Stumped

[cratos]

My plants were previously acidic, i transplanted with some baking soda to bring the acidic soil up. The plants seemed good after that. A lot of new growth, etc. A couple of weeks later they are doing bad again. The older leaves have turned yellow and died. Stems are purple, leaves are wilty looking. I diagnosed it to a sulfer deficiency and added some epsom salts. It seems to have slowed things down but the older leaves are still yellowing. What could this problem be?

Theyre not really showing spots on the leaves like is typical of acidic envoronment. It cant really be too alkaline because testing the water that comes out of the drainage holes comes up with a pH of about 6.8 (however accurate this test tube color match kits are). But the water going in is near 8 so its definitly more acidic than that because the color is no where near that. It still looking like some sort of deficiency to me but which one?

Ive attached some pictures. The first one is my sickest plant. All the lower leaves have died and fallen off. It looks wilty and you can see the lower leaf is starting to get pale. The second pic is more healty looking but its still wilty and the lower leaves are still getting pale.

 

[Dr.GreenThumb]

Its really hard to get an accurate ph test without the digital pen type tester, they range from 65-100 depending on which one. Care to give us some more info on your grow?

http://www.marijuanapassion.com/forum/showthread.php?t=1449

 

[cratos]

Yep. I just cant afford that much though. Especially since this is just a hobby grow.

Soil. No prefert.
Im using Schults orchid food 19-31-17 at about half strength.
Ive been adding epsom salt at about 1/8-1/4 teaspoon per 3 liters.
Its a mini grow with a 70w hps. Vented through a homade carbon scrubber.
About 1.5 square feet space. Keeping the plants really small until I can tell which is female.
Grown from bag seed.
Switched to 12/12 about a week ago.

 

[Mutt]

That looks over-watered. How often are you watering???
How much did you trim it?? It looks hacked a little. Showing signs of stress too.

 

[cratos]

that one hasnt been watered in days. I only water once ever 3-4 days. I didnt hack it. The leaves turned yellow and fell off. Thats the worst plant. The others arnt that bad but they all lost the oldest set of leaves. and the next sets are turning yellow.

 

[Daboss]

to bring the ph more acidic put a little bit of orange juice(from an actual orange) this will make ur ph higher.

 

[Mutt]

Take it into the tub and flush it. Run water for every gallon of pot size 2-3 gallons of water through it. (slowly....let it drain). That fert you got is pretty heavy. It caused problems. You want the water coming out of the bottom to be clear. no brown crap. Make sure you got holes in the bottom all over to allow good drainage. Use distilled or store bought spring water.

Note:
when checking PH with those kits use distilled water which is a neutral 7. take the soil and mix it with the distilled water. take three or four samples at different locations and depths. find the average.

 

[cratos]

Ive already flushed them with tap water. I'll try to flush them again. What dosages would you recommend for this fert?

 

[Mutt]

If your tap water PH is off, then your just adding to the problem. use distilled or store bought spring water.

That kind of NPK is tough. I use Fox-Farms or a hydro fert. They all work with soil and have a PH buffer in it.

Edit: Wait a sec. you in flower. that schultz has way to much N. IMHO.

 

[cratos]

Yea the N is a little high, but at this point shouldnt be hurting the plant. Theyre just now in flowering. Also as far as the tap water, the soil I have is not pH buffered or neutral. It is a bit acidic and so the alkaline tap water should be evening things out, no?

Edit:
Im thinking of going with a simple bubbler hydro set-up next time. My grow box and area are so small that I think I could keep better control of the whole system. I think some of the problems im having are because the pots are so small its causing the system to be unstable.

My plan is to get one or two females and then allow them some grow space and root space. That is why im in flower asap. Sooner I off the males, the sooner the ladies get the space they need.

 

[Mutt]

7) a) Leaves are curled under like a ram's horn, and are dark green, gray,
brown, or gold. >> Over-fertilization (too much N).

8) a) The plant is wilted, even though the soil is moist. >>Over-fertilization, soggy soil, damaged roots, disease; copper deficiency (very unlikely).

http://www.marijuanapassion.com/forum/showthread.php?t=1956

Also never assume PH balances. That is heading for disaster. IMO. Always double check PH.

Good luck, I'll let the other members step in.

 

[cratos]

Thanks Mutt. I'll flush again, and try to get some better fert.

 

[Mutt]

I just realized I miss typed. I meant if you tap water PH is off (not within tolerance).

 

[bongsmoker]

how much bud do you expect to yeild off that,not very much,if any,sorry bro
good luck though

 

[cratos]

yeah, like I said, that is the sickest one. I just want to find out which are females so I can have a more proper grow in terms of space and soil. The rest of the plants look more like the third pic and theyll probably get twice as big before theyre done.

 

[cratos]

The problem is persisting. The leaves are still yellowing from the bottom up. Ive got some buds starting now. 5/6 are female. So theres still some new growth but the leaves are still yellowing. Im not sure what else to do. Ive discontinued the use of that schultz and ive got some tripple phosphate that I will try at the next watering. Ive also flushed them with water throughly.