dry yellow leaves

[OaklandCA420]

just started budding my plant like a week ago and the leaves have been turning dry and yellow starting at the tips. the leaves also curl down.
can anyone tell me why this is happening?
is it from watering, heat, ph, nutrients????

[Rusty Trichome]

Copy-n-paste the troubleshooting form here, and fill it out as best you can.

Looks like underwatering and possibly a ph issue, and possibly overdosing, or possibly a light issue. Perhaps a combination of all of the above. Do the form, and we'll get a better idea of what's going on. :thumbsup:

[OaklandCA420]

What is your experience level? first time indoor

Your Equipment:
.1) Type and wattage of lights. CFL's, 5000k for veg. now using 2700k for flowering, i now have 6 over the top of plants (2 over each) and 3 on the sides.
.2) Distance from tops? About 4 inches
.3) Reflector type? White walls, plus mylar surrounding plants
.4) Is there a consistent fresh air supply? fan on 24/7. not directly on plants,
.5) Do you have an exhaust fan and a circulation fan? just circulation
.6) What are the bulb wattages, kelvin ratings, and schedule? 100 watt cfls, 2700 kelvin, 12/12 schedule.

Your medium:
.7) Specific brand and type of soil, mg for vegetables and flowers, added perlite. (nutrients in soil are gone now)
.8) Size of container. about 3 gallon pots
.9) Did you use peat pucks (or similar) to root clones or germinate seedlings? no.

Your nutrients and water:
10) Source of water? (tap, bottled or filtered) What's it's ph before adjusting? 7.0 before adjusting, tap water left out for 48 hours.
11) Method of checking water ph. color test kit
12) Method of adjusting water ph. ph up and down solutions.
13) Specific brand and N-P-K ratio for each bottle. i was using jacks classics all purpose 20-20-20 but now using jacks classics blossom booster 10-30-20
14) How often are you watering between feedings, and how much per watering? usually 3-4 days. i use 2 and a half cups of water for each plant.
15) Any additives or tea's? superthrive, havnt used much.
16) Are your ph levels stable, or do they fluctuate? fluctuate
17) What is your ingoing water's ph? ...your runoff ph? ingoing: 7.0, runoff: 6.0, although i have given the plants ph up the past couple times, havnt tested runoff in about 2 weeks.
18) Do you foliar feed? just tried it once, but it made little holes in my leaves so i stopped.

Your growroom:
19) Indoors or outdoors? indoors
20) What size of closet, room or hut? 6ft. w, 2.5ft. l, 9ft. h
21) What are the temps and humidity levels while lights are on? ...With lights off? around 80-85 on, around 70 off. high humidity, not sure exact amount.
22) Have you seen signs of insects in the growroom? no.

Your strain:
23) What strain are you growing? indica dominant, la confidential, romulan, and cheese.
24) From seeds or clones? la from seed, other 2 are clones
25) Is this an autoflower strain? no

[Rusty Trichome]

Your Equipment:
.1) Type and wattage of lights. CFL's, 5000k for veg. now using 2700k for flowering, i now have 6 over the top of plants (2 over each) and 3 on the sides.
.2) Distance from tops? About 4 inches
.3) Reflector type? White walls, plus mylar surrounding plants
.4) Is there a consistent fresh air supply? fan on 24/7. not directly on plants,
.5) Do you have an exhaust fan and a circulation fan? just circulation
.6) What are the bulb wattages, kelvin ratings, and schedule? 100 watt cfls, 2700 kelvin, 12/12 schedule.
More lighting would definatelly benefit 'em. Maximum distance for effective light from a CFL is 6 inches or so. This includes the distance from the bulb, off the wall(s) or reflector(s) and back to the plant.



Your medium:
.7) Specific brand and type of soil, mg for vegetables and flowers, added perlite. (nutrients in soil are gone now)
.8) Size of container. about 3 gallon pots
.9) Did you use peat pucks (or similar) to root clones or germinate seedlings? no.
Your nutrients and water:
10) Source of water? (tap, bottled or filtered) What's it's ph before adjusting? 7.0 before adjusting, tap water left out for 48 hours.
11) Method of checking water ph. color test kit
12) Method of adjusting water ph. ph up and down solutions.
So you are in MG planting mix? (for veggies and flowers) I'm not at all sure what the MG Veggie mix is buffered to, but usually outdoor ammendments and mulches are buffered lower than potting soil. Plus, if you've already burned-through the nutrients in the soil, the ph buffers might be fading as well. (ph takes a dive when the buffers fade away)

7.0 before adjusting or adding nutrients is fine, and shouldn't need adjusting further.

Once you add nutrients or additives, the tinting will skew ph test results. Are you using the color-coded drops to test runoff? If so, your numbers are likely off.


13) Specific brand and N-P-K ratio for each bottle. i was using jacks classics all purpose 20-20-20 but now using jacks classics blossom booster 10-30-20
14) How often are you watering between feedings, and how much per watering? usually 3-4 days. i use 2 and a half cups of water for each plant.
15) Any additives or tea's? superthrive, havnt used much.
16) Are your ph levels stable, or do they fluctuate? fluctuate
17) What is your ingoing water's ph? ...your runoff ph? ingoing: 7.0, runoff: 6.0, although i have given the plants ph up the past couple times, havnt tested runoff in about 2 weeks.
18) Do you foliar feed? just tried it once, but it made little holes in my leaves so i stopped.
Regarding the Jacks Bloom stuff...What does the directions say about how much per galon, and every how often?
How much are you giving them and how often?

3 gallon pots, and only two cups of water every few days...? Waaaay underwatering. In my 3 gallon pots, I add a quart a day in the summer, a quart every few days in the winter. You have to make sure you're getting moisture to the lower root zones, without keeping them saturated.
Underwatering keeps every bit of the excess nutrients in the pot, and can cause build-up problems. (salt build-up)
I'd flush well right now with properly ph'd water, (7.0 tapwater is fine) and find a better schedule.
On feeding days I try not to allow runoff. But on watering days I'll make sure to get a little bit of runoff. Not much, but enough to assure a little bit or 'rinsing' of the soil, and to make sure water and nutrients get to the bottom root zone.
With non-organic nutrients, I recommend a mmnthly 'maintenance' flush. 1 or 2 times the volume of the pot.
Keep a fan on 'em. Strengthens the stems, and forces fresh air across the plant. Plants love fresh air. Proper ventilation is important for just that reason, too. Hot, stale air isn't beneficial.

[OaklandCA420]

yeah i knew more lighting helps. i added 4 cfls once i started flowering.
and yeah i have the color test drops. put about 3-5 drops in a little vile to test runoff ph. it came out to 6.0 last time so i have added ph up.

the jacks classics blossom booster says for best results, apply every 7-14 days just like a thorough watering. indoors: use 1/2 teaspoon per gallon of water every other week or 1/4 of a teaspoon per gallon every time you water.

my question is how much nutrients should i give and how often, and how much water should i use from now on?

[Rusty Trichome]

and yeah i have the color test drops. put about 3-5 drops in a little vile to test runoff ph. it came out to 6.0 last time so i have added ph up.
The drops are inadequate for testing runoff. The tinting of the water skews the color-coded result. Keep your ingoing ph stable, the buffers in the soil should cary you through till harvest. Do not adjust your ingoing water to try and adjust the inaccurate runoff number.



the jacks classics blossom booster says for best results, apply every 7-14 days just like a thorough watering. indoors: use 1/2 teaspoon per gallon of water every other week or 1/4 of a teaspoon per gallon every time you water.
my question is how much nutrients should i give and how often, and how much water should i use from now on?
Do the math...
1/2 tsp per gallon every two weeks is the same as 1/4 tsp per gallon once a week. (not every time you water) Looking at those directions...Jacks is assuming you water your houseplants once a week.

On feeding days, I mix the nutrient solution and slowly add one quart to the 3 gallon pot, once a week.
On watering days, I'll add enough water to get a little trickle of runoff. I'll add a pint, wait a minute for it to absorb, then add another pint, and wait. Add another pint, (if necessary) and wait. This allows the water to absorb into the mix instead of just running straight through. 20 minutes after watering, empty your drip tray(s).

Stick your pointing finger into the soil all the way in. If the crap stuck on your finger is pretty dry, time to water. If the stuff under your nails is still moist, it's almost watering day. If you let the soil dry too much, it'll cake-up on you and resist absorbing water. If this happens, use some non-antibacterial dish soap. 1/4 tsp per gallon of water, and add it slowly. The dishsoap is a surfactant. (wetting agent) It chemically changes the properties of the water, making it's surface tension lower, which makes it absorb better.

If need be, skip a watering day if the soil doesn't need it. Keeping the soil too wet is just as bad as letting it dry-out too often. No growroom is perfect, so you'll have to adjust the watering schedule as need be. Feeding day is a hard and fast day, somewhat unchanging and permanent.

[OaklandCA420]

alright sick, thanks a lot for your help man.
so just to make sure. i am now using a 2 gallon milk carton full of water.
if i wanted to water all 3 of my plants (3 gallon pots) would the 2 gallon cover it? because that would be a little over a quart for each plant.

[Rusty Trichome]

For watering or feeding, one gallon should be fine for 3 plants in 3 gallon pots. (just over a quart each) But there may be times you'll need 2 quarts each. Like the middle of summer, perhaps. For me it's easier to adjust (skip or add) watering days, then to adjust 1 or 2 gallon mixes. I have to adjust my ph every time, and I only mix what I'll use at that time.

But a lot will depend on how the medium retains moisture, (humidity, heat, circulation and ventilation) and how far you let them dry between waterings. Pay attention, (mark a calendar) and you'll figure-out a pattern. Get's tricky with the change of seasons, so keep that in mind too.