Unknown plant problem, need assistance!

[MonteCristo]

Hi, this is my first post on overgrow. I was a member of the old overgrow a long time ago but hadn’t completed a successful grow yet due to legal problems. I recently decided it was the right thing that I try again and I bought what I needed to get started. Basic stuff. I bought ten blue treacle auto seeds, a mars 300 and a 2 by 2 mars grow tent.

I germinated the seeds successfully along with one Cinderella 99 seed which I had recieved for free. I planted the seeds in soil which came containing a months feed already (I now realise this was a mistake and I won’t make the same mistake again) but after googling the name of it alot of other people had used it for growing successfully.

Anyway all was going well until I started to put down molasses spray, some of the plants did not handle it well, the Cinderella was fine and one of the BTA we’re fine. The other plants have struggled. I then stayed away for a weekend and sadly the plants were exposed to very high temperatures as me and my girlfriend left the heating on and windows shut. I came back and rescued them opening the windows and putting another fan in there and I watered them properly as obviously it was dry.

Then another drama happened, the plants had been on for 24hrs for 2 weeks, but I had to put the plants away for a day when a ‘friend’ came to visit. They were in the dark for maybe 8 hours then put back into 24 HR light. I do not know if this will have shocked the plants or not.

I’m unsure which of these three events could have caused my current problem or wethar it goes back to the poor soil choice.

I’ll show a photo of the good BTA that seems resistant to any problems and then I will show the unwell ones, which are smaller as though they have stunted growth and have yellow in them. I will show the Cinderella 99 also just as reference.

Any help with this problem I will be very grateful, I have considered giving up on the three and continuing with the healthy three and starting to germinate more but part of me won’t give up until I know I have to.

Cheers - MonteCristo

[Lancien]

Hi MonteCristo

I think about overdose and now you have a blockade. Buy “light” mix and repot it.

Wait more opinion

++

L’ancien

Ps: HAh and welcome here
your mom did not teach you to introduce you when you arrive somewhere (especially if you come to ask)

[Muleskinner]

Tell us more about the soil mix - I don’t see any Perlite in there, which is trouble. You need 30% perlite or other drainage element (rice hulls). This soil might work better if you add 30% Perlite - what brand is it?

Also, that first plant is the keeper! It’s hardy enough to withstand the problem. I would maybe transplant the first one into better mix and then start some seeds in the new mix.

[Dewb]

i’d have to agree with @Lancien on this one. looks to be too much feed for such a young plant.
the yellowing looks like a mag deficiency on the one but is probably due to lock out.

[legalcanada]

even top one looks really dark maybe nitrogen toxicity, the bottom one looks healthiest almost… i’d say it’s time to start giving them a dark period (18-6) and plain water for a while they’ll bounce back no problem… once they start showing a deficiency start feeding again

[GrapeApe]

We need to take those plants out of the pot and fill them up with more mix. After you do this you should be back on track… Just turn the pot upside down and let the plant slide through your fingers try to keep the plant and the mix together as much as possible. Just let the plant and mix plug settle on top of new mix.

[Tinytuttle]

I agree with @Muleskinner there looks to be no aeration in that mix looks very dense, roots could be starved of oxygen add pumice,perilite, rice hulls 1st of all!

[MonteCristo]

Thank you so much to everyone who replied to me and took time to help me.

Yesterday while waiting on responses I had been researching and thought the problem looked like either a iron deficiency or a magnesium deficiency. I then realised molasses has iron so it might be magnesium. I bought Epsom salts in desperation and mixed with PH correct water and gave a fair bit to all the plants. Since then the three that weren’t looking so great still look the same but it seems the leaves are a bit better and a bit darker green and the new growth looks all green but obviously it’s to early to tell.

I agree with everyone on here that my soil is a problem. I used John Innes number 2 or something, I can’t remember the name but it had a months feed. I used absaloutey no perlite like you said in the mix and I now see what a big problem it is as the pots are still super heavy days after watering as I’m not running HPS so it stays quite cool in there so I will need good drainage.

It’s a hassle but it’ll be worth it obviously, il get to re potting them all today and il take some more photos of them and post them tomorrow morning.

There is one that has been completely resistant to the problem the others faced. It might sound crazy but the seed from the one that is so tough was twice the size of the other seeds, I wonder if it had more nourishment in its shell than the others?

And the Cinderella 99 is looking good, but also oxygen starved.

Il re pot them all and write back with photos tomorrow and I will be sure to do a proper introduction either today or tomorrow and introduce myself properly.

Thanks you so much to everyone, it’s such a great thing to be able to get help like this as I have no one else to ask. I’m glad to be here though as im sure il be doing this for the rest of my life now so I need to learn.

Cheers - MonteCristo

[LabRat]

@MonteCristo

'm glad to be here though as im sure il be doing this for the rest of my life now so I need to learn.

That is the crux of the biscuit! With a lifetime to learn and an eager mind capable of learning there are no limits.

Never count on one opinion until backed up by a few more. Never think one sick leaf means a sick plant and never listen to well-meaning friends without successful grows under their belts.

Doing good so far!

[Muleskinner]

John Innes doesn’t look good - it’s actually called “compost”, cannabis hates heavy, compost-based mixes. A littlle added sand is not nearly enough aeration:

John Innes Compost - No.1, No.2, & No.3

I would change to a peat or coir-based mix. Compost should not be more than 10-20% of any mix. You want to see about 30% Perlite or other aeration, 60% peat or coir, and 10% compost.

[legalcanada]

are you using unsulphured molasses? my molasses also contains mag (8% of DV). i’ve switched to MEGACROP nutrient which is supposedly an all in 1 complete product. smells like shit so i think it’s manure based fertilizer lol. you can get 230g bag for free only pay shipping at the moment.

i’d buy some coco coir and repot it to that. coco coir doesn’t hold as much water as soil so even pure coco coir fully saturated still has enough oxygen but added perlite never hurts.

[MonteCristo]

Hey… I’ve now transplanted them all into pots with more soil and mixed in perlite. I was so lucky to get the very last bag of perlite from the store, I was dreading having to try and find rice hulls if they didn’t have it. I just saw the comment above about cannabis plants hating compost. Unlucky for me I think it is multi purpose compost I used this time sadly, but I mixed in the 30% perlite and made sure the pots were filled up more this time.

Before photo and after photos,

It’s annoying knowing now that compost is not a great idea but at least I know now. I saw Coco coir available at IKEA suprisingly. I am probably going to start another 3-5 of the blue treacle auto but starting in the Coco mixed with perlite and having the cal msg solution ready to use with it.

The molasses I used (when I feel they were burned) the molasses is unsulphured. However I’m very anxious to use the molasses again even though I saw the amazing effect it had on my two bullet proof plants but it seemed to be the thing that hurt the others. Maybe I’ll try another brand, and certainly I will dilute much much more as I did use alot last time.

But onwards and upwards with these ones. The two that looked well before looked amazing just before transplanting but afterwards they were droopy as I didn’t do the smoothest job. So I assume the roots will take about 5 days to recover and for the plants to get back into gear.

I am considering doing a grow journal soon, perhaps with the blue treacle auto. But I will certainly come back and post updates on how the plants are doing all the way through until harvest, if I’m lucky enough to make it that far ;)!

Many thanks to everyone - MonteCristo

[Uncle_Al]

If it says feeds for X number of months it is toxic to sprouts and young plants avoid pre fertilizied soils at all costs.

[MadScientist]

Hello @MonteCristo! I love your handle, one of my favorite book/movies of all time, in fact; i am gonna watch it now. It;s the kinda movie that ilove to watch early in the morning… Welcome to OG bro!

Long live Alex Dumas.

[Muleskinner]

looks a lot better! I’m sure the mix isn’t 100% compost if it says it’s for general use as a planting mix. You’ll find out if this works. Every grow is an ongoing experiment for me.

Count of Monte Christo is one my favorite books also! You learn a lot about pre-industrial society, for example a man 5 feet 7 inches tall was considered to be very tall in 1840. All the chemicals & hormones in our food are making people stretch out like a plant under stress. No wonder we’re plagued with cancer and other problems. (sorry to digress).

Also wealthy lesbian girls would be captured by the police and forced to marry men by their fathers, I thought that was interesting as well.

[Uncle_Al]

I’d marry a lesbian girl, that makes for a freaky deaky marital bedroom.

[ryasco]

Cannabis loves compost as long as it can breath.

[MonteCristo]

Hi, back with an update,

After a while I decided to make an executive decision which was extremely hard but I believe the best decision giving all the facts and evidence. I had 6 plants, three of them looked an okay size since reporting and look healthy. The other three that were burned from the compost soil had begun to repair and grow healthy new green growth, but the growth was so small and the plants growth looked stunted.

Also I only have one mars 300, which is really only 130watts. So I killed the three weakest burned ones, as I want to get a reasonable harvest, or at least something, so I believe it’s best to focus all the light on three, moving it slightly closer.

I removed the three and am going to re use the pots as I started germinating 5 of the last blue treacle auto seeds as I know I can do alot better of a job now that I have a compost free mix to use. I bought a bag of top soil which has no feed in it whatsoever unlike the John Innes compost before which the three I have are sadly still in along with perlite.

I made the decision to throw those three, start the 5 new ones with the top soil mixed with perlite and I also have coconut coir bricks, but right now I’m unsure if il use Coco coir or if il just use top soil mixed with perlite 50/50… I have a small flat wirh my girlfriend and I don’t know how easy it will be to make up this Coco brick? I don’t even have a bucket, could I do it in the sink and just dispose of what I don’t use after? I could make a perlite, Coco, top soil mix.

I DID WHAT HAD TO BE DONE!! The other three look much better and get more intense light now as there are a bit closer. There is a slight problem on one layer of leaves only on two of the remaining plants and that problem you can also see on the three small ones I removed. Half of the leaf goes crispy like it’s been vapourised. I’ve looked at a chart and it looks like zinc deficiency oddly enough. With the compost I guess anything is possible though, it will be throw out of balance I’m sure with compost with feed. I’m confident I won’t have this problem on the new ones I’m about to start.

Also I have decided to buy another light as I know that I do not have anywhere near enough light, I can only buy the light in 14 days time, by then my 5 new ones will be up and ready for the increased light. I realise that the plants are also small and spindely because they simply don’t have enough light and that lack of light is a current problem needing fixed.

I do not know much about lights, I see there are DIY ones and I can do DIY but I’m not educated on it, it’s easy just buying a pre made one like mars. I always used 400 HPS the two attempts before and quickly realised these new led lights are not powerful, the cheaper priced mars ones anyway.

I have decided to either buy the mars reflector 240watt… I can afford another mars 300 like I have now but the slightly less watts but more lumens reflector 240watt looks better. There is also a COB light, that is a ‘400’ but only 200 true watts called a roleadro COB… It’s a choice between that or the mars reflector.

I remember watching a YouTube video by a grower something Reno… anyway he said you’d need at least 300-400 true watts minimum for a grow. It may of been 300 but I think it was 400 he said. With the roleadro COB I will be at 330 true watts which is not quite there but it’s close enough for me right now, I can always throw in a few CFLs to boost it up past 400.

Also Madscientist and Muleskinner, thanks for the replies, your spot on. I was living over in South Africa last year and a friend gave me the book the count of Monte Cristo, it was such a huge book but I started reading it anyway, unaware it was going to be the best book I’ve ever read and ever will read, I knew when reading it that its probably the greatest book ever written. The character of Monte Cristo represents alot, that dude from V for Vendetta, his hero was Monte Cristo too. I remember lying down one night stoned, escaping reading the chapter on Haydee and how sexy she sounds while having the Indian ocean to look at and those fascinating purple skies you get sometimes at nightime in South Africa in summer. This is a memory il have forever, that was so close to perfect. Thank you for the welcome.

I will maybe be starting a grow journal now with the blue treacle auto, I look back and wonder why on earth I chose blue treacle auto, I’m sure there are much easier strains to grow than this with less problems even though BTA isn’t really a hard strain. It’s amazing the amount of things il be doing differently the second time.

I will take more photos though and keep people updated, thank you to everyone for the replies and help!

After posting this I realised I need to take better photos for you guys with the remaining plants so il get that done asap.

Really appreciated - MonteCristo

[Tinytuttle]

Yea I have a mars hydro 300 and it just doesn’t do the trick for me in the flowering stage, light and wispy buds it seems alright for vegging but looking to do a 150 to 300 watt hps with 1 maybe two plants at most, for indoors lighting is the only thing I’m lacking and the number of outlets in my basement bummer!

[MonteCristo]

It’s definitely a great base light to have. But it feels like only about half the amount of light I need. It is a great light, the 130 watts it is are a great 130. But for the kind of buds il be satisfied with I know I need more light.

I have three options,

2 X mars 300 (130 true watts each, 260watts total)

1 X mars 300 and 1 x 240w mars reflector (100 true watts, 230watts total)

1 X mars 300 and 1 x 400w Roleadro COB (200 true watts, 330watts total)

My head is telling me to go for the 200watt Roleadro as I’d rather not get the reflector and find out I still don’t have enough light, at least with the roleadro COB it’s close to 400.

I live in a small flat with my gf so I need to be cautious with the amount of electric I use… this is the only thing that makes me think I should go for the reflector as it has more lumens than the mars 300 but has less watts at only 99watts, there impressive little lights but is it enough?

I’ll put up some more photos of my remaining plants tonite.

Cheers mate - MonteCristo