Nute burn? I don't see how?!?

Hi, this is my first post - as I'm a total noob :/

Please look and tell me what's going on here. I'm using only Miracle Organic Grow 8-0-0 plant food from sugar beet molases derivative.... But I must confess that I haven't been checking the PH value of the water - could this be my problem? The dosage has been at 1/2 strength as recommended and the yellow tips started before any fertilizer was added - I thought maybe potassium deficiency?

Also, soil was MG (I know, never again) Organic Choice Potting Mix .10-.05-.05.

Also, the plants, the "bushy" photo is actually two plants - again, I know, bad idea to keep em together. The lone plant is all stretched out. They are all lowryder mix batch from Attitude.

Lighting is currently about 350 watt CFL bulbs with a mixture of 6000k (150 watt) 3000k (200 watt). I will be upgrading to HPS as soon as I can - fans on order for HPS or MH lighting, as I have both (told you I was a noob).

Any input would be appreciated. Thanks again in advance!

Yes, pH could be an issue. You need to check the pH of the soil itself. The cheapest way we know of to test soil is the little capsule-type test kit found for about $6. From the sound of it, you aren't giving it much Phosphorus or Potassium, so once any other problems are fixed, it's going to need some of both.

How often are you watering?

What are the temps at the canopy level?

Nutrient burn starts at the oldest and lowest leaves, because those are closest to the toxicity, and works its way up. The pod leaves and the first single-bladed leaves show the first signs.

i use mg ..soil and nutes ,don't be fooled by all the hype if used right it is very effective...cut your nutes to @ 1/4 or less but for now feed them water 1-2 times...chemical nutes are very strong..it looks like nute burn,but not real bad..so they will be ok,b4 you harvest flush them for 2-3 wks..with strait water..then don't water at all..this will get the bad taste out of your bud...also you mentioned they were yellow b4 u fed them?.u might be over watering them..i never water unless my soil is dry the first 2-3 inches down...so figure 7-10 days...

You have nute burn and deficiencies, definitely a pH problem. and i would move those CFLS a lot closer too

Thanks everyone! I changed my water over to a balanced ph flush and cut my nutrients to 1/4 for now - adding in a 18-18-21 (again, at 1/4 suggested level) to make up for any deficiencies I might have. So far, it seems the plants like it

Oh yeah, moved the short plant up closer to the lights! Thanks again!

kepitgrn said:

i use mg ..soil and nutes ,don't be fooled by all the hype if used right it is very effective...cut your nutes to @ 1/4 or less but for now feed them water 1-2 times...chemical nutes are very strong..it looks like nute burn,but not real bad..so they will be ok,b4 you harvest flush them for 2-3 wks..with strait water..then don't water at all..this will get the bad taste out of your bud...also you mentioned they were yellow b4 u fed them?.u might be over watering them..i never water unless my soil is dry the first 2-3 inches down...so figure 7-10 days...

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I am thinking along this line here. My experience would lead me to think that it is a slight nute burn. Because of MG usually being "dosed" soil. The problem is not the MG, its that it takes very little feed to toxify it. Using 1/3 or 1/4 strength seems to help many people avoid overfeeding the soil.

In fact, that is how I would be able to tell if I was giving my plants all the nutes they wanted. I would incrementally increase my nutes as the plants developed, but as soon as I get slight leaf tip burns, I would back off my feed solution ppm a hundred or more points depending on the burn severity.

As kepitgrn said, MG can be used very successfully....if used right.

But your plants look very nice IMO. Nice cupped/canoe shape to the up stretched leaves.

I've learned the hard way now twice. Always start with checking the water first. Your plants don't look bad...you can fix

You've not got 350w of light there my friend, you've 350w equivilent bulbs (its how they compare CFLs to incandescent bulbs), Id say your probably rocking about 40 actual watts there max which isnt very much for all those plants...you could probably do with at least 3 of those bulbs per plant. The pic below shows what an actual 200w CFL looks like (its been moved to a better spot since then).

Harrekin said:

You've not got 350w of light there my friend, you've 350w equivilent bulbs (its how they compare CFLs to incandescent bulbs), Id say your probably rocking about 40 actual watts there max which isnt very much for all those plants...you could probably do with at least 3 of those bulbs per plant. The pic below shows what an actual 200w CFL looks like (its been moved to a better spot since then).

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Sorry, the picture was deceiving... Here are some better photos of my set up.

Got cut off :/

Note the light on the left... That's an old sunlamp. I decided to do some experimenting to see if a little UV radiation might help the crop a little... Obviously I have no control group to compare it to but I figured it couldn't hurt (at least I hope!)

Thank you everyone who replied to my thread. Plant is doing much better now. It has a ways to go but you all helped me a lot