View Full Version : Same old problem
FreeVenice
01-23-2007, 07:01 PM
I'm in the veg. stage and I'm having a issue, a good majority of my leaves are turning yellow. I'm really new to this so I'm sure you have seen this question a few times. I can't tell if I am over feeding or if it is to hot. I don't have the greatest ventalation, and I don't know if I am using the right food (I am using, Miracle-Gro Tomato plant food, it has 18-18-21, it's the closest I could find to 20-20-20) I water once and a while, I wouldn't say its over watering cause I only water the leaves most of the time. I switch between a spray bottle with the tomato food and one with only water in it. I dont know what the problem is. I cut off the yellow leaves, should I of left them on? I am going to give them more food and see if that helps.
Any info you can spare will help me a great deal. I'll try to get some pics. up.
stinkyattic
01-23-2007, 07:55 PM
I'm sure you have seen this question a few times.
.lol sure have; it's all good. It's an easy fix.
I can't tell if I am over feeding or if it is to hot. I don't have the greatest ventalation, .
Not overfeeding. And if it were heat you would be seeing other symptoms too.
and I don't know if I am using the right food (I am using, Miracle-Gro Tomato plant food, it has 18-18-21, it's the closest I could find to 20-20-20) . That's not the greatest. You need a much higher N in veg than the others.... see, tomato food is meant for a plant that is setting fruit AND growing, while ganj in veg stage is simply growing. A typical MJ veg fert would be more like 15-5-5 or about that... it's really variable, but always N is much higher.
I'll tell you how to fix that in a min.
I water once and a while, I wouldn't say its over watering cause I only water the leaves most of the time. I switch between a spray bottle with the tomato food and one with only water in it. .
Okay here's your prob. Only watering the leaves... ??? why EVER would you do it that way? Ya gots to water the DIRT. That's where the roots are. Yes, foliar feeding is cool and all, but that's in addition to a traditional feeding routine.
So the other thing you said about a spray bottle with only water, that's called REVERSE foliar feeding and it actually LEACHES nutrients OUT of the leaves, especially highly mobile ones like N.
I cut off the yellow leaves, should I of left them on?
.
Six of one and half a dozen of the other... they may have greened up again, but then again, you don't want dead leaves in your grow space.
Anyway now we are going to fix your problem:
Your fertilizer:
If you are set on the stuff you've got, you need to add an additional source of Nitrogen. I know they sell Alaska Fish Fertilizer at walmart these days. Go get a bottle of it. Now mix your tomato food half strength, and then add what the fish bottle says on it. Now you have a more balanced fert for pot.
Your feeding method:
Lay off the foliar feed for now. You're in a deficiency already so you can just keep feeding and watching closely until you see a bit of greenup or at least the yellow stops getting worse, or the other thing you are likely to notice is a burst of new growth from the fresh N.
Can you get decent results with tomato food? Yes. (I prefer lawn food for cheap-ass emergency shit -I -ran -out- of -fertilizer, because it is designed for leafy greenness, not fruits) Do you have to tweak it a lot to get it right? Yup! Is it the best fert? Definitely not, but I'm sure that as you learn you will see why a 'real' pot fert is so great.
FreeVenice
01-23-2007, 08:06 PM
Thanks bro. . .
thank god today is my day off, I'll get on that. Is there anything else I can get for N, incase I don't find the fish fert.
FreeVenice
01-23-2007, 08:09 PM
I think I need more light also. I got to work with flo's right now.
california
01-23-2007, 08:10 PM
they got u covered if heat problem u would see a rusty colour and the leafs would buch its a nitrogen foliar feed only when lights off because your solution will dry to the leafs and fry but that dont sound like your problem but if pressed on cash go and buy mg all purpose plant food works a hole lot better but at 1/4 strengthif your only foliar feeed your roots are not getting nutrients and send a pic its a lot easier to help
FreeVenice
01-23-2007, 08:22 PM
I would have a pic but I cut off all the yellow. . .
FreeVenice
01-23-2007, 08:31 PM
here are some pics. sorry that they had to be my cell cause my other cams batteries died. I cut the yellow leaves off allready so you can't see that, but if you look close you can see the yellow. . .
FreeVenice
01-23-2007, 08:36 PM
B.T.W. this is a single plant, bag-seed project. I got seeds with a bud that I really wanted more of. I topped a clone off already also.
stinkyattic
01-23-2007, 08:48 PM
Ah what kind of soil is that?
I think that as long as the pH of your soil is good once you start feeding normally you're going to see better growth; also, more light IS important as a leaf that gets no light WILL eventually be sloughed off by the plant as useless.
If you cant find fish fert, get blood meal and scratch a little into the surface of the soil according to the package directions, or just look for a DIFFERENT complete fertilizer that has a high 1st number, and MICRONUTRIETNS!!!
FreeVenice
01-23-2007, 08:56 PM
My soil sucks, its full of wood. My girl got it for me cause it had time capsules of Miracle-Gro. . . Im going to look for a new fert. what if I were to add extra nuties, like if I put more than suggested would that help or just kill?
stinkyattic
01-23-2007, 09:04 PM
Um your soil is ick.
At this point, the best thing you can do is flush the living CRAP out of it.
I know this is an experimental grow, but if you've got those time capsule things, it's possible to create more prblems feeding chemical ferts.
If you can find that fish emulsion, it's great stuff since it also seems to buffer the pH as I believe it has ground fish skeletons as well= calcium= GREAT for sick pot plants.
Gads... good luck! It'll be sweet if you can bring those plants around! You will learn a LOT about troubleshooting your garden!
FreeVenice
01-23-2007, 09:07 PM
What do you mean by flush? is my soil that bad, do I have to transplant? Are those capsules that dangerous?
stinkyattic
01-23-2007, 09:14 PM
Transplanting IS an option.
Some people like thos elittle capsule things but the wood chips worry me, and wood, as it decomposes, actually robs the soil of nitrogen! That's why you should avoid horse manure from a stable that uses sawdust bedding for the critters.
To flush, put your plant in the bathtub and run 3 gallons of tepid water for every gallon of soil in the pot through it. That will clear out excess crap in the dirt.
FreeVenice
01-23-2007, 09:59 PM
Thanks alot. I'll get on all this today and reprot back. I hope I don't screw up.
FreeVenice
01-24-2007, 04:03 AM
O.K. So I bought some new lights (flos), and I got a new plant food (19-6-12), how does that look. do you think thats enough N. Also I found this food thats 6-12-6 how does that sound for flowering. these are both time release that you just putin the soil. I still didn't do that flush thing. Do I need to? I don't want to end up killing it.
FreeVenice
01-24-2007, 07:23 AM
A bud for good luck. . .
PatrickHenry
01-24-2007, 02:29 PM
Do you know your PH of the water run off? What's the PH of the water you're giving them?
FreeVenice
01-26-2007, 06:09 AM
I'm really amature I don;t even know how to check that?
FreeVenice
01-27-2007, 06:26 PM
O.K. It's been a few days now, it is looking a little better I guesss, it still has a few yellow leaves so I'm not sure if the new food is helping but I think it will start to adjust soon. . .
FreeVenice
01-29-2007, 08:38 AM
My girlfriend has some Ph strips at her work so I am going to try to see where I'm at with that. I am going to also try to give a night period to get the roots settled.
FreeVenice
01-30-2007, 04:44 AM
Ok so here is how it looks today. . .
lighter coloration. . . could it be the plant or is it still yellowing. . .
foxysox
01-30-2007, 04:53 PM
Hi Venice,
I see the telltale striping of Mg def.
You had been foliar feeding before; now is the appropriate time to do so:
Dissolve 1/4 tsp of Epsom salts (Magnesium chloride) in 1 gal of lukewarm water and use that to gently foliar feed your plant.
pH strips come in all sorts of ranges and sensitivities... a broad-range one will tell you generally where you stand, then to be more specific, you'll want one that is within 1 pH unit up or down from the rough pH indicated on the first test.
Or... go to an aquarium supply store and get liquid indicator, which is the cat's ass.
Powered by vBulletin® Version 4.2.5 Copyright © 2025 vBulletin Solutions Inc. All rights reserved.