1st Grow! Help with my plants. Cant figure out what is wrong.

This is my first grow and it is a strain a friend of mine did himself. The plants are 17 days into veg and look like they are heat stressed. Was using 600 watt mh at about 2 feet away from canopy but have reduced it to 450 watt with ballast. Using MG Organic Choice potting mix. Yes I know MG isn't that good but its all I have access to around here where I live. They are in three gallon pots and I am using Botanicare pure gro right now at half strength with every other watering, which is about every three days. In between, am using cal-mag plus at full strength per gallon, which is 5ml and using all distilled water. Not sure of the ph of the soil, as I am waiting on my PH meter to make it here in the mail. Temp is never higher than 82 degrees but usually stays around 78 to 80. During dark time, it is right around 70-72. Doing the 20/4 light cycle. Please help. Complete noob but have done weeks worth of research. Any suggestions would be greatly appreciated!

Sorry. Here are the rest of my pics. Still getting a feel for this forum!

nothing is wrong with your plant.. looks greeen n healthy.. just u trippin..

HAHAHA...I probably am trippin for sure but if you look at the pics closely, the edges of the leaves are turning up and looks like they are burning or "melting" for lack of better term. These are three different plants.

I think you need more airflow on the plant. The leaves should be constantly dancing around in the air flow or lightly shaking/vibrating from air blowing. Also, I don't like your soil. I don't see any perlite ... I really like perlite for drainage and root growth.

The reason I think you need airflow is there are signs of heat stress, but you say your Temps are fine. The ridges on the leaves are kind of pointing up and doing their own thing, that is slight heat stress.

Ok. I have a 12" oscillating fan on all of the plants and i rotate the back ones to the front every few hours and the fan stays on 24/7, even during the dark time. The plants are always swaying with the wind. How can I fix the perlite problem? Is there any way I can mix it into pots the way they are or will i need to transplant again? I am thinking the plants look pretty good for this being my first ever grow, however, the leaves are really bothering me. Also, the stalks have small red/purple lines and the leaf stems also are turning red/purple. I know this is specific to some strains and I can't find anything out about it with this strain as it was created by a friend of mine. A cross between cheese and strawberry haze. I am just hoping it isn't deficient in nutrients...which I really don't think it is. So I will increase the air flow some more and keep the light at 450 at about 2 feet away, as this strain may be extra sensitive to heat and light. But what about the red stalks/stems and the perlite? And thank you for your timely responses!

jrizzle007 said:

Ok. I have a 12" oscillating fan on all of the plants and i rotate the back ones to the front every few hours and the fan stays on 24/7, even during the dark time. The plants are always swaying with the wind. How can I fix the perlite problem? Is there any way I can mix it into pots the way they are or will i need to transplant again? I am thinking the plants look pretty good for this being my first ever grow, however, the leaves are really bothering me. Also, the stalks have small red/purple lines and the leaf stems also are turning red/purple. I know this is specific to some strains and I can't find anything out about it with this strain as it was created by a friend of mine. A cross between cheese and strawberry haze. I am just hoping it isn't deficient in nutrients...which I really don't think it is. So I will increase the air flow some more and keep the light at 450 at about 2 feet away, as this strain may be extra sensitive to heat and light. But what about the red stalks/stems and the perlite? And thank you for your timely responses!

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They look fine JR, the plants look fine.
The canoeing on the leaves is from a little heat strees. I would say lift the light from the plants about a ft. I dont know too much about MH bulbs but i do know they are strong as shit. Ur plants are young at the same time.
As far as the perilite, yea would have to wait until u transplant and mix it into the next batch of soil u r gonna use.
The redding of the stalk and stems could be a plethora of reasons, Mag def, cold temps, pheno, strains, etc.
Try and remeber they are not NUCLEAR BOMBS,..... jus plants

Thank you. I hadn't planned on transplanting again, as I was gonna go ahead and veg in those pots. These are not feminized seeds so of the four plants I have going, If I get 2 females, I will leave in the three gallon pots, as I wont have enough room for five gallon in that closet. But if I just get one female, then I will transplant that one female to a five gallon bucket. I raised the light. Now its at about 2.5 to 3 feet from the plants and I had already lowered the wattage from 600 to 450 watts. If i get two females, will they be ok to stay in the three gallon pot? And I thought the plants looked fine as well, Im just OCD about shit. lol ...especially since this being my first real grow, I am trying to get things as good as I can. Thanks again for all your help!

I meant that I was gonna go ahead and flower in those pots, not veg. Sorry about that!

No problem at all bud.
Sounds like u got things right with the pots. (more space for roots= bigger plant)
Sometimes its good to be a little ocd about them.
Do u have a hps for flowering?

Yes. I have a 600 watt HPS but will be using the mh for the first two weeks of flowering as to create bud sites closer to each other. I will then use the HPS for the next 4-6 weeks, and finish off with the mh again for the last two weeks for more dense buds and way more trichome production. Also, right before harvest, I will be putting them in 36 hours of darkness as this also dramatically increases trichome production. I have a friend who flowers like this and swears by it and I have to say that there is a noticeable difference in taste and quality of the end product. Trichomes almost look as if they are ready to drip off the buds. Yield suffers a small loss, but definitely worth the end quality and look.

Ok well today was my water day and I used one gallon of distilled with cal-mag+ on all four plants. Watered about four hours ago. Here are more pics as of just a few mins ago. Seems like the leaves are drooping more now on both of the plants in the front, while the two in the back are doing fine. Maybe I am overwatering. What do you all think?

jrizzle007 said:

Yes. I have a 600 watt HPS but will be using the mh for the first two weeks of flowering as to create bud sites closer to each other. I will then use the HPS for the next 4-6 weeks, and finish off with the mh again for the last two weeks for more dense buds and way more trichome production. Also, right before harvest, I will be putting them in 36 hours of darkness as this also dramatically increases trichome production. I have a friend who flowers like this and swears by it and I have to say that there is a noticeable difference in taste and quality of the end product. Trichomes almost look as if they are ready to drip off the buds. Yield suffers a small loss, but definitely worth the end quality and look.

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Sounds like u got this shit down pack sir
I saw a dude using this same method a couple yrs ago and it jus made so much sense.
IMO i think im jus gonna do 24hrs of darkness b4 harvest (im too impatient)

jrizzle007 said:

Ok well today was my water day and I used one gallon of distilled with cal-mag+ on all four plants. Watered about four hours ago. Here are more pics as of just a few mins ago. Seems like the leaves are drooping more now on both of the plants in the front, while the two in the back are doing fine. Maybe I am overwatering. What do you all think?

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How often do u water?
They usually tend to droop a little after a watering, she'll perk up in a few

Thank you! I am trying. Like I said, I definitely put in my research time before attempting this. But Being that I don't know the certain strain of plant I am trying to grow, I could be in for a difficult time, as this may be a plant that is very hard to grow. That, coupled with a first grow, may make this first attempt damn near impossible for me. Lol. What do you think about my post about maybe overwatering my plants?

Sorry. I didn't see that you commented on the watering. About every 2-3 days, depending on the weight of the pot.

I poked a few holes in the soil since I am lacking in Perlite and since I may be overwatering. We will see by this time tomorrow if this solution helps at all. Still seems like the light is hurting the leaves of these front two plants. They may just be weak plants because the two in the back seem to be doing just fine. The light is down to 450 watts and about 3 feet from the tops of the plants. Not sure I really want to take it any higher, however I may need to for a few days to see what happens with the new growth.

Weight is always best to detremine when to water, They eat when they WANT to eat.
You could be overwatering... Are u giving them a gallon a piece or spitting a gallon between the 4?
But i was doin the same 2-3 days and i was starving my girls.

I am splitting a gallon between the four. This almost doesn't seem like enough water to me, but again, im no expert and they are only 17 days above ground so I would think that would be plenty of water. You think it could be possible that since there isn't any perlite in my pots that they are holding water longer? If this is the case, I am surely overwatering.

jrizzle007 said:

I am splitting a gallon between the four. This almost doesn't seem like enough water to me, but again, im no expert and they are only 17 days above ground so I would think that would be plenty of water. You think it could be possible that since there isn't any perlite in my pots that they are holding water longer? If this is the case, I am surely overwatering.

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It could be holding a good amount of moisture.
How many drain holes does each pot have?