Autos beautiful buds, but lots of yellow leaves

[beard o]

I've got loads of beautiful buds, already begining to glisten. Even with the exhaust fan the tent stinks. Only problem, yellow and yellowing leaves.

5 gallon size pots, FFOF soil. Been fed twice with GH Maxibloom, once with Bestie Bloomz, 1/4tsp/gal. Calmag, and re pHed to 6.5.

Thoughts?

 

[Sueet]

Needs nitrogen, looks like you are only giving it flowering nutes, which are typically very low in nitrogen, beastie bloomz has none at all.

 

[beard o]

So should I back off on the GH Maxibloom, and begin feeding GH Maxigrow? Maxigrow is a nitrogen rich food, right? I'm well into flower on these autos.

 

[Sueet]

Well, you're clearly in flower, but also in deficit on the nitrogen, I would use both for a week or two. Maybe just half/half dose. She might green right back up if you get it to her quickly, those leaves haven't been abandoned yet.

 

[beard o]

Well, you're clearly in flower, but also in deficit on the nitrogen, I would use both for a week or two. Maybe just half/half dose. She might green right back up if you get it to her quickly, those leaves haven't been abandoned yet.

Thank you

 

[SmokingWings]

I've got loads of beautiful buds, already begining to glisten. Even with the exhaust fan the tent stinks. Only problem, yellow and yellowing leaves.

The plant has gotten large enough that the 5 gallons of soil is no longer able to supply the amounts of nutrients that are needed. Plus it is in full blown flowering so the plant is demanding even more.

The plant responds to the demand by taking the needed nutrients from what was deposited and stored in the fan leaves. That is what you are seeing taking place now.

Been fed twice with GH Maxibloom, once with Bestie Bloomz, 1/4tsp/gal. Calmag, and re pHed to 6.5.

Under feeding would not have been a problem until flowering started. It will be hard to play catch-up but with a change in the feeding and some luck the yellowing you are seeing can be slowed down.

Well, you're clearly in flower, but also in deficit on the nitrogen,

Yep. And also Potassium. Both Nitrogen and Potassium deficiencies show a yellowing of the leaves. Most of the time it starts to show about 2 weeks after the plant is switched over to a flowering light schedule or two weeks after the first stigma/pistils start to show.

Been fed twice with GH Maxibloom, once with Bestie Bloomz, 1/4tsp/gal. Calmag, and re pHed to 6.5.

@beard o, my suggestion is to start a feeding schedule using a light Nitrogen and light Potassium source mixed in with the normal watering. I use a fish based fertilizer of 1-1-1 or 2-1-1 or sometimes 5-1-1. For the Potassium I like to use a liquid seaweed product or a Kelp seaweed with numbers near 0-0-3 or 0-0-5. I am not looking for a balanced fertilizer but instead concentrating on the Nitrogen numbers and the Potassium numbers.

You might not be able to stop the yellowing but maybe slow it down so more green leaves are still around towards the end.

Next grow consider beefing up your pre-flowering fertilizer schedule about 2 weeks before the plant starts flowering. There are plenty of options available.

 

[beard o]

I cleaned up and fed this plant. Blue Dream auto day 55. Thoughts

 

[SmokingWings]

I cleaned up and fed this plant. Blue Dream auto day 55. Thoughts

I tend to leave the fan leaves on until they turn yellow and fall off with the slightest touch.

Was it a normal feeding or something special?

My favorite plants to work with are clones off of a photoperiod Blue Dream that was originally planted back in November of 2017. Clones from clones from clones and all that.

 

[beard o]

I tend to leave the fan leaves on until they turn yellow and fall off with the slightest touch.

Was it a normal feeding or something special?

My favorite plants to work with are clones off of a photoperiod Blue Dream that was originally planted back in November of 2017. Clones from clones from clones and all that.

Now that they're in flower I'm feeding them Maxibloom mixed @ 1tsp/ gal.
Every other watering they get Beastie Bloomz mixed @ 1/4tsp/gal, and a dose of Calmag. This is the first time I've grown Blue Dream.

 

[KeithLemon]

I am using GH nutes this year are you suggesting using more maxigrow in veg? It suggests 1 or 2 teaspoon per gallon water. Should we use the 2 teaspoons instead of just one teaspoon?

 

[SmokingWings]

This is about photoperiod plants including the change in the light schedule which starts the flowering stage. At the end is my thoughts on auto-flowers.

My thoughts on why my current fertilizing schedules are helping to reduce the number of fan leaves that turn yellow and fall off. The plants are growing in a basic soil mix and I am currently using or experimenting with the Terp Tea Grow and Terp Tea Bloom from Roots Organic with supplements of Nitrogen and Potassium from other companies.

What I have been testing for the last 2 years is starting to feed the flowering fertilizer two or three weeks before the plants are put under a 12/12 light schedule. This allows time for the micro-organisms in the soil to find the new fertilizers and start to eat, live and reproduce and increase their numbers because these nutrients are now available.

Once the plant is starting to flower in the new couple of weeks it will secrete exudates through the root system signalling a need for these same nutrients to support the new flower growth. This stimulates the same micro-organisms to actively search out and consume and digest the needed nutrients and release them back into the soil so that they can be absorbed by the roots.

I do not continue with the vegetative or grow fertilizers once I start with the flowering. It is a feeding change two weeks before the light schedule change instead of waiting until the stigma/pistils are starting to grow. I will supplement with low level Nitrogen and Potassium fertilizers. Nitrogen because the plant needs it for photosynthesis and uses it in every part that is green which includes all the 'sugar' leaves, the flower buds and the remaining fan leaves. Potassium is needed by the plant for regulating photosynthesis, the stomata and basic overall health.

Other thoughts and observations. I have 'played' around with 3 gallon and 5 gallon pots. Naturally, the larger the pot of soil the better. Not only because of more soil but also because the amounts of the flowering fertilizers to add are often based on the size of the container. Currently I have been using 3 gallon pots and have been able to hold off the start of the yellowing of the leaves until 3 to 4 weeks after the light change. And so far it also looks like the number of fan leaves that are showing yellow at any time is greatly reduced which means that when the leaves have turned yellow and fallen off there are still a lot of green fans still available.

Also started noticing that it works much better if the plant is transplanted into its final pot about two weeks before the light change. Still working on that aspect of the overall growing and fertilizing schedule.

Maxibloom mixed @ 1tsp/ gal.
Every other watering they get Beastie Bloomz mixed @ 1/4tsp/gal, and a dose of Calmag.

Is this the General Hydroponics Maxibloom. I did not look at the ratio of fertilizer to water but the NPK numbers appear to be good. The Beastie Bloomz and the other 2 finishers from Fox Farms are what started me down this rabbit hole about 5 years ago. I was not getting the results in the flowering stage that I wanted and started to look at other ways of fertilizing through to the end without what looked like a rapid decrease in the overall plant health.

I am using GH nutes this year are you suggesting using more maxigrow in veg? It suggests 1 or 2 teaspoon per gallon water. Should we use the 2 teaspoons instead of just one teaspoon?

Try it. The extra will help grow a larger plant which is nice unless the amount of soil can no longer support the extra growth.

What I am working on is reducing the loss of most or all the fan leaves before the end of flowering. Without those fan leaves making it through to the end it always seems like a reduction in the harvest size and quality.

If growing auto-flowers the gardener is going to have to get used to reading the plant to know when it is starting to change over. I figure those signs would start to show about 10 days before the stigma/pistils start growing but not sure. I have only grown one auto and that was by accident so it ended up being thrown on the compost pile. Awhile back @bluter mentioned looking for and reading the autoflower plant if trying to stay ahead of anticipated changes in feeding amounts, etc. Maybe he has a few pointers.