 2-1-2 ratio. You want something with less N and more P.

You can get GH Flora Series nutes, its a three part, and use that for the entire grow. It will cost you about $30 for the small bottles. You adjust the amount of each part you put in depending on the stage of growth they are in. This way, you only have to buy one set of nutes and use them the whole time.
Click to expand...
Perfect thanks, ill look into those.
 
Twistyman

Twistyman

Well-Known Member
bigz said:
Hey guys, im a first time hobby grower, and my ladies seem to be having a problem.

I posted this in the cfl section, but thought it may get a quicker response here.

All 3 of my ladies were started from seed, 2 of them are about a week and a 1/2 ahead of the other.

For soil im using 1/3 mix3, 2/3 garden soil, with manure.

For nutes, Jobe's 13-4-5 Plant food sticks.

I water using de-chlorinated water with a tsp of molasses per L of water.

Here are some photos to show my problems.
Hi... I don't like those stick things..you need an equal water and feeding all around the plant soil, and those sticks are in just one spot.. the yellowing leaf is usually a N thing, thats why I'm a bit leery about those stick things..
Also molasses is only during flower. I forgot to look and I'm not going back yet...
I do a 1 teaspoon per gallon, but this is my 1st year trying that...
Luck...
Click to expand...
 
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bongrippinbob

Well-Known Member
You can use the molasses through out the entire grow. I use it in veg and flower, well most of the time, depends on how lazy I am being. I don't actually use molasses, I use Sweet, which is the same thing. It recomends it during all phases of growth, and I would have to say, it does help out during veg.
 
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