Yellowing leaves: Advice before action

[Ups]

Hey all,

I’m new to the forum, and I know that this topic has been covered many-a-times, but I can’t help posting for my girl cause she is the first and after reading all the others posts on yellowing leaves I’ve decided to go ahead and transplant her to a bigger pot and fresher soil. But first! I want all of your takes on it.

Strain: auto wedding cake
medium : soil
Time : 3rd week
Nutes : Been using coffee grounds just to help the soil a bit with nitrogen deficiencies I’ve had.
Light : led ts600 Mars hydro
Box : custom h160x w80 x l120
Pot : about 5l air pot

I’m concerned 1, that the pot is now getting small, even tho she’s pretty small at the moment. And 2, that the coffee grounds I was using went a little to hard on her and caused some burning. I’ve watered her maybe 3 times these past 3 weeks of growth, she’s just starting to dry out again, that’s why I figured it would be a good time to take action. What do you all think??
thanks!!

 

[Bill284]

Hey all,

I’m new to the forum, and I know that this topic has been covered many-a-times, but I can’t help posting for my girl cause she is the first and after reading all the others posts on yellowing leaves I’ve decided to go ahead and transplant her to a bigger pot and fresher soil. But first! I want all of your takes on it.

Strain: auto wedding cake
medium : soil
Time : 3rd week
Nutes : Been using coffee grounds just to help the soil a bit with nitrogen deficiencies I’ve had.
Light : led ts600 Mars hydro
Box : custom h160x w80 x l120
Pot : about 5l air pot

I’m concerned 1, that the pot is now getting small, even tho she’s pretty small at the moment. And 2, that the coffee grounds I was using went a little to hard on her and caused some burning. I’ve watered her maybe 3 times these past 3 weeks of growth, she’s just starting to dry out again, that’s why I figured it would be a good time to take action. What do you all think??
thanks!!

Hey all,

I’m new to the forum, and I know that this topic has been covered many-a-times, but I can’t help posting for my girl cause she is the first and after reading all the others posts on yellowing leaves I’ve decided to go ahead and transplant her to a bigger pot and fresher soil. But first! I want all of your takes on it.

Strain: auto wedding cake
medium : soil
Time : 3rd week
Nutes : Been using coffee grounds just to help the soil a bit with nitrogen deficiencies I’ve had.
Light : led ts600 Mars hydro
Box : custom h160x w80 x l120
Pot : about 5l air pot

I’m concerned 1, that the pot is now getting small, even tho she’s pretty small at the moment. And 2, that the coffee grounds I was using went a little to hard on her and caused some burning. I’ve watered her maybe 3 times these past 3 weeks of growth, she’s just starting to dry out again, that’s why I figured it would be a good time to take action. What do you all think??
thanks!!

Beautiful girl my friend welcome to 420magazine.
Leaf necrosis can occur when it touches the ground or sometimes the pot.
Also I would start her on a nutrient solution. I don't think coffee will do it.
Bill

 

[Ups]

Hey Bill,
Thanks a lot for the advice and encouragement. So for you this is just leaf necrosis? You wouldn’t say that it was an excess or deficiency of anything? I’m taking into I consideration the nutrient solution, I have Biobizz’s “grow” formula that I’ll start adding eventually, I just wanted to be sure it wasn’t too soon or already experiencing early signs of nutrient burn.
Thanks again,

Jim

 

[bruno12345]

Hello ups!

Do you have a PPM meter? or EC meter?
You could take some readings to see the runoff PPM.

They are very dark green, and if i can see right, there appears to be some clawing which could indicate some N overfert.
The new growth appears to have burnt tips also.

I would led them dry, and do some slow flushing with your nutrient solution, into a 400PPM and see how it reacts.

But man, im no pro, only second grow going on, and made some mistakes too, you may want to wait a more experienced grower advice hahahah.

 

[Ups]

Hey Bruno,
Thanks for the reply!

I was thinking the same thing about the nitrogen. I’m pretty sure I over exaggerated with the coffee grounds; wasn’t expecting it to be so potent .
I was going to flush her a bit, but I can’t read ppm or ec. Right now the soil is just about dried up, and what’s more is the growth seems to have come to a halt.. so it seems like a good idea to try .
Cheers

 

[bruno12345]

Hey Bruno,
Thanks for the reply!

I was thinking the same thing about the nitrogen. I’m pretty sure I over exaggerated with the coffee grounds; wasn’t expecting it to be so potent .
I was going to flush her a bit, but I can’t read ppm or ec. Right now the soil is just about dried up, and what’s more is the growth seems to have come to a halt.. so it seems like a good idea to try .
Cheers

I strongly recommend you invest some money in a TDS meter, for Reading ppms. I paid 8 dollars in Mine here in BR. Saved my First grow countless times.

If It Works for you tell us later, wish you the best luck brother

 

[Bill284]

Hey Bruno,
Thanks for the reply!

I was thinking the same thing about the nitrogen. I’m pretty sure I over exaggerated with the coffee grounds; wasn’t expecting it to be so potent .
I was going to flush her a bit, but I can’t read ppm or ec. Right now the soil is just about dried up, and what’s more is the growth seems to have come to a halt.. so it seems like a good idea to try .
Cheers

Although there are nutrients in coffee grounds, im not sure how much, or what portion is available to your girl.
For the most part she looks good, I would take the guess work out feed her a nutrient solution and alternative water /nutrients, letting her dry in-between.
Coffee is a little acidic so I'm not sure how that effects the soil. Take out the guess work feed her nutrients you control and keep her healthy.
Bill

 

[Ups]

Hey guys,
Thanks again for the help.

Today since I had to water her, I figured I go ahead and move her already to a bigger air pot and give her a flushing. It’s a pretty scary process being a noob and all and while I probably should have just taken your advice, Bill, this can only serve as a lesson for my future grows. It’s tough when it’s your first baby, isn’t it? Always overprotective of it even to fault.. ohh well I guess. All I have now are my prayers and hopes that she won’t keel over! Hope you guys say a prayer for her too, I’ll be sure to update tomorrow to show what the results are and hopefully help some other novice growers make the right decisions based on the circumstances.

To explain the coffee grounds idea, I’m actually using a soil very low in nutrients. Lots of my plants have already died, not making it past the seedling phase. We’re they duds? Was the soil not proper enough? Anyway once I started adding the coffee grounds which are nitrogen rich, I managed to get some results. The other reason is that my water is naturally in the 7-7.5 pH range. The acidity in the coffee helped me bring it down to a reasonable range of 6.2-6.5 .
Everything was going great until recently when the yellowing leaves became more and more widespread. Plus the stems of certain leaves becoming purpleish-red.. I figured I ODed with the coffee grounds as I did use quite a bit at one point, not thinking it would be very rich..
Alas, we’ll see what comes of this last move.
Be back soon!

 

[Ups]

!! Change is underway !! At least I think..

I’m back with an update and I wonder if you’ll be as surprised as I was...

the transplant went fine, the growth is definitely slow, but as it has been the past couple days I’ve been seeing the signs. The leaves that were too affected I decided to cut off and I’m keeping a close eye on some others as I’ve noticed the stems reddening. Anyway, what really surprised me last night when opening my tent was the lovely bud smell! I looked closer and realized, she’s in flower already! At least I think.. I do see little white pistols that I’ve taken photos of so you can all help me confirm my beliefs, but man that was fast! i guess it makes sense tho, the stress may have caused her to go straight to flower, and I don’t really have a green thumb for her to have grown much more than this for only 3.5 weeks.. but she is an auto, and my first one; so I’m looking forward to my next grows! Definitely learned a lot so far.
Please stick around to help me get this one bud as big as I can!
my questions now are, do I begin feeding and treating as in flower with my BioBizz bloom nutes? Do I keep watering as often as I have been (once a week)?

 

[Bill284]

congratulations she’s in flower. When pistols appear is week one.
Get the schedule for your nutrients and try and follow it. Water/feed/water/feed.
Lift that pot or your never going to let it dry properly as required.
Are you comfortable with your watering techniques?

 

[Ups]

Hey Bill,
So far my techniques are as sophisticated as sticking my finger in and deciding if she’s thirsty or not. I have the beginners fault of usually watering too much... but I also believe I’ve let plants die from the roots hitting dry ground. So I’d have to answer, no I am not comfortable with my watering techniques haha. And I’ve looked at hundreds of different sites and forums and tried to take in all the different techniques and advice but I find myself generally a little lost as I find they sometimes tend to contradict each other. So any advice is always welcome, and I will already adopt the pot lift to better judge.

 

[Bill284]

Hey Bill,
So far my techniques are as sophisticated as sticking my finger in and deciding if she’s thirsty or not. I have the beginners fault of usually watering too much... but I also believe I’ve let plants die from the roots hitting dry ground. So I’d have to answer, no I am not comfortable with my watering techniques haha. And I’ve looked at hundreds of different sites and forums and tried to take in all the different techniques and advice but I find myself generally a little lost as I find they sometimes tend to contradict each other. So any advice is always welcome, and I will already adopt the pot lift to better judge.

@Ups Don't stick your finger in any more. Your objective now is to grow the root ball. Dont water your plant water where you want the roots to go.
You want to water in a circle around her so the roots Chase the water to the outside rim of pot, where it can take in oxygen. Once you fill the pot then there are two watering tutorials i recommend.
Watering the BLT method in @Backlipslide signature. Very good tutorial.
Then read this and memorize the theory behind it. Its what you need going forward.
How to water a potted plant in @Emilya ,s signature .
If you have any questions or need help with anything specific you can call me by adding @ infront of my name, or anyone, @Bill284 .
Give those a go and you should be more confident.
Also keep lifting the pot until you learn to read her needs. She will tell you when she is thirsty. Her leaves will gradually start to droop. Watch her and learn as best you can.
Bill

 

[Ups]

Hey Bill,

great reads! Thanks for the tip. Feel like I’m understanding better already. Your help is much appreciated.

Still lots of time till we see what yields will come of this gal, I’ll be sure to update hopefully with good news in the future. Otherwise, I know where to go if I have more questions thanks

 

[bruno12345]

Hey Ups, how you doing?

I would advise you to, until you become a experienced grower, to try feminilized strains, they are a lot more forgiving.
Because if you get the plant stunted, or slow growth, you can still figure things out and get the baby on track again.

When using autos, loosing time is loosing yield, because you cant extend the veg period.

you can still harvest them fast if you want tho.

 

[Ups]

Hey Bruno,
Sound advice I’d say. I was under the impression that the autos were more hearty but it makes sense that they would be more difficult to get better yields since simple errors become drastic obstacles in such a short growth period. However as I’m only starting, and honestly just wanting to get some bud, I told myself first I’d go fast with autos then take my time with photos. But I’ve actually been trying to grow both.. it’s just this auto that managed to get past the seedling phase. Not sure exactly what was wrong but definitely a combo of bad soil and poor watering technique.

 

[bruno12345]

Hey Bruno,
Sound advice I’d say. I was under the impression that the autos were more hearty but it makes sense that they would be more difficult to get better yields since simple errors become drastic obstacles in such a short growth period. However as I’m only starting, and honestly just wanting to get some bud, I told myself first I’d go fast with autos then take my time with photos. But I’ve actually been trying to grow both.. it’s just this auto that managed to get past the seedling phase. Not sure exactly what was wrong but definitely a combo of bad soil and poor watering technique.

Nice man! You'll get to it, dont be down.

Well, from my experience, my first grow i made maybe, 90% of all the possible mistakes one person could do (the other 9% i made in my actual second grow hahahha). From seedlings to maybe 45 days, they suffered A LOT.

I can tell you that if i had an auto i would get around 5 grams, with best of luck.

The thing is, after i got my babies on track (changed fertilizer to organic, learned watering technique from emylia, improved air circulation, discovered that my soil that was supposed to come from the manufacturer with 350ppm was 2000ppm), they started growing wonderfully quick.

In the end i harvested near to 150g of dried buds, from 3 beautiful plants in a 0,80mx0x80m grow room.
Cant tell you how happy i was.

So be investigative in what you think you can get better, and im sure that you will be proud and excited about your babies growth. The first thing is a TDS Meter/EC meter, to me its an indispensable tool that can elevate your game.

Whatever i can help you, to the limit of my knowledge, ill be here, and many other 420mag friends will too. Peace brother.

 

[Ups]

Hey man,

thanks bro, it’s great to have your support! Already feeling 90% more likely to succeed my future grows than before, and 9% less likely to make the same mistakes haha
You definitely make a good point in that it would be much easier in the long term to be able to take my time but again, I came in hot and and got on the wrong wagon. But don’t worry, it’s not going to stop me. Even if I get 1 gram, I’m gonna be over the moon haha so to speak...
Next grows will be much more thorough and followed up so you can be expecting plenty of posts and questions coming from me.

Peace!

 

[Ups]

Hey @Bill284 and @bruno12345

so actually already have a question about watering, the thing is that I already transferred to a bigger pot, but the plant is still small. Last time I watered was 3 days ago, and the pot is still heavy. I’m guessing it’s going to take a while for the next watering since the plant must not be drinking that much. Is there anything I should do other than just wait till it dries out again to water+feed her?
The last time I watered I didn’t feed since I didn’t realize she was going into flower and also feared I had an excess of nitrogen in the dirt. she seems to be doing fine now otherwise, just wish I had known so I could have at least gave her some bloom nutes..

Cheers guys

 

[Bill284]

Hey @Bill284 and @bruno12345

so actually already have a question about watering, the thing is that I already transferred to a bigger pot, but the plant is still small. Last time I watered was 3 days ago, and the pot is still heavy. I’m guessing it’s going to take a while for the next watering since the plant must not be drinking that much. Is there anything I should do other than just wait till it dries out again to water+feed her?
The last time I watered I didn’t feed since I didn’t realize she was going into flower and also feared I had an excess of nitrogen in the dirt. she seems to be doing fine now otherwise, just wish I had known so I could have at least gave her some bloom nutes..

Cheers guys

If your growing in soil then that is standard procedure. Water let dry out then give nutrients then let dry and repeat. Your lifting the pot but its been updated so you may have trouble telling the difference. If you watch her she will tell you when she is thirsty. Her leaves will start to droop.
Do you have any kelp or b1 products? They help her roots get going faster.
Bill

 

[bluter]

hi ups

The Proper Way To Water A Potted Plant

The Proper Way to Water a Potted Plant Also covered: the importance of pH and why we successively up-pot How to Water Over the last several years I have put a lot of study into this, and I feel that I can now define the proper way to water a potted plant. Keep in mind that this discussion...

www.420magazine.com

that link may help. if you are using bio-bizz soil - you didn't say - it has enough nutes in the soil for a few weeks. you have to watch the plant like a hawk to see when the soil depletes and the hand off to bottle nutes begin. you will need to use the full set of complimentary nutes. usually 2 - 3 bottles for the base nutes.

autos feed a bit light normally. it doesn't really help you as you've no idea what a regular plant would feed, but at least the idea is there as a reference.

Hello ups!

Do you have a PPM meter? or EC meter?
You could take some readings to see the runoff PPM.

runoff ppm has no relevant info. it's only your inputs that matter.