Whole Garden Destroyed | Septoria Outbreak?

MysticGanja

New Member
Hello everyone, we're seeking some assistance with our indoor growing venture. As new growers, my partner and I encountered some challenges that we'd appreciate advice on. Initially, we started with Pineapple Express seeds in a converted closet grow room, following standard procedures like maintaining pH levels between 5.5 to 6.5, using Fox Farm Happy Frog soil, Lotus nutrients, and an 18/6 light schedule, all with success.

However, after introducing clones without quarantining them, we noticed troubling orange/brown spots on leaves, which we later identified as potentially septoria. Despite sanitizing, soil switching, and using organic solutions like PureCrop1 and copper-based fungicide, the issue persisted, leading us to abandon the entire grow. Subsequent attempts with new seeds also resulted in similar symptoms.

We've since revisited our setup, ensuring optimal humidity (45-70%) and temperature (72-82°F) levels, and thoroughly disinfected the grow room with Clorox. However, we realized that an open bag of soil was stored in the same room as the infected plants, and this same soil was used for all new plants moving forward.

Could this contaminated soil be the source of the ongoing issue? We're puzzled by the persistence despite our efforts. Any insights or advice would be greatly appreciated. Thank you!

Photos:
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thumper60

Well-Known Member
Fungal for sure septoria is very rear indoor its not the septoria that i have seen for yrs outdoor growing.
 

Jim Haddar

Well-Known Member
If I was a cop, septoria would not be on the top of my list of suspects, especially for a new indoor grow. But it’s a good reason for keeping dead leaves out of the space.

 

mountaint0p

Well-Known Member
check your water source, it may help to treat it somehow. also make sure you are getting good dry cycles in your medium. copper sprays will help
 

buyyouabeer

Well-Known Member
I think you are chasing your tail here. Looks like Ca deficiency to me. Your PH seems low for soil and could be causing nutrient lock out. I have never once checked my nutrients PH in soil, but I have really great water.

 
I think you are chasing your tail here. Looks like Ca deficiency to me. Your PH seems low for soil and could be causing nutrient lock out. I have never once checked my nutrients PH in soil, but I have really great water.

I think so too, even though you will get those shitty dots all over the leaves with septoria. My well water is 7.0 and trying to ph it up or down is always a mistake. The microbes in the soil are breaking down the nutrients and making them available for the plant to uptake, adding chemicals is only going to cause problems. Do you water really deeply? In my area septoria can be an issue and it almost always shows up when the soil is consistently wet.

I read outdoors that the septoria gains the advantage when leaves stay wet for 6-8 hours, the cell wall starts to disintegrate, the only line of defense to stop the fungus from entering the cell. I think indoors the same thing can happen if there's too much moisture in the leaves all the time, however it gets in it's from the soil being too wet. I started to weave capillary wick through the openings in my pot elevators, now I can choose to water from the top if want to scratch some nutrients in but most of the time I will fill the drip tray beneath and allow the plant to slowly take it's water in.

45-70% humidity seems like a pretty big swing to me during veg, I like to keep the humidity high and consistent, and the waterings less frequent. Obviously some varieties will prefer the drier air but in general it has helped me avoid leaf damage / fungal problems.

Here's another thing you will learn, some varieties are just shitty and will get all diseased. If this is how the plants responded to some fungal spores, it's time to get a new variety. But even the hardiest strains can get fried if the pH gets too far from the optimal range!

Check out these pics, i've been running the grow room @ 95 degrees and the plants love it. Even a couple of these plants had some of those orange-reddish-yellowish spots on their young leaves, and look at them now. It's a super lemon haze hybrid, doing this just for a seed run and cuts for the outdoor garden. One of them is truly a monster, reaching to the roof almost and it's just begun to flower, but doesn't have much of that zingy lemon goodness. A couple of them are unbelievably lemony, one is like a lemon cheesecake and another has a super sharp lemon aroma like a spiked lemonade :} Letting two males seed the room, one has large loose flower clusters with a purple tone to them and the other has much tighter spear-like flowers. Both were selected for the intense lemon aroma on the stem rub but they've got a nice structure about them too :D This strain is also highly resistant to fungus gnats, had some of the bastards show up early on and it didn't stop the super lemon hybrid!
 

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Bud man 43

Well-Known Member
Probably nothing to do with your problem-
but 70% rh inside is too high- mold spores are everywhere and can begin to grow at 65%rh.
Keep it under 65%
 
I had septoria one time indoor when there was NO ventilation.

I'm pretty sure this problem is due to low PH causing cal lockout as buyyouabeer said above
 
if it was septoria a bunch of the leaves would have fallen off by now, the fringes of the leaves get all rotten even if they are able to hold on. looks like the consensus is ph problems

I don't think 70% RH is too high indoor, unless the temperatures are too cool. 70 degrees and 70% RH is a mold trap but I actually turned off the air conditioner and dehumidifier for about a week on this last run and the plants loved it, no sign of problems.
 

Shanefalk

Member
Dealing with a septoria outbreak can be frustrating, especially after all your efforts. Contaminated soil could definitely be the culprit, especially if it wasn't properly sanitized. Have you considered trying a different soil source for your next attempt? It might help break the cycle. Also, make sure to thoroughly clean all your equipment to prevent any potential spread. By the way, if you're spending time in your garden, I recently stumbled upon some tips on how to keep bees away. You might find them handy. Check out https://www.mklibrary.com/how-to-keep-bees-away/
 
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