Here Come the Girls - a First Timer's Adventure

[sunni]

if you do go with apple cider vinny, and mix it with a gallon of water

 

[sunni]

I use these and never have any ph issues or deficiencies http://www.amazon.com/Jobes-6528-Organic-Purpose-Fertilizer/dp/B00192ANSW/ref=pd_sim_lg_5/185-6097268-4484261

 

[Lady Helena]

With the Ph problem playing on my mind, I decided to conduct a little science experiment in my kitchen last night.

Thought I'd test out the old Vinegar theory.

So I measured a litre of tap water and tested the Ph - Ph 7
Added 5ml of Vinegar (Aspall Classic Cyder...hehehe)and tested the Ph again - Ph 5.5

Result.

Now I don't want to drop it that much and not all at once (so I've been reading), so...this evening I have begun my Pearl Recovery Program (PRP for short).

I have put Pearl in the bath and given her a flush. Then I finished the flush with some Vinegar water. But this time I added 5ml of vinegar to 2 litres of tap water - Ph 6.5

Flushed that through her to finish off. Now she's sitting out on my balcony letting the excess run off. She's gotta go to bed in 30 mins.

Lordy please don't let this be the final thing that kills her off completely! I don't want to be adding 'Do Not Use Vinegar to Lower PH' to my list of 'Things I Have Learnt' (currently: 1. Use square pots. 2. Do not water with hot water).

PRP has commenced.

 

[sunni]

flushing sometimes stresses the plants just keep that in mind don't get too discouraged if shes "droopy"

 

[Lady Helena]

if you do go with apple cider vinny, and mix it with a gallon of water

Oops, I did the vinegar before I saw your reply Sunni! Not quite a gallon (actually I have no idea how many litres are in a gallon, or for that matter I don't know how many pints are in a gallon!!). 5ml in 2 litres, which is...hang on..iphone converter app loading....0.43 gallons, almost half, do you reckon I should give her a bit more plain water too?

 

[Lady Helena]

flushing sometimes stresses the plants just keep that in mind don't get too discouraged if shes "droopy"

She's been droopy for so long Sunni I don't think she could droop any more!

 

[sunni]

Oops, I did the vinegar before I saw your reply Sunni! Not quite a gallon (actually I have no idea how many litres are in a gallon, or for that matter I don't know how many pints are in a gallon!!). 5ml in 2 litres, which is...hang on..iphone converter app loading....0.43 gallons, almost half, do you reckon I should give her a bit more plain water too?

id say leave her don't fuss too much shell either come back which she should

 

[SweetestCheeba]

Whats goin on LH,
One of my girls is also suffering from a mag def. She has had it for about a week now. The home depot has molasses but i dont trust it for mj. So i would love to see that ur vinegar flush does the job. I also gave all 3 of my girls their first flush 2 days ago and happy to say no signififcant drooping.

 

[stoneslacker]

Hey Lady H. Sorry to hear about the ladyboys. Were those from feminized seed? They look like 100% male plants and not hermies in my opinion, possible you got regular seeds instead of fem? The problem with Pearl could definitely be ph, although she looks a bit overwatered too. Cider vinegar works fine for lowering ph but it is not very consistent in my experience. A small bottle of ph down will work great for you, I use the General Hydro version with great success. IME vegging plants prefer a more acidic ph around 5.5.-5.9. When I switch to flower I like to raise the ph to 6.0 and gradually raise it in small increments till I'm around 6.6 at the end of flower. Here is a small chart about ph and nute uptake I borrowed from KushCanuck that should help out a bit.

 

[sunni]

yeah like ive never used a vinegar flush myself, but I know apple cider vinny is better than white. in anything you use vinegar for. infact ive never Flushed my plants. I don't see the purpose it generally does more harm than good IMHO but everyone is different. I use the organic spikes..they smell like shit but theyre great for every plant I have from veggies to mj

 

[Lady Helena]

Whats goin on LH,
One of my girls is also suffering from a mag def. She has had it for about a week now. The home depot has molasses but i dont trust it for mj. So i would love to see that ur vinegar flush does the job. I also gave all 3 of my girls their first flush 2 days ago and happy to say no signififcant drooping.

Hey SweetestCheeba, thanks for coming by. Yeah I was a bit worried when I did my first flush but they loved it! Sunni is right tho they did droop a little first. So even with this being my first grow and having zero experience I'd say don't leave yours too long. I've got all my fingers and toes crossed that the vinegar works on Pearl. Stay tuned for an update tomorrow. Lady H x

 

[SweetestCheeba]

(Pulls up a seat)
Paitienly waiting

 

[Lady Helena]

Hey Lady H. Sorry to hear about the ladyboys. Were those from feminized seed? They look like 100% male plants and not hermies in my opinion, possible you got regular seeds instead of fem? The problem with Pearl could definitely be ph, although she looks a bit overwatered too. Cider vinegar works fine for lowering ph but it is not very consistent in my experience. A small bottle of ph down will work great for you, I use the General Hydro version with great success. IME vegging plants prefer a more acidic ph around 5.5.-5.9. When I switch to flower I like to raise the ph to 6.0 and gradually raise it in small increments till I'm around 6.6 at the end of flower. Here is a small chart about ph and nute uptake I borrowed from KushCanuck that should help out a bit.

Hey Stoneslacker, welcome to my humble thread, am very pleased you stopped by.

Yes. They were supposed to be fem seeds - who knows what I actually got...it doesn't say feminised on the box (i just checked whilst reading your post). It's my first grow so I don't really know but I would have thought to be Hermie you'd have to have both sexes? And these def only had balls, balls, and more balls!

Re Pearl's ongoing problems, lots of people said possible overwatering but I'm sure I didn't over water her, in fact if anything, the opposite could be true. Lots of people also said the Ph was too high too. So I'm tackling the PH first, if that doesn't improve tings, then I'll stop watering her completely! That'll teach her!

Also thanks for the chart but it kind of made my head hurt looking at it (Does. Not. Compute.). I will make an effort to look at it properly! And finally thanks for your advice. It is so nice get get feedback from people with experience. Stay around.

Lady H x

 

[Lady Helena]

(Pulls up a seat)
Paitienly waiting

Might want to make yourself a quick cuppa. I'll give you a shout if anything happens whist you are in the kitchen. x

 

[Bilbo Baggins]

Love this thread, hope the PRP goes well. I dread the day I get a PH tester, it seems the ownership of one introduces stress to those who have one, re constant PH testing every half hour. I have enough problems worrying about feeding and watering, if PH is thrown into the pot then I'll end up a gibbering wreck.

 

[Lady Helena]

Love this thread, hope the PRP goes well. I dread the day I get a PH tester, it seems the ownership of one introduces stress to those who have one, re constant PH testing every half hour. I have enough problems worrying about feeding and watering, if PH is thrown into the pot then I'll end up a gibbering wreck.

I hear you Baggins, Ph testing?! I am heading the way of gibbering wreck. I've not gone too technical yet - only have the strip things and have only used them twice before Pearl's latest 'issue'. PRP is in full swing.

Do y'know what tho? I have to be more philosophical about it all...if she dies on me, then she dies on me and I just have to plant some more seeds and learn from the experience. It's only weed after all. And I've got a horrible feeling she might have got herself pregnant... if it's not one thing...

By the way, thanks for loving this thread. I love the fact that you love it. Lady H x

 

[Herb Man]

Lady Helena you are going through so much in this your first grow, that you could be a war correspondent after this (and it would be cake walk for you) you could do it in heels.

Good work for contacting Felix at the seed company and raising your concerns (they make big money off them thar seeds) the least we the consumer should expect is that what we get somehow represents what we pay for.

And sorry 1 out of 3 ain’t good enough, they look like straight up males.

Good work with the vinegar experiments, I’m watching.

I’m gonna have another look at the graph tonight with a smoke and summon the spirits from the Kush mountain ranges to try and help me break it down.

 

[stoneslacker]

The chart is a bit confusing I agree. To put it more simply, plants are better able to uptake some nutrients at different ph levels. Nitrogen (N) and Iron (Fe) are more easily obtained at a more acidic ph level whereas Phosphorus (P) and Potash, aka Potassium (K) are better used in a more alkaline ph. In veg I like to ph down to the low end of the acceptable range, for soil it would be somewhere around 6.1-6.3 and then slowly bump up the ph by a tenth or 2 as I get further into flower. Adjusting ph throughout the grow helps your plant uptake the proper nutrients it needs when it needs them most. Hope this didn't confuse you more Lady H! ATB I'll be sticking around to watch. Peace

 

[Lady Helena]

Hansel: So I'm rappelling down Mount Vesuvius when suddenly I slip, and I start to fall. Just falling, ahh ahh, I'll never forget the terror. When suddenly I realize "Holy shit, Hansel, haven't you been smoking Peyote for six straight days, and couldn't some of this maybe be in your head?"
Derek Zoolander: And?
Hansel: And it was. I was totally fine. I've never even been to Mount Vesuvius.

This is how I feel at the moment.

I heard back from Sensi seed Bank and guess what? I never even had feminised seeds!

Don't. I know. It's all rather embarrassing I'd rather we all just move along now... I never even had feminised seeds...

Still, looking on the positive side, we can determine the following:

• My LST did not turn them Hermie
• My Defoliation did not turn them Hermie
• Accidental Hot Watering did not turn them Hermie
• Noting I did turned them Hermie!
• They were males all along!

So, have your fun, mock me, and then Let Us Never Speak Of This Again.

Lady Hx

 

[sunni]

true hermies are very very rare and hard to come by to be honest. lol