Name that grow problem / solution

Underfed and overwatered

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I’ll have to say it’s a ph issue

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I’ll check. Cheap meter says it’s ok, but I’ll use some ph strips to confirm

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Gonna try watering less. Also, what should I feed them?

No it’s “brand new” potting soil. What should I feed them?

There are lots of choices for food, but Miracle Grow is way down on the list :slight_smile:

Im sure you will get several different recommendations, but my current favorite is Mega Crop.

You can get a 1kg bag for $15 plus shipping. That should make around 200 gallons of nute mix.

Check out this thread.

They have been getting (mostly) rave reviews.

Ive used it in a soil grow and two hydro grows so far, and it works great, is easy to work with. You may need to add some additional CalMag depending on your soil and how strong you mix it. Other than that, its a one stop deal.

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You’re in soil, seriously doubt it is a ph issue. Soil is a buffer. I use megacrop also, keeps it simple. At least an organic fish fertilizer w/kelp or something. Try 1/2 strength to start

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I have 2 probes on my desk here. :smile: :blush: They suck. Even the more expensive one. They are handy for seeing/confirming if it’s WAY out of wack but not for fine tuning, imo. I’ve done the runoff test a couple of times but from what I’ve read it’s tricky to do “properly” (i.e. distilled water twice, ignore first runoff, capture first drops of second runoff).

While I support your science-oriented approach :blush: my low-buck experience & Yoda :alien: say get some kelp meal & make a liquid feed and or worm-castings. Be careful not to over-do it like I’m probably inclined. hehe

:evergreen_tree:

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properly healthy soil or outdoor soil will act as a ph buffer but don’t believe for a second that soil growers can’t get locked out nutes based on ph… it happens… more frequently than soil growers care to admit and is usually looked upon as underfeeding or overwatering so it gets handled as such while never actually addressing the problem…

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I’ve had catastrophic failures in soil, runoff 1000 PPM and a very low pH. In my case it was over use of a garlic ferment that literally killed all my microbes. Its these microbes that help control pH in the rhizosphere.

You keep saying your meter says the pH is “ok” does it not give you a number? Or is it one of those soil probes from the hardware store.

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Agreed @toastyjakes and @ReikoX but they should try the obvious first, like nutrients. They haven’t fed them at all yet and the age of that plant seems about when the nutes already in the soil get used up. More than likely a heavy feeding strain wouldn’t you think?

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It’s one of those ph / moisture / light meters with the two long, different metal probes, about ten dollars. It says the pH is about 7.5. After reading a little I’m finding out that is too high. Can I use vinegar to bring it down? What should I use to get the pH right? --I’ll read the websites a little deeper. The vinegar thing was the first pH balance method that came up.

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7.5 is a bit high for cannabis. I wouldn’t suggest vinigar personally, though some have used it successfully. If you are stuck with miracle grow, use about half of what they suggest for container gardening. This should lower the pH and feed the hungry girls. Win, win.

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This may sound gross, but I’d rather use diluted urine over vinegar.

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I’m an old dirt farmer who’s recently switched to coco and I’ve had more ph issues in soil than I care to remember.

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As soon as I saw that short slow growth and yellowing leaves I thought ph issue. Those probe meters are useless in my opinion.

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:smile: LOL

:evergreen_tree: Whee! :roller_coaster:

Well, what kind of water are you using? That’s the easiest starting point, especially since they’re not big plants & you can buy some if needed(presuming). City tap water varies a lot and often… usually sucks.

I have no fancy water filter but do use a BRITA type kitchen filter to help with what we’re talking about. The tap here is about 7.2pH, 200-280ppm. The Brita comes out 6.0pH, 80ppm; MUCH closer to rain water(a new filter will actually give 5.5pH for the first couple of days).

Then there’s quantity & delivery rate to consider too. Also the soil may be accumulating salts & raising the pH(even if the water applied is acidic). Water can be made “wetter” with a surfactant. Crazy stuff.

:thinking:

:evergreen_tree:

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If you plan to do this with any degree of certainty, you need a better way to tell whats going on with your water/nute mix.

I know budget can be a problem, it is for me. You can start by getting a PH test kit for spas/pools. They are cheap and will get you in the general ball park as far as PH.

If you want to do it consistently, and accurately, you need to spend around $30-$50 to get a decent PH meter. Forget the $10-$15 ones. They are worse than the meter you have now = useless.

Its also a good idea to know what is in your tap water. For sure you need to know the PH, but its also good to know how much other crap is in there. Thats where an EC or TDS meter will help. It can also help you check exactly how much nutes are in the water by measuring EC/TDS changes when you mix it up.All those meters do is measure conductivity of the water, but that can tell you a LOT. Again, you are looking at $40 or more for a good one.

As far as what to use to lower PH, vinegar will work, but its far from best. It doesnt last long. You can buy commercial PH Down. Its phosphoric acid.

Or you can go to the auto parts store and get regular battery acid - but - thats not something for everyone to try.

You need to be very very careful if you mess with battery acid full strength. It needs to be diluted about 1 cup acid to 1 gallon of water. You also need to be absolutely sure you add the acid to the water. NEVER add water to acid.

In other words, you always poor the 1 cup of acid into the 1 gallon of water. Never ever poor the water into the 1 cup of acid in a container. If you do, you risk the acid exploding and splashing acid all over the place. Actually, its the water that can flash boil and blast the acid all over.

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Yeah, questioning whether city water could be causing problems. In fact there’s a discussion going on lately in town about the water being “off”–brown or bad tasting. I haven’t seen this myself, but it does seem like the water could be not as pure as before. I’ll keep my eye on this and test it if need be.

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