(HELP!) Somebody call Child Services, I'm an inadequate parent.

Little background to bring you up to date:

- Had to leave over the weekend of Oct 10th, so I watered each plant more heavily than normal. At this point, all plants were healthy.
- Returned Oct 12th to find that the plants looked relatively healthy and had grown a bit, despite the bottom 2 leaves (really small) of most plants turning yellow.
- Planned to continue with business as usual, but things have gradually taken a turn for the worst from here. Some plants initially exhibited what seems to be a Nitrogen def. (droopy/weak leaves - but now is starting to dry ). Most look to be Mg def.'s, with yellowing starting at the marging and leaf tips curled upwards. One even looks to be rotting in an Orange/rusty color (see pics)


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How long has this problem been going on? Since Oct 12th (8 days)

What system are you running? Temporary Vegg'ing box.

What STRAIN are you growing? Chronic x Haze, Bagseed

What was the establishing technique? SEED

What is the age of your plants? Most planted Oct 1st (18 days old)

How tall are the plants? 1 - 3 inches

What PHASE are the plants in? VEG

What Technique are you using? Hand Watering SOIL

What substrate/medium are you using? SOIL

What is the Water temperature? Room Temp

What color are your roots? I don't know

What Nutrient's are you using? Since these problems have started I've supplemented with Epsom Salts and Miraclegro (since Oct 12/08)

What is the TDS/EC/PPM you are using? Not sure... I've been using bottled water and have been adding epsom salts at.15 tpsp/500 mL (which I believe is recommended) and once at 0.3 tbsp / 500 mL, out of desparation (I suspected a mg def. but plants have continued to be sick). Miracle gro has been used at 1/4 recommended strength.

What is the pH of the "Tank"? Not sure.

Are you sure your calibration is correct on your equiptment? N/A

When was your last watering? today

What is your water temps? room temp

When was your last feeding change? Oct 12th, feeding began.

How often do you clean your system? this is first time using, havent cleaned yet.

What size bulb are you using? 3, 23w CFL's (1600 lumens each)

What is the distance to the canopy? 4 inches or less

What is your RH Factor(Relative Humidity)? not sure

What is the canopy temperature? not sure - doesnt feel warm though.

What is the Day/Night Temp? nonot sure

What is the current Air Flow? There is no actual intake/outake on the box (this is temporary), but the box is immediately below a window, and there is a fan blowing into the box. (see pics)

Is the fan blowing directly at plants? yes

Is your water HARD or SOFT? not sure (Ozonated, Salt content: 331 ppm Fluoride Ion: 0.2 ppm)

What water are you using? Bottled Water

Has plant been recently pruned, cloned off of or pinched? No

Have any pest chemicals been used? If so, What and When? No

Are plant's infected with pest's? No

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Thanks for any help!

you might try putting them in larger containers so they don't dry out so quickly.... otherwise you'll have to water every day, what kind of soil are you using..... soil will only feed your babies for so long, especially theirs not much soil to begin with. you should prob. start your feeding program now.... just a thought

thanks for the response!
to answer your question...I'm using an all purpose potting soil .. its a ready to use mix containing peat moss, humus, compost, and perlite.

I'll definately be moving to some bigger pots soon.
What do I have to do to keep these things alive?

you have a few prob's......
what soil is it.... if you can a guaranteed analysis would be helpful.

what bottled water are you using?

first thing i would do is cut the epsom/food.... & do a quick flush & check PH IFthere is no time released nute's in the soil if there is then all it will do is add to the prob... is the Miracle gro you are using time released? what miracle gro are you using?

your rust spots are from Calcium Deficiency

indian canoe blades = high heat

leaf tip curl is = ph off

leaf's drooping = over watering

you have a few more issues but i think there all related to PH fix that first and we will see how it's go's from there

Ya same as above post. Check ph run off. Also have you poked holes in the bottoms of those cups? IMO cup size should be ok for at least a week or two. I wouldn't use anything but distilled water for a couple more weeks. There isn't anyone who could have given them a small dose of roundup is there? Also is that aluminum foil or mylar? Aluminum foil will create hot spots. Depending on what kind of soil you used, i might rinse most of the dirt off the roots and transplant into some ocean forest soil. Using that I plant the seed and don't add anything but water for three weeks.

Again, thanks for the responses! I hope we'll get through this together....

00420...
SOIL - Can't get a guaranteed analysis. I can tell you its called "Premium Nature Mix - All Purpose Potting Soil" by Hortibec. The websites description of it is:

"Nature Mix All Purpose Potting Soil is an organic, ready-to-use soil mix. Containing peat moss, humus, compost, perlite and vermiculite, this special mixture is rich in organic matter and provides excellent aeration and drainage while enhancing your plants’ nutrient retention."

MIRACLE GRO - I'm using the All Purpose water soluable plant food (24-8-16). Says on the box its supposed to work quickly.. says nothing about being time released.


terminal..
lol @ roundup - You'd think so by looking at them. Yes, there are holes in the bottom of the cup, and it is mylar covering the box. Thanks for the advice, if all else fails I'll look into gettinng some new soil.

as for PH.. I dont have a tester of any kind, and I would like to find a good deal on a meter online. Hopefully I can find some cheap strips at walmart or something as a temporary fix to find out what the ph of my water and runoff are.

Sp3K said:

00420...
SOIL - Can't get a guaranteed analysis. I can tell you its called "Premium Nature Mix - All Purpose Potting Soil" by Hortibec.

MIRACLE GRO - I'm using the All Purpose water soluable plant food (24-8-16). Says on the box its supposed to work quickly.. says nothing about being time released.

as for PH.. I dont have a tester of any kind, and I would like to find a good deal on a meter online. Hopefully I can find some cheap strips at walmart or something as a temporary fix to find out what the ph of my water and runoff are.

Click to expand...

from there web site http://www.modugno-hortibec.com/en/produits/index.html

Nature Mix
Tree and Shrub Soil is an organic, ready-to-use soil mix designed to provide the body and nutrients required by larger plants.

3 in 1 mix
A scientifically blended mix of peat humus, sphagnum peat moss and compost. This 100% natural product contains no chemical additives or ingredients. The perfect mix for outdoor gardening.

my guess is that what you have is heavy in fert's i would email or call them to get a guaranteed analysis and ask them if it's time released...

at this point do not feed any more MIRACLE GRO or epsom you can use it later less is best

as far as ph drain a lil into a cup n take it to a fish store where i live 90% fish store will do a free test for you cheap strips work well to get you with in the range but not what you want in the end for the cost of the strips you can find a nice cheap meter...

for now untell you find out about your soil or change to a soil that we can have a test on just add water i would use distilled water or r/o.
super soil from walmart works and it's cheap i mix it 25/75perlite i have to water everyday a 50/50 is about a 3 day watering just a option

Thanks 00420... I'll try transplanting the girls in the next few days...
do you have any threads I can reference to make sure I do it correctly? or any tips atleast?

Getting a guaranteed analysis on the soil would be too much of a pain in the ass, me thinks. I'll just pickup some new soil from walmart, and try to get my hands on a ph meter to do things right.

Sp3K said:

Thanks 00420... I'll try transplanting the girls in the next few days...
do you have any threads I can reference to make sure I do it correctly? or any tips atleast?

Getting a guaranteed analysis on the soil would be too much of a pain in the ass, me thinks. I'll just pickup some new soil from walmart, and try to get my hands on a ph meter to do things right.

Click to expand...

there's lot's of soil that work i only said "super soil" cuz it's cheap and you sound like your on low fund's if you do pick it up again i would mix in some perlite with it... also im not saying the soil you have now is bad and you can more then likely use it later in trans plants but it's just to much for them baby's best tip i can give is take your time and dont jump the gun...

i could be wrong on your soil with out guaranteed analysis theres no way to tell whats in it i did a lil search on google but could not find anything hit the soil fourms up there's lot's of good ppl there im more a hydro guy but all in all the plant eats the same food and likes the same thing in soil or water most my grow's i run 100% perlite i only add in the small % of soil in summer time to hold a lil more water....

when it come's to feeding this is the best thread on how to http://www.icmag.com/ic/showthread.php?t=21119 there's tons of info here there's all so a link to "cannastats" go read that and down load the nute profiler it will be the most useful tool ever.....

heres my newest thread http://www.icmag.com/ic/showthread.php?t=99485\

here a good read http://www.icmag.com/ic/showthread.php?t=99879 do some search on the dr in this tread and read some of his other thread very very smart man

Soil looks a little fertile for young plants, water them enough and they will adapt.

Plus if you are using city water, this will affect your PH since most city water is very high in the PH.....but this can balance PH in the soil for a little while if there is a problem and if not cause one too.

00420 - thanks for the clarification. Hows this for a game plan? in the next few days ill transplant the babies into bigger containers. I'll use another type of soil, and will break off any excess soil from the roots. Figure they'll appreciate that? Thanks for the literature, I'm currently a student so I have some other readings to do at this time of year, but I'll make sure to bookmark those threads.. positive karma to you.

Mossad - I hope so! would it shock them to transplant to a less fertile soil? (seems kind of backwards.. ) For the record, I've been watering with ozonated natural spring water bottles. I'm going to try to start following peoples instructions "to the T" and grab some distilled water - because my noobish methods haven't been cutting it.

Take care,

bottled drinking water can sometimes contain lots of sodium for human tastes, but it kills plants dead quickly... use tap water left out for 24 hrs

premixed soils usually have too little perlite, so you might need to add some for increased aeration and it makes it harder to overwater...

this is the best thread on fertilizing in soil...http://www.icmag.com/ic/showthread.php?t=13689

The bottled water:
HCO3 229ppm, Ca 82, Cl 25, Mg 23, SO4 19, *Na 14, K 1, NO3(N) 1

*the water has 5 mg of sodium