Leaves get spots near end of flowering

[Zimp]

Hi, I'm new here and been following growers advice here, but now I've run into trouble that I can't really identify from other people's posts, therefore I would really appreciate any help.

So I have been cabinet growing this (autoflowering Northern Lights) on light 20/4 for about 10-11 weeks now (Don't really remember when I planted). The buds are showing a lot of brown pistils, so I am guessing that it's close to being done, but the browning of the leaves really has me worried now, because it's starting to spread all around the plant (started out on one leaf - which is crisp and done by now).

I have no idea about PH levels, because I don't have access to any medium grade equipment even. Been growing them under 4x 24W CFL.
Haven't been using any fertilizers for the past 3 weeks (since the one leaf started showing signs of crisping/burning - was thinking I might have overfed it, so since that time she has been getting pure water only). Our water here is pretty good, but it does contain a lot of calcium and I just use tap.

Let me know about any opinions/questions and I will try to answer them the best I can.

 

[MajorCoco]

I think you have some serious pH problem, or possibly lockout due to over-wet roots, though that's less likely. Its also quite likely that your pistil are browning because they are dying, rather than because they are maturing. I have seen this on my own plants grown in soil, and I REALLY struggled to fix it once it set in like yours has...I tried flushing, like you are doing, but that didn't seem to help.

Apart from giving you some gloomy news i would suggest you get a pH pen asap. Nutes generally make water quite acidic, so adjustment is quite important for a healthy grow. Someone else may be able to chime in with a fix in the meantime, but I can't really think of anything to suggest!

 

[Native Humboldt]

PH all the way I had the same problem a year ago when I switched from hydro to soil. Try flushing with a light feed mix and water for a week at about 5.6-6 PH and remove the dead leaves. The plants should turn around quickly before the buds start to get affected.

 

[RIKNSTEIN]

Hi, I'm new here and been following growers advice here, but now I've run into trouble that I can't really identify from other people's posts, therefore I would really appreciate any help.

So I have been cabinet growing this (autoflowering Northern Lights) on light 20/4 for about 10-11 weeks now (Don't really remember when I planted). The buds are showing a lot of brown pistils, so I am guessing that it's close to being done, but the browning of the leaves really has me worried now, because it's starting to spread all around the plant (started out on one leaf - which is crisp and done by now).

I have no idea about PH levels, because I don't have access to any medium grade equipment even. Been growing them under 4x 24W CFL.
Haven't been using any fertilizers for the past 3 weeks (since the one leaf started showing signs of crisping/burning - was thinking I might have overfed it, so since that time she has been getting pure water only). Our water here is pretty good, but it does contain a lot of calcium and I just use tap.

Let me know about any opinions/questions and I will try to answer them the best I can.


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What you have is a Mag def/nute def...you need to feed that girl, that's just my opinion...if you want a quick fix for PH down use apple cider vinegar about a tblsp per gal drops it .5....good luck

 

[Zimp]

1. I think you have some serious pH problem, or possibly lockout due to over-wet roots, though that's less likely.
2. Its also quite likely that your pistil are browning because they are dying, rather than because they are maturing.
3. ...I tried flushing, like you are doing, but that didn't seem to help.
4. Apart from giving you some gloomy news i would suggest you get a pH pen asap.

1. Yeah, I am thinking that is possible, since I have never checked for the pH levels or adjusted them in any way.
2. I don't think that they are brown because of dying, since the buds are thicker than toothpaste tubes and they have grown for a pretty long time now.
3. ..That is very bad to hear, because I don't think there is anything else for me to do then - should I cut them before the bad stuff gets to buds?
4. I'm on it. Btw, where is the most reasonable place (ONLINE) to get it? - Since I'm not from US and stuff like that just isn't sold in normal shops around here.

What you have is a Mag def/nute def...you need to feed that girl, that's just my opinion...if you want a quick fix for PH down use apple cider vinegar about a tblsp per gal drops it .5....good luck

Thanks a lot for that!
I will try that today and will post what happened by tomorrow.

Btw - should I maybe not use tap water on the plants?

I will get some pH strips next week, but not earlier, so I don't really know how low should I take it...
AND the leaves have only got worse during the time...

 

[MajorCoco]

If you are still only giving them water then maybe give them a little touch of nutes in the next feed and see how it goes, but, yeah...in general if you get sugar leaves dying off then it might be time to think about chopping early and saving what you have. Last resort though that. If I had to guess, I'd say your soil had got too acidic. Save some soil from this grow anyway, so you can test it with your new pen...do a sort of post mortem!

I got my pH pen off amazon. They are only about 6-10 Euros for the basic chinese one that everyone seems to sell. It works ok, though may get inaccurate over time compared to better, more expensive ones.

 

[Zimp]

Yeah, I don't think the soil could be too acidic... because I have a lot of limestone residue in my water heater... therefore since limestone helps INCREASING pH values... I should aim to lower it with the apple cider vinegar?

Thanks for the tip about the pen MajorCoco... I will probably cut them tomorrow or the following day. Just want to see what difference the apple vinegar might do.

So, right now I have no way of knowing how much vinegar I should use... so to be on the safe side, I'm gonna use 1 gallon + 1 tsp. And rinse until 80% of the water has come through? Just to be sure... Since if this doesn't work out I will have to cut her down anyways.

 

[MajorCoco]

No. Nutes are generally acidic, and even very hard water will not offset that. I know because I have very hard water here, yet my tap pH is only 7.5. Once I add my normal nutes to it, it drops right down to 6, or more depending on ppm.

 

[Zimp]

That's an interesting observation... but I can really only check that as soon as my pH stuff arrives - Next week.

So, what I did was use the apple-cider vinegar and water concoction on the soil and let them stay like they were for day/night cycle. After that I compared the amount of spots, but as it appears - some (only a few) more had appeared and they were even on the top of the main cola already. That kinda got me worried so I decided to cut her down.

Here's what I got from the dry... anybody wanna guess the yield? Matchbox shows the main cola and is metric(cm) (I have no scale, so all guesses are welcome, lol - i'd like to know how much there could be... )

 

[justanotherbozo]

here is a link to a ph tester kit from Amazon for small money that is plenty good enough for our purposes, i've been using mine for near 2 or 3 years now, the drops last a LONG time.

General Hydroponics GH1514 Ph Control Kit


...and while i agree that you had symptoms almost certainly caused by a ph imbalance, mj is an annual so it dies at the end of it's flowering cycle naturally so SOME die back before harvest is normal.

...if you approach your grow as only practice for the next grow you can treat it as a learning experience so it will be a success no matter how it turns out, as long as you learn something anyway.

peace, bozo

 

[Zimp]

Aye, that is an awesome kit... although, even tho the price says 15$ - which is about 12-13 EUR... after shipping and other charges: Order total: EUR 41,65

So I still gotta find something different.

Btw, very nice buds on those. Gotta aim for bigger, for sure. This was just my second grow in a low maintenance closet. So I'm still happy, but next grow is gonna be with a Journal and everything. Gonna be asking a lot of help there as well probably, so keep your eyes open. Wanna start 3x AK-49

 

[justanotherbozo]

Aye, that is an awesome kit... although, even tho the price says 15$ - which is about 12-13 EUR... after shipping and other charges: Order total: EUR 41,65

So I still gotta find something different.

Btw, very nice buds on those. Gotta aim for bigger, for sure. This was just my second grow in a low maintenance closet. So I'm still happy, but next grow is gonna be with a Journal and everything. Gonna be asking a lot of help there as well probably, so keep your eyes open. Wanna start 3x AK-49

...i expect they have stores on your side of the pond that cater to people who have fish tanks? ...or maybe hot tubs and backyard pools?

finding a ph test kit like the one i linked to should be easy for you to find locally, try pet stores first as those should be plentiful. ...then try garden centers or places that cater to those with pools and jacuzzi's and such, any place where people would want control over water quality should have ph test kits available.

peace, bozo