I am new to growing now that Rec is legal in Maine! I got some great clones and everything went well until flowering began. I feel like they are not budding fast enough but again I'm new to this so maybe I'm wrong! So my problem now is purple leaf stems and purpling of a few upper stems. I have read that PH can be the cause, but I've also read that it's not a big deal. I got a bluelab PH meter and my well water tested 9.0. A lot higher than I've read about for soil. Any advice is appreciated!
Purple stems MAY be a phosphorous deficiency. This can be caused by a lack of P or more likely incorect ph. If your oh is to high or low your plant will not be able to absorb nutrients properly even if you feed them. 9 is way too high. Get a digital ph meter and some ph down on ebay. Ph your water to 6.5, water your plant and collect the runoff from the bottom. If the ph is between 6 and 7 your ok. If its higher than 7 start ph'ing your water to 6. If its lower than 6 start ph'ing your water to 7.
If your plants are in the ground there is a way to test the soil ph but im not familiar with it. Im sure someone on here will help u tho.
Also buds do not grow at a steady pace. Growth occurs in spurts for a week or two then slows for a week or two. Just be patient. Buds can put on up to 25% of their final weight in the last two weeks.
Thanks for the info! The temps here at night have gotten down to 55F. Could that have something to do with the purpling?
Thanks for the advice! It seems like vinegar has worked great for a lot of people with my ph problem! I'll give it a shot and post results! Good luck with your backyard grow. Mine is in the backyard too
Hi Esteban420, thanks for the information. Unfortunately, my plants are in the ground so there is no way for me to test the runoff... I assume if I've been watering all along with 8.5-9ph water that the soil has higher levels, just no way to know. The soil I started with is from Aurora Organics.
From what ive read from "the maurijuana grow bible" and "the cannabis encyclopedia" is that temperature is directly related to purpling. Says places like alaska because its so cold at night some plants will even turn so dark purple they appear black. Im currently growing the same plants indoor and outdoor; the one inside has zero purpling....the one outside has purpling on stems and new growth is near all purple. With the cold nights here i wanted to test the theory and it seems to be true! I wouldnt worry about purpling....besides...purple = danks....RIGHT???? lol
My well water comes out just below 9 ph and I never adjust it or have any problems ever. I threw it away years ago. Although I use a peat base which is pretty acidic and use lime as a buffer. Growing organically helps as well.
yea it does that, but also its a neutral ph buffer. Correct me if I'm wrong but from what I've read lime exchanges hydrogen ions to get get as close to neutral as possible. Both raising ph in acidic soils and lowering ph in alkaline mediums. Correct? I'm pretty sure that's why I'm not talking in absolutes.
No I'm not trying to argue anything either man, I'm generally trying to learn and if I remembered something wrong it is good to be corrected. It's been a long time since I've looked into lime and could be off base. I'll have to do some further research because I genuinely don't want to give any kind of misinformation. No hard feelings. I could of just swore I read that adding lime creates a neutral buffer causing the medium to reach towards 7.0 depending on what's in it.
Wow guys. Calcium is one of the biggest things in growing. All carbonate forms of Ca will raise Ph. Oyster shells, lime, chicken eggs ext ext. The only Ca that wont effect ph is Gypsum because it also comes with sulfur. This is huge guys, study up. Lack of P causes purple stems. Colder temps will block the uptake of P. Ph above 7 or below 6 will effect the uptake of P. If you want to see the purple go away, top dress with some bat guano that has a NPK ratio high in P. For example, 1-15-0. Something like that. I would imagine some gypum would do you good, but without pics, I can't tell. Maybe some powdered milk for the high Ca and P. Good luck.
Thanks Bulldog11 for the info! Here are a few pictures of the purpling on the stems. I have been watering all along with a ph that's too high, but the Aurora soil they were planted in had bat guano in it. What do you guys think?