My Malawi’s look like shit. Can’t seem to figure out what is up with them. They are like bonsai plants but are close to a month old. They are growing next to another strain which is doing fine, after an initial watering issue. Any thoughts as to what is wrong?
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Malawi issues - what’s wrong?
- Thread starter blondie
- Start date
Looks like they need to be fed. That combined from being stunted from the watering issues. Feed them good and they should perk up.
G
Guest
Maybe a pest issue?Don't like the twisting shoots...If you have a mic check under leaves.
You need to transplant those fuckers! Then the new pots with fresh soil, should be watered mostly around the outside edges, to give them a chance to a just.
brickweeder
Well-known member
This! I would also scrape away some of the old soil from the side and bottom of the current soil/root ball before transplanting to a larger pot with new soil.
Like at least 1 to 1.5 weeks, after which you should start to see some improvement.
R
red23
Landrace sativas are not like any other strain.Had my failures with them to realise how delicate they can be with watering and nutrients
Take Syd's advice and check all!! your plants for mites or pests, and then take the advice of propably re potting them, and,start from zero adding a few centimetres,to the distance, away from light source till they, hopefully,recover
Azure
Well-known member
I almost killed golden tigers with regular potting soil.
I had to remove the plants from that hot soil and repotted into Happy Frog soil and they recovered. The Ace Sativas I have grown all did extremely well growing in Happy Frog.
If it's not hot soil, then maybe it's over watering or it could even be a combination of two.
What soil did you use?
Is the soil always wet and not draining?
If you gave me those plants to rescue, I would remove them from that soil, put into happy frog and make sure not to over water.
I had to remove the plants from that hot soil and repotted into Happy Frog soil and they recovered. The Ace Sativas I have grown all did extremely well growing in Happy Frog.
If it's not hot soil, then maybe it's over watering or it could even be a combination of two.
What soil did you use?
Is the soil always wet and not draining?
If you gave me those plants to rescue, I would remove them from that soil, put into happy frog and make sure not to over water.
PDX Dopesmoker
Active member
Those pictures aren't very detailed, but its probably russet mites.
Thanks everyone. So.. more jpegs below. I have a mixed strain growing next to the Malawi’s. The nice plants are all a different strain. Malawi’s are in two different soils.
This one: https://coastofmaine.com/product/stonington/
And the second soil which is a mix of the following:
https://www.espoma.com/product/vegetable-flower-garden-soil/
And
https://coastofmaine.com/product/lobstercompost/
With nutes:
https://www.espoma.com/product/tomato-tone/
The normal plants are right next to Malawi’s, so I think no mites. They were interspersed and I would think mites would be on all plants, not just malawis. ? I have something I’ll look under leaves though to be sure. The leaves are soooo small though it will be tricky.
Also, same water always on all plants. I added perlite generously. So... I don’t think soil is always wet. I stick my finger down and feel for water. I don’t water when it’s wet.
I bought excellent soil for these Malawi’s instead of fooling with a mix, which is what I did with the home grown seed strain. Apparently my mix is doing fairly well. Thought it’s an experiment.
I put 5 home strain in the mix and two of 5 Malawi’s. Three female Malawi’s are in the whizz bang soil. Two regular Malawi’s are in the mix. All Malawi’s are doing the same though which I find perplexing. Small yellow bad growth . They have never taken off.
If I repot only thing I have on hand is the mix, which I already have Malawi’s in. I’m not sure that would help any.
Any thoughts after this info??
This one: https://coastofmaine.com/product/stonington/
And the second soil which is a mix of the following:
https://www.espoma.com/product/vegetable-flower-garden-soil/
And
https://coastofmaine.com/product/lobstercompost/
With nutes:
https://www.espoma.com/product/tomato-tone/
The normal plants are right next to Malawi’s, so I think no mites. They were interspersed and I would think mites would be on all plants, not just malawis. ? I have something I’ll look under leaves though to be sure. The leaves are soooo small though it will be tricky.
Also, same water always on all plants. I added perlite generously. So... I don’t think soil is always wet. I stick my finger down and feel for water. I don’t water when it’s wet.
I bought excellent soil for these Malawi’s instead of fooling with a mix, which is what I did with the home grown seed strain. Apparently my mix is doing fairly well. Thought it’s an experiment.
I put 5 home strain in the mix and two of 5 Malawi’s. Three female Malawi’s are in the whizz bang soil. Two regular Malawi’s are in the mix. All Malawi’s are doing the same though which I find perplexing. Small yellow bad growth . They have never taken off.
If I repot only thing I have on hand is the mix, which I already have Malawi’s in. I’m not sure that would help any.
Any thoughts after this info??
Attachments
If that was russet mites, you'd expect all of the plants to show symptoms, but some appear to be healthy. Still not 100% positive what the cause is, need close ups of the tops and bottoms of the leaves to rule out insect damage.
To sum up previous advice and add a little more:
1) change soil, be careful not to disturb the roots. Observe the roots too, do they look white and healthy, or so brown you want to flush that down? Also, maybe try a different brand of soil, sometimes those pre-made soils are crap.
2) check your water source, if it's salty, acidic, or basic, that could be the culprit.
3) Water thoroughly after repotting, then allow the top mm or so of soil to dry out until you water again. Overwatering can cause chlorosis and change the pH of the soil.
4) Go very, very light on the fertilizers. Landraces like Malawi don't need much. read your plant: if you see small, slow growth, that means it's eating very little. If it's growing fast and has momentum, you can feed more.
5) if it's cold in the grow room, raise up the temps. Malawi likes it warm.
If you have the tools, the best thing to do is test the pH and EC (aka total dissolved solids, in parts per million or ppm) of the soil, otherwise the instructions above are just an educated shot in the dark. Close ups of the leaves and knowing the total dissolved solids and pH of the soil can get you more precise guidance.
To sum up previous advice and add a little more:
1) change soil, be careful not to disturb the roots. Observe the roots too, do they look white and healthy, or so brown you want to flush that down? Also, maybe try a different brand of soil, sometimes those pre-made soils are crap.
2) check your water source, if it's salty, acidic, or basic, that could be the culprit.
3) Water thoroughly after repotting, then allow the top mm or so of soil to dry out until you water again. Overwatering can cause chlorosis and change the pH of the soil.
4) Go very, very light on the fertilizers. Landraces like Malawi don't need much. read your plant: if you see small, slow growth, that means it's eating very little. If it's growing fast and has momentum, you can feed more.
5) if it's cold in the grow room, raise up the temps. Malawi likes it warm.
If you have the tools, the best thing to do is test the pH and EC (aka total dissolved solids, in parts per million or ppm) of the soil, otherwise the instructions above are just an educated shot in the dark. Close ups of the leaves and knowing the total dissolved solids and pH of the soil can get you more precise guidance.
It definitely has some resemblance with russet mites I do just wish it is not, because those mites are a pain in the a**, extremely invasive and hard to clean.
To be sure you don't have any mites check in a microscope or get some macro photos to get sure you don't have that in you growing space.
All the best,
Ras
Dr. Frankenseed
Member
I have encountered this issue with plants in my earlier days. With that said; Get a gallon jug and put 2 tablespoons of dolomite lime, a half teaspoon lawn food(Nitrogen) or you can use fish emulsion if you like, a crushed multi vitamin and fill it to the top. I know that sounds crude but it works. You can see from my galleries that this works......and lastly, put them in some new soil and use RootBlast on the roots before you water them again....and please don't over water them.
Thanks all. I looked under leaves with a loupe. Hard to say.. fan is blowing loose soil pieces and leaves do have black shit. I’ll take a closeup.
I’m going to repot later tonight and water less. Also going to add some nitrogen into the soil. What a pain. Thanks everyone
I’m going to repot later tonight and water less. Also going to add some nitrogen into the soil. What a pain. Thanks everyone
Sorry dubi I did not see your post. I did want to update this thread some and show my progress. I repotted and added some nutes. Several times. Finally about two weeks ago, the Malawi’s hit their stride. Still not real sure what happened but all but one came back well. In this time most of the indica crosses were doing quite well. 10 days ago I flipped to 12x12 and put in a brand new hps bulb. The Malawi’s are growing like crazy. They caught the indicas and have even surpassed them in size. I have two distinct phenotypes of malawi. One feminized is short and fat little bush. One other is tall and thin. A female standard is also tall and thin, quite tall actually. Can anyone answer what to expect with these two pheno types? Length of flower, height, smoke. Or paste a link to a thread with this. Here are some jpegs of some fine young ladies.
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G
Guest
Hi Blondie,a photo without the HPS light would help...
