Day 50 of strawberry cough. There were signs that I thought were low soil ph causing discoloration and necrosis on most fans which seemed to eventually spread to the leaf around the flowers. A flush was done with 2 gallons ph'd to 6.5-7. The runoff was still slightly acidic leading me to believe soil ph was the problem. Several days later the soil is still drying from the flush, and the condition seems unimproved/possibly worse? Since flowering is nearing its end, what options are available based on the condition of the plant in the picture? My biggest fear is losing the top cola, so I would appreciate any knowledge anyone would like to share. Thanks
depends on how far til harvest. i wouldnt ever chop it early. remedy the problem. it may start to correct itself after 4 or 5 days at least wait a couple more days and i would rather have finished bud that looks uglier than early bud that doesnt pack a punch but looks a bit nicer...imho
That's a good point. Thanks for the realistic reply. This plant should go to 9 weeks so it would be pretty early.
you really think it isnt too late in flowering for nitro...just saying. i love the stuff but have never used it past week 4.
I haven't had any experience with nitrozyme, but I'm kinda against buying something new less than two weeks out. I won't be needing it afterwards most likely. RE: the leaves, I was told to just leave em on if there is a problem spreading, since it would acclerate it to other leaves quicker if I pull a lot of them off. Anyone know if there is any scientific evidence for that? lol. How would the nitrozyme help other than maintaining? I don't think the screwed up leaves will improve any. I would flush again, but I don't think the soil is completely dry. The main thing I'm concerned about is the problem spreading to the actual flowers themselves. I could care less about leaves as long as the flowers end up nice.
most likely it is a ph problem caused by salt build up. if your pot is 2 galons and you poured 2 galons of water in it.its not a flush. having a ppm meter in times like these helps a lot especialy with feeding. if a leaf is damaged more than 50% you can cut it off. but still that wont help to solve the problem.
totally missed that. 100 % right. flush that 2 gallons with a minimum of 10 gallons of ph 6.5 h2o. and maybe put a tbsp of molasses in the last gallon so the plant has some potassium,calcium,magnesium,vitamins and minerals to get through the next 5 days, until next water.
Great info guys. I really appreciate it. The pots are 5 gal, so my flush wasn't really a flush since I've heard to use 3x the pot size. This seems like a pain in the ass to me without going into the bathroom or something. Good heads up about the molasses also, I had a similar thought process and added molasses to the 2nd gallon during my pseudoflush. This is like a tangent, but one thing I noticed is that it's really hard to ph water with molasses in it with the liquid tester; the water is already a different color, so it's hard to tell if the ph is actually right or is giving me a false reading based on the colors mixing together (the meter recommended above would definitely help). On the topic of humidity, I can't say for sure what it is. At times I would say it's definitely above the 50% range, but I'm not really sure how to control it. I can't vent outside my area, so options are limited. Maybe there is something to absorb excess moisture that I could put in the space to correct this if it's a problem? Thanks again
Get yourself a hygrometer from wall mart, it will tell you the relative humidity in your room. You will find them in the outdoor thermometer section. If your humidity is to high you can get veg/bud rot which has similar symptoms to your description/photo's. Do you notice any "off" smells that you might associate with putrefaction or rotting plant matter? Similar to the smell of fan leaves sitting in a bucket for a few days? Your humidity should not constantly exceed 60% and if it is above 45% don't mist them. The color of your base water should not have any noticeable impact on the final color of your PH test. So what was your "slightly acidic" PH?
Thanks James. I've known that the humidity could be fluctuating (the air seems more moist on the days that I water), so I've been keeping an eye out for those weird smells you're talking about. Luckily all is good still as it smells pretty good in there . I'll try picking up the meter tonight and let you know what my humidity is at. I'm pretty confident no bud rot has occurred since this is the only plant showing these extreme symptoms, and they're all similar size. My others are showing similar symptoms but to a lesser degree (no dead leaves yet, but semi-droopy and pale green leaves in some spots) so it leads me to believe I f'd up the pH in all my pots. My runoff you're asking about was in the 5.5-6 range (more than slightly I would say now looking back, lol) or just slightly orange if you're familiar with the colors that the test kits use. Since then, the pH has been carefully checked to make sure it's 6.5-7. I attached a pic of my runoff from today. Once again, thank you for the help.
that test is no good. 0.2 dif. in ph makes a lot of dif. dor mj.you have to get something more acurate. bud rot???? Rh should be more than 70 in order to get some shit like that. and that can be acomplished with realy weak ventilation. once again-its ph related.and molases will make it worse if you have unresolved dalt build up.the reason for it to be used after a flush is to provide micro nutes that you flush out with the salts.