Flowering, pistils all dying or dead: Help!

[trailblazer]

Weird, have you found out what was wrong with the plants, it could be nothing though, how many days did you dry for?

 

[Lusi]

Thanks for the advice guys! I tried to shave down my reply to a few lines, but have failed... Good answers deserve good replies!

I'm not good at picking out real good info from bad info, or getting things that aren't adds in google. That's why I bought another pile of MJ books at Borders. :-D (one of them is awesome for MJ problems!) It seems the more ideas and options from different sources to experiment with, the better chances are at success. I never thought to follow and copy someone else's exact grow. Will look through more of these!! I can't find much of anything on my strain of MJ. It's one of the lower cost ones from Sensi Seeds. I'm thinking serious growers might not buy this strain, just tourists. At least it was easy to grow and didn't let me kill it! I never thought to use Youtube as a source for info. I'll try that next!

Which plant is in a small pot? I can take care of that one ASAP! These cloth pots don't let the roots show on the bottom and are a real pain to transplant. The roots grow into the material. Waste of $$. PF, your root article makes sense. Why don't people just stick the seedling in a 20 gallon pot the first transplant? I'll look into new pots for sure! I'd like to learn and grow this plant before committing to a choosing from all of the hydro options. It seems this in another thing to do right the first time and take the time and $$ to get the right system.

PP, thanks for the bug killer info. It sounds better than the garlic, hot pepper and soap spray i tried to make... didn't kill anything.

Also, TY for letting me know about the CFLs. Buying a window AC unit (for the room the tent is in) and a 600W HPS might be easier in the long run. I'll stick to those CFLs and the 2 T5s for vegging. It looks like they are enough to get the plants 12" or so before flowering. The 150W HPS was another waste of $$, before I had a book or forum.

I have no idea why my harvested buds don't smell still. The ones I tried were not very potent and gave me a panic attack, while still relieving some pain. Darnit. They've been drying in a box for over a week. I was planning to move them to jars when the stems break instead of bending. That's not happening yet. :-( My newest book skips this step completely!? Will try youtube.

I'm glad I didn't take the advice to harvest over a month ago. Still, what a waste! The remaining buds on the plants don't look ready, to me. Maybe a 600W in the garage will keep them warm long enough to mature? I'd have to chose in the next few days. The trichs are cloudy and a bit of amber... After all of this work, I'd hate to lose the plants and harvest now!

Better go stir the budder again. The darn cat hears didn't filter out well. Yum Yummy! She likes to race by and dunk her tail into my dinner, just to get attention. Cat hair clogs the sink, the dryer, collects in the washer, sneaks into the fridge, and covers every surface of home and cars. I shaved the other cat, but this one bites. Yeah! (luv her royal snobiness anyway)

At least cat hair doesn't vaporize... yet.

 

[Lusi]

PF, forgot to tell you that healthy good roots have been my #1 problem form the start and for my seedlings still is! My flowering plants all have small root systems and I transplanted into larger pots with better soil too late I fear. Those roots don't even fill up a 3 gallon pot. :-( Your info about the plant waste is very good and I agree 100% of not reusing the water with the waste and nutes! #1 flaw in many hydro systems seems air, waste water re-use, and PH. Your roots look great in your system. How in the heck do you get them out of that pot to transplant???! I'm about to buy one of each type of soil pot, to see which one wins the prize. Do you have info somewhere about soil growing? I'd like to see what you came up with, before switching over. Spending $20 on one air pot seems absurd. Bigger pot and lighter soil (perlite or sand?), then not letting your potted plant sit in its own waste water and soaking it back up seems to be a darn good start. I'll be elated just to complete one live indoor grow the first try. LOL

You said you have the LED and T-5 for veg and finish with the T-5s. Everything I'm reading says these are good for veg, but until the LED lights are improved a bit, not great to flower until white is added, or at least not reliable... and expensive. So much light info and different opinions! I wanted to keep my first inside grow as simple as possible, but feel completely overwhelmed. I worry that I bit off more than I can chew (or need) when I bought that 4x4 tent... hard to pass up a deal like that. LOL I certainly don't need that much MJ! Darn that bugger us huge now that it's set up! I'll try to make part of this into a veg area. Growing MJ seems like an 8 hr a day job with 5 hours a day staring at this computer. I'm too old to figure out how to make this computer do what I want it to. ;-(

 

[Lusi]

Why do I have to use google to search for 420 info, then fish through the other sites for the right threads? My searches for a 600W air cooled light in the 420 search gets me one hit, about a 1000W light. :-( I wanted a more specific search for info on a air cooled hood vs the thing called "cool tube". I've narrowed it down to two choices to buy, but dearly don't want to screw up and get the wrong item, over and over. I need a darn light ASAP and can't wait until Xmas. I've been reading about them since April and still am overwhelmed!! Now that the heat in this house is broken (last night), that 600W and tent in the bedroom light might be a toasty choice until I get the Landlord to court. :-( Otherwise the dooming frost is now here.
600 Watt HPS Grow Light Digital Ballast Cool Hood Kit GrowAce.com
Access Hydroponic — Grow Lights, Grow Tents, Indoor Garden Supplies

Everyone keeps telling me to search this site, but I just come up blank each time. I keep buying more books because of this. Books just don't cover specifics like actual products. I don't know, maybe the decade of narcotics has fried my brain cells too much to learn new technology. I'll try and post this absurd question in the forum. I can't be the only one with computer skills of a 5 yr old!

 

[PetFlora]

"She likes to race by and dunk her tail into my dinner, just to get attention. Cat hair clogs the sink, the dryer, collects in the washer, sneaks into the fridge, and covers every surface of home and cars. I shaved the other cat, but this one bites. Yeah! (luv her royal snobiness anyway")

Oh, that's funny

Lighting

I think I mentioned this before, how many plants can you grow at one time, or how big is your grow area? How many can you physically manage?

LEDs are certainly worth a look if your budget is ~$500. Keep in mind they do not require heat venting, at least in the 200 watt range. Also they are light weight and easily maneuverable. Check out our sponsors. I have successfully used a 90 watt UFO, but would recommend a minimum of ~ 200 watts. With the new LEDs, you don't 'need' to supplement with CFLs.

T 5 HO. I was so impressed with the grows I've seen using a Quantum Bad Boy T 5 (which covers 2 x 4 ) that I bought one. I haven't hooked it up yet though. Awesome value for the money. Got a nice discount from cheaphydro ~$400 with shipping

HTH

 

[Lusi]

Hi again PF. How R ya?

My cat's tail is actually longer than her body and she on purpose flies by the table each night and tries to flip her tail into my food. She also barfs hair balls in shoes and will poo in the tub and drink form the toilet of I leave the bathroom door open. Who needs a dog with a cat like this? I dumped my volcano cup out today. There was quite a collection of hair in it. i can't keep dust and debris from sticking to my buds, let alone cat hair! The other cat ate my male plant that I left by the door. <sigh>

Bare minimum, not using MJ for pain relief, 6 ounces a year. Break through pain so far, I think about 12 oz a year. To replace these heavy duty narcs in use over a decade, I'll need to make honey oil. I could get a little to try at 20oz a year, and max at 100oz a year including shake, if this is what it takes to replace the narcotics without tolerance buildup. So anywhere between 10 and 100oz a year would make me happy. The more experience I get, the more MJ and the better idea of which strains and how much can get rid of my pain.

My new tent is 3'11"x3'11"x6.5'. and is in a 17x13' room. I'd prefer not to cut hole in this house as I want to get out of ASAP. However, it seems the 600W would have that space in the 100's before I could blink. :-( Hmmmmm Just had an idea! If I can disguise the tent into something less obvious, there is room next to an unused fireplace. Could I possibly draw in fresh air from the chimney, then use the light heat to heat this house? I could do the other way, hot air into the chimney. Easier, but saving money on the heat is tempting! I'll check on that one.

I've read all of your posts and links, I think. I new realize this tent isn't long enough to use T5s. I saw your new new 8 bulb monster and look forward to seeing your results. I was on the fence over the G:L120 and GL80L. The 80 L could have held T5s, but I forgot that little fact and ordered the other. The Leds don't look affordable for good quality. I think they will get better and drop in price in the next 5 years! I'll be watching and waiting for an upgrade by then. ) There is no way I can use CFLs to set this tent up either. It's too large. I will be using my T-5s and CFLs for the vegging area. I hope to build a 2.5d x 2'w x 2-2.5' T box to place in the bottom of my tent and use as a veggy room. That would give this space a 8" duct hole and one side of vents. I could light proof it with tape and mylar and ad my little fan. Is this possible do you think? Could I put a MH bulb in my 150W HPS set up? Is this light useful for vegging, with the others... more wasted dollars.

After all of these months of reading, I finally ordered my lights today since the local hydro shop matched the price of DHP for a Lumatek and 6" air cooled set up. I have a slight emergency lat night forcing me to do something immediately. So I don't write another book here, here's what I just wrote in another thread. You'll get the whole story there.... never a dull moment!! I'd love your feedback!!

Plants in trouble, out of time! Need to get this taken care of Today!

I'll work on getting the photos up if people need them. I also have to post about this cool book I bought from borders.

 

[Lusi]

Awe crud, forgot to ask you about pots and soil. I went to get soil today and the bags were surrounded by a cloud of gnats. Yuck!! i can't find anything on sterilizing soil for reuse... only leave it in a bag in the sun. No more sun now. Could seal it up in a bag and stick it under the new light. LOL Would it work? Did you have a special soil mix in mind to help get air to my roots? I have unfertilized soil (hard to find) perlite and river sand, plus some organic ferts to mix in and my new liquid ferts tomorrow. So many people have their own mix, but I'd like to hear yours since you know about roots. The local shop sells those cloth pots by the ton. I hate mine. They have a similar pot to the air pot there. It's a flat piece of plastic with nubs sticking out (not in too) and each nub has a hole for air. You zip tie this shut around a bottom. They have never sold a single one and have to look up the price for me. I think the air pots have nubs going inside too? Do you think such a pot is worth a try... if the price is reasonable? It is quite similar to the air pot. Also, why don't people just plant into a huge pot right off instead of going larger as the plant grows?

Ack I wrote another book!!!!! Even my 2 finger typing doesn't prevent this. Sorry

 

[PetFlora]

TENT: "My new tent is 3'11"x3'11"x6.5'. and is in a 17x13' room."

Know Your Space- Know Your Strain

To me it seems like 600 watts in here is going to generate too much heat. As the tent is only 6.5 ft tall, height of a horizontal lamp, hood, yoyo, exhaust fan will probably reduce this by 2 ft (if not more) leaving you with 4.5 ft.

The height of your grow pots will be at least 2 ft to accommodate 2 ft tall plant, plus 1 ft from the bulb so you don't bleach/burn the tops. In this set up you need to stay with lowryder strains that max at 20"s

Now, due to 4 X 4 foot print, you will only get 4-6 mature plants in there using soil. I start 6 plants culling the males, runts, to find 3-4 females.

Joint Doctor, the developer of the autoflower strain, discusses the relationship between planter size and yield. In order to yield ~ one oz per plant requires a 4 G planter. You may not be able to squeeze 4 @ 4G planters in there, probably 3.

3 plants yielding ~ one oz each every 3 months will give you ~12 oz/year when all works as planned.

Hope someone will chime in, but I think you need to exchange your 600 for a 250 CMH and run it vertically (check out the vertical CMH 250 grow here), or get a ~ 200 watt LED from one of our sponsors.

The new generation of LEDs are producing impressive yields, and 200 watts will generate almost no heat. The money you will save to solve heat exhaust can go toward a 300 watt LED.

Autoflower seeds combined with an LED or HO T 5 seems to be the best fit here

HTH

 

[Lusi]

I swear I keep answering this, but it's never there when I look back. Here goes re-write #3!

I have the Lumatek ballast now and can dial down the ballast in the 200s. For the winter at least i'll be using this heat to heat my house. LOL Summer might be back outside...

I'd like to do a perpetual grow and have the lights for this. I plan to use fewer plants and LST them and do a longer grow. The local guy giving classes says that super cropping is the way to go, from clone. I have another 50+ seeds left to use, 6 strains.


Joint Doctor, the developer of the autoflower strain, discusses the relationship between planter size and yield. In order to yield ~ one oz per plant requires a 4 G planter. You may not be able to squeeze 4 @ 4G planters in there, probably 3.I have to read up on autoflowerin again. I'm committed to finding and growing what kills pain. I'll have to make my plans to accommodate these.

Today I bought 2 5gal white square pots with net bottoms, 2 3gallon air pots, or one that looks similar, and 2 5 gallon air pots. Any larger pots I'll have to make.

Hope someone will chime in, but I think you need to exchange your 600 for a 250 CMH and run it vertically (check out the vertical CMH 250 grow here), or get a ~ 200 watt LED from one of our sponsors.

I can't afford the LEDs that are of quality. What is a CMH? I have the 600W heating the garage right now. LOL Now that there is local help, I'm hoping things will be easier. One fellow in the store was running 2 1000W.

The new generation of LEDs are producing impressive yields, and 200 watts will generate almost no heat. The money you will save to solve heat exhaust can go toward a 300 watt LED.

I'm hoping to wait until the LEDs are more consistent before buying them. I also must have dual voltage. It's bad enough I will have to sell my floros and smaller lights. Dual voltage is at the moment important... to not have to buy all of these gain in 5 years.

The worry of heat will always be there with a 400W HPS and up. If i still live here in the spring when the heater is no longer needed, then I'll try to vent it into the floor. I think in 5 years LED will be better and more affordable for the best quality. I'll wait for the bugs to be worked out, and buy then.

TY for the advice.... Ah, the plants. Trichs have cloudy and amber heads. They're not maturing now that it's too cold. I'll try them in a warm garage... The bugs need another hose off as the new eggs have hatched. Corn borers and spider mites are the problem. I've decided not to put these in my new test. The last 2 girls will sit on a shelf with the 150W HPS until done, or eaten up. These buds look very odd with no pistils!

Will try for some pics later. I might write a backwards journal on this. LOL

 

[The303Stoner]

I use Aza max It burns the pistils but not that much I stop two weeks before harvest and spray with cold water after that if need as many times as possible

 

[The303Stoner]

bake it in the oven

 

[Lusi]

Bake what in the oven? LOL

I didn't know I could use Axamax up to 2 weeks before! That sure would have helped. I was told not to spray from 4 weeks before harvest, and that was after the same forum told me to harvest 8 weeks ago! I still haven't harvested. :-( 20 now the caterpillars are having a party. I bought some BT a few days back and sprayed, buds or not. This leaves the plant I did not soak in the hot tub (see other posts) 2 months ago to have mites. Can I even use insect soap within a few days of harvest?

I gave up today and brought the buggy plants inside and put the light on 360 in a bedroom. The new tent has a rip and is going back BGH, if they ever stop giving return problems. At least this leaves me with no tent to contaminate and only 2 other blooming plants under the 150W. Frost is avoided and I'm still hoping these are ready to harvest soon. I germed them in may! Why didn't they finish outside in the warm CA fall? ;-(

Here's the thread for harvest advice, if ya have time.
1st grow, ready to harvest yet?

 

[Ladykillsalot]

Thanks for the advice again. My local stores don't have any type of powder, let alone one this specific. They don't even carry a kind of neem oil! The only things they have are chemicals I've never heard of, insect soap I already have, and an insect oil that is 94% Canola oil and 6% mystery ingredient. I don't see how this is possible and neither did the woman in the garden section. She said no one buys this stuff for a reason.

If you can think of soemthing online, it's the only option left!

If you guys can't see the photos of the pistils, let me know. The last photo on the post is of a a plant where the pistils were just beginning to die the first two were 5 days later! As of yesterday, all 6 plants have dead pistils. They are completely dried up and 100% dead. They went from alive to dead skipping the amber and other colors they should have gotten later in bloom.

It gets worse.... Now that I have my jewler's loupe, I find hundred of tiny eggs all over the one plant I can't reach with a hose. If I can't spray my plant, what do I do before these hatch?? If they didn't already hatch this morning... On top of that, this one plant shows a possible magnesiumm deficiency. A few of the leaves are yellow except fo the green veins. I'll try for a pic.

So... what to do about the eggs and magn. for one plant, plus the dead pistils for the others? I've looked carefully at them with my 30x galss and the pistils are all 100% dried up and dead. They when from white to this in just a few days!

I'll try for more photos

TY!

Hi!

I have 4 plants outside in full bloom. They are in separate locations. My soil usually has 6.8 ph, never above 7 or lower than 5.5. I feed MG tomato food every 2 weeks. They get bug sprayed once a week with different types of sprays, mostly organic. Since my leaf tips were also dying, I bought a fertilizer meter. It said all were low on nutrients and I added a lot more MG tomato food and some blooming food with less N. It look a lot of these to get the meter to say they were enough. I made sure it worked by trying it in a pot of miracle grow pre fertilized seedling soil. The meter works fine. The only thing I can think of is I didn't saturate the soil when fertilizing... not sure if I am supposed to?! I have tried flushing the plant in the pics, it did nothing.

For the past two weeks, my flowering plants have had their pistils die and turn brown. They start dying from the tip to the base and on all buds. The pistils all pretty much dead now. I've looked all over the internet and have posted in several forums about the pistils and dead leaf tips, but have few answers and no ideas for this problem. Someone said nutrient burn for the dead leaf tips, but my nutrients were very low when I checked. These are only into 4 weeks of flowering and no one yet seems to know what is wrong! :-(

What causes the healthy white pistils to suddenly die?
Can I still save these plants and buds?
If not, should I let them keep growing, harvest what little there is, over even try to make the plants veg again? (most are too large to bring in, but digging them up and cutting 1/2 of them off might be possible)

Please help! This is my first grow. These were started in May, first signs of sex in mid September. The pistils weren't alive long enough to turn orange... just dead. :-(

Here's the photos.

The first and last photo are of the same plants, 5 days apart! Second pic is also of the same plant
The 3rd pic is of a 2 week younger plant that was in the middle of dead pistils.
Except for dead leaf tips, a few yellow leaves, and a few white flies, these plants look healthy. The plant in the 3rd pic has no signs of bugs a all!

15Oct plant bud 1

15oct plant 1another bud

15Oct plant 2, younger plant

10October same plant as pic #1, 5 days earlier!! The pistils are just starting to die. It was at this point I started looking for help.

You poor thing! Never spray with anything when there’s light outside, the reflection will retract from the sun like a magnifying glass and roast the pistils. Always spray once the sun sets or a few hours before sunrise. They’re very fragile, leaves don’t burn the same as pistils, the sun is too far, had u grown indoor and sprayed with lights on you would’ve seen burning leaves