My Grapefruit babies need help!

[Alcan]

Lets see if we can get to the bottom of the problems I am currently having
with my Grapefruit babies ( or more like young teenagers if we want to be more
time conscious. The pics and grow info below will give some more insight into my current grow and I would also like to add that I have 2 other strains going alongside the Grapefruits and they are doing just fine with no issues whatsover.
As for the Grapefruits : Yellowing of leaves and also burnt edges from about the time the second set of leaves came about. I fear all the leaves will be yellow and eventually brown and crispy before I even get to flower.
Age: 19 days from popping the soil<BR>Ferts: None yet as they are so young
Soil: Organic Black Gold --no issues before and none with other strains I am growing
Watering: About 5 days ago in light amounts to prevent
overwatering and soil feels moist at bottom but not heavy
Temps:74 -80f
Lights used: 400w hps - about 20 - 24 inches from plant tops
Other strains : all doing fine just the Grapefruit with the probs.

Any info would be appreciated as I dont want to lose these little
Grapefruit plants ----pls rem I have grown Grapefruit twice before in the exact same setup incl. soil mix with no issue at all.

 

[FreezePop]

It's better to water a lot all at once then a little here and there. Wait til the soil is good and dry. I lift my pots, when they feel light, they need water. If they're heavy they don't.

Watering a little at a time will cause your plants to become root bound quickly. So really soak them til it runs out the bottom then let dry almost completely. Plus your roots need oxygen so another reason to let em dry right out almost.

Generally if the new growth is coming up fine it isn't nute burn. If it's just the bottom it's most likely a deficiency.

What sort of water are you using? If it's out of the tap what's the ppm of it and the ph. It could be a ph problem.

I have no idea if this is helping, I'm just throwing ideas out there to help you find a solution.

 

[Alcan]

Well man all info is helpful right now. I guess its a process of elimination and then focusing on what could be to blame. Really the watering schedule was a thorough soaking prior to putting down the seeds , and then I waited till they popped and gave another watering at day 14 of growth. The funny thing is that even when the little seedlings were about 7 days old, and they are in 5 gal pots, the yellowing was starting to take hold. I am amazed because Gfruit from prior grows had no similar probs and the setup was identical to now. My other strains such as Genius x DC and Col gold are looking quite healthy ...I just wonder if its a seed issue.... kinda odd that the Gfruits are the only ones with the yellowing.. I will investigate the ph content of the water and see how it reads....but I think they are, given their ailment, looking quite okay now I want to keep them alive and get through this black spot and into flowering..

 

[localman]

I would mix Perlite with your Soil atleast 20 percent to aid in Drainage.. this will also promote root growth.. .. Never water before the pot is dry like really Light .. HPS light will stretch your seedlings too I would toss some Blue CFL bulbs in with it.. the 75watters from wally world for ten bucks work great.. it will keep your girls shorter, bushier, and Greener.. O and do you know what the humidity is in your area... A HPS light will heat up the air and dry it out quick, leaving a bucket with water in it could help raise it to a more sustainable level to promote Veg growth.. I like 40 percent..

JUST MY 2 cents.. Hope it all goes well

 

[Alcan]

Localman, thanks for getting in here man... I checked and there is already some perlite in the Black Gold potting soil. So next time maybe a little more to help further drainage... good tip.....humidity is at around 55%.......one other thing I am thinking is that when the seedlings broke the soil...we had some cold nights over that period in San Fran....daytime temps in the grow room were about 70f and at night maybe 65f or so....in that time even after 7 days the seedlings first leaves (not the cotyledons which are still green) were beginning to turn yellow . I have a Genius x DC running long side the plant in the pic and it is doing just fine : filling in nicely and deep green color to the leaves....

Do you or anybody else happen to know how to ensure that the tap water I use is at a safe level ......I know that the tap water here in San Fran is pretty clean and I have used in straight up in all my previous grows and had zero problems with plant health...

Another rather unpopular explaination is that the Gfruit seeds I bought were not viable in the first place... I hope I am wrong in that theory....but you have to consider that as well .....

 

[localman]

Localman,

Do you or anybody else happen to know how to ensure that the tap water I use is at a safe level ......I know that the tap water here in San Fran is pretty clean and I have used in straight up in all my previous grows and had zero problems with plant health...

Another rather unpopular explaination is that the Gfruit seeds I bought were not viable in the first place... I hope I am wrong in that theory....but you have to consider that as well .....

Ok the temps are fine, your Humidity is kinda High, Watch out for PM and mold.. Over 50 is not advisable..
Secondly if the seeds are "not viable" they would not have Popped .. They are prolly just TEMPERAMENTAL as some strains you just cant please.. So if your others are fine.. keep on growing..

THIRD.. the amount of perlite in your mix is Trivial.. Going 70/30 is my baby regiment.. Lots of Drainage.. you should be watering BONE DRY pots like every 3-5 days depending on conditions but it they are staying wet for TWO WEEKS thats the ISSUE /.......... IMHO.. (in my humble Opinion)

 

[localman]

O and on the water ... liquid PH testers are right on and CHEAP..

and in soil 6-8 is all good

 

[Alcan]

LM, thanks man for all the input....next grow I will be getting a bag of perlite to augement the Black Gold potting soil....I dont want any more drainage problems in the future....and maybe this time with the cooler more humid nights and less evaporation happening the pots def kept onto the water that may certainly have caused the yellowing leaves.....Amazing now that we have warmer more balmy nights the water is moving faster and now it will be interesting to see if the yellowing stops ....early days but fingers crossed that the young plants get out of their funk and start their growth spurt in a week or so....also big thanks on the ph read info ........I will post back in a few days with a progress report ...cheers all

 

[northstate]

LM is giving you some good words, roots need air=drainage. Colder temps and such can slow water uptake for sure. I say she is little out ph wise and that is causing a little mag and N def from being too wet. If BG organic has amendments in it great, but if not I would feed her with 1/4 strength nutes at the most. The yellow lowers(N) and light green margins mean hunger to me(cal&mag.) are your stems purple/darker?. Could be ph though, slow changes but you will be fine. Read the organics for beginners thread until your eyes are sore. Burnone, jaykush,clackamas coot, and a bunch of others are doing great stuff and this community is helpful. Take advantage of collective knowledge...Oh yeah if you have chlorine in your H20 let it sit out or bubble it for a day. Peace

 

[Alcan]

Good words coming from the Northstate....and since the young plants are closing in on 3 weeks I might just give a 1/4 nute app in the coming days. Def looks alot like N lockout from too much water staying in the pots and not evap as fast as before in hotter months.. the perlite addition is first on my to do list next grow as well....I will get back to everybody with a progress report in the coming weeks....

.peaceful paths to all

 

[greenmatter]

never grown grapefruit, but mag would be my 2 cents worth ... keep posting and good luck

 

[Alcan]

Mg def may very well be the cause of the problems ...and I will be applying Epson Salts in the next day or so.... as of now I have just one Grapefruit left and she is proving hard to figure out exactly what will happen in the weeks ahead as she is growing more non fan leaves and the remaining fan leaves are still yellowing but somehow the plant will not die....if I can figure out the exact reason for the present woes I think she can make it to harvest......another issue now is that the soil temp is still pretty cool .....and even though the growroom is at 75 - 78f the water uptake is really slow .....I contacted the makers of Black Gold potting soil to see if there have been changes in the soil formula over the past few months and they said no and to send them on a quart of the soil for analysis.....from prior experience with this potting soil, I found it to be near perfect in all stages of plant growth but this time I begin to wonder if it is indeed the same formula as before as many of my seedlings start yellowing at one week of growth.....hard to say its overwatering for sure as the pots are not that heavy and def not waterclogged....just about right as I compare them to my previous grows over the last 12 years.....so lets all offer a kind word or two to the little lady that is still growing strong and see if she makes it through this bad spell .......I will post back periodically to give an update on what happens with her...

 

[prince kali]

i disagree to some "ideas"

i disagree to some "ideas"

It's better to water a lot all at once then a little here and there. Wait til the soil is good and dry. I lift my pots, when they feel light, they need water. If they're heavy they don't.

Watering a little at a time will cause your plants to become root bound quickly. So really soak them til it runs out the bottom then let dry almost completely. Plus your roots need oxygen so another reason to let em dry right out almost.

*** This is NOT always true. some soils should not get too dry. i dont know the soil he is using, but some soil will perform best if automatically watered several times a day.

watering little by little will not cause your plants to be rootbound.

whereas drain is a problem, especially if you use organic ferts.

its best to use your finger and if the first 2, 3 cm are dry and the pot feels light water them with good measure, no flooding.

Generally if the new growth is coming up fine it isn't nute burn. If it's just the bottom it's most likely a deficiency.

you must be kidding? 19 days in a big pot of fresh soil? definitely NOT a deficiency!

seedlings can be sensitive when transplanted into fresh nutritious soil, dont worry about the first leaves.
i agree that the new growth looks fine.. just keep going.

i would lower your bulb (also warms up the soil more) as at this stage you mostly care about root growth. are your pots on cold floor? you can put them on styrofoam, or even better styrofoam plus a layer of black foil, warms up nice too..

I have no idea if this is helping, I'm just throwing ideas out there to help you find a solution.

hope i could help

pk