Problems

I hate being a nub. I read everything I could, honestly. But I need some opinions, please. For now on I'm just going to use this thread instead of making new ones for every dilemma.

Yesterday, my plant looked fine. I checked the soil--a few inches down it was dry, but seemed wet closer to the plant. So, I decided to water it in the morning. And now it is morning and I discover just overnight (lights off) my whole plant is drooping. It scares me that I might lose it. I've made SURE to read everything and I know this looks like either under or over watering. So, I thought maybe I didn't water soon enough? So, I watered it with a little vinegar to lower the pH some. Almost immediately there was water run off.. as if there was water already down there and it makes me think I over-watered. But how could that be. I follow the rules.

I've read also, that it could be possible it might not be getting enough oxygen?
I am growing in a tiny closet, therefore I do not have a ventilation setup (more like I can't due to apartment laws and being poor), but have a small fan circulating the air and I open the door sometimes.

I've taken pictures of it every day of it's life and this one of the saddest ones. It's quite noticeable. (I've noticed the yellow areas on the leaves, too. Diagnosing results today.

Here is yesterday:


Here is today:

My first suggestion would be to get the tin foil out of there. I'm assuming that's aluminum or tin foil? Creates hot spots, not good. As far as the drooping goes, don't worry you're going to lose it. On numerous occasions I have made the mistake of neglecting my plants and I check on them and they look limp and like overall shit. But in 5 hours after a good feeding they perk right back up. It's insane how resilient these plants are.

I need to know more about your setup. For example...
1) What kind of soil are you using?
2) Whats are the temps like in your grow space?
3) What is the ph of your water?

Personally, I think it may be a water and/or ph issue. But it's too hard to know fully without knowing more about your grow. If you have a good soil that drains well, you can use the "pick up" method to determine when it needs water. I know that sounds so ambiguous, but trust me, the whole pot is extremely light when there is no water in there. Let me know what's up and we'll try and straighten it out.

Well considering you watered and then watered it again and it looked worse, there's the problem. Just leave her for a few days. and you say "Overnight (lights off)" so im assuming your in 12/12 or 18/6. The plant knows its "bedtime" and its leaves will droop close to that time and overnight, its like the plant is sleeping. And I assume you have a pH meter to check after you added vinegar?

Hope this solves your problem

A good rule of thumb is to water at th start of lights on, it sounds like your drowning your plants. It dosent look to bad yet, just hope you don't get root rot before she dries out.

Firstly STOP WATERING.
The vinegar wasn't necessary and prob caused more problems than solve any.

What size container are you using?

I love the foil. Woks great. Not

And plants use co2 not oxygen, lol

^roots use oxygen! especially in hydro.

It just needed water. <.< I guess she was really thirsty! She perked right back up. Pardon me for that.

The vinegar is used to lower pH. The pH has been 7. I'm trying to get it into the correct range, thank you very much. Because I am using FoxFarm Ocean Forest -- it had added nutes from the start and the pH is higher.

I can't figure why those leaves are getting yellow. Everything is in the correct range. It's been healthy up until now. Speculations?

The aluminum foil doesn't create hotspots for me. I needed something to maximize my lighting. The foil in my opinion has helped magnify the CFL. The CFL light I am using (250w blue) doesn't get hot at all. I have it merely an inch away from the top, though the foliage in some places aren't getting enough of the light. Maybe it does look tacky, but it has the same effect as using that highly-reflective white sheets (forget the name) people use around their grow rooms.

The temperature doesn't get that high. Like I said, the light doesn't get very hot. If I keep my apartment at 66 F all the time, I dare say the closet couldn't get much warmer. Eh.

They may use co2 or whatever, but if the roots are being suffocated, it'll surely stunt it and more.

Edited by Skizor, 17 May 2012 - 01:59 AM.
i guess i panicked

That plant's fine, Man. The only yellowing is on the lower leaves & that's normal. You're just being a proud parent, nothing wrong with that.
But I do second the motion to lose the tin foil. Flat white paint is actually a better reflector than foil.
Watch your ph on the runoff, don't over feed / water, hopefully your baby will be fine.

Your plant doesnt look that bad. How are you testing the PH of the run off? Over watering and underwatering will make the plant look droopy. Your plant doesnt look droopy. What are your temps at canopy level? When I water or feed I give it enough of either till I have about 20% of the water and or nute mix as run off out of the bottom and that is what you want to PH test as well and it is the most important PH reading.

The yellow spots are spreading. Nutrient deficiency? I haven't watered it since I made this post. It seemed to perk up when I watered it and it looked fine yesterday, yet today it's getting droopy again. I know it isn't dry yet..

I tested it. I am testing with one of those Rapitest kits. I tested the soil itself. The pH is still "7", and everything else said depleted. I am really confused. I don't think my plant is even going to make it through the flower phase and if it does it's going to look shitty. I'm losing hope here.

Btw the 2nd picture was taking after I watered it some.. it was a lot more droopy than in that picture and it's doing it again, but this time during the day. I am not touching it.

To add more trouble, now fungus gnats are showing up. I thought they appeared because I didn't take my trash out right away and something smelled moldy. <.< But they are still here. I realllllly wanna break something x] ahhhh fuck..

ps I'll try testing the actual run off the next time I water.... I spent a small fortune on this fucking thing and for what?

Edited by Skizor, 18 May 2012 - 05:57 PM.

It's wilting again and it's still wet, usually the leaves stick straight out and maybe even upward a bit, showing it's healthy but I'm really worried here. What do I do? It's not that hot in here.. this morning it looked all right, but now it looks even worse? Are there any emergency things I can do to help it? I water until there is some run off... that is the rule.. so how come I am failing????

and i know the yellowing is from not enough nutes.

See?

Edited by Skizor, 18 May 2012 - 10:35 PM.

I think your over thinking it man, your leaves don't look like their drooping, when was the last time u watered? Is it possible to get it out and take a full side shot of the plant and container.

Also you did say you have no ventilation, what wattage lights are you running in that enclosed box, and what are your temps.

Edited by badboy287, 19 May 2012 - 12:14 AM.

I watered it fully on the 16th (2 days ago). I had woken up (2 days ago) and it was drooping (like I said, the stems usually stick straight out.) After I had watered it then, it perked back up merely a few hours later and it looked normal again. This is my first grow and yes I tend to over-react. I am depending on this to work out. >.<

But now it's doing it again and I know better than to water it, because the soil is still wet around the roots.

I am a little concerned that the water seemed to drain right through the soil, too. Could the soil be too loose from watering in the same place? I mean.. it shouldn't drain so quickly, right? But then it wouldn't have lived this long if it wasn't getting water.

I've also noticed it isn't growing as fast... but that could be it needs the nutes. If it can survive until the next watering I could feed it.... argh!

It's weird. I am going on my 6th week and everything seems to be going wrong all at once.

It's worse. My temps don't go over 75. I am using a CFL 250w (blue spec) at 18/6 (midnight and 6am). It was totally dried out today, and since nothing has improved that... I watered it. I am about ready to say screw it. Maybe I don't have the natural talent for it. Here are the pics you asked for and you can CLEARLY see the difference.

Long-shot:



Up-close:



Excuse me while I go curl up in the corner. No weed... no weed... never again...

I don't know what to do and I don't know if there is much I can do. If it's root rot, I didn't think I should expose the roots for they might die in the light?!! I am starting to wonder if it actually is rotting. I don't "smell" anything... are you supposed to. Cause I'm...starting to dread that it could be. It has the same symptoms. Stunted growth, wilting, yellowing.. except the base isn't turning black or anything??? AHHHH

Edited by Skizor, 19 May 2012 - 03:50 PM.

And once again.. I water it, and it immediately is reviving. It doesn't make sense to me if it was wilting like it was under watered, when the soil had stayed wet... whyyyyyyyyyy

And once again.. I water it, and it immediately is reviving. It doesn't make sense to me if it was wilting like it was under watered, when the soil had stayed wet... whyyyyyyyyyy

How much water are you giving it and how often and what size is the grow container? Also when I water I go around the plant slowly so the water gets spread out evenly as it goes through.

If water is the only thing keeping it from dying don't you think it need's the water? moist soil or not around the root's if it's helping then try it! in that last pic it's on the edge of death lol, so nothing is going to make it worse.

How much water are you giving it and how often and what size is the grow container? Also when I water I go around the plant slowly so the water gets spread out evenly as it goes through.

It's a 5 gallon pot. To be honest, I do not measure how much. I used a gallon jug. I probably don't get close enough.. could watering it from a distance hurt the roots? I do that to not to disturb the plant, but I may do more harm than good.

I wait for it to run off. It only takes a few seconds, though and it easily becomes a small puddle... I almost think the soil (FoxFarm, Ocean Forest) might be loose? I guess I should stop speculating as a newbie. Thanks for a response.

I've looked all over the web, and there are tons of resources. It could be over watering, under watering or root rot, and including a nute deficiency, which I started today (1/4th, using Classic Jack's 20-20-20).

After watering, several hours later.. the top leaves are even standing up straight?! I didn't think it'd be that effect. To be honest, the soil wasn't totally dry around the roots when I watered, but dammit.. it's come back to life and it confuses the heck out of me.