Help needed: what's wrong with these plants?

[Mountainman80]

Which defeancy?

Here is a question. When the EC is high. I give water. I dont put any bloom or micro nutrients into it.

Should I still put little bit but not much so the EC comes down?

The scientists that created your nutes seem to think that you need the 3rd part of their trio, so I am glad you have decided to use it.
As much stock as you put into the EC reading, I am surprised that you are not wanting to consider moving your pH down into the traditional hydro range, with the middle of that range being 5.8 pH. Since that is where your nutes are designed to work at, I still think that you will be able to get rid of your Potassium deficiency, simply by adjusting your pH. You came here with questions, so that you could get this little jewel of wisdom from us, but you don't seem to want to take the advice. Your symptoms are not likely to change without you first making a change to something you are doing... so I would like to suggest that you follow this advice for a week to see what happens. As you said above, what is the downside of trying this suggestion? The upside would be dramatically healthier plants.

Well.said ✌

 

[vivianna]

Okay. I will experiment with the 5.8 pH and see how that works. There is some mixed information about these numbers online. But let's try 5.8 now.

So Potassium deficiency. I think what has happened is that I end up looking at my EC and pH numbers and keeping them in the right numbers so I haven't added any Tripart nutrients for a while because EC always goes up and to bring it down I use water. Resulting in lack of potassium maybe?

Example 1.
EC 1.7
I use 10 liters of water to get it back to 1.5. Done.

Example 2. How it maybe should be?
EC 1.7
I use 20 liters of water + 16ml micro & 24ml bloom resulting in EC 1.5 + the plant got some nutrients as well.
16/24ml per 10 liters is the amount that keeps the EC in the same number as it already is.

- The system uses 10 liters of water per day to give to the plants.
- only water decreases EC (10 liters drops it about 0.2)
- 16/24ml of Tripart nutrients + 10 liters keep the EC number the same as it was before watering.
- more than 16/24ml per 10 liters increases EC

The tripart nutrients that impact the EC numbers provides phosphorus and potassium. So maybe this way I have been shooting myself on the leg?


What do you guys think?

 

[AgedMaster]

Okay. I will experiment with the 5.8 pH and see how that works. There is some mixed information about these numbers online. But let's try 5.8 now.

So Potassium deficiency. I think what has happened is that I end up looking at my EC and pH numbers and keeping them in the right numbers so I haven't added any Tripart nutrients for a while because EC always goes up and to bring it down I use water. Resulting in lack of potassium maybe?

Example 1.
EC 1.7
I use 10 liters of water to get it back to 1.5. Done.

Example 2. How it maybe should be?
EC 1.7
I use 20 liters of water + 16ml micro & 24ml bloom resulting in EC 1.5 + the plant got some nutrients as well.
16/24ml per 10 liters is the amount that keeps the EC in the same number as it already is.

- The system uses 10 liters of water per day to give to the plants.
- only water decreases EC (10 liters drops it about 0.2)
- 16/24ml of Tripart nutrients + 10 liters keep the EC number the same as it was before watering.
- more than 16/24ml per 10 liters increases EC

The tripart nutrients that impact the EC numbers provides phosphorus and potassium. So maybe this way I have been shooting myself on the leg?


What do you guys think?

Are u using tap water theres minerals in tap water. u say your topping up with water i had a problem similiar to yours you could be feeding to much of whatever is in your water if your using tap water. i was advised on here to use ro water then add what u need. u could be feeding to much calcium in water source u can use your dehumidify water to top up

 

[vivianna]

What is ro water?
Reverse Osmosis (RO) is used to partially clean-up tap water to make it roughly 90% to 99% pure

What do you mean top up?

 

[AgedMaster]

u ca

What is ro water?
Reverse Osmosis (RO) is used to partially clean-up tap water to make it roughly 90% to 99% pure

What do you mean top up?

top up your res the ph is 7 with nothing in it are u using tap water? and what ltr is your tank

 

[AgedMaster]

if your ec is rising the plants are drinking more water if its tap water it could be locking out other nutes from your bottle. i was also advised on at least 40 ltr tank per plant

 

[Skunksta]

The scientists that created your nutes seem to think that you need the 3rd part of their trio, so I am glad you have decided to use it.
As much stock as you put into the EC reading, I am surprised that you are not wanting to consider moving your pH down into the traditional hydro range, with the middle of that range being 5.8 pH. Since that is where your nutes are designed to work at, I still think that you will be able to get rid of your Potassium deficiency, simply by adjusting your pH. You came here with questions, so that you could get this little jewel of wisdom from us, but you don't seem to want to take the advice. Your symptoms are not likely to change without you first making a change to something you are doing... so I would like to suggest that you follow this advice for a week to see what happens. As you said above, what is the downside of trying this suggestion? The upside would be dramatically healthier plants.

GREAT advice.
I know full well you can read mixed messages.
But this is solid advice and i would not wait in following it.
Look into the posts of people you choose to take advice from.
Or if online check and double check with other places the advice given is correct.
Everyone does things a little dif but there is a lot of what we call bro science.

Happy growing

 

[AgedMaster]

I used the same system as u a wilma mine was 4 pot and i used hydroton and rock wool i think i see your using hydroton i dont no what else with. i asked loads of questions on this site my wilma was a 25ltr tank not enough for four plants if u view my first ever post u will learn alot as i did. if u are using a small res that is the problem.

 

[013]

heres some basics on spraying linked up 4 you…. Spray tips

also ph is logarithmic scale so missing by a little still misses by a country mile… aim for accuracy

for hydro methods of cultivation it’s imperative to get ph right and the Wilma makes it even more freaky

suspect you might need to see @Rexers Rising / Falling / Static chart

dirt guy here but hopefully we’ve got right eyeballs either already on board or headed your way soon

 

[SmokingWings]

I might need to take look at the third one and experiment with it next time. but I don't think it has anything to do with my current problems

It has everything to do with your current problem. The current problem is the plant is slowly starving to death.

So Potassium deficiency. I think what has happened is that I end up looking at my EC and pH numbers and keeping them in the right numbers so I haven't added any Tripart nutrients for a while because EC always goes up and to bring it down I use water. Resulting in lack of potassium maybe?

Yes, Potassium deficiency, no 'maybe' about it. Along with some lack of Nitrogen. The overall health of the plants are not good.

I looked at the Terra Aquatica webpage and speciifically the TriPart sections and the one bottle you are missing is the "Grow" which has N-P-K numbers of 3-1-6. There is the missing Potassium and Nitrogen that is needed by the plants to reduce the deficiency signs we are already seeing.

Once you decide to start using the complete TriPart nutrient program you should download the feed rate and schedule from the company. That schedule will take into account that you are using all 3 of the products and already shows the amounts to use of each part.

You probably will not be able to fix all the signs of nutrient deficiencies that are showing right now but you could reduce the problems enough that the plant finishes off with a decent harvest for you.

 

[vivianna]

Thank you everyone.

Yes. Tap water
The bucket is 25 liters per plant. The water tank is full at around 110-120 liters

- I am using all 3 parts of the tripart nutrient now.
- Every time I water the plants I add tripart nutrients and water holding the EC at 1.5-1.6 (3x per week)
- Everytime i water i correct the ph into 5.8 w ph- while adding silicon
- I am spraying spidermite control spray once per week to fight against the pests.

I put my lights higher because i think it was burning some leafs. The EC/PH & Water doesnt seem to change. If it does it does slowly. The water is moving tho, its not stuck. So the plant is resisting it. Hmm… researching about this now. I think its the ph 6.0-6.1 that might have caused these things. So keeping it at 5.8 and lets see

 

[CelestialNurseries]

I put my lights higher because i think it was burning some leafs.

What kind of light?

 

[AgedMaster]

Thank you everyone.

Yes. Tap water
The bucket is 25 liters per plant. The water tank is full at around 110-120 liters

- I am using all 3 parts of the tripart nutrient now.
- Every time I water the plants I add tripart nutrients and water holding the EC at 1.5-1.6 (3x per week)
- Everytime i water i correct the ph into 5.8 w ph- while adding silicon
- I am spraying spidermite control spray once per week to fight against the pests.

I put my lights higher because i think it was burning some leafs. The EC/PH & Water doesnt seem to change. If it does it does slowly. The water is moving tho, its not stuck. So the plant is resisting it. Hmm… researching about this now. I think its the ph 6.0-6.1 that might have caused these things. So keeping it at 5.8 and lets see

What is the ec of your tap water it says on terra aquatic website If you have an average conductivity (0.4-0.6), you can increase the conductivity indicated by 0.2. u could be under feeding. i would also flush with water then continue using the three parts 1.5 ec seems low for late flower i used 1.6 ec on my autoflowers

 

[cbdhemp808]

Hello Vivianna and welcome to the forum! you've come to the right place

I looked at the Terra Aquatica webpage and speciifically the TriPart sections and the one bottle you are missing is the "Grow" which has N-P-K numbers of 3-1-6. There is the missing Potassium and Nitrogen that is needed by the plants to reduce the deficiency signs we are already seeing.

Bingo... you need to use the "Grow" ferts.

I recommend removing all dead and dying material from your plants... necessary for two main reasons – 1) mold (fungus) likes to start growing on dead material, 2) so that you can more easily see improvements.

Regarding bugs... I don't recommend spraying anything until you actually identify the bugs. If you do find live bugs, my recommendation is to spray a mixture of pure neem oil mixed with Dr. Bronner's soap (peppermint if available), in a spray bottle with purified water. The recipe is 2 tbps neem, 1 tbps soap, in 1 gal water, in a pump sprayer.

Regarding water... I recommend not using tap water, unless you're on a well or spring and the water has been tested to be very pure. Otherwise, use filtered, purified water only.

I hope your plants improve, and good luck!

 

[vivianna]

UPDATE
- The pest infestion continues. Seems like once a week is not enough. I will increase spraying frequency 2x per week until the infestion is under control.
- More leafs are getting yellow and brown. Why?
- My EC is now at 1.5-1.6 after watering. Even that late in the flowering. The EC goes up after watering and my plants are sick so i am putting it 1.5 and in 12h it increases to 1.6 automatically.
- ph is now 5.8-5.9 and static.
- i am giving them little bit tripart nutrients (all 3 of em) everytime i water them now while getting ec and ph to 1.5-1.6 and 5.8-5.9

QUESTIONS
- water is almost static too. Rocks have a lot of white in them. How can i get my plant drinking again?

Do i remove the dead leafs w sciscors even when the dead leaf is still in the plant? Or do i wait for it to be naturally removable?

I will check my water EC soon.

 

[cbdhemp808]

I'm not a hydro guy, but I'll answer...

UPDATE
- The pest infestion continues. Seems like once a week is not enough. I will increase spraying frequency 2x per week until the infestion is under control.
- More leafs are getting yellow and brown. Why?

because it will take some time for the plants to adjust/respond to the new nutrients.

- My EC is now at 1.5-1.6 after watering. Even that late in the flowering. The EC goes up after watering and my plants are sick so i am putting it 1.5 and in 12h it increases to 1.6 automatically.
- ph is now 5.8-5.9 and static.
- i am giving them little bit tripart nutrients (all 3 of em) everytime i water them now while getting ec and ph to 1.5-1.6 and 5.8-5.9

I recommend following the instructions on the nutrient bottles. they are in flower now, so veg nutrients should be less. Basically you want NPK 3-1-1 for veg, and 1-3-3 for flower. Again, I'm not a hydro person – I grow in organic living soil.

QUESTIONS
- water is almost static too. Rocks have a lot of white in them. How can i get my plant drinking again?

With hydro your plants can always absorb water when they need to. So, I don't understand your question.

Do i remove the dead leafs w sciscors even when the dead leaf is still in the plant? Or do i wait for it to be naturally removable?

I recommend clip off all dead and dying leaves, so that you can more easily see progress on the plants recovering from previous nutrient/pH problems. Also because mold (fungus) likes to start growing on dead material. Remove it...

I also recommend that you start focusing on the buds, and checking the stigmas and trichomes. It looks like you may have some brown stigmas already, which is a sign that the buds are maturing.

Do you have a hand-held microscope for viewing the trichomes? What I use is a Carson MicroBrite Plus, $15 USD.

Keep up the good work!

 

[vivianna]

Thank you

- So cut off all dead leafs so i can see progress and avoid mold. If I understood right I should remove still alive leafs that are yellow / brownish in the picture? Just confirming this one.

Yes. I have brown and white stigmas. 4-5 week in flowering by now.


Ok so static water nothing to be worried about. I have checked that the water works so thats not a problem.

What do you mean with focusing on the buds? To find out when to harvest or for problems?

 

[cbdhemp808]

So cut off all dead leafs so i can see progress and avoid mold. If I understood right I should remove still alive leafs that are yellow / brownish in the picture? Just confirming this one.

yes, they are dying, so remove. the brown areas are called "necrosis"... meaning, dead material. If you have a leaf that is mostly alive and looking good, you could just clip off the leaflets that are affected, or the tip of leaflet(s). basically you are just removing all the necrosis and yellow leaves.

Yes. I have brown and white stigmas. 4-5 week in flowering by now.

excellent. now you need to start looking at the trichomes. at first they are clear, then they start turning milky, and then finally an amber color. growers usually go for mostly milky with varying amounts of amber. I usually go for only a few amber, but I often have to harvest early due to bud rot.

Ok so static water nothing to be worried about. I have checked that the water works so thats not a problem.

I don't know how your hydro system is set up, but "static" water doesn't sound great. If you are following the recommended set-up, you should be fine. Oxygenating the water would be a good thing.

 

[vivianna]

Thank you. Appreciate it.

The recommended set up for this stage is 1.6 and 6.0. But i adjusted ph as more experienced growers in this forum recommend 5.8.

5.8 was smth i used in the veg phase. So its inside the ph range so i am thinking its worth experimenting to see how it works if i keep it there in the late flowering stage too.
- the problem now was i havent been cutting off dead leafs so i havent really been able to recognise progress. But that will be now fixed.

I will keep looking into the almost static water.

And yes. I have hand held microscope. And air stones thank you tho

 

[Skunksta]

If you have a wilma system.
Get yourself if you dont already a mixer/wave maker or air stones.
Standing water from a recirculating system can get nasty.
I have one dont use it any more.