Sick plants, first time in coco

[sfizzy187]

Hey guys, its been a while but i just thaught id post up because i've given up trying to be independant and not relying on all the lovely experienced growers (didnt wanna be a pain) but i guess, i have no choice but to beg for your help!!

A little background, its my first ever run, started with coco, never done soil so my understanding is soil is generally slower and more of a patience game when feeding to see if you hurt it or not etc...

I have two strains from seed, one had 5wks veg while the other had 3-4wks veg. As you can imagine, they stretched like a bitch during the first 4wks of FLOWER.

During veg, they we're all super healthy, i was feeding 1.8ec at 5.5-6.2pH TWICE a day (every twelve hours).

Now in veg, they stayed pretty stum and cherful, not much stress or stretch along the way.

This could be because i used 400wmh only in veg.

When i was ready for 12/12, i think i cocked everything up...

Basically i didnt do anything for a transition week nor did i continue using grow nutes until i was 100% sure of the females (pistils etc.).

As soon as i switched from 24/0 to 12/12 i started bloom nutes.

I had my eye on a few females but it was only until i think 2 wks in flowering that i culled the males.

Out of ten seeds i was down to 6 females (two strains, 3 of each).

The following week (week 3 in flowering) the stretch got prominent..it didnt stop until week 5 or early week 6.

All the while during this time the plants we're super healthy until around week 5 where i was having personal neglecting problems from them and the pH rose dramatically.

All this happening i was feeding twice a day still...

Thats when the defficiencies started!!

Fan leaves started to damaga, other new growth was damaged.

I quickly corrected the problem but the damage was done...

Now, i am on week 7 or 8 (day 61 in flowering) and the new growth since the earlier cock up has generally been fine.

I experience another issue two weeks ago with my rcd and fuse box..so the girls started having an upset flowering time. I think because of this it caused more stretch and slower growth.

Yesterday i noticed my first signs on pistils turnign darker, not quite brown but no longer pure white..

All trichs still clear, and thees lots of them, adding by the day.

Lots of bud sites and little production/slow happenings...

I think i have Magnesium, Potassium, Phosphorus and an Iron defficiency after reading the faq.

During the last two weeks i switched from two feeds a day to one feed at 5.8pH and 1.8ec stable..

My water temps also were low during the time of the rcd fuse blew.

What can i do now? apart from see them through?

The seem to be producing slowly, health seems stable lower half of the plants while the rest is bulking up slowly.

I dont mind being patient, but if the girls are still suffering, is there anything i can do to get them back in line?

Also to add almost all the leafs not including fan leaves on the upper half of the girls are clawed downwards extremely as if there not happy, but are dark green so looking like its not an N defficiency...

Also i been monitoring one of the budsites with pics and when i upped my ec (few days ago) from 1.8 to 2.0 there was a very slight nute burn on the tip of the budsite i been monitoring... i lowered the ec to 1.7 (1.8) and i think that tip burn has actually gone, so im guessing i am not overferting right?

I think i may have been over fertin in the past however and to this day..i think mayeb one feed a day could be too much? everything is slow its approaching day 61 and ive estimated that there finishign in late feb (100-110days at the very least)

I must add that the lower halfs of all the girls are not clawing whatsoever, only theupper half is extremely clawed with fan leaves dark brown and still 'soft' so i aint removing them yet...

Cheers and il add pics if you like...i guess i shoulda started a thread? :wink:

Thanks!!

Edited December 29, 2009 by sfizzy187

[GreenNinja]

That's a lot to read...I've tried, but I'm still not getting you....in a nutshell: what is your problem? If it's deficiencies, post photos - it's the only way.

GN

[sfizzy187]

Hey GN, wow thats messy huh!

Sorry for the long thing... heres some pics, but il get a closeup of some of the leafs wich are bubbly and some with lsf and others with purple veins...i dont know if the pictures will help but youl get the general idea, i actually dont know what the problem is...

Few more and il try and get better ones tonight..

Edited December 30, 2009 by sfizzy187

[sfizzy187]

Hope this helps... im just gonna take them as long as they need to go, but i just keep thinking there dying.

Edited December 30, 2009 by sfizzy187

[Guest hantshaze]

High. those plants look like they have been getting far to much nutes.

Hantshaze........

[sfizzy187]

Hey hantshaze, shall i put them on one feed every other day and see how they go from there?

Cheers!

[Guest Tutu]

Hey hantshaze, shall i put them on one feed every other day and see how they go from there?

Cheers!

I'd flush them with plain nutes for a couple of days and then starting feeding them 1/2 strength, I think they may have gone too far though.

Happy NY Coco growers.

[Guest Poacher]

defo too much nutes as has been said. another thing mate, have you any light leaks in there because some of those shots look like they couild be trying to re-veg

[GreenNinja]

defo too much nutes as has been said. another thing mate, have you any light leaks in there because some of those shots look like they couild be trying to re-veg

Yep..that's exactly what I thought when I saw them too. The leaves have lost edge definition and to me that 'salady' look is the look of reveg.

Good advice already given. Give them a flush with plain pH'd water (or RO water if you have) for 24 hours and then re-feed using a lower EC (1.5 ish). Also check everywhere for light leaks and also your timer. You need a reliable 12/12 cycle for the majority of canna strains. Light leaks will cause all kinds of hell....including hermies and revegging. The easiest way is to turn the lights out in the room your plants are in but leave the grow light on, then look for the light leaks and patch with gaffa tape (if in a tent).

HTH

GN

[sfizzy187]

Hey guys, thanks for all the advice!

Yesterday i switched there feed off..so they havent eaten for 24 hours atleast and counting...

Tonight i will flush them with tap water which is 0.5ec alone. It's far from RO but i havent got access to anything better..

Shall i flush them tomorrow night aswell or skip a day and flush them?

When i start the refeed i'll try from ec1.2 which is half the nutes from my 1.8ec that i've been feeding (tap at .5), is that okay? or shal i go 1.5?

It's upto you guys, i'll let you know how they're getting on..

Also im just going to use gh bloom (~9ml per gal), no added koolbloom from now on when i start feeding and feed every other day instead of every day (i started back in veg twice a day, in flower went to once a day...blah)

Also about the timer, yeah when my rcd kept tripping back in early 12/12, it must have reset my timer. i got a digital one and it was set to 'on' all days of the week at 12am and 'off' only on MONDAY at 12pm.. which screwed shit over the next week after i had fixed the rcd (by help of uk420 -moved to 32A fuse). Because it was only a week later i had noticed that when i looked at the timer screen and fiddled with it...

So now, i have been keeping an eye going in the garage 5mins before midnight and waiting for the light on my relay socket to light up... and on lights out, i peak in there to make sure that lights off...which it has been since i reset the timer...

I am guessing that has only add to my woes, can you describe what sort of reveg your noticing?

e2a oh the potatoe leaves, interesting, if they reveg and you guys can comfirm can i take cuts?...otherwise il just keep on 12/12

The only light that is in my tent was on an extension lead which i popped the bulb inside to get it off..

I also went around with gaffa tape like you guys suggested and i couldnt find any more light leaks...

I repaired a few with gaffa back in veg...one or two keeps coming off.but i just put some more..

Also into the garage there is extremely minial light actually getting in during daytime...i guess its not 100% dark, but i need to stand inside the tent during the day..to see if its getting in?

Sometimes on the zipper seems you can see light..shall i gaffa that up to be safe? would be effort each time i go in though? Have to take my time zipping it holding the flap underneath as i go so it doesnt leave sprinkles of light coming out..

Cheers guys! yours the best and hope your enjoying 2010!

Edited January 2, 2010 by sfizzy187

[zaaboot]

I would go in with less nutes if poss, so as you say, half the amount is at 1.2 go with that fora few feeds then work your way back up - but they do look very overfed. Plain water for a few feeds for sure.

With regards to light leaks, what I have done as I am running two tents in the same room and one is on 18/6 the other is on 12/12 so lights overlap, I have covered the smaller tent completely with a Duvet cover cover. To be fair the tent is good and I have had no issues, but just to make sure, it just gives peace of mind - try that if you have a cover big enough, that with the gaffa tape should get you light tight

[sfizzy187]

Thanks man,im gonna get a blanket,but got to work a way around my exhaust ports at the top,im using both..any ideas?

Originally i was going to build a cardboard frame to go around the whole tent (dr240w) out of cardboard and tape but ditched that plan since i assumed it'd be a waste of time...

Il give them the flush tonight,tomorrow and possibly the day after, or skip a day...

I think the wicking of my coco is slow...its been a downhill slope since i potted them up for 12/12!

Heres a pic of a lower nug,bit blurry but itl be somehing to compare too..above this part of the plant (about half way down) is where it all goes terrible...

Oh and my strains are true blueberry and pure powerplant,both exhibiting the same overfed behavior..

Cheers!

[GreenNinja]

Now that the timer has been fixed I'm not entirely sure what the best way forward is for you - maybe someone else can help?

My best guess is to continue on a 12/12 schedule to revert the reveg (i.e. make them flower properly). However, you will be adding on a number of weeks to your total flowering time (maybe 2 or 3). If you've got a mum you might want to start again, if not and these were seeds, you may just need to be a bit more patient. I'd start the flowering timings from when your plants are back in full flower again (pistils out, leaves looking like canna leaves again).

Also worth spending 15 quid on a Grasslin timer (available most places, if not get one at Greens Horticulture linked from this site) which is a sturdy, well built (German) mechanical timer that a vast majority of canna growers use.

GN

[sfizzy187]

Hey GN, how you doing?

Cheers, yeah il stick to 12/12 and see how they go. I am on day 63 now i think from the day i started 12/12 (when veg finished)...so all the tribulations i faced happened during that time... so i estimated that they would finish up late feb, around 100-110days...including the road to recovery..i may be wrong however, i will take them as long as they need to go...

These are from seed and i didnt keep a mother,but i will do in future!

e2a i use a grasslin timer for feeding..when lights on tonight il swap them around,that makes more sense actually

Cheers!!

Edited January 2, 2010 by sfizzy187

[sfizzy187]

Hey peeps, hope your enjoying the new year frost!

Yesterday i flushed them with tap water (0.5ec), today i've let them be and i guess i might flush them again tomorrow night...

Will i gain more defs cus' theres no added food? or will they feed of there own reserves?

I've noticed after i flushed them my tap water ec wen down from .5 to .4

I'm going to flush them threw with the same water...i'll have to add a bit more into the res from hot tap sine i broke my second fish tank heater ffs!

What's the most reliable way heating a resevoir?

Also since i am flooding and draining, how would i go about draining to waste? the pots sit half inch deep in the solution and the coco wicks it up during the 15mins before it is drained..the overflow valve allows it to drain back into res while its filling... I'm guessing i'l need a dripper setup if i wanted to drain to waste?

Before i flushed them last night i noticed how light the pots had become prior because they didnt receive a feed the day before...two girls we're toppled when i got into the tent..after struggling to stand them due to the nature of there stems..i turned the pots around in a circular motion to balance it out...

Cheers for all the advice thus far...glad to know im not alone

Cheers