Emergency Room Assistance Required

[HARDDON]

All was fine and well for these plants. Here is the data:

21 Days Old
Strain Unknown
3 65W Full Spectrum CFL 5500K
2 125W Full Spectrum CFL 6500K
24/7
No Nutes Ever
Recently started watering with Ph DOWN (6.5)
Soil is ProPak...the stuff nurseries grow baby flowers in. Real light and airy.
Temps remain constant 70 F
Last night got cold...about 55 F
250 CFM exhaust, 6"
2 Passive 4" intakes
1 250 CFM can fan running 24/7 between lights and plants.

All was well. In the last 24 hours, the lower leaves have dried, cracked and looks as though the "green" is receding.

This morning, as a result of what was seen, the plants have been transplanted in hopes the roots were the problem...took from 4" pots to the pots shown. I saw some roots at the bottom, but nothing that looked like root bound.

Any advice would help a grieving loved one.

Thanks

[bud man 2000]

looks like ur light is a lil close dude

[HARDDON]

I always wondered the same thing. In the pic, the light was actually moved up several inches. I kept the total lights about 2 inches from the plant tops.

No heat stress or browning on the very top leaves though, just the oldest first set and now its moving to the other leaves.

I will leave the lights up a bit higher, say 6" from the tops, although I thought CFL should be right next to plants. I can grab light bulb with hands and not get burned...the fan keeps them really cool and my heat removal works almost too well.

Thanks for the input...

Anyother input would be appreciated as well.

[BobBong]

They're CFL's you can have the plants within cm of the bulb and it won't burn.. how often are you water? and are you doing thorough water? that soil look REALLY dry.. and if the peat in the soil drys right up it starts to repell the water.. that kinda soil should never dry right out when you've got a plant in it

[mellowman420]

that light is way too close move it up another 4-6 inches.

[HARDDON]

Thaks BobBong for the information and questions....

I have been watering about every 3 days. They appear so dry as I just transplanted them. I have been so afraid of OVER WATERING them...

Normally, they are BONE DRY when I water. And then I water fully till it runs out the bottom.

The only thing I have done is started to water with Ph DOWN water as opposed to the regular bottled water they have been givin since birth.

I usually water when the edges separate from the dirt in the cup / container I have them in. BONE DRY.

Would not the youngest and top leaves suffer first from lack of water??? Or would not the entire plant wilt at once?

Seems odd the problem is starting at the first leaves and moving up.....

Thanks again for the input.

[HARDDON]

Mellowman,

Thanks for the advice. Are not CFL's easily placed close to the surface????

They are Full Spectrums, so would that make then different than the 'cool' CFL's?

Again, I can touch them with no burn at all as the fan keeps the heat out. Perhaps its just too many lumens for the babies???

Thanks again.

[BobBong]

Those bulbs give off very little heat, the actual surface of the bulb can get pretty hot, but the heat (and energy) are lost very fast.. therefore you really should have them as close as possible.

As for your watering.. it's kinda screwy. you say the soil goes dry enough to seperate from the pot?
That's to dry in my opinion, you maybe watering them until the water comes out of the bottom, but that's not to say that the soil is obsorbing it. i'd increase your watring frequency to every other day for a week, then try watering a little less..

with a fan in there, and i'm sure it's pretty warm.. the soil is gonna dry up pretty fast.

p.s what's the temperature at soil level? shouldn't be more than 85degrees.

The attached picture should give you an idea of how close you can get the bulbs, and the effectivness of them

[HARDDON]

Thanks BobBong, again for your input.

Yes teh water is / has been very screwy. As I said, I am so afraid of over watering them as I hear that is the number one mistake newbies make.

Also, some of the leaves on the other plants scoop under and I hear this is an over watering problem, so I figured underwatering was wasier to fix than over watering.

I have constant seeds germinating as I am unable to keep a plant alive for more than a month. The pics of the bigger plants are 2.5 weeks old and I am thinking, "Oh, shit. Another batch killed."

Thats why I keep new plants always coming and going so I never have to sit and wait a week for new germination.

Ok, I will water every other day.

At soil level, it remains a balmy 68 F.

The fan does dry them and they appear dry every day at the end of the day. It does dry them out fast.

But the temperature is never an issue...never has been anyhow. The humidity is a wild fluctuation though and it hovers around 30%. I have thrown in a soaked wet towel to up it to no avail.

Could the inconsistent water and low humidity play a role? Perhaps I have too much air movment? The fan shown blowing is a 250cfm and right above it, out of the pic view, in another 250cfm exhaust.

I certainly appreciate all the input...I feel like lost family has gathered at the hospital bedside.

I will take comfort that someone other than me cares about these plants..... : )

BobBong...that pic you posted.... Flowering with CFL????

Why the hell can;t I grow like that?

Damnit this is driving me nuts. But pics like that keep me at the wheel....thanks again.

[BobBong]

68 is pretty low, if heat isn't an issue.. maybe you don't have enough of it?
Have you read any grow books? what kinda research have ya done?

[HARDDON]

The cabinet is in my garage, so whatever outside temps get, the plants get it too. I say it hit aobut 45 F low last night in the garage....but then the plants that were outside where it hit 35 F didn't suffer and damage. I did have them covered....

I am going to try the lack of water...I did let them get very very dry...maybe I would water every 3 days....with the light airy ProPak soil, it drys out very very fast.

I will try this as you advise...water every other day.

Thanks a million.

I ahve read for hours upon hours upon hours. Researched day and night.

Figure I would master soil before Hydro and master bagseed before the good stuff.

[BobBong]

jeeeez! that's almost freezing, i'd definately get a heat pad for em or a mini radiator... or bring them inside at night, they shouldn't be getting that cold though :(

p.s when watering, i always water the entire soil area to encourage the root growth.. if you only water the area directly around the plant...it'll start to suffer