Hi, My friend has two flowering females in 5-gallon, stand-alone hydroponic bubble buckets. They are both in week 2 of flowering. One of the plants is showing Indica traits and the other is most likely a Sativa. They both came from bag seed from good chronic. They are both being fed Advanced Nutrients 3-part formula (Grow, Micro, Bloom) with no other additives or supplements. The water is RO filtered tap water. The nutrient solution is changed once a week. The bottle says to use 1.4 tsp per gallon during "mild flowering" phase but he thinks that's too much so he used the Advanced Nutrients old calculator (Nutrient Calculator, Hydroponics nutrient calculator) which he used last grow with success. Temps are kinda hot, sometimes 85 degrees and humidity is around 50-55%. A fan and a dehumidifier are on constantly but there's no AC at the moment. Lights are 730 W BadBoy Quantum T-5 with 12 bulb setup. The same lights were used last grow with great success and fluorescent lights were preferred because of heat problems. The plants stems are very bendy and weak with no strength or rigidity. Hardly strong enough to carry big buds. The stems are more like twizzlers than plant stems and bend and fold too easily. What is causing this and how can my friend save his grow?
Fans blowing on the plants will encourage stem thickening. You want the plants to be shaking somewhat in the breeze. Ideally, you want to be doing this during veg so the stems are ready to hold buds when flowering starts. Tying the stalks down can encourage stem thickening if done right. When a stalk is tied down just a little too tightly, it'll often both grow away from the pull of the string and also thicken its stem. As for food, stem growth pretty much needs all of the macro nutrients. Extra calcium may be helpful.