Help, plants dying with 2-3 weeks to go :~(

they look fine man , i'd reccomend to add 1 week to ur harvest date , because it will deff. be stunted

Cheers Grimsoul...

They look so much better in the pics than in real life which
is why I am concerned.

50% of the fan leaves have now fallen off & the pics I posted
are very dark which is why you cannot see that many yellow
leaves.

I had a lot of yellow leaves on my Lowlife White Russians but
they did not go brown, shrivel up & drop off at the rate that
these are, even after 9 weeks of flowering.

I am tending to agree with Mammath about the strains & that
comparing them to previous grows is wrong.

Tks again...

Scary but not the end of the world - like Mammath said - she probably fine!

Try distilled water next time - worked for me when i had dark spots like those.

Are those the same nutes you've been using previously in your other grows Muff?
I havn't fully dismissed that these plants have some form of slight deficiency.
Not a life threatening one but something that could effect yield and quality.
It's hard to judge if the photos don't show us what you can see.
Looking at the NPK breakdown of your Hesi bloom and phos combination which would be 4-11-9 it maybe lacking a little in strength.
Have you tried using full strength nutes?
I think you could because you are in soil.
Also, you may have a slight magnesium def' which can cause dark spots and curling, dieing leafs.
You could try a little Epsom salts in your water, or some calmag, it won't hurt them.

Yep, these are the same nutes that I have used from day one, only 2 grows but
they seemed ok previously, not amazing, but I have never grown without them
so cannot really tell the difference :~)

I did have problems with my first grow where the leaves went yellow & red like autumn
but I put it down to low temps rather than bad nutes. Even though the leaves changed
colour they did not droop & fall off like now & all the buds/colas grew & developed nicely.

I did alot of research before I brought Hesi & they were regarded as one of the best
nutes for soil, Cannabis Cup Winners etc. I slowly built up to full strength measures
and the leaves still wilted & dropped off.

They seemed to grow great for the first 3 weeks, really bulking out but then stopped
as the leaves started to yellow.

I am pretty careful with them, water is always ph'd, they are watered with one litre of
water per 10 litre pot every 2-3 days or so & fed full strength nutes every 3rd water.

I lift them to see if they need watering so don't think I over water them.

One thing which does spring to mind is that I started using growth technologies liquid
silicon (http://www.growthtechnology.com/mgmt-lsilicon.asp) around the time that they started
to turn. It has a ph level of 12 + but I added it to my water then ph'd it so the ph was
around 7. Maybe this has turned the soil a high ph which has caused nute lock, It was flushed
with ph 7 water last week & I was hoping to see an improvement but they don't seem to have
changed.

muffin said:

Yep, these are the same nutes that I have used from day one, only 2 grows but
they seemed ok previously, not amazing, but I have never grown without them
so cannot really tell the difference :~)

I did have problems with my first grow where the leaves went yellow & red like autumn
but I put it down to low temps rather than bad nutes. Even though the leaves changed
colour they did not droop & fall off like now & all the buds/colas grew & developed nicely.

I did alot of research before I brought Hesi & they were regarded as one of the best
nutes for soil, Cannabis Cup Winners etc. I slowly built up to full strength measures
and the leaves still wilted & dropped off.

They seemed to grow great for the first 3 weeks, really bulking out but then stopped
as the leaves started to yellow.

I am pretty careful with them, water is always ph'd, they are watered with one litre of
water per 10 litre pot every 2-3 days or so & fed full strength nutes every 3rd water.

I lift them to see if they need watering so don't think I over water them.

One thing which does spring to mind is that I started using growth technologies liquid
silicon (http://www.growthtechnology.com/mgmt-lsilicon.asp) around the time that they started
to turn. It has a ph level of 12 + but I added it to my water then ph'd it so the ph was
around 7. Maybe this has turned the soil a high ph which has caused nute lock, It was flushed
with ph 7 water last week & I was hoping to see an improvement but they don't seem to have
changed.

Click to expand...

Hmmm.
When looking for possible causes of problems it's good to know what has changed compared to your other grows, other than the strain. This liquid silicon could be part of the problem because it's something you've only been using with this grow. I say take it out the picture for now.
Your PH should be between 5.5 - 6.5. 7 is a little alkaline for MJ and you could be locking out some nuts. Even though 7 is not extreme the soil could be a lot higher. Other than the PH of the water you use can you test your actual soil, or the run off from your next watering? Run off can tell us heaps.
I'm pretty sure calcium and magnesium are some of the elements that will get locked out in high PH so lets see what your run off is before we add some calmag.
I also reckon those plants are probably experiencing some root bound probs which will definitely effect growth. Have you always grown your plants that big in those 10L pots?

Thanks Mammath,

I will buy soil tester kit tomorrow & let you know.

My ph varies between 6-7 I would say, depending on
how much ph down i put in. Will change to say 6 :~)

I have used these pots on my previous two grows and they
seemed ok. They were the biggest they had in the shop.

Should I be using bigger ones?

They are only 3/4 full with soil too which I was worried about.

Yeah, aim for 6.0 PH.
I knew you had those pots set up for better drainage, which isn't a bad thing, but it does limit their capacity some what.
For growing 5ft plants i would suggest 30 - 50L pots depending on what you room for. Can you stick your finger in your soil or are they all roots?
I have limited space in my flower cab' and always keep my plants under 1m tall but i still use 30L pots and that's with a hydro set up. That may be overkill but fuck they grow fast without any restrictions on the root space.
Definitely get some larger pots or keep your plants smaller in accordance to your pot size. It's just one less thing to worry about during the grow.
I have transplanted plants in full flower like yours before without to much drama if your game? You will need more than one set of hands though.
Looking forward to knowing your soil and run off PH.

thanks mammath...

I have no problem transplanting to bigger
pots...

Do you think it be ok at this late stage though?

muffin said:

per 10 litre pot

Click to expand...

Maybe I misunderstood something but if you are using 2-liter pots isn’t that like a 2.2-gallon pot? If so that’s tiny and you will have root bound plants for sure.

The smallest pots I ever use are 4-gallon pots and I only use then when I’m growing some strain that is not a big plant and otherwise I use 7-gallon pots.

Once the plant’s roots begin to circle the pot they become stressed and the worse it gets the more stressed they become.

When it comes to picking pots think like a woman, bigger is better, and then go bigger. You are way better off with extra room than not enough when it comes to roots.

muffin said:

thanks mammath...

I have no problem transplanting to bigger
pots...

Do you think it be ok at this late stage though?

Click to expand...

If it was week 4 I'd say definitely transplant.
Your at week 6 I believe so they may only have 2-3 weeks till harvest.
It's hard to tell from here how long they really have left and there are risks involved with transplanting.
The question to ask yourself is: 'Are the risks worth the benefits?'
If it was me I would do it, in ideal conditions the plants pack on so much weight in those last few weeks and it would be worth them having the root space to do so. Done properly they should experience very little stress from a transplant and they'll love ya for it.
Done poorly you could stress them out and cause more problems than you already have.
They're your plants so you have to decide.

Yep, I'm using 3.2 Gallon pots which I thought were fine, but obviously not :~(

Thinking back they were the 2nd largest in the shop & the guy said they would be fine
for what I had planned.

Will buy some bigger ones tomorrow if I can find some...

Will check the ph run off & soil tomorrow when I water too.

Mmmmm, in two minds to be honest Mammath?!?

2 appear worse than the other 2 so I may try with those & see where I go?

Going to try to get 20-30 Ltr pots tomorrow.

The branches are pretty big & heavy so sway when moved & I am worried
about a few snapping which will cause even more stress.

Maybe if I am carefull :~)

Should I use a decent compost or just a run of the mill one & continue to use nutes?

Cheers

muffin said:

Mmmmm, in two minds to be honest Mammath?!?

2 appear worse than the other 2 so I may try with those & see where I go?

Going to try to get 20-30 Ltr pots tomorrow.

The branches are pretty big & heavy so sway when moved & I am worried
about a few snapping which will cause even more stress.

Maybe if I am carefull :~)

Should I use a decent compost or just a run of the mill one & continue to use nutes?

Cheers

Click to expand...

Good idea to only do 1 or 2 of them. You will know from the first one you do how bad the problem is. See how they handle it, then do the rest.

You can always get some binder twine or something and carefully tie the plant together like they do when they transport mature plants from one place to another. This will stop the large bottom branches moving around too much. Do you know what I mean?

If you do everything carefully, don't rush, and have a helper, you should be fine leaving them as is though.

Before you begin the transplant make sure your new pot is prepped and ready to go. While the plant is still sitting on the ground, tap and push the sides of the pot in a bit before you try and break it free it will help. Then lift, holding the plant up, gripping it from the base of the stem, have a mate gently tap the pot down off the plant.

Because you have rocks in the bottom for drainage you will probably have roots intertwined in the rocks and you may experience some loss of the finer roots at the base of the root structure when you try and lift the plant out. This is my main concern with you transplanting because that will cause stress. They maybe so root bound that the roots may be tightly wrapped around the rocks which will be good. Don't try and break the rocks free, just transplant as is, rocks and all. You won't know until you get that pot off and take a look.

Once you remove the pot you will be able to see if she's root bound. Circular, horizontal running roots is a definite sign of root bound.

Another method is to turn the plant upside down, and have someone lift the pot off then you won't disturb anything at the bottom and you'll be able to see exactly what you are dealing with. I think they are a little big to do this though.

As for compost, I think it would be too potent. When transplanting you want to try and duplicate the soil it's already in, this causes less stress.

All your trying to do here is create more space for the roots to grow so the plants can finish off nicely. I would be using a neutral medium with no nutes in it. Water the plant in well with just ph'd water when you transplant then next water use your liquid nutes.

Keep me posted.

Hi all,

Brought some 20 L (Biggest they had) pots today & will attempt to transplant two of them a little later on :~)

I also brought some batmix (http://www.hydrogrowsystems.co.uk/store/product.asp?spc=PBM) which the guy
recommended when I told him what I was doing?

Nervous now...

Ps: thanks for the transplanting advise mammath

Nice one...

All done...

Seemed to go straight forward enough - I hope...

There were a lot of circular roots showing on the sides
so I guess they were root bound.

Only time will tell I suppose :~)

Here's hoping...

Mammath said:

As for compost, I think it would be too potent. When transplanting you want to try and duplicate the soil it's already in, this causes less stress.

All your trying to do here is create more space for the roots to grow so the plants can finish off nicely. I would be using a neutral medium with no nutes in it. Water the plant in well with just ph'd water when you transplant then next water use your liquid nutes.

Click to expand...

OK, so you've decide to use the bat shit.
With an EC of 1.4 to 1.6, it's strong, should be cool but I don't know a lot about it.
Hoping your plants are going to love it.
Did you mix it with anything?
It is good for bloom with it's P and K, but remember you'll probably be flushing in a couple of weeks.
Being all natural I'm sure your weed won't taste like bat and worm pooh.
Are you just going to water with PH'd water now?
Did you do all the plants?
Do you have transplant anxiety?

I showed the guy in my local store some photos and also took him a leaf, he agreed that
my pots were too small (Even though he sold me them in the first place) & suggested that
I had a few defs. He recommend something called revive which gives the plants an overall boost
when they are stressed or have major defs. I told him that I was going to transplant & he agreed
and said to use the bat shit instead of std soil as it is excellent + it was organic so it should be ok
with the plants & it would rectify any defs I had.

He thought I had 4 weeks left looking at the size of the buds so said it was the best way forward by
transplanting & using the bat shit.

I hope he is right.

He's normally pretty good, only selling you stuff when you need it rather than pushing all sorts of
new products on you when you don't need them for his financial gain.

He also said that I have a light def which I was unaware of.

My set up is as follows:

Bud Box Tent XXL (2.4m L x 1.2 m W x 2m H)
400w HPS
600w HPS
Ocilating Fan
Carbon Filer with extractor fan

The 600w HPS covers 1.2m square where as the 400w only covers 1m square.

Does the extra 0.2m really matter?

I thought not, but he said it would make a big difference?

I am only growing 4 plants, 2 under each light which I swop round every other night
so they share both the 400 & 600 lights?

Transplanting the first 2 plants was straight forward enough, hardly any soil or pebbles
fell off as I lifted them out of their old pots, so thought I would do all 4.

Yep, my plan is to use plain water for the next 3 week & hope that they improve.

When should I know the transplant was a success or not?

Don't even start me on the anxiety, got up at 3, 5 & 8am to check they had now keeled
over or anything... They look no different which I suppose is a good thing :~)

Thanks

PS: Thanks for the bat pooh taste comments, I did not think of that :~)

Made me laugh...