Yellowing - Natural or not?

[StickyGig]

This is a 60 day Sweet Cheese and shes 46 days old. Ive done so much reading that my eyes hurt over the past couple of months and there is a ton of back and forth on everything from light to deficiencies to soil etc. I need to know if this is just my plants using up its stores or if there's a problem. Ive looked and looked and seen everything from yellowing on tips, yellowing with spots and a bunch of other reasons for yellowing but I cant seem to find an explanation as to when entire leaves go yellow uniformly starting at the bottom and seems to be taking the large fans only for now. Any help is appreciated.

 

[NuttyProfessor]

Re: Yellowing, natural or not.

looks fine , them leaves are just not getting as much light , some strains yellow badly some dont .

 

[Clancy]

Re: Yellowing, natural or not.

Hi Sticky, looks pretty normal to me. Your plant is well on it's way to maturity and leaves begin yellowing at that stage. It doesn't look sick anyway, looks like a very vibrant plant. I've got 2 Early Miss autos going and I've got plenty of yellowed leaves on both. They started yellowing weeks ago but the buds are still growing very nicely and it doesn't seem to hurting at all. Good luck!

 

[Heirloom]

Re: Yellowing, natural or not.

Yep, looks good. That leaf gave up its N for the good of the buds, and a couple others look like they're doing the same.

 

[StickyGig]

Thanks all. Puts my mind at ease.

 

[iwltfum]

Re: Yellowing, natural or not.

Yep, looks good. That leaf gave up its N for the good of the buds, and a couple others look like they're doing the same.

I hope I can type this out using the right tone, but this is exactly why you will want to add N to your feed water if you want the yellowing to stop Heirloom. That's basically the definition of nitrogen deficiency.

"Some symptoms of nitrogen deficiency (in absence or low supply) are given below :

The chlorophyll content of the plant leaves is reduced which results in pale yellow colour. Older leaves turn completely yellow.
Flowering, frutings, protein and starch contents are reduced. Reduction in protein results stunted growth and dormant lateral buds."
-Pandey, S N; Sinha, B K. "Mineral Nutrition"

 

[Heirloom]

Hope I can type this in the right tone as well....

I know precisely what an N deficiency is, as well as the many ways it can happen and what it effects. In soil and soil less as well as organic and salt.

First, if you read the VERY first words in the original post, you'll see the plant has about 2 weeks left before harvest. The poster doesn't need to add N, nor should he/she. Using N out of the lower fan leaves, progressing further up the plant is EXACTLY what should be happening at this stage. Some do it earlier than others (phenotypically). In this case a feeding of N is ill advised since it's so close to harvest. Also, we have no idea if this is organic, in which case it doesn't matter because it won't be available soon enough. Anyhow, the buds are getting what they need in terms of N, they are just transporting it from the big fan leaves. There's no harm in it this close to harvest, the plant is naturally winding down.

Second, blanket suggestions to anyone that adding N, or any fert for that matter (in any stage of growth) is completely irresponsible. You could simply be feeding the problem with out understanding the cause. In the case of the original poster, we don't know enough about what he/she has done, soil mix, ferts etc to accurately assess the plant. Though admittedly, it looks like classic N deficiency, we can't determine if there actually is a deficiency of N in the soil, or if there could be something wrong with the soil causing N not to be available. Simply adding more is occasionally the answer. More often than not less is more. Knowledge is power, and always part of the solution.

 

[iwltfum]

Hope I can type this in the right tone as well....

I know precisely what an N deficiency is, as well as the many ways it can happen and what it effects. In soil and soil less as well as organic and salt.

First, if you read the VERY first words in the original post, you'll see the plant has about 2 weeks left before harvest. The poster doesn't need to add N, nor should he/she. Using N out of the lower fan leaves, progressing further up the plant is EXACTLY what should be happening at this stage. Some do it earlier than others (phenotypically). In this case a feeding of N is ill advised since it's so close to harvest. Also, we have no idea if this is organic, in which case it doesn't matter because it won't be available soon enough. Anyhow, the buds are getting what they need in terms of N, they are just transporting it from the big fan leaves. There's no harm in it this close to harvest, the plant is naturally winding down.

Second, blanket suggestions to anyone that adding N, or any fert for that matter (in any stage of growth) is completely irresponsible. You could simply be feeding the problem with out understanding the cause. In the case of the original poster, we don't know enough about what he/she has done, soil mix, ferts etc to accurately assess the plant. Though admittedly, it looks like classic N deficiency, we can't determine if there actually is a deficiency of N in the soil, or if there could be something wrong with the soil causing N not to be available. Simply adding more is occasionally the answer. More often than not less is more. Knowledge is power, and always part of the solution.

Personally, I don't let my leaves yellow until after I've flushed the plant. Organic or hydro. It's pretty easy to control. By the way, NPK percentages are in the form of "percent AVAILABLE", even with organic elements like worm castings and fish meal. Non-available nutrients are not included in the percentages. That's why rock phosphate is labeled as 0-3-0, when it actually has about 12% long term phosphate in it.

I'm a little in awe of how many people act so flippantly about yellowing leaves during bloom. I've flowered out more than 100 different strains and none of them yellow prematurely unless I was doing something wrong. It's not normal. It will decrease the size of your buds no matter if it's "lock out", a bad NPK ratio, or nitrogen deficiency. I'd say a spot of worm castings could fix her right up so she'll be charging, not limping, across the finish line in a couple of weeks.

 

[Heirloom]

Ahh yes. The all important (at all costs) yield.

 

[iwltfum]

Ahh yes. The all important (at all costs) yield.

Hey, I can't argue that! I AM a hobby grower, but I also have a job, where I do this for a living so, needless to say, I've been trained: YIELD, YIELD, YIELD, quality. It will definitely increase the potency if you let them get yellow a little early, but you could be sacrificing up to 25% of your harvest since so much weight is packed on in the last 2-3 weeks of bloom.

Cheers. Thanks for the friendly debate.

EDIT: At 400 times the cost of strawberries, it IS, after all, economically sensible to get as much as you can out of it, whether it's for commercial purposes or just for the jar in your drawer.

 

[StickyGig]

I guess I should have started with specifics. I started her in Black Gold organic soil with about twenty percent perlite and about five to eight percent castings and I give her calmag every other feeding. She grew so fast I was unsure of giving veg nutes and just gave ph water until she was in bloom (fifteen days) and started half strength bloom nutes. I tried giving her a casting tea to try to boost N but the yellowing kept going. That's why I asked here, I was hoping someone could tell me if this was normal end of life yellowing or something I need to correct. Now im unsure about that because one grower says there should never be yellow leaves or theres a problem. Evidently a lot of growers never lose leaves. I thought I had it figured out this time. Thank you all for your responses.

 

[iwltfum]

I guess I should have started with specifics. I started her in Black Gold organic soil with about twenty percent perlite and about five to eight percent castings and I give her calmag every other feeding. She grew so fast I was unsure of giving veg nutes and just gave ph water until she was in bloom (fifteen days) and started half strength bloom nutes. I tried giving her a casting tea to try to boost N but the yellowing kept going. That's why I asked here, I was hoping someone could tell me if this was normal end of life yellowing or something I need to correct. Now im unsure about that because one grower says there should never be yellow leaves or theres a problem. Evidently a lot of growers never lose leaves. I thought I had it figured out this time. Thank you all for your responses.

I'm gunna stay out of it. You have my opinion and that of some others as well. Jah bless.

 

[StickyGig]

I appreciate everyone's opinion. I hope I didn't come across unappreciative. Im trying to grow these meds for myself and a friend that I met during chemo. I dont have a lot of money for seeds so I need to get this right. Thank you again for EVERYONE'S replies.

 

[Gitane]

Sorry to but in, but I've been having the same issues with yellowing but I can't figure out if it is due to commencing bloom and pulling N from the plant, not enough N, or a lock out.

Some info I came across indicated inner leave yellowing, like this one, were iron or sulfur deficiency. but is sure looks like N. This is grown in a commercial organic potting soil (I added, dolomite lime added to resolve mg deficiency). This one is about 3 weeks into flower. I did add extra earth juice mirco blast (has iron, sulfer, mg) but not sure if there's any improvement. Any thoughts on using miracle grow 20-20-20?

 

[Heirloom]

StickyGig,

What happened here was simply a clash of phylosophies. In one hand you have quality of smoke, in the other hand you have yield. I feel that quality of smoke matters the most. When you push the plant and keep pushing nutes, the smoke loses something. Some say potentcy, most say flavor and smoothness is affected. My friends point of view differs. His view is if you feed it up to the last possible day, yield is increased. And he is right. So at the core of this non issue are two competing ideals. One side needs the highest yield possible to maximize return vs. investment and risk. The other side feels that squeezing every last gram out isn't worth it if it doesn't smoke good. I don't fault those who need max yield, and lord knows I rode that ride for a while.

Ask a group how to do something and you'll get a different answer from 3 out of 5 people. It's up to you to decide which ideas to try, and to develop a recipe for your success.

Don't go away iwltfum. Your experience and knowledge are desired here.