O.k. I started this grow about 35 days ago. within the past week I've seen yellowing of the lower leaves... I dont have a Ph meter(working on it),they dont sell one near my house. So i cant test my Ph level till maybe next week.. So I was wondering what you experienced growers thought of the problem. -Is the Ph too acidic? -Too alkiline? Is there any nifty tricks i can perform to save them? like lime juice or something? They have only been fed disstilled water when they needed it. thats it. --Also I bought this plant food while at the store(pic).. Its a 30-10-10 solution, should i start using it? would that shock them? Would it help?
a picture of the whole plant always helps there is no way for us to tell if it is acid or alkaline...you must get a ph kit or meter buy it online! I beleive your plant are hungry feed them with your ferts @ 1/4 strength the reccomended dosage
Tap water is better than distilled and cheaper too. If you feel like you must only give them the best of the best buy spring water or collect fresh rainwater. As long as you don't live in a metropolis where pollution is a big issue. Mary Jane has been on the planet a very long time by drinking rain water alone. It's not going to start hurting her now. When water is distilled, it does not automatically bring it's ph to neutral so fuggit, just use tap water man. It works just as good and is actually probably better for the plant. If I were you, I would find a digital ph meter online and have it shipped to you along with some neutral buffer solution for calibration. The fertilizer you want to use during the vegetative cycle needs to be high in nitrogen and lower in phosphorus and potassium. The fertilizer I use may be the same as yours. I believe the ratio is MG 30-10-10 and it works well. Remember to start at 1/4 strength per gallon for the first feeding and working it up gradually every other watering if the plants continue to respond well to it. The majority of my problems while growing have been Ph related. I think most of it can be attributed to the peat moss I use but I had an encounter with fish emulsion a while back that I would take great care to avoid in the future. Don't even pick it up off the shelf. 5-1-1 fish emulsion fertilizer is the DEVIL. If you fear your Ph may be getting too low find some hydrated lime and add a little of that to your soil. I've read that many people remove the top inch of soil, sprinkle it over the exposed area and replace the topsoil before watering well. When I transplant, I always shake a little into my potting mix to buffer my acidic ferts as well as add a little magnesium. They seem to like the "sweetened" soil and lets me add a little more peat moss which has a little nitrogen and improves the overall consistency of the soil.
first: tap water is different in every city, even in parts of the same city. so dont untill you KNOW what your tap water is (measured with a PH / TDS meter) dont assume anything 2nd , if you DONT KNOW weither your water is acidic or alkaline (most likely its alkaline, this is the basic water treatment standard) then dont start fucking with PH levels. feed the plants some nutes.. that soil looks pretty dry too, what kinda soil is it?
I'm going to respond to this super old post, with the information I have found during my google-fu. I am not an expert, but i would like to share the information. Nutrient availability is largely in part determined by pH. If you're not pH'ing your water correctly(even for plain waterings(even distilled water)), even with soil. eventually you will buff the medium to a pH level outside the range where plants can absorb nutrition. That's why they look nutrient deficient. You may get away with not pH'ing for a while, but not forever. At around 4 weeks 5 weeks the alkalinity(or acid) will likely have built up within the medium until your plants can no longer absorb the nutrients they need, no matter what strength(or dilution) of mix you give. Now, if you have been giving them distilled water ONLY for 35 days that's a problem too, because they're going to starve. However, unless you get that pH right it is unlikely that a feeding will stop them from starving in the conditions you described. Water pH should be around 5.0-5.8 for hydro, 6.0-6.5 for soil. Experts please advise for corrections. Good luck all, and Happy gardening!