First indoor grow...first problem

[guerillaweedfare]

For the past two days now I have noticed that some of my plant's leaves are beginning to curl upward along the edges, almost forming a small bowl like shape. Also, so of them are beginning to turn almost brown at the very tips of their fan leaves. I've grown outdoors before but this is my first time growing indoors and my plants are only a few weeks old.

Currently they are under 600watts of cfl's and are getting plenty of ventilation. I'm not too sure on what type of soil I'm using since I stole it from my dad but he uses it to plant flowers and vegetables for his garden. I appreciate anyone reading this and thanks for any tips.

 

[zem]

a pic would help a lot, it could be magnesium deficiency, what are you feeding them? how many weeks old you mean by few weeks old? did you do anything to stabilize soil PH?

 

[legalize_freedom]

pics

 

[ssjric]

:yeahthat:

 

[guerillaweedfare]

OK so my camera sucks and the sizing wasn't working out for me but this is the best i could do for a picture of the leaves curling up...if it even works. You can't really tell from the pic but the tips of some of the leaves are turning brownish. This is happening to a couple of my plants now. Ive only been giving them water because i think the soil there in is already fertilized. They also aren't too big at 3 weeks but that might be because i started them on my windowsill. Right now there under constant light (600watts) cfls and are in solo cups. Once i figure out more how to get pictures up ill post some of my newly installed ghetto grow room.

 

[nouvellechef]

Sounds like the start of a pre-nute soil blend thread. Do you know what your PH is?

 

[The Hemp Goddess]

Sounds like the start of a pre-nute soil blend thread. Do you know what your PH is?

Yeah, I am guessing that daddy's soil was something prenuted like Miracle Gro?

 

[guerillaweedfare]

Yeah it could have been miracle grow but im not sure. I think it might have been 20-20-20. And I haven't gotten around to buying a ph tester yet so i have no idea what it is. Are there any good soil mixtures i should know about?

 

[legalize_freedom]

There are alot of good soils out there that are not time release fertalized, you just need to look around. You don't need to be feeding that young of a plant yet. If you get a good soil mix, you should not have to feed anything for a good 4 weeks or so.

You need a pH tester

 

[nouvellechef]

Go to Home depot, they always try and carry a local organic compost/soil. If not, they will have something for sure with just worm castings or something. Better yet, if you know of any local nurserys around, they will have there own blend. I would get it out of there asap.

 

[The Hemp Goddess]

I do not even use nutes that are 20/20/20 when the plants are in full flower with high nutrient demands. Babies do not need any food at all for the first 3-4 weeks and then we start them out with about 1/8th strength nutrients. Soil with nutrients is generally not used so that WE can control exactly what and how much food a plant gets. For instance, in flower, you want to cut your N way back and that is not possible with a pre-nuted soil.

Also, when you say that you are running 600W of CFLs, that must be the equivalent wattage, which doesn't count for growing purposes. How many ACTUAL watts are you running and how many lumens are the bulbs?

 

[guerillaweedfare]

I have six 26watt cfl's each at 1750 lumens. And when you say to get it out of there should i just transplant the plants from the solo cups to the organic mix? or will mixing the soils cause more problems? Im going to get a Ph tester today.

 

[legalize_freedom]

I would transplant them asap and try to get as much of the old soil off without damaging the roots. You could fill a bucket with water and stick the rootball in and gently swish the roots back and forth to get that old soil off.

 

[Bowl Destroyer]

I always grow with pre-nuted soil, about .5-.3-.3 percent

...i do always have problems, though. either heat related or PH related. heavy soil tends to build up salts =/

I use fish emulsion and it's helping a lot. try using it!
also, get a good light and get your dad in on the grow ))

good luck!
destroyer

 

[nouvellechef]

I always grow with pre-nuted soil, about .5-.3-.3 percent

...i do always have problems, though.

well...........

 

[legalize_freedom]

hmmm...yeah I think I'd change things up if I was haveing problems all the time. Is that the only soil you can get or something?

 

[guerillaweedfare]

OK so i did a little shopping yesterday and was able to finally get a ph tester at home depot. probably not the best one out there but im on a college budget so its all i could afford. It has three metal prongs and a meter that reads just shy of 7 when i stick it into my new soil. The best soil i could find though is .05/.01/.05 Its miracle grow seed starter. I went to Lowe's and Home cheapo and this soil had the lowest amount of nutes i could find. I guess winter isn't the best time to look for soil mixtures. And I did what you said legalize_freedom and just transplanted them into the new soil after washing the root ball out. Hopefully the new soil works better. I'll let you know how it turns out and i'll try to get some more pics. Thanks for the help.

 

[GeezerBudd]

That Miracle Grow should work fine. I'm thinking thats what Hamster uses to start his.
You really need a PH tester to test your water. A soil tester will test the soil, but you may need to adjust the PH of your water/nutes so that your plants can have proper nutrient intake.
I use a Hanna tester. There's also Milwaulkee and other brands. I know-It's money but you might look on Ebay or (Whats the other one?) and get one fairly cheap.
I don't use Ebay-But there's plenty of growers here who do.

I tried to do things without A PH tester- I even tried the color recognition crap-And it DID'NT WORK-I learned.

Keep it Green!

Gb

 

[legalize_freedom]

Yeah that soil will work fine....it is what Hammy uses Geezer. I agree you can get a cheap pH pen from ebay for around 20 bucks. Good job on the xplant...and your right it's slim pickins out there this time of year

 

[Fipi]

600 watts light ,from begining ?? its kind of too much for seedlings can be also heat