Help! New growth is yellowing/wilting!

[HinJewKush]

So its been about a 3 weeks since the seed sprouted and I'm starting to see this yellowing on the new growth at the top. Its a mix between yellowing and wilting and I'm not quite sure what it is. I've been fertilizing okay, but I'm thinking maybe its time to raise my CFLs a bit higher. I've kept them close enough to encourage bushiness but distant enough to not burn the leaves. Any suggestions on what this might be?

 

[RoadLizard]

I'd say a lack of nitrogen as a first guess. That's usually what pale green/yellow leaves indicates, especially the whole leaf at once. It's not the lights. Keep them as close as you can. What kind of fertilizer are you using?

 

[ottothief]

Hey kush try a little epson salt in your next watering(add to water)Yellowing on new growth sounds like Sulpher defecency.Hope this helps.

 

[HinJewKush]

In terms of fertilizer, I've been diluting urine to provide the nitrogen. But I will try the epson salt ottothief and see how it goes.

 

[HinJewKush]

Just gave it the epsom solution, let's pray it works.

 

[Rodrigo]

In terms of fertilizer, I've been diluting urine to provide the nitrogen. But I will try the epson salt ottothief and see how it goes.

You shouldn't use urine as fertilizer, it will cause a rapid salt build-up in your medium, the smell may become unpleasant (some may also be transferred to the taste/smell of the finished product, or so I read somewhere...), and you risk too much just to save a few dollars (I use top of the line organic nutrients and they come down to about $15/month).

The nitrogen in urine is in the form of ammonia and urea, these need to be broken down by bacteria in order to get the nitrogen out (the bacteria eats the ammonia and urea and when it dies the nitrogen is released in the form of nitrate), so if your system doesn't allow for this bacteria cultures to grow then you won't get the nitrogen out of it.

If you do insist in using urine, then use a 1:10 urine to water ratio at the very most or you risk burning out your girls.

Don't use epsom salts yet (as I was writing this post I noticed you replied and already add them) as they are a nutrient supplement used to correct some deficiencies (when you actually have a lack of sulphur or magnesium, I explain this in more detail below), but since you don't know what the actual problem is then you risk causing more harm than good, always remember that when it comes to additives, less is always more.

Deficiencies are not caused by lack of a certain nutrient, but rather because of an excess of another. I don't remember which nutrients affects which so as a purely made-up example, too much magnesium (the epsom salts) will block the readily available nitrogen from being absorved, therefore causing a nitrogen deficiency, too much sodium may cause potasium to get blocked out, etc. So in the first example you do not correct a N def by adding more N but instead you should reduce the amount of Mg in order to allow the N to be absorbed. same goes for the second example, you don't add more potasium, you take some sodium away.
So when you suspect or diagnose a deficiency you do not add more of that nutrient. So if what ottothief turns out to be true (sulphur def) then you do not correct this by adding more sulphur, you need to correct the excess of whatever nutrient is causing the sulphur lock.

I'd recommend that whenever you suspect a deficiency or some other problem related to nutrients or water then just feed with plain water for about a week or two to flush whatever is causing the problem (in this case probably N def, since a completely yellow leaf is normally a sign of N def) and allow the plant to stabilize. Then resume feeding with nutrients @ 50% normal concentration to prevent a shock. After a week or so you can go back to normal concentration (not with urine, nutrients are probably the least expensive item of a grow and they are very much worth the money)

Despite cannabis being a very resilient plant that can adapt to different climates and conditions somewhat easily, you can still kill it (or cause a serious impact on yield, potency, taste, aroma, and overall quality) if you mistake a problem for another. So be wary of what you do.

Good luck and Happy Growing!!!

 

[ChanandlrBong]

I think you have small-plant-in-a-big-pot syndrome. Don't water for a long time. Let those roots chase down the water as the pot dries out. What size pot is that plant in? Have you checked for pests? Examine your plant with a magnifier. Some pests are so small they can go unnoticed with the naked eye. What looks like a tiny fleck of dust could be revealed to be a cluster thrip eggs embedded in the leaf.

 

[Dan Ultra]

I think you have small-plant-in-a-big-pot syndrome. Don't water for a long time. Let those roots chase down the water as the pot dries out. What size pot is that plant in? Have you checked for pests? Examine your plant with a magnifier. Some pests are so small they can go unnoticed with the naked eye. What looks like a tiny fleck of dust could be revealed to be a cluster thrip eggs embedded in the leaf.

Hey man, the original post was almost 2 years ago, so probably not gonna get mush of response

 

[Conradino23]

No it's not nitrogen, because yellowing started at the top, so it's immobile nutrient. Most likely you locked out calcium, magnesium and iron due to high or low PH or you have very poor soil mix.