HELP! Need Advice from Experienced Growers IMMEDIATELY!

About 2 days ago, my plant leaves started curling up, clawing, turning yellow, twisting and turning, drooping and all hell just broke loose! Can anyone tell me whats going on?

Below are the specs:

- 55 Days into flowering now (switched to 12/12 on Jan 1, 2013)
- pH level: consistent at 6.5
- pH runoff: consistent at 4.5-5.0
- PPM level: 850-1250 depending on Nutrients added
- Water type: Tap adjusted to pH 6.5
- Watering: Every 2-4 days, depending on soil moisture level
- Nutrient feeding: Feed, Feed, Water, Feed, Feed, Water and so on
- Nutrients: following Fox Farm feeding schedule @ 1/4-1/2 the dosage
- Lighting: T5-320 watts, LED- UFO 90 watts, CFL 120 watts
- Number of Plants: 1
- Closet type grow: 2ft x 2ft x 6ft
- Strain: Wappa Indica (purchased in Amsterdam)

The plant was very healthy with minimal problems throughout the whole time since germination in November. But I have never seen the plant like this before, first time and first grow. I researched that it was normal for plant leaves to turn yellow during close to harvesting time. But my questions are, is it normal for the leaves to twist and turn? I have already begun to water feed only without adding any more nutes. About 70% of the white hairs have turned brown now. I ordered a 50-150x magnify class to examine the trichromes but still awaiting for delivery. Is it ok to judge the readiness of the plant by the hairs only?

Please let me know, Thanks all!

When do/did you plan on chopping them?

How big is the container your in, post a pic of the plant with the container if you can. Like i side shot.

stumps said:

When do/did you plan on chopping them?

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That's my question too... I'm not sure when I should start harvesting... any suggestions?

Ninjabowler said:

How big is the container your in, post a pic of the plant with the container if you can. Like i side shot.

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Do you mean the pot? The pot is a 3 gallon (12 liter) pot. or if you mean the container as in the closet, its 2x2x6 feet...

what was the breders time frame for this plant to be finished? How many week or days? The true method for optimum ripeness is trichomb color...milky to amber is peak...a combination of both....clear glands produce more of a head high...amber more body a mix of both will give you head and body...wappa ia a indica dom strain and it sounds like its about ready to harvest although i will say this....its not always easy or on time to see those glands turn milky or amber. In my experience it ALWAYS takes longer to get them to peak ripeness. There are allot of variables as to why she got pissed now towards the end but because you are so close to harvest you woll be ok.....dont panic..just keep on loving her till she says im ready The Bear

Yes the leaves die fold twist yellow when nearing harvest..this is OK and supposed to happen...

That girl is coming close to the end...she could be exhibiting signs of stress from salt build up in the root system ...after all she is in a small container and has been fed nuts for about 8 weeks....did it get to hot in there recently...have you been exchanging the air in that space??

She looks really really good I think...u can chop soon....fuck the leaves at this point....only buds matter.....the plant is dying and taking what it needs from the leaves trying to live....everything is happening the way it should

zoslick said:

Do you mean the pot? The pot is a 3 gallon (12 liter) pot. or if you mean the container as in the closet, its 2x2x6 feet...

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I had a feeling that your container was too small, i have a friend who used to waste paper baskets that were way too small and every one of his plants would turn yellow by the end. I used to tell him that if he got an extra gram out of every plant it would be worth it to put more dirt into a bigger bucket. He finally did upgrade a while ago and his plants are way more green for much longer now

That's good advice Ninjab for future grows.

You are right, his plants are starving at the end of flowering and sucking nutes from the leaves and not from the soil. I think he's close enough to harvest that he will be ok.

He can squeeze two 5 gal buckets in there at 2' X 2' but I would recommend only for experienced growers. Newb need to have more plants in case they kill a couple along the way, ya know?

Zoslick, your plants are ugly, but your buds are beautiful. That's all that counts!

Bear Country said:

what was the breders time frame for this plant to be finished? How many week or days? The true method for optimum ripeness is trichomb color...milky to amber is peak...a combination of both....clear glands produce more of a head high...amber more body a mix of both will give you head and body...wappa ia a indica dom strain and it sounds like its about ready to harvest although i will say this....its not always easy or on time to see those glands turn milky or amber. In my experience it ALWAYS takes longer to get them to peak ripeness. There are allot of variables as to why she got pissed now towards the end but because you are so close to harvest you woll be ok.....dont panic..just keep on loving her till she says im ready The Bear

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Good call, the package it came in says flowering time is between 55-60 days... thanks for reminding me to check the instructions!

thatboyis1uvakind said:

Yes the leaves die fold twist yellow when nearing harvest..this is OK and supposed to happen...View attachment 2539746

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So how many leaves are supposed to die before I take action in harvesting? Thanks!

Bear Country said:

That girl is coming close to the end...she could be exhibiting signs of stress from salt build up in the root system ...after all she is in a small container and has been fed nuts for about 8 weeks....did it get to hot in there recently...have you been exchanging the air in that space??

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Do you suggest that I flush it first? I haven't flushed since I started using only water to feed, I was planning to do it next week but considering that its undergoing so many changes now, maybe i'll flush it tonight. The temperature within the cabinet has always been about 30-35 Celsius (86-95 degrees) so I dont think its due to the temperature. As for changing the air, I would leave the cabinet door open for a few times a day with the air conditioner blowing inside for a few minutes each time. There are 4 USB fans scattered within the cabinet to keep all the lights cooled.

thatboyis1uvakind said:

She looks really really good I think...u can chop soon....fuck the leaves at this point....only buds matter.....the plant is dying and taking what it needs from the leaves trying to live....everything is happening the way it should

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Thanks for the advice, I'm really excited to harvest soon! Hopefully with the coming few days.

Ninjabowler said:

I had a feeling that your container was too small, i have a friend who used to waste paper baskets that were way too small and every one of his plants would turn yellow by the end. I used to tell him that if he got an extra gram out of every plant it would be worth it to put more dirt into a bigger bucket. He finally did upgrade a while ago and his plants are way more green for much longer now

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I'll probably upgrade to 5 gallon pots because I've built myself a bigger cabinet (4ft x 6ft x 8ft = WxLxH) Thanks for the advice! Much appreciated!

Doesn't matter....as long as ur buds look good ur good...monitor ur hairs...ur trichs...calaxes..... like I said fuck the leaves....next grow keep her fed w nitrogen longer and less chance.of this happening..but doesn't matter I don't feed much n happens to me every time...its fine...less chance of bad stuff in ur buds this way...if u understand what I'm saying.

prosperian said:

That's good advice Ninjab for future grows.

You are right, his plants are starving at the end of flowering and sucking nutes from the leaves and not from the soil. I think he's close enough to harvest that he will be ok.

He can squeeze two 5 gal buckets in there at 2' X 2' but I would recommend only for experienced growers. Newb need to have more plants in case they kill a couple along the way, ya know?

Zoslick, your plants are ugly, but your buds are beautiful. That's all that counts!

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HAHAHA, Ugly is true, I can't seem to grow the plant like they advertise, probably because I haven't trimmed, topped, or performed any of the recommendations the pros have suggested (LST, FIM, etc.) but it is my first plant and first grow so as they say, you can't judge a book by its cover, its the shit within that counts! But honestly, I'm surprised by how big the buds are growing, they're HUGE! I accidentally punched a bud while cleaning out the cabinet one day and the thing felt soooo strong and heavy! Can't wait to try it out!

thatboyis1uvakind said:

next grow keep her fed w nitrogen longer and less chance.of this happening..but doesn't matter I don't feed much n happens to me every time...

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That's how I'm staying green into the last weeks of flowering with three gallon pots. I ran the bloom / grow nutes mixed 60/40 a little longer before going strictly bloom to keep the nitrogen levels higher in the soil. It's a balancing act because you don't want the plant focused on leaf production at this point. I just read my plants. That comes with 20 years of gardening experience and that's hard to share on a forum.

Its always best to flush 10 to 14 days before you harvest. Some growers argue that if your growing in soil that flushing is not necessary?? I always do, I want my smoke tasting good and not like a bottle of nutrients...thats my take on that. Optimum Temp for cannabis is 75/76 degrees F so 85 to 95 degrees is pushing it...there are some strains that will handle high temps just fine but more often then not...thats where peoples nightmares get started..in a hot grow space/room. Heat will make cannabis do all kinds of funky shit..I know..I have grown for many years and have seen just about every problem you can imagine.

Towards the end of the plants life cycle, when " YOU KNOW " that your plant is just about ready...allot of the big sun leafs will start to yellow...thats because you will have been using a nutrient formula that is lower in nitrogen and the result is that the plant has drawn the nitrogen from the leafs, thus the yellowing but that really is not the way to guage whether your plant is ready or not...the first tell tell sign is usually the pistles start to turn red, orange,brown..etc but again....Trichomb color is the true indicator of peak ripeness.....but dont go crazy waiting three more weeks to see if they will change...like I said before, sometimes it doesn't. Remember in nature( outdoors ) as the plants life cycle comes to an end...its micro enviorment is also changing...days are getting shorter, temps are getting cooler...nights are definitly getting cooler ETC...all factors that impact the plant and tell it what it needs to do. With an indoor grow you eliminate all those variables that nature provides....it is a docoumented fact that if you turn the lights off completly for the last three to five days that the plant will go into resin production....leaving you with a nice sticky, trichomb loaded gift. Good luck and for your next grow try to dial in your micro climate for your next girls....thats the beauty of indoors...you are in complete control of that micro climate...provide optimum conditions and reap optimum results....oh and dont forget MURPHYS LAW..LOL

prosperian said:

That's how I'm staying green into the last weeks of flowering with three gallon pots. I ran the bloom / grow nutes mixed 60/40 a little longer before going strictly bloom to keep the nitrogen levels higher in the soil. It's a balancing act because you don't want the plant focused on leaf production at this point. I just read my plants. That comes with 20 years of gardening experience and that's hard to share on a forum.

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Correct.....be careful this h want the plant to use up as much nitrogen as possible towards the end so there isn't any in ur buds....its def a balancing act...ha

it looks like slight heat stress but the buds look good.

Industrial strength nutrient burn. Keep going and no more nutes.