Best approach from here?

[Phaser]

Started 1st grow ever in August. Using Fox Farm Ocean Forest/perlite mix. Through 3 weeks plus, everything was perfection and grace.

Foolishly added nutes at 3 weeks (Botanicare Pro grow 3-2-4) in a very weakened state (33%strength)

Got some minor tip burn and flushed at 4 weeks (in 6" azalea pots, have to flush at some point anyway)

2 days after flush, 7" - 8"+ plants had dry pots, so nuted again at 50% strength using same stuff (Botanicare Pro Grow 3-2-4)

NOW...things begin to get complicated...A day after nutes, 3 days after flush...

I get rust spots, some yellowing of leaves, some brown spots, necrotic spots,
and basically all kinds of defects that all can be matched up with numerous nutrient deficiencies in pictures here and on several other websites...

I had a pH problem...and only a lousy cheap soil meter that lied...

Within a few days, I had liquid pH tester and a professional grade soil pH tester shipped in...(with 5 plants at 4 weeks+, I had to try something!)

pH's were off in all 5 pots...multiple tests revealed a pH average of 5.5 to 6.1 in all the pots. My tap water runs 8.5ish. My brand of spring water runs 7.5ish. Distilled water out of the bottle fresh is 6.7ish. when I mix nute solution into ANY water, it drops the solution DOWN in pH. I have also used sparingly a CalMagMolasses additive (free sample) and Botanicare Liquid Karma (free sample)...both of them also drop pH...

I have since stabilized pH's and have kept them between 6.2 and 6.9 in the pots. I also potted up to 2 gallon pots in an effort to keep the pH more stable for a longer period of time...(maybe a rookie mistake?)...

So where I stand right now is...

I have 5 plants, over 5 weeks old...stable pH (for the moment)...
They are 10" tall and growing...they still aren't perfect, still have some damaged leaves from the previous problem (I pruned many of the really bad ones off)...

I also used baking soda twice as a pH stabilizer and now wonder about that...

Although 85% of the plant looks perfect, all I can focus on are the bad spots.
Thinking I should flush again with stable pH water (distilled 6.7ish)...
then let them dry and see what happens...

What can I expect from here if I keep pH balanced? How do I avoid further nute lockout problems. Once they have a few bad spots, will I pay a price later? In a way...I'd like to get them into 12/12 cycle and get this 1st grow under my belt and move on...but do I need more stability first?

Thanks, P.

[therealOG]

if i were you i would buy new nutrient sounds like it my be old also use lemon juice to ph out water 6.0 until last four weeks of flower.......go to 6.4ish and use your tap water distilled is not a good water to use for growing........i have a shallow well and my water runs at 9.0ph and i crank out bomb as shit

[canniwhatsis]

Keep your PH balanced to prevent future lockouts. It's your first grow,... get it down then worry about slight adjustments.

As Rusty would say, "Old growth is old news"

The damaged leaves wont recover, and if they do it wont be much. Pay attention to the new growth leaves,.... if they are healthy and strong,.... your plant is healthy and strong.

[Phaser]

So they're looking good right now...pH has been stable for over a week at 6.5 and I just flushed again last night because I was getting some minor tip burn again (I've nuted very sparingly at very weak concentrations-I think the Fox Farm Ocean Forest I'm using is a little hot & finicky)...

So...with the problems of the last 2 weeks mentioned above...and with the fact that things have stabilized pH wise...could I put these 10" plants into flower or should I wait for a longer period of pH stability? They are now in 2 gallon pots...they are going on 6 weeks old...and are at 10" (less than they should be right now due to the problems, I think) and are very 'bushy' growing in every direction...

Any special flower/bloom nutes you might recommend for plants that have recently had issues? Again, flushed them last night so when they dry out in a few days I'll have to have something lined up to feed, I'm thinking...

Also, will bloom/flower food (with lower N) still show similar symptoms if one accidentally overfeeds? Should one continue to use weak strength solutions at first like vegging? Hopefully, I've flushed out the soil well enough to be near a baseline level for nutes...but you never know with this rich Ocean Forest soil...seems like it always has a little something left after flushing for some reason...and I run double the volume (or more) of water through the pots...

Would like to get this 1st grow completed, have a much better game plan in mind for the next grow...experience works wonders...

Thanks, P.