Low soil ph - Help!

[Schnitzel419]

I inherited some plants, don't know what strain, all I know is they're all indica. They were in veg state for about 4 weeks too long. Transplanted them into 5 gal pots with 2 parts FFOF, one part Cocoa and some perlite, then put them on 12/12 schedule under 1000W light. Fed with Botanicare nutrients and now the leaves are turning brown, clawed and downward drooping. flushed them yesterday bc the run off ph was around 4 ph. Bought a soil ph meter this morning and tested all pots. they ranged from 3 to 5 ph. Any suggestions on how to save these plants? One died already, another two look like they're ready to follow. I'll try to post pics as soon as I figure out how to do that.

 

[Schnitzel419]

Figured out how to post pics. Anybody have any ideas? I'm thinking I just need to flush again in a few days with PH Up to get the soil balanced out?? Really not sure what to do next with my girls..

I inherited some plants, don't know what strain, all I know is they're all indica. They were in veg state for about 4 weeks too long. Transplanted them into 5 gal pots with 2 parts FFOF, one part Cocoa and some perlite, then put them on 12/12 schedule under 1000W light. Fed with Botanicare nutrients and now the leaves are turning brown, clawed and downward drooping. flushed them yesterday bc the run off ph was around 4 ph. Bought a soil ph meter this morning and tested all pots. they ranged from 3 to 5 ph. Any suggestions on how to save these plants? One died already, another two look like they're ready to follow. I'll try to post pics as soon as I figure out how to do that.

 

[The303Stoner]

PH down or calcium.

 

[Schnitzel419]

Would it be safe to flush them with a high PH content in a couple of days to see if the soil comes back up? I did a foliar Cal-Mag spray yesterday before the flush

 

[The303Stoner]

spraying the leaves is not going to do much for the root zone

 

[Schnitzel419]

Ok, not spraying the leaves, how about the flush with high PH, would that help any?

 

[CascadianDank]

Just flush and feed plain tap water for a week or 2. Youre burning them by adding nutes to fresh nuted soil. I did the same thing a year ago in my first journal

 

[Schnitzel419]

Thank you!

 

[190 MicroGrow]

PH down or calcium.

Não acho que possa ser falta de cálcio pelo solo ser "rico" esta acontecendo o mesmo aqui !: Paz:

 

[Schnitzel419]

Sorry, that's a language I don't speak

 

[Schnitzel419]

My girls are looking much better now, they're starting their 5th week in flowering stage. I have been feeding them 1/4 the nutrients recommended by Botanicare every time I water, which seems to be about every 5 days. Is that too much, too little? The top leaves on some of the plants are a bright green instead of nice and dark and I'm afraid I'll give them too many nutrients again if I up the nutrients ....? Any advice on frequency of feedings vs just watering in the flowering stage? Sorry of this is a dumb question, but it's my first time growing and I'm clueless!

 

[The303Stoner]

It sounds like you need to feed them more and sounds like you have poor drainage. In an indoor grow ideally you should need to water daily. but most sets up run 2-3 days. Cannabis prefers a rocky to wet soil. your soil should have 50% of some kind of rocks or stones.

 

[Schnitzel419]

I have 1/3 coco, 2/3 soil and some perlite. guess that's not good? That was the soil they were in when I got them... Should I switch in mid flowering or just switch the next batch, I have 9 plants in veg state right now and they're in the same coco/soil/perlite mix. should I transplant them before I move them in the blooming room? What do you suggest for the flowering ones right now? Should I feed the the recommended amount of nutrients? They look like they recovered from the nutrient burn I gave them about a month ago, lol. Thanks for your help

 

[CascadianDank]

Your plants would probably benefit from a higher dose of nutes but youre only a couple weeks from when you should stop feeding and begin your pre harvest flush so Im not sure it will make much difference as far as yield goes.

Rocks in your pots is not a good idea. Theyre heavy for one and they take up too much space which means less room for roots to grow. Less roots equals less yield. Perlite at 1/4 to 1/3 of your mix would be great but at this point its too late. You cant add anything to your pots once they have roots throughout.

What are the Vegging plants in? If not in the final pots then you can add Perlite to your soil mixture and then transplant. If theyre in the final pots then you could do whats described in the following link to transplant them.

Bonsai Mothers

Depending on the size of the plants I would do some pruning as well before cutting the roots so there isnt as much foliage to feed with the reduced amount of roots.

 

[The303Stoner]

"Grow rocks" (not granite stone from your back yard ),are light weight are or porous and provide habitat for beneficial soil microbes the stones absorb nutrients and water for that plant can access when need like drought. add more perlite if that's what you have. Grow Stone are recycled glass and silica stone is natural and are way lighter than a big bag of soil. Perlite is rock that has been heated and caused to expand basically rock pop corn so its adding rock to your soil a duh.

 

[Schnitzel419]

Thanks for your help

 

[Marzbadrock]

Monitor your soil pH, foxfarm soil is low pH. I have found just feeding with no pH up or down my pots maintain from 6.2 to 7.0 depending on moisture. Foxfarm soils contains buffers that do the work for you. Like I said check your soil pH.......is it 4.8? That seems to be the number I'm seeing alot

 

[KingJohnC]

I would flush your post with at least twice the volume of pH 6.5 adjusted water as pot size or until your output pH matches your input pH.

You want pH 5.8 for hydroponic and soiless (peat moss and coco coir) and pH 6.5 for soil.

Here is a nutrient availability chart

Here is a cannabis leaf deficiency chart

here is the Cannabis Plant and Pest Problem Solver and the Plant Abuse Chart

Cannabis Plant and Pest Problem Solver - Pictorial

Plant Abuse Chart

 

[Marzbadrock]

I agree about the flush but not with ph'ing your water. Take a new bag of dirt, saturate a pot full with pH adjusted water at 6.5 and check your soil pH. It will be 5 or lower! There are buffers and enzymes in the soil that buffer for you, its too much if you add to it. Do a side by side and watch the difference. I do not pH at all, my plants are green until I do my final flush, branches breaking at 5 weeks. if you want to control your pH of your water do it with your nutrients and bubble your water with a air pump until you reach your desired pH. The most I would do is add dolomite lime, but not a necessity.

 

[Schnitzel419]

Thanks so much for these charts! VERY helpful