hey GC. i'm a new grower with a few problems.. plants were growing great up until now, but as you can see the lower leaves have started turning yellow and then crisping up. on one of the plants has light-green bands going through the leaf, and some of the plants leaves have brown 'spots' on them. i've searched around on the forum and i think it's either a nitrogen def, nuteburn or a pH problem <-- maybe more likely because of the different problems. i don't have a pH tester. i gave them 1/4 strength nutes about a week ago but been giving them plain water since then because of the problem, but i think it started before i gave them anything. here's some other info if you need it 3 weeks old (from seed) soil is bio-bizz all-mix light is a 125w cfl distance about an inch or so away from the plants i water them every few days thanks in advance
Until you can tell your PH of the input water and runoff I doubt we can help you. Walmart sells 5 dollar ph test kits for fish tanks in the pet section. Works great for me.
Like grrower said, if you can get a cheap ph test kit, seedlings dont use any nutes for the first few weeks so water ph doesnt matter as much because they dont need nutes but later on, like now they will start requiring those nutes, and if the water ph is not within the correct level it is locking out those nutrients in your soil. May not even need to add any nutes, might just need to water with correct ph'd water. 6.5-6.8 is rule of thumb.
I got a pH test but it was a little hard to read, I think the pH was 7+ so I mixed some lemon juice with water (came out at either 5.5 or 6.5 with the test) and watered using that. Was this the right thing to do? I hope I didn't screw them up further. edit: the high pH mightve been because the soil was sitting in my basement for several months before using it... i've used the soil before and never had such problems (done full grows without ever checking pH and using tap water only)
Even at a 1/4 dose some nutes can burn plants easily. If the problem occured right after fert than chances are the dosage is just to strong and the black on the tips says burnt. Rinse with 3 times the pot size and with care should bounce back. After a couple plants you should be able to tell from a plants color what it needs. Dark green to much and pale of yellowing not enough nute. Different strains can with stand loads of nute and others only half at max. Keep in mind these are not demanding or in general tough to grow, keep a log of what you do and each new grow will be better after learning from mistakes. A PH and a TDS meter are money well spent, cause they can cut that learning curve back some. Immerse yourself in the forum stickys and growing guides and it will defenatly help you along. Lots of the journals may be long but have great info in em. Dont be an overbearing parent and lets the kids play!!!