Update Day 32: I know some of them don't look hot, suggestions appreciated. 9CFLs 1600 lumens each. temp. 75-80 humidity 40-50%. water 2-3 days depends on soil moisture.
looks like either over or under watering, it's hard to see the soil good enough in the pictures. I think you need more light as well, they look pretty stretched.
when should i switch to 12/12? they may lack some light but when i find out which ones are male and throw them out there will be less plants for more lights..
whenever you want. if conditions are good to great, they will get almost double their size. the stretching on your plants is not too bad.
Looks over watered to me. The yellowing looks like a pH imbalance, not nutrient burn. Nutrient burn would cause necrosis at the tips before that much yellowing on a fan leave occurred. Do you have a PH meter? if not check out some of the dropper solutions hydro stores sell. The soil mix looks like it cant dry just like the problem im having. Since yours is in smaller pots this will be an easier fix for you. Go to home depot or whatever, and grab a bag of play sand. I'd recommend sterilizing it first. To do this just put sand on a cookie sheet, cover in foil wrap & heat for 20 minutes @ 350 degrees. This will kill any pests that might be in there. Might stink up your place a little tho dont know. Anyway just stir up the top 1/2 inch of soil in your pots and sprinkle dry sand on top and stir with your finger. Do this before your next watering and for the next few waterings and the soil mix should drain better. but definitely wait longer for them to dry out more. Then when you water use enough so 30% of what the pot can hold comes out the bottom to ensure a thorough soak. EDIT: Dont think its a deficiency, thinking its a build up of some kind. I'd flush next watering with the sand.
just watered before seeing these suggestions. made sure and watered it thoroughly. i believe it can be that as well, the bottom of the pots are not getting sufficient drainage. when i picked them up they still had moisture at the bottom like drops of water. since watered today will wait a few days and fix the bottoms to get good enough drainage. it could be small nutrient overdose but im not worried about that as long as its only the bottom leaves for now.
if you dont fix the problem, it will keep climing the plant man. drill holes in the bottem, be careful not to hurt roots too badly. if you can tell theres mositure in the pot, its NOT time to water
pots have holes in the bottom. i lifted them above the drainage pots with a piece of wood laying across the top so the holes get good air flow and drainage. we will see how this fixes the problem.
Sorry, but sand is a non absorbant solid molecule. Its why they make glass out of it. It does not absorb water, large clumps of sand packed down will choke out bugs if thats your intention. But it makes a great additive in light mixes to soil. Like I was saying before just stir up top 1/2 inch of soil and sprinkle in a handful of sand prior to watering. this will make it looser and easier to drain as it works its way down into the mix. Most people who make their own compost and will not submit to a hydro shop. AKA the real hardcore organic growers, use sand instead of perlite to allow drainage, and sometimes gravel. Ive used mixtures of play sand and Im regretting not using it this time. most time I do 50% FFOF 25% perlite 25% sand. And btw I've grown in 50/50 FFOF/Sand and it was fine. I was actually given this advice by a moderator on here.
put some sand mixed in to the top to help drainage as it works its way throughout the soil. also some on top noticed some knats or something looks like. repositioned a fan to blow on them to help keep away and put a sticky tape bug catcher in there. hope this helps, gonna leave them alone for a while
sand is high in silica. This macronutrient is responsible for metabolic transport, and solubized by humus (peat, dirt, other decayed organic material). http://forum.grasscity.com/organic-growing/980786-silica-%96-hidden-cost-chemicals.html
update day 36: not looking so good today. one of them thats usually nice and bushy is turning yellow and leaves feel really dry. some of the leaves feel real dry to the touch. temp. 70 humidity 40-50%. watered like 2 days ago and it looks like soil is drying a lot better and faster. suggestions? i think im going to start 12/12 soon.
+rep. its probably the most natural form of silica too. unless they just invented the silica in a lab for the sand, then its not. our charcoal we buy is not that same as real good fertile charcoal, which people use to fertilize plants
looks nitrogen deficient. do you have ventilation? if so, FEED. chemicals. urine. organic. whatever, feed an all purpose feed
Yeah, I tried 2 milliliters of hydrogen peroxide per gallon of water that I got at my local hydro shop. So far it works great, it oxidizes your soil helping it dry faster, kills bacteria,mold,fungus,bugs,eggs etc. get something to measure milliliters with and use 2 mL per gallon however often you want. I had to adjust my PH, but I did after adding my H2O2 I can already tell the difference. Just let them dry out a little more first. maybe another day or two.
Looks a little like sulfur deficiency too, your ph is probably too high. Test the ph of what your watering them with.