Wanna Ask The Old Farts A Question?

[HempKat]

Hey Y'all! I am having an issue with my heat pump. The recently installed unit was a last minute decision made without my consult and has been a DISASTER since day one. After this cycle it is OUT of there. A Fujitsu will be installed but as I have concerns. For this space which is approximately 10x9x10 I am finding the humidity to be very difficult to control at 4 wks. I am running an additional dehumidifier and a 12 inch exhaust in addition to the current system. This is just to control the humidity at 4400 watts and I have yet to add more watts. It is the first split system I have had experience with and I had anticipated being able to run up to 7000 watts. But I am now extremely perplexed by the humidity. Anyone which Fujitsu IAQ I am going to have to go with? 12,000 BTU should handle the space but now I am thinking for my needs I might have to go to 18,000 BTU.
And how do I take into consideration humidity levels in the closed system room?
Cuz what's the point in having a closed room with CO2 if I have to exhaust.
Thank You

Sorry, I can't help you as I have no experience with closed systems. I just grow for myself and as such adding CO2 is a riddiculous waste of money and would make my growroom way more complicated and expensive to run, so it's just not worth it to me.

All I can tell you is just general stuff, like the more heat (lights) you add the higher your humidity will become because the air will become warmer and able to hold more humidity. So I'm guessing you're right on maybe having to go with the 18,000 BTU option.

 

[jessrabit]

Thank you HempKat. My apologies for not proof reading that last entry. That was terrible grammar.
I will posit the question in another forum.
Again, Thank you

 

[HempKat]

Thank you HempKat. My apologies for not proof reading that last entry. That was terrible grammar.
I will posit the question in another forum.
Again, Thank you

No problem, we're all stoners here. I make grammer and spelling mistakes all the time.

 

[gabjaz]

Is this normal?

Is this normal?

Hello,

Any advise you can give would be greatly appreciated.One of three plants is developing brown spots on it's leafs, then turning yellow. Is this normal during the last few weeks of flowering? All of the bud sites look really good as far as I can see. The PH seems to be good 6.7.

I'm wondering if I should change my feeding schedule from once a week to two times a week with 1/2 dose each feeding?

Last week the one plant that is really showing the brown spots was sprayed with an insecticide Doktor Doom (pyrethrins based). We thought there might be the beginning of a pest problem, but looking back I think we were wrong. Could that have caused the problem.

This plant is also right under the light... Is heat stress possible?



Peace..GJ

 

[HempKat]

Hello,

Any advise you can give would be greatly appreciated.One of three plants is developing brown spots on it's leafs, then turning yellow. Is this normal during the last few weeks of flowering? All of the bud sites look really good as far as I can see. The PH seems to be good 6.7.

I'm wondering if I should change my feeding schedule from once a week to two times a week with 1/2 dose each feeding?

Last week the one plant that is really showing the brown spots was sprayed with an insecticide Doktor Doom (pyrethrins based). We thought there might be the beginning of a pest problem, but looking back I think we were wrong. Could that have caused the problem.

This plant is also right under the light... Is heat stress possible?



Peace..GJ

I'd say it's a combination of things. Yes as a plant ages and gets near harvest leaves will begin to discolor. In my experience it generally starts low in the plant with leaves that aren't so productive and then works it's way up. It typically doesn't do much until you enter the flush phase (where you give just water for the last week or so) and then it becomes more pronounced. Basically the plant is cannibalizing itself for stored nutrients tbecause there's none of whatever it's looking for in the soil or whatever media you're using. How much you get of this early on probably depends alot on diet. If the plant is getting a steady balanced diet there should be minimal signs of aging. If something is lacking the signs of aging should be more prominent accordingly. Around week 5-6 for this to start turning up a little is not unusual.

Now that's speaking generally, in your case there are other factors to consider. First whether you were right or wrong about there being pests, obviously something was going on with that plant to make you think there were pests. In other words you may have been wrong about pests but that doesn't mean there wasn't a problem. In the future consider this, when in flower it's best if you can avoid the use of pesticides, even ones that are organic and supposedly safe for humans. If you have a situation where you have to use one in flower then do try to use an organic one that's safe for humans before you use any other kind, remember, in a few weeks you and perhaps others are going to be smoking this stuff. Regardless of whether you go organic or not, try to avoid using anything until you're 100% sure what if anything you're dealing with.

Another factor in what you said is location, you say this plant that was treated with pesticide is right under the light. That means the light it gets is about the most intense light in the grow area. If you spray plants and leave them wet with an intense light on them, the water or whatever it is can act like a magnifying glass and actually damage leaves much like you can start a fire with a magnifying glass and the sun. It won't start fires or burn things like that because it's a liquid but it will raise the surface temp of the leaf enough to damage it. If the liquid contains things like nutrients, pesticides, minerals, etc. then those elements, when deposited on the surface after the liquid dries can bake under that intense light triggering reactions that can be harmful as well. Whenever applying anything in a foliar manner (sprayed on the leaves) you should do so just before lights out so as to allow the liquid to be well absorbed/dried by the time the light comes on. Ultimately it's usually best to avoid any foliar applications in flower. This is because most people growing indoors have inappropriate ventilation and control of their temps and humidity. If ventilation is poor and the temps and humidity are too high then air circulation is poor, add to that the excess moisture of a foliar spray and that creates prime conditions for bud rot to set in. Now if you have good ventilation, air circulation, temp/humidity control, then you'll avoid problems like bud rot and it'll also help keep pests away because conditions won't be quite right for them to thrive. Also if you have that kind of control, because bud rot isn't a problem there are foliar treatments out there that will produce good results during flower. Still I say why risk it? If you have that kind of control your harvest should be just fine without any fancy enhancements.

Anyway back to your case. I think it's a combination of everything I just covered, I think age played a role, the light, the pesticide and whatever was going on to make you use the pesticide. All that combined together has caused the leaves to do that in my opinion. As long as it stays about like it looks in those pics and doesn't spread to the buds or to so many leaves the plant can't convert the light as well, then you probably don't have much to worry about.

 

[gabjaz]

Thing are getting worse

Thing are getting worse

Hi HempKat,

Thank you again for your advise. You are a wealth of knowledge!

Over the last day and a half things seem to be getting worse fast! Several of the leafs have gotten browner, drying out and are curling up.... The buds still look good. The plant has been moved out from under the center of the light and we will lighten up slightly on the nuits next feeding.

Here are some pictures that were just taken.

Note that the last picture is the pest that was eating up the plant that start this all off! And we thought it might be caterpillars! I must say she is a girl after my own heart!

 

[Gold123]

Hi HempKat,

Thank you again for your advise. You are a wealth of knowledge!

Over the last day and a half things seem to be getting worse fast! Several of the leafs have gotten browner, drying out and are curling up.... The buds still look good. The plant has been moved out from under the center of the light and we will lighten up slightly on the nuits next feeding.

Here are some pictures that were just taken.

Note that the last picture is the pest that was eating up the plant that start this all off! And we thought it might be caterpillars! I must say she is a girl after my own heart!

Just a thought, have you rinsed your plants off since you sprayed them? If not give it a shot at lights out, wash them down and make sure you ventilate until they dry.

 

[gabjaz]

That's a good idea! Is there a point when an early harvest is the way to go and if so does it look like we are close to that point?

Peace,
Gabs

 

[HempKat]

That's a good idea! Is there a point when an early harvest is the way to go and if so does it look like we are close to that point?

Peace,
Gabs

The only time, in my opinion, that an early harvest is adviseable is when you'll lose everything if you don't. Now when I say that I'm talking like a week or more early. If it's just a couple of days that's no big deal. Anyway, judging by the level of developement of the buds, you got a ways to go before even thinking about harvest.

As near as I can tell, the leaves affected are the same leaves from before. An unfortunate trueism about plants is once a leaf is damaged it doesn't get better and return to a normal appearence. If the damage isn't too bad a leaf might not get any worse but it'll never lose the damage it has. If the damage is bad and the leaf uses more energy to keep it alive then it brings in, the plant will allow it to die off.

I think what you're seeing here is the result of the pesticide damaging the leaves and the leaves were damaged enough that they're continuing to die off. Rinsing the plant down is probably a good idea although it should have been done like a few hours or the next day after the pesticide treatment. Again though, don't expect the damaged leaves to get better.

As for your pest problem.......dude, you're screwed, I don't think pyrethrins based pesticide is up to the task, try a rolled up newspaper.

 

[gabjaz]

Once again thank you! I can't tell you how much I appreciate your advise...

Today, the damage seems to have stabilized so we will just wait and see what happens(keeping our fingers crossed).

Peace, Gabs

 

[voltarus]

Hello I have 2 indoor plants. Great white shark and Himalayan gold. They have now been flowering for 8 weeks. I will post some pics later.

 

[alk_loid]

Hey hempkat. i have quick question about flip flop. i have seen many threads about it but nothing simple how to. if i understand correctly it works like 1 ballast and 2lights, with 2 timers, one for one light, 12hours on one light on then off and 12hours of other light,

can i mod my 400w hps ballast n light to flipflop so i could use 400+400 w

very badly made sketch but im thinking something like this.

 

[Internode]

A timer is not rated for the several hundred volts that the ballast 'on' pulse generates.
Secondly, the 'on' pulse is generated by switching on the ballast. Your arrangement, I am pretty certain, will not work. I could draw a circuit diagram that would work, using 120V DPDT contactors. Frankly it would be simpler just to pick up a spare ballast on EBay or Craigs List.

 

[HempKat]

Hey hempkat. i have quick question about flip flop. i have seen many threads about it but nothing simple how to. if i understand correctly it works like 1 ballast and 2lights, with 2 timers, one for one light, 12hours on one light on then off and 12hours of other light,

can i mod my 400w hps ballast n light to flipflop so i could use 400+400 w

very badly made sketch but im thinking something like this.

Sorry, I've never needed to do anything like that so I never had a need to learn about it. Seems like it should be doable although you're talking about keeping one ballast going 24/7.

What I don't get is this, you're essentially talking about running 2 seperate flower rooms, probably side by side, and using one ballast to do the job. In essence you're trying to double your output but based on what a 400W can reasonably cover, double that is not much different then turning those two flowering areas into one area and covering it with one 1000W for 12 hours on and 12 hours off. In the long run I think it would ultimately do you alot better on many levels to do it that way rather then try to run 2 rooms on opposing schedules. You'll likely run yourself ragged trying to tend to things in both rooms without disturbing either room's dark period which can cause light stress which in turn can cause a plant to go hermie.

 

[gabjaz]

Hello HempKat,

It's me again... I'm not confident about the Ph testing that we have been using and since we have been running into problems, and the PH seems to be going up, I would like to buy a reliable easy to use PH pen. Could you recommend one? We had also purchased a Ph up and down solutions online. I had called to seller and told them that I wanted a solution for soil, but when the product arrived it said it was for hydro use. What is the best way to adjust PH?

Once again thank you.. Gabs

 

[HempKat]

Hello HempKat,

It's me again... I'm not confident about the Ph testing that we have been using and since we have been running into problems, and the PH seems to be going up, I would like to buy a reliable easy to use PH pen. Could you recommend one? We had also purchased a Ph up and down solutions online. I had called to seller and told them that I wanted a solution for soil, but when the product arrived it said it was for hydro use. What is the best way to adjust PH?

Once again thank you.. Gabs

This is what I use

http://www.amazon.com/Hanna-Checker-1-pH-Tester/dp/B000WTELF4

As for the ph up and down, don't worry that it says it's for Hydro, that's just because that's who it's mainly marketed for. Soil users have a lower need for adjusting ph because soil tends to buffer ph and there are things like dolomite lime that you can mix into soil to help keep the ph at a good level.

I'm not sure what you mean by what's the best way to adjust ph. My first instinct is to say "the best way is to follow the directions for the ph tester you're using". I personally do it this way, I mix up my nutrients and water, test it, adjust if necessary by adding ph up or down as needed to get the ph level I want (6.5) and then water my plants.

 

[gabjaz]

This is what I use

http://www.amazon.com/Hanna-Checker-1-pH-Tester/dp/B000WTELF4

As for the ph up and down, don't worry that it says it's for Hydro, that's just because that's who it's mainly marketed for. Soil users have a lower need for adjusting ph because soil tends to buffer ph and there are things like dolomite lime that you can mix into soil to help keep the ph at a good level.

I'm not sure what you mean by what's the best way to adjust ph. My first instinct is to say "the best way is to follow the directions for the ph tester you're using". I personally do it this way, I mix up my nutrients and water, test it, adjust if necessary by adding ph up or down as needed to get the ph level I want (6.5) and then water my plants.

HempKat you are a gem!

Which calibration solution should I buy the 7.0 or the 7.01? I'm guessing the 7.0...

Gabs

PS: I uploaded some pictures that I thought were really cool...

 

[Gold123]

HempKat you are a gem!

Which calibration solution should I buy the 7.0 or the 7.01? I'm guessing the 7.0...

Gabs

PS: I uploaded some pictures that I thought were really cool...

Search for the PH tester thread, you can find out which ones people like and which ones have problems.
I use an Oakton ultra basic pen here is a similar one, easy and reliable.
http://www.4oakton.com/proddetail.asp?action=prev&seq=3&TotRec=15&parent=2

Use 7.0

 

[gabjaz]

Search for the PH tester thread, you can find out which ones people like and which ones have problems.
I use an Oakton ultra basic pen here is a similar one, easy and reliable.
http://www.4oakton.com/proddetail.asp?action=prev&seq=3&TotRec=15&parent=2

Use 7.0

Thank you! I have followed HempKat's recommendations and just placed an order for the Hanna Checker. It looks to be just what I need. Thank You for your help....Gabs

 

[HempKat]

HempKat you are a gem!

Which calibration solution should I buy the 7.0 or the 7.01? I'm guessing the 7.0...

Gabs

PS: I uploaded some pictures that I thought were really cool...

The one I bought came with two bottles of calibration solution, one that was 4.0 and one that was 7.01. If the one you bought is new it should already have the calibration solution in the box with the meter. If it's used then buy new solution unless the seller indicates the calibration solution is included.

Nice looking buds, they still got a few weeks to go it looks like but they seem to be frosting up with trichomes nicely.