Hey guys, Im growing a single plant from seed (unknown gender) under three low wattage CFLs for fun. I recently transplanted it into a bigger pot (Filled with Miracle Grow potting mix) and it has shown some good growth and the stem is getting thicker and much stronger. A few days ago I FIMmed it and as far as I can tell it was successful. Since transplanting it a few days ago (1 or 2...) it has only been watered once (during transplant). The top parts of the stems and veins entering the leaves have turned a reddish colour and the leaves are showing a slight tinge of yellow. A pair of leaves bellow the main grown are showing brown spots and yellowing. The main growth is also showing a small amount of yellowing at the tips.... I am thinking it looks like over watering but that isn't consistent to the water I have recently given it... What's going on? A picture of the whole plant The red stem area The yellow spots on both leaves The yellowing and red veins And finally the main growth (yay) Peace!
Hey man I am doing the same sort of thing, simple cfls now, and I have become really successful, my girl is now 2 months old and is flowering beautifully! Anyway, it looks like your plants suffering from nutrition block-- from either the ph in your water, or over fertilization from the miracle grow. I had the same issues, and it ended up being over fertilization. Make sure you check the ph in your water also, you can do that simply by using ph strips for a pool. if its above 6.5 then you need to lower it. An easy way of doing that is adding a tiny amount of white cider vinegar. Stir it around, a few drops or so in 2 cups full and then retest with a strip. The vinegar will not harm your plants because its a natural compound that will break down eventually. If you think that this might be because of over watering, then cut down on it and only water your plants when the top of the soil gets crust and when you stick your finger at least an inch or two down in the soil and its still dry. if its true that the soil had too much fertilizer, you may need to re-transplant to a better soil, but thats if its absolutely necessary. I hope some of this information helped you! happy growing!
Does your soil have time-release fertilizers in it? A lot of Miracle Grow soils do, which is one reason they aren't a good soil to use for growing MJ. If you do have the time-release ferts in there, you will have to transplant into a different soil that does not have them. If the soil doesn't have them, you should check your pH levels as the previous poster said. You want your soil and water pH to be between 6.5 and 6.8. It is better to be a little higher than 6.5 than to be a little lower. To test your soil pH, when you next water your plants, let a little runoff come out the drainholes, then grab a test sample of the runoff and see what the pH is. It is just a rough estimate of the soil pH but it is good enough to see if your pH is really high or really low.
I checked the bag and its kind of confusing, the soil contains Micromax nutrients which are "countinuous release" but I guess that implies sustained and not time... but what do you think? Also can I test the pH of the soil by taking a bit of the soil and mixing it with water then testing it? This would allow me to check the pH much sooner since I watered it recently.... If I found a pH imbalance would it be better to instantly try to fix the problem or wait until the plant actually needs watering again to do it....? Peace!
No, you can't use soil in the liquid test kits. The only real way is to catch some runoff at next watering, filter with a coffee filter and test with the liqiud kit. This will tell you if you have a ph problem. The ferts in your soil are tim e release and will make the PH fluctuate. As for fixing it, it will depend on the outcome of the test. But since you have to wait to water to test, anything that means adding more water can be done right away without worry of overwatering. You can give a plant 10 gallons of water and it won't overwater. But if you water 2 times a day with 1 liter it will be overwatered in no time. It's not how much but how often that leads to overwatering.
Okay, so since the ferts are time release, I should probably try to transplant it as soon as possible right and not even wait to do a pH test since it would take constant monitoring to keep a correct pH....?
Yep, get the plants out of that time-release soil and into a good potting soil without time-release ferts. I like Fox Farm Ocean Forest, but it is pricy. Every time you add more water, it will cause those time-release ferts to release some more, so the more water you add, the more they will release ferts.
like antigen said, transplant it if you can. i had the exact same issue with basic miracle grow potting soil, and unfortunately i didnt read the fine lines about the time release nutrients in the soil. It killed two of my plants, and one of my plants survived it and is still flowering and is lovely. Fox farm ocean forest is suchhh a great product, definitely get some if you can afford it. I am for my next grow good luck!
Went to the only local place open today (Damn you memorial day!!!!) and got the best I could find, Nature's Premium potting soil, looks good, nothing but soil and peat and the usual stuff. There weren't very many roots when I transplanted (saaaad). EDIT: Reduced to lower than usual level of light until I see its taken to the pot well, don't want to stop root growth by promoting leaf growth.... right?
thats correct, let it settle up a bit and see how it goes, then put it back to its normal light level! keep me posted on your progress! best of luck with you baby, im sure it will be just fine
Ill try and keep this thread updated until its out of woods.... I took a peek this morning and the top leaves are looking much greener and less yellow and the red veins are reduced, fingers crossed!
Hey guys! So an update, the top 3 leave fans are much greener and the main growth is nice and green, but the fans bellow have show some brown spots near the stem and are very yellow, almost to the point of looking lemon yellow. The top of the stem near the main growth is green instead of red now and the reddening is reduced. The yellowing I feel like could be cell death, or could it be a nute deficiency? I don't think its nute burn because there are no nutes in the soil and I haven't given it any.... I pH balanced the water to 6.5-9 but didn't check the runoff. Do you think I should try to feed it (the food I currently have is 10-15-10). Do you think since I can see new green growth I should also increase my lights back to the original level....? Peace!
Those leaves may die from the stress of being transplanted, but I would leave them alone until they fall off on their own so the plant can use up all the energy from them. You can try using some SuperThrive on it too, it has B-vitamins and other stuff in it that helps the plant through stressful times like a transplant. If you decide to feed it only give 1/4 or 1/2 strength at first and slowly build up to full strength. I would give it a week or 2 to adjust to its new soil before you feed, though. And I'm not sure about the lights since I don't know what the levels were at or are at now.
I had 3 lights, I turned two off so that the plant would promote root growth. Now that I can see that there are new signs of growth should I turn the other two back on...?
Fresh soil has enough nutrients in it to last at least a couple of weeks. It's better to underfeed than overfeed. Also, the plant probably still has some nutrient "beads" in the root ball. (If you look closely at the MG soil you should see little colored beads -- those are the time release nutes.) How many watts are you using? I would give it full light; the plant "knows" when it has to build root mass. Keep the bulbs an inch or two from the plant. Water when the soil is dry an inch below the surface, or when the plant feels light in weight. It's better to underwater than overwater. The fertilizer you have is for blooming, but in 2 - 3 weeks you could give it 1/4 strength fertilizer and then work up from there.
Yes, you can turn them back on. I think that in order to promote root growth you need to give them more dark time, not just less light. So, if you were giving 24 hours light you would cut down to 18 light/6 dark to promote root growth. I could be wrong about that, but in any case I still think you should turn your other lights back on.