4 weeks olds, yellow leafs, brown spots, tried manythings.

Vinnipyx

Member
Hello gang! First post here, long time lurker first time poster.
Started my firs couple of plant 4 weeks ago and everything went well right until 2 weeks ago. Plants started to have yellowing lower leafs, stagnated growth, and brown spots.
I suspected an MG deficiency so diluted 1/4 tea spoon of epsom salt with 1L of water. This did not change much :(

I proceeded to adding a 20/20/20 fert but that did not help much...
Current PH is between 6-7. They are under an LED grow light.

Here are some pics taken today:
IMG_0278.jpgIMG_0279.jpgIMG_0276.jpgIMG_0285.jpg
 

Vinnipyx

Member
thank you for the reply! I got one of those testers with a gauge that you stick in to the pot at the root level :shock:
 

Mother's Finest

Well-Known Member
Ok, so you have a probe-type meter. First off, for most of those meters to work, the soil needs to be very damp all the way through and should have been that way for awhile before testing. Secondly, you should have at least a cheap testing method to verify the results of the meter from time to time. Every serious grower should have a way to test liquid pH as well, and this can be used to backup the meter. You can use wideband pH drops or digital pH pens to test the runoff and check the meter's results. When testing runoff, always test the last few drops that come out after wetting the soil all the way through. This liquid will be closer to the soil's pH than the water that runs out first. There are also cheap capsules to test soil pH.

Always be wary of a 7.0 reading on your meter. When the pH tester reads 7.0 at rest then a soil reading of seven often means the meter isn't working.
 

Vinnipyx

Member
Ok, so you have a probe-type meter. First off, for most of those meters to work, the soil needs to be very damp all the way through and should have been that way for awhile before testing. Secondly, you should have at least a cheap testing method to verify the results of the meter from time to time. Every serious grower should have a way to test liquid pH as well, and this can be used to backup the meter. You can use wideband pH drops or digital pH pens to test the runoff and check the meter's results. When testing runoff, always test the last few drops that come out after wetting the soil all the way through. This liquid will be closer to the soil's pH than the water that runs out first. There are also cheap capsules to test soil pH.

Always be wary of a 7.0 reading on your meter. When the pH tester reads 7.0 at rest then a soil reading of seven often means the meter isn't working.
Thanks a lot! Will try this, but when you say to check the runoff that means I really have to water then a lot, cause usually when I water them there is no water coming at the bottom, perhaps that means that I am under-watering them?

What I did is initially I used the Jiffy pallets and once I saw roots I stuck them in to the organic pots in order to prevent transplant shock. So now I am waiting for the roots to show themselves somewhere in order to stick them in a larger container once again.

Also by the way it look is it to ACID or to Basic?

Thank a lot for all the input guys! really appreciate it! Learned tons from this site so far, but started to get discouraged with this whole problem that,s been going on for 2 weeks
 

newworldicon

Well-Known Member
I'd stick to the PH issues first before rushing off to transplant them, those leaves have nothing to do with the size of the pots.
 

Balzac89

Undercover Mod
BS Those plants been in those tiny pots for over a month and they are out of nutrients. Either add more soil in new pots or start using fertilizers.
 

Vinnipyx

Member
BS Those plants been in those tiny pots for over a month and they are out of nutrients. Either add more soil in new pots or start using fertilizers.
I already used a 20/20/20 fert 2 times on these pots. Also used Epsom salt. So I do believe it is a PH issue.

Also if I would be to transplant can I just stick these organic pots in the larger pot or should I remove the plants and replant? The reason why I bought these pots it to avoid the transplant shock.
 

Mother's Finest

Well-Known Member
Thanks a lot! Will try this, but when you say to check the runoff that means I really have to water then a lot, cause usually when I water them there is no water coming at the bottom, perhaps that means that I am under-watering them?

What I did is initially I used the Jiffy pallets and once I saw roots I stuck them in to the organic pots in order to prevent transplant shock. So now I am waiting for the roots to show themselves somewhere in order to stick them in a larger container once again.

Also by the way it look is it to ACID or to Basic?

Thank a lot for all the input guys! really appreciate it! Learned tons from this site so far, but started to get discouraged with this whole problem that,s been going on for 2 weeks
No runoff when you water can mean clogged drainage holes, not watering enough or a soil mix that holds too much water. What are you using for the substrate? The pots you're using are probably soaking up at least some of what would have been runoff.

It looks like the pH is too acidic.
 

CHUCKTYLAH

Active Member
The twisted leaves do tend to be caused by PH. Those pots should be wet all the time if they are watered correctly. If you can't pour a gallon of water in those and have all but what you need pour out the bottom you need to find a better soil recipe.
 

Vinnipyx

Member
Well I think the problem got fixed. Since I added Epsom salt the yellowing became a lot less prominent and the plants started to grow a LOT faster, but now some of the leaves are developing dark brown spots and the tips are dry and curling upwards.

I think I was not watering them enough before, as I was afraid to over do it so I just made sure that the top is wet, so the actual pots were always super dry. I checked the PH of the water that I am putting in (tap that I let stand in a large pot for 48 hours) and it was 6.5

The PH of the Soil was 6. Would it be ok to transplant them directly in to 4 gallon pots as I dont have anything smaller at this time...?
 

DrtyBngWtr

Active Member
okie dokie here goes. I get this problem occasionally, and my solution works everytime.. 1> your not running off enough. means no leaching of salts or other unwanted buildup in the soil. 2> Your soil is holding to much water. 3> your outta nutes you need a transplant.. and 4 because your holding all that water your leds are not warm enough to actually warm the soil so they in other words are sitting in cold water.(I use t5s not leds) When you transplant add some lava rocks or something of that effect to both the bottom of the pot and lightly throughout your mixture. yes they hold a little water but it makes for much better drainage. and no i wouldnt go to a 4 gallon pot. being sick im sure it would do more harm than good. go double the size of your current pot.
 
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