Ready to Grow? Help! PC CFL

[Fat J]

I say just use tap water - collecting rainwater can bring in pathogens and contaminants. Or if you wanna go the pro route - get an RO filter and add back in exactly what ur ladies need. But with what you're trying to do, thats pointless, veggin plant will be 100% fine with tap water, just make sure 2 ph balance it.

Microherd can help buffer this is true, but you still want to be sure you know what you're putting in ur ladies, some ppl have water softeners that add salts to the water and ur girls will hate that.

 

[xmobotx]

yeah, i agree w/ that too - w/ some qualifiers

some tap water just has too much crap in it (remember to let it sit if its chlorinated)

my tap water is from a deep assed well and we have plenty good sediment filtration so our tap water is as good or better than RO or rain

tap water can be kinda scary just based on all the variables -meaning its hard to recommend w/o some idea what the individuals tap water is coming from

 

[TexasToker]

Hey man, your plant is starting to look pretty good. Way to go figurin' it out!

 

[Fat J]

Most places in Cali use chloramine instead of chlorine, it wont really evaporate like normal chlorine does, you must filter it or use a catalyst to remove it or I think aerating it for a day or 2 may work... not sure tho, but this aquarium dude told me about it, cant just let it sit out overnight anymore... lame.

Lotsa ppl have warned me about chlorine in my feed water, and i cant speak for everybody, but for me it doesnt seem 2 really matter. In fact I kinda like it, keeps pathogens out and my girls still love me. I know chlorine is deadly 2 plants but at the concentration in my tap water, it doesnt seem 2 matter, I get better results than my bro who uses ro filter, and we have almost identical setups.

Anyway, wassup glim? U have a fun 4:20, get blazed/party/yadada... Lets see some new pics, I wanna see how she (hopefully) is doing ^.^ any news?

 

[Glimmbo]

Tex - Thanks for keepin an eye out man!

Fat J, mobot - Really good talk about water, and yea I'm just gonna go with tap water. I don't think we use chlorine where I live in BC, we got some crazy new treatment plant that I don't really understand but we get great city water. Just not so tasty.

Fat J - Thanks man, I had a nice mellow 420. Had exams n shit all this week, but I was still able to write that day off for the all day stone. Went for a walk, very zen. ha hope yours was good too
So my last pic looked really nice, but this plant is not lookin so pretty now:

I think my soil's gone completely inert so I'm gonna try giving it some fish emulsion 6-2-4 for tomorrow's watering. Have you guys got any idea what a purple/red (rhubarb color) branches might mean? Just the strain maybe? I thought it might be another indicator of why it's drooping so much. I figure it's not getting some certain nutrient component to build sturdier stems or something.

I also checked the roots again, they're bundled up a bit at the bottom but not the sides, nothing near like I've seen in pictures of people about to root trim.

Once I can get it a bit healthier looking, I want to top it and sex the topping and maybe a few other cuttings, just to make sure I can get one clone to survive to tell me what sex it is. I bought the stuff and made one of them simple bubble cloners. So I figure I'll take the mom out the box for a few weeks, put her somewhere under 18h+ light while I sex the cuttings in the box. Also, at that point, if the clones are survive and are female, I'm gonna try to flower those cuttings out to buds. I know it'll probably yield next to nothing, and won't be top quality, but I want a taste! I haven't smoked any sativa and I'm gettin too curious.

So das wus up! Any objections? Tips? Cool daydreams? I'll take em all.

 

[xmobotx]

I think my soil's gone completely inert so I'm gonna try giving it some fish emulsion 6-2-4 for tomorrow's watering.

ummmm, i wouldn't feed those any more nitrogen - the curl at the leaf tips is too much N

you been nice and green all along never a shortage of nutes except maybe:

Have you guys got any idea what a purple/red (rhubarb color) branches might mean? Just the strain maybe? I thought it might be another indicator of why it's drooping so much. I figure it's not getting some certain nutrient component to build sturdier stems or something.

sometimes a sign of phosphorous def - BUT unless you see further signs of this don't sweat it

I also checked the roots again, they're bundled up a bit at the bottom but not the sides, nothing near like I've seen in pictures of people about to root trim.

this is a product of letting them dry and it's fine
when the soil dries the roots "look" down for more water
it's what you want

 

[Fat J]

Its lookin pretty good man, dont do anything drastic - and if you're gonna feed, keep it weak for now... Leaf tip curl too much n? I'd recon its more too little magnesium throwin it off balance or maybe just more symptoms of distilled water poisoning ^.^ keep the ph straight, stick to the tap water, try not 2 rush her and if you try anything, just try 1 thing at a time and watch for a week to see changes.

I agree with x, let them thirsty roots search! And dont trip off the stems colors, unless it gets way worse youre ok. You are just starting to learn this girl - its gonna take time (good pot is like good poon ^.^ gotta work for it and be patient)

When you check the roots are you pulling it outta the pot? If so, stop that, just let her be and dont water till shes good n dry. I think you're making good progress, but I'd still recommend getting some Cal/Mag additive and feeding it to her at 1/4 recommended strength. Bet she'll love it and it should be less than 15 bucks.

My .02 ^.^

Oh and if you have nasty old leaves on the bottom, pull em off ;-)

 

[Glimmbo]

Can't get enough tips from you guys, thanks dudes. I do have a couple nasty leaves I could trim. I think I might try to clone a couple cuts this weekend, test out my little bubbla. You think I should top and start some minor bonsai training, even when it's all droopy? It's popping a new set of leaves up top right now that will probably end up being less than an inch from my lights, a little too tall. In the meantime, I'll check around for some Cal/Mag additive. Props and thanks!

 

[xmobotx]

Its lookin pretty good man, dont do anything drastic - and if you're gonna feed, keep it weak for now... Leaf tip curl too much n? I'd recon its more too little magnesium throwin it off balance or maybe just more symptoms of distilled water poisoning ^.^ keep the ph straight, stick to the tap water, try not 2 rush her and if you try anything, just try 1 thing at a time and watch for a week to see changes.

seems plenty reasonable then and u can try a little epsom salt in the next watering to see if a shot of mag helps out (maybe @ 1/4 TBS/gal)

just like i say though - that plant is not lacking for N

but I'd still recommend getting some Cal/Mag additive and feeding it to her at 1/4 recommended strength. Bet she'll love it and it should be less than 15 bucks.

My .02 ^.^

Oh and if you have nasty old leaves on the bottom, pull em off ;-)

exactly this - tiny subtle nudges w/ whatever cal/mag additive you choose - for instance, you could top-dress w/ 1/4 tsp of the powdered dolomite lime (prilled would be slower release)

 

[Glimmbo]

So this is what it looked like today when I went to water it. I think I need to shorten the water cycle a bit, but this all this droopiness can't just be from water time wilt. Still have to get my micro additives, I've been busy, just graduated university. The leaves I trimmed were all from the bottom and I added the little top support because it was starting to sag up top too...

 

[Fat J]

Thedeep ridges and scrunched leaves looks like a calcium def and or ph problem- the plant uses Ca to build cells and if its deficient the leaves scrunch as the plant is trying to grow but cant push enough cells, also the weak stalk is a sign of Ca def - common to see soft, droopy branches.
The leaf discoloration loos like mag def to me... get her some calmag quick - also what is the temp in the cab like? And are you waiting to water till the pot is light? Still kinda looks under/over watered...

If you want to check the ph of your soild you can get a good idea by pouring neutral (7.0) water with no additives thru the top and catch the runoff and check ph. I have a feeling ur medium still is way high in ph but u see how much the ph of the runoff changes, will show u if ur too high or too low.

Also U need some air hitting her, take one of the vent fans u had on the intake and hang it in the case so it blows across ur lady, she needs some air movement to make her grow strong branches.

But please trust me on the cal mag - if i knew u IRL i'd drive over with some. Also maybe use 1/2 str not 1/4 str like i said before. She should be bouncin back in no time. Give her some nutes. ^.^ gratz on the edumacation in acamademia! Welcome to the real world ;-)

 

[Glimmbo]

Picked up a little case of dolomite lime today, gonna dress her up nicely. I've gotta go to wally for another ph kit or a tester. And yea, I wait until it's light in pot weight and dry on the top layer of soil. Thanks again for all the help Fat J, xmobotx, everybody. Super helpful.

 

[Glimmbo]

I added the dolomite powder to the top of the soil and sprinkled it with a bit of water to get it down to the roots a bit, not a full watering. The box says "incorporate 2kg per 5m^2" so that's 2 grams/10cm^2 (roughly the dimensions of my pot). I don't really know how much 2 grams weighs in that powder shit so I might've seriously overdosed it... I put a thin layer all over the surface of the soil...hope there's no problems. hah shoulda done the math first I suppose.

 

[Glimmbo]

So I thought I'd just throw up this picture to kinda illustrate my plan. This is how I want my box set up. On the left I have a site for a mini bubble cloner, which when I a decent clone will be switched to a mini DWC pot. The air pump is below, check valve installed for back siphoning (safety first), and a T with two valves, just in case I need/want another bubbler in there instead of the mother. The other stuff has been in there since the beginning but on the top left is my 2 pc fan exhaust (which I want to fashion a mini carbon scrub over somehow...still working on it) and on the right wall is my thermo with the intake right below it. I saw some super tiny cfl's the other day, so small I should be able to fit 6 of em in the top instead of 3. I'll have to watch the temps, but it'd be sweet to get that much more light in there. The box still glows out the exhaust fans, but should be fine once I figure out a carbon scrub. The front leaks a bit too, but I'm not too worried about it. I could easily build a light trap for that. Whaddya think?


As for the plant, it *seems like the droop is curing with the added dolomite lime. I've trimmed about 5 fan leaves that were too yellow though. You might notice a colour change, and it might have to do with the setting I changed on my phone cam. I think this colour is truest to reality for a more accurate image for you guys to judge. Right now, the top is within millimeters of the lights. What I want to do is top it and try to clone that top cutting. My question: do you think the plant is healthy enough to handle that kind of stress? Remember, I need to start training it to bonsai. Also, am I able to clone from the newer, greener foliage growth even though the leaves are pretty small?

 

[Fat J]

Hmmm? I'm not sure about the lime, It will push your ph way up which it is already probably pretty high. I was saying get a Chleated ca/mg additive that is phbalanced like The GH Ca/Mg or the Botanicare CalMag product or something similar, should be a liquid nute... if it helps cool, but if you start seein more signs of shock, srape it off the top if u can.

 

[Glimmbo]

Yea I was a little suspicious when I read the container, it said "neutralizes acidic soils" and it does have calcium and magnesium. I thought by "neutralizes" it meant buffers out to around 7, which would be alright but I guess it just makes it more alkaline. Rookie mistake. Again, haha. Thanks for the quick heads up Fat J, I got most of it out and replaced the top few cm of soil with peat moss to try n bring down the pH again. *sigh* haha

 

[Fat J]

No problem man, everybody goes through this, i sure did ^.^ mistakes is how u learn, just wish i had found icmag earlier on hehe woulda saved me some headaches ;-)

 

[Glimmbo]

So for some reason most of my fan leaves yellowed up and stayed droopy while the foliage was still nice and green and perky. So I took off all the shitty leaves. Just hope it's not too stressful. In a few days when it sorta recovers from the pruning, I've got to top it to keep the size down and I want to try to clone that topping. I know it's usually better to clone the bottom half leaves, but might as well try with the top.

 

[Glimmbo]

So this is what she's lookin like. Still not completely healthy, still a bit of yellow/rusting on the fan leaves but the foliage is lookin good. The red line is where I plan to top her, you guys figure that's a good spot? I was gonna let the top grow a bit more just to have more to try to clone with.

 

[xmobotx]

beautiful glimmbo

no advice forthcoming from me - you're doing just fine