So im about 4 weeks in or so with the white Russian(1st pic). The last two photos are at 8 weeks with another of the same strain. I use no liquid ferts or teas. Just plain Jane water. If you cant see the color right.. Its a lot of rust brown spots and splotches on the 8w plant. Also dark green shiny waxy leaves on the 4w on. My soil: I mix... 1 - 1.5 cu bag of fox farms ocean forest 10 gallons of sunshine mix #1 5 gallons fox farms happy frog .5 gallons earthworm castings .5 gallons ancient forest. Humus .75 gallons perlite .... ive been trying to figure this one out for about six months. I need someone that has used a similar mix to relate with this problem. I have a possible diagnosis, but I will add that to the thread later unless one of you organic nuts can help. I guess I am trying to figure out if I am lacking or overdoing the soil mix. assuming my grow conditions are next to ideal. And my water and watering is adequate. What can do to amend this issue. I guess I am looking for someone who has encountered this exact problem ajd has resolved it. I know its much to ask but I think you forum nerds are smart enough to figure it out. I would greatly appreciate the help all..
My first thought is nutrient burn. it's tough to tell becouse the light in the pic makes it hard to see the actual color
What kind of light are you using? And did you let soil mix "cook" for a little? Sometimes bagged soils aren't properly cooked long enough due to demand I hear..
Nothing different. I just water when the 4+ gallon pots need it. probably a quater to half gallon every other day or so depending on how far I am into flowering. And how much the plant seems to be uptaking water. I usually transplant the clones after a couple weeks of vegging, then strait into flower. I do no "cooking" btw.
If you can maybe take another picture in natural sunlight it would be easier for others to help you out
Imo they are out of food. The 8 week must have been a light feeder. You got 5 gallons of humus with like 30 gallons of soil. And the amount of amendments in the bagged soil dont last forever. I think your soils cashed and you are lacking food Edit: not quiet 30g of soil. I think you need more than one bucket tho
If your ratios are not a typo, the perlite is way short. You have mixed 28 gallons of organic media products, so you should have 7.5 gallons of drainage materia, not 0.75. Your symptoms look like a P deficiency not a toxicity. PW
[quote name='"Organicdreamin"']Imo they are out of food. The 8 week must have been a light feeder. You got 5 gallons of humus with like 30 gallons of soil. And the amount of amendments in the bagged soil dont last forever. I think your soils cashed and you are lacking food Edit: not quiet 30g of soil. I think you need more than one bucket tho[/quote] Thats .5 gallons of humus btw unless you typoed, and I use this mix for about 6 four+ gallon pots.
[quote name='"pointswest"']If your ratios are not a typo, the perlite is way short. You have mixed 28 gallons of organic media products, so you should have 7.5 gallons of drainage materia, not 0.75. Your symptoms look like a P deficiency not a toxicity. PW[/quote] So this drainage adjustment should fix/help the deficiency? How do you get this ratio you speek of? Would this cause a p problem?
Also please repost a diagnosis confirmation based on the better pics. especially if the correct colors of the photos have swayed you into believing a different one. Thanks
The Fox Farms soil would be my first guess to why your having problems. There soil lacks big time if your trying to just give water. I've experimented with it and a few others. Black gold seems to do ok but I recommend mixing your own and not cutting corners with store bought potting soil. You should start with peat and compost/ewc amended the soil with things like alfalfa, kelp and neem cake. The more diverse in ingredients the better, imo. You can maybe give them a FPE or botanical tea, but I would focus on building a proper soil for the future. Good luck, BeZ...V
Ive suspected ffof.. being that its a great part of the media im using, and simply things arent perfect. I have a short veg time making the plants about 8-10 inches tall in a small quart container before I transplant into a 4.5 gallon bucket, then right into flower. Would this be an issue with using water only tactics along with soil mixes. My concern is that maybe my root system isnt able to uptake enough during flowering. a while ago I determined that I needed a shorter veg time because I was getting a bit root bound in the 4.5 gal buckets. My nutrient issues have not changed since doing so. But rootboundness is off the list. I guess I just am trying to add some more on what ive done to figure out this issue. My goal is to make life easier by using only organics and water. I will admit lack of experience in creating this balance has infuenced me to cut corners. I used to use all sorts of liquid ferts, not all at the same time ofcourse.. Hygrozyme Ff big bloom Ff tiger bloom Earthjuice catalyst Earthjuice micronutrients Silica blast ...and some other high concentrated flowering nutes I will add none of then made much of a diference in the overall grow that I could tell. If I were doing hydro I feel they would have had a much more substantial effect within there applications. I will note that my best grows, a long time ago now, I used rainbow mix grow which uses kelp. So thanks for that confirmation. I will keep that in mind if I can get a good way of making a batch of my own soil. Still could use some advice on the 4 week old guy. When I put these plants into flower they seem to do better for a few weeks. Things are fast growing, lush, and visibly perfect. Until about the 4th week mark is when I first see signs of issues. Starting with a slight downward curling of the leaves. They will appear a bit dark and shiny. From there it slowly progresses into splotches and spots of rust colors. At the end necrosis of some leaves more than desired. But still having ok harvests. The cured nugs are potent and tastey. Is there anything I could do from this 4 week point to keep it from going the same way as usual(ie. The 8week pic). Assuming that this the beginning of the end result. I again will greatly appreciate the help, as well as the comments already.
You should really focus on mixing a good soil if you want to use only water and not have issues mid way through flower. Maybe you can add a FPE or botanical tea to your water, I would probably use kelp or comfrey or both. If you don't change your soil mix though its gonna continue to happen time after time every flower cycle. You should use your old root balls as a base for the soil you mix. Ingredients I choose to use are: Kelp Alfalfa Neem cake Azomite Greensand Crab meal Indonesian bat guano Jamaican bat guano Espoma plant tone is also a great amendment but I don't really use it anymore. You could use nothing but espoma and it would be better than FF. I add one cup of each to 1-2 cubic feet of soil. Who knows how much fix farms uses in a bag but its nowhere near as much. I also use comfry, Dandilion root, stinging nettles, and burdock root in botanical teas and FPE's that I add to the soil. They could also be used in waterings or sprays to though. I know I'm forgetting ingredients but that's definitely the majority. BeZ...V
[quote name='"BeZtoken"']The Fox Farms soil would be my first guess to why your having problems. There soil lacks big time if your trying to just give water. I've experimented with it and a few others. Black gold seems to do ok but I recommend mixing your own and not cutting corners with store bought potting soil. You should start with peat and compost/ewc amended the soil with things like alfalfa, kelp and neem cake. The more diverse in ingredients the better, imo. You can maybe give them a FPE or botanical tea, but I would focus on building a proper soil for the future. Good luck, BeZ...V[/quote] What is the starting ratio of peat, compost, and castings? Also will Ff happy frog work well as the compost. Its kind of like a mulch and I know where to find it easy for a decent price.
No the FF is not compost and con not replace it. You need to find good compost or ewc. Check Craigslist for local farms, they will sometimes give compost away. If not do a lot of research on any you find in stores. Compost and ewc are key I can't stress enough how important it is to find a good source. You can always start a compost or worm bin of your own as well. 40% peat 30% ewc/compost 30% airation amendment (I use perlite) I get it free. BeZ...V
the soil looks hot (leaf curl all over the place). next time make your own soil mix. heres a link to a great soil mix. http://forum.grasscity.com/organic-growing/1116550-easy-organic-soil-mix-beginners.html