1st Grow - Kingsnake235's - Soil - HID - Hash Plant & Black Indica - 2015

[Tead]

Screw the growing chatter... we're talkin 'bout food down here baby!

Love me some moose. We all have our favorites! I'll trade you some 'o dem dere furs for some crawfish!

 

[Kingsnake235]

sounds like we're fixin' to get on with a hootenanny roun' these parts!

 

[Kingsnake235]

Day 70 - 22 of flower

ok; quick update here. I did water the rest of the ladies a couple days ago after my last journal entry, same feed, 2.4mL/L of each + molasses.

what i didn't include, is that i got new molasses - organic blackstrap - and its Mg and Ca content is double the previous one i was using, it also contains Iron and Vitamin B6.

I'm wondering now after some reading, if this is causing a Mn lockout due to too much Mg and if i should flush this one? But could be something else.. the leaves were showing a bit of yellowing before i watered, which i attributed to not having had any fish mix for N since starting flower, but now think may be something else..

a day after watering, the effected leaves appeared overwatered and heavily deficient, but none of the other plants show the same signs and the stems are still firmly attached to the main stem.

i left a few fans on the bottom of another plant, but they are still looking ok, slowly being consumed, and the rest of the plants look good; could this be a result of an unaddressed issue before i plucked the fans?

sorry in advance for the sideways shots, i couldn't get the whole area to fit in landscape view.

This Black Indica 1, the tallest of the bunch, and looks good from above

but halfway down, her leaves are showing symptoms

that look like this up close.

from what i have deduced so far, the yellow leaves are on the oldest portion of the plant, which tells me that the issue resides in the original rootball they were grown into. That soil is quite dense and could have still been a bit moist when i watered; i don't probe too far into the centre to avoid hitting the taproot with the probe.

so, all in all, things are looking ok and I'm not too worried yet, but i'm not sure if this is something i should ride out or if it needs to be addressed yesterday, as it has progressed quite rapidly since watering.

I'll give it another day before i hit the problems board again

cheers

 

[GuttaCannabis]

Looking good bro

Sent from my SAMSUNG-SM-G900A using 420

 

[Kingsnake235]

found this thread with a handy table
Cannabis Nutrient And Deficiency Table - Great!

MANGANESE (Mn)
Necrotic and yellow spots form on top leaves. Mn deficiency occurs when large amounts of Mg are present in the soil. Foliar feed with any chemical fertilizer containing Mn.

so thats not it, but;

POTASSIUM (K)
Affected plants are usually tallest and appear to be most vigorous. Necrotic spots form on lower leaves. Red stems. Leaves appear pale or yellow. Add chemical fertilizer containing K.

this sounds about right..

been feeding with BioBloom(1-2-2) and added FishMix(4-0-3) this watering, but it seems to have worsened since that watering..

i read on another graphic that said potassium lockout can be caused by high salinity, and another thread here that suggests an abundance of magnesium could cause potassium lockout.

well. i've been feeding molasses for the cal/mag, and i think i must have over done it in my zeal. hehe..

Since i gave them bloom and fish, that means if the Mg has locked out the K, theres a ton of K just sitting there waiting to be used, so, next watering, maybe i'll only giving them BioHeaven and TopMax, to aid in the transport of nutrients without adding too much more. I'll keep researching till then though, of course..

hopefully the other girls don't show signs.

 

[Tead]

Do you / have you monitored PH of your input water?
Could it be a PH out of range issue? Could the new molasses be shifting it?
I don't usually worry about PH in soil, unless something is going wrong.

 

[Tead]

Of course, some fan leaf death during bloom is normal. Especially towards the end where the plant is pulling from the fan leaves to feed the bud growth.

 

[Kingsnake235]

Do you / have you monitored PH of your input water?
Could it be a PH out of range issue? Could the new molasses be shifting it?
I don't usually worry about PH in soil, unless something is going wrong.

i use plain tap water that comes out ~7pH but sometimes drops to like 6.8.. hard to tell cause I'm using the liquid reactant, but its always between orange (6.5) and light green (7), usually a light green; its gone up to dark green (8) once, but i used lemon juice to bring it down to 7 again.

i keep tabs on it every couple times i water or so cause its pretty stable, but i don't check my run-off pH at all. So it is possible, that with the overload of molasses, its become a bit unbalanced; definitely something i'd read/considered, but not sure how to confirm/deny beyond flushing past saturation next watering with just heaven and topmax and hoping for the best.

Of course, some fan leaf death during bloom is normal. Especially towards the end where the plant is pulling from the fan leaves to feed the bud growth.

yeah, the fans that are remaining on a couple other plants are slowly being consumed; i left them on because i wasn't feeding N for a while and didn't want them to slow pistil production. 90% of my fan leaves have been trimmed off tho in the last culling, the leaves that are effected are the smaller 4-5-6 finger leaves on the lower-mid branches, beneath the end bud growth.

i checked on them this morning and gave a few leaves a light tug downward; many of them pulled right off, but there are ~10 still hanging on firmly. I'll just let them run their course and see how she goes..

I notice a little bit of yellowish spotting starting to form on a larger leaf higher above the currently affected area, so I'm hoping the plant can take everything i needs from those smaller leaves and that it doesn't start spreading into the top growth before i can flush it and get those nutrients mobile again.

thanks for the input!

 

[Kingsnake235]

just a quick noote for me fellow igloo bound syrup jockeys to check oot the new link in me sig and sign de petition; maybe we c'n grease dem dere liberal wheels a bit and speed tings up, eh?

/fakeaccent

 

[Kingsnake235]

Day 74 - 26 of flower

so after 4 days, all the pots are light and probe dry; some of the other plants are starting to show light signs of what looks like the same as BI1 maybe.

I started with the 2 LST's and remembered about this:

Do you / have you monitored PH of your input water?
Could it be a PH out of range issue? Could the new molasses be shifting it?
I don't usually worry about PH in soil, unless something is going wrong.

so i checked the runoff pH and it was like. 4.X :-/ did some refreshing on Biobizz, that says not to adjust the pH with their lineup; i also mixed some molasses in a cup and checked the water to see if that was causing a drift, but it went up to ~7.5, not down..

hm.

i decided i was already into it so i flushed both LST's with 7.0 pH until the pH didnt go up anymore, could be 5 or it could be 6.5, lol, hard to tell with these liquid indicators sometimes.. but i swear it was bright yellow (6) and then it changed the next time, so it could be 6.5..

then i fed them both with 1/4 regular strength bloom, heaven, topmax for 2.4mL/G each

then i did the same with BI1 and HP3, which was showing some early similar signs; hoping to get ahead of it.
i'll let the other 2 dry out a bit longer and see how the others respond..

so i guess I'm wondering now, how accurate/important is the runoff reading when using organic nutrients?
biobizz says not to use a chemical pH modifier or it will ruin their nutrients or something; is there anything besides dolomitic lime that i can use to buffer the pH back up?

Here is Black Indica one, after losing a ton of her central leaves, theres a few yellow ones hanging on, with new leaves now showing symptoms.

And a progression of her symptoms

otherwise looking good.

otherwise the tents looking good; starting to get a nice fresh scent when i bury my face in them

Hashplant 2

Hashplant 3 the straggler

Black Indica 2, LST; frostiest one so far.

cheers!

 

[arteekay]

Wish I could help with the nutes, sorry man. Looking good otherwise.

 

[Kingsnake235]

its cool; i'll get it figured out, thats what the first run is all about!

 

[SWOGA]

Cannabis Plant and Pest Problem Solver - Pictorial

Easy on the molasses. There is a forum for plant problems. Search it out, the folks there are usually spot on.

Looks good otherwise, best of luck.

 

[Kingsnake235]

you know what I've seen that thread a few times, i always notice how many photos are missing, but i did just see this:

Here are some that will raise the pH: use these SOIL Adjustments when your pH is to low: pH UP, dolomite lime, hardwood ash, bone meal, crushed marble, or crushed oyster shells, potassium hydroxide

i have some bone meal. seems mostly to mix in, i can't find much info on using it to raise pH at a watering, so maybe i will post a new thread and see if anyone has tried it.

thanks for your input!

edit to add: heres the thread - > Organic Soil Lockout? Bonemeal for pH up? i'll leave most of the discussion about my problems there

 

[Kingsnake235]

so after starting that thread and doing some more reading; turns out you can use baking soda to up the pH.

while it is a lot of sodium, it seems to have worked. I put 5 more gallons with about 1 tsp each of baking soda thru BI1 and her pH seems to be ~6.3-6.5 so I'm hoping that helps. I'll have to invest in a proper pH meter before the next grow.

she gave off a nice perfume while i was watering, so i think she liked it; due to my uncertainty with all this going on, i didnt water 2 of the girls with the rest of them, so i've flushed them as well with a few gallons of pH8+ water, after letting them sit for a while and checking the last runoff, they both seem to be right around 6.5-6.8.

so.

to recap - (for my own notes)

yesterday
Black Indica 2 and Hashplant 1+3 were flushed with pH7.0 water; no nutes, runoff showing ~pH5-5.8

today
Black Indica 1+3 and Hashplant 2 were flushed with pH8+ water; no nutes, runoff showing ~pH6.5-6.8

we will see how the former respond; HP1 and BI2 are the LST's, and should be ready for another round in a day or two, HP3 will be a bit longer, and i don't expect the latter to dry out for at least 5 days.

i'll leave you with a few fresh pics.

oh; i also raised my light about.. 4 inches.

Here's Black Indica 2 (LST)

Hash Plant 1 (LST)

Hash Plant 3

 

[Tead]

Nice bud porn.

I use baking soda when I overshoot my ph down treatment. It's quite effective.

 

[Kingsnake235]

Nice bud porn.

I use baking soda when I overshoot my ph down treatment. It's quite effective.

certainly seems to be! i started with 1/4tsp per gallon and it took it from 7 right to ~8; unfortunately the liquid doesn't change above 8.5, so i can't tell how high it is after that.

I tried a couple early rounds with only 1/4 tsp/G and the runoff stuck at around 5.5, but when i put in 1-2tsp/gallon, it worked much better/faster and finally hit 6.5-6.8 range.

 

[captainhowdy]

Looking good man! Whoo hoo!

-Captain Howdy

 

[KbCobra]

Looks great! Keep on keeping on

 

[Kingsnake235]

Day 79 - 31 of flower

Back row: Black Indica 1, 2, 3
Front row: Hash Plant 3, 1, 2

5 days since
Black Indica 2(lst) and Hashplant 1(lst)+3 were flushed with pH7.0 water; no nutes, runoff showing ~pH5-5.8

the 2 LST's are dry, but i feel like they could be lighter, so i'm gonna let them go a bit longer this time; both their bottom leaves have just started wilting and I'm thinking i probably haven't let them dry out enough with the dense soil they started life in.

each of them is showing a bit of yellowing here and there, and a bit of nute burn, due to correcting the pH with residual nutrients in the soil i believe. I think its all normal for what they've been thru and what age they are tho.

BI2 (lst) Looks like the most mature buds so far, pistils starting to turn gold and getting frostier every day

HP1(lst) front right with other LST'd nugs bottom left + centre, (HP3 behind)

HP 3 is looking good, but a bit of lightening? (chlorosis?) rather than yellowing, on some of her mid-lower leaves (pictured in group shot above)

4 days since
Black Indica 1+3 and Hashplant 2 were flushed with pH8+ water; no nutes, runoff showing ~pH6.5-6.8

Indi 1 seems to be coming around, symptoms aren't spreading as far as i can tell, so i think i got the pH sorted out; her top cola is the most dense one so far and stretched to the internodes, smelling nice and fresh and feels sticky when i brush against it. Most of her lower central leaves are gone now however, so the only real bud action is on the cola.

Indi 3 is looking the healthiest of all the ladies right now, nice and lush with full growth top to bottom, buds haven't quite reached the internodes yet, but i expect she will begin to swell shortly.

HP2 is showing signs similar to HP3 so i think its all normal across the board now and will give a light feed when I'm satisfied with the weight of the pots - still quite heavy from that major flushing.

All in all nothing i am too worried about anymore as it seems to have abated and i am confident this was pH related; live and learn!

hoping to see these ladies start swelling up over the next few weeks since I'm right around 4.5 weeks into flower; i know i've hit a bit of delay but they're both 8 week strains so I'm hoping 5 or 6 more weeks till they're ready to take down at the longest.

next feed for the LST's will be tomorrow. Any thoughts on adding the baking soda to a light nutrient solution to up the pH? Biobizz says don't add ph up or anything cause it will kill the microbes, but baking soda might be ok..? Either way, the pH was way too low, so i have to use it.