Yellow Leafs.. Heat Stess?? CFL

Hello guys, ive been reading like there is no tomorrow to figure out what is the problem with my babies... from what i have read and what my babies look like it seems like heat stress... but.. is that even possible with CFL??

atm i have 2 26w 6500k at 3 " from the top of the plants.

they where planted on dixie cups, about 2 weeks later their leafs started to turn yellow on the edge, i thought this was a bit normal as new leafs showed up, and they hadn't grown that much, so i decided to transplant them, i did and the next day they showed marvelous results they even grew la few cm in one day after translpantation(sp?) but now... the leafs are getting worse ( only happening to the lower leaves ) here i include 2 pics of my babies.. they both where planted the same day and sprouted with one day diff between them.

What is your experience level? (second timer, first time was more of a grow on your self i give a S** about you.. ended up being a male)

Your Equipment:
.1) Type and wattage of lights. (MH, HPS, CFL's, tube fluorescents, LED's):CFL
.2) Distance from tops?:3 Inches
.3) Reflector type? (cool tube set-up, bat wing, enclosed reflector, bare bulb...): no reflector
.4) Is there a consistent fresh air supply?: yes
.5) Do you have an exhaust fan and a circulation fan?: intake and outtake
.6) What are the bulb wattages, kelvin ratings, and schedule?: 2 CFL 26w 6500k

Your medium:
.7) Specific brand and type of soil, (coco, peat based soilless...) and anything you've added to it. (vermiculite, perlite, worm castings...): From Home Depot, cant remembet the name atm its a green bag with White letter and it starts with S.. lol..
.8) Size of container.: about 1.5L
.9) Did you use peat pucks (or similar) to root clones or germinate seedlings?:nope

Your nutrients and water:
10) Source of water? (tap, bottled or filtered) What's it's ph before adjusting?: distilled.
11) Method of checking water ph. (ph pen, test strips, aquarium test kit...): aquarium test kit.
12) Method of adjusting water ph. (phosphoric acid, white vinegar, hydrated lime, PH Up...): i dont adjust water i just use distilled water wich is arround 6.5 - 7.0ph.
13) Specific brand and N-P-K ratio for each bottle. List dosages (quantity per gallon) and current feeding schedule.: i havent given it any nutes.
14) How often are you watering between feedings, and how much per watering?: i water a bit each day, a bit meaning less than 1/4 of a cup
15) Any additives or tea's? (Superthrive, CalMag, molasses, Mother's Earth...): no additives
16) Are your ph levels stable, or do they fluctuate?: havent read ph on the soil.
17) What is your ingoing water's ph? ...your runoff ph?: i know it goes in at 6.5 - 7.0ph havent tested run off.
18) Do you foliar feed? If so, with what, how often, and at what time do you spray?: i dont.

Your growroom:
19) Indoors or outdoors?: indoors
20) What size of closet, room or hut?: its a Chlorine bucket ( arrouns 20 gal bucket )
21) What are the temps and humidity levels while lights are on? ...With lights off?: around 2 degrees lower than room temp, im in the caribbean room temp is arround 85 - 100F lately
22) Have you seen signs of insects in the growroom?: no

Your strain:
23) What strain are you growing?: no clue ( bag seed )
24) From seeds or clones?: seeds
25) Is this an autoflower strain?: no clue

from the pics, the plants have that "overwatered droop." this makes sense since you say you're watering every day. looks like the lower leaves are burned a bit. feed once a week, and let the medium dry up a bit. in between feeds, water with properly ph'd water. since you're kind of using a soilless type mix, i'd drop the ph down to around 6. sounds like your medium is probably pre-ferted, and you've amended it with more. this is fine, but remember when adding nutes to the water, use a reduced rate because of the nutes in the medium. those temps. are a bit high, maybe throw a fan on em.

I doubt your problem is heat stress from the cfl's, you can get a cfl within an inch of a plant and you won't get burnt leaves. Also if it was the lights, the tops would show the stress 1st and they would show it by forming a tiny upward "lip" around the edge of the leaf.

I agree with Gojira, one issue could be overwatering (droopy leaves). But I think the dried up leaves could be a different problem.

Are you adding calmag to your distilled water?

you know I have the same problem with one of my plants as well... It was totally droped I feed it yesterday and its trying to perk back up but not that much action....

overwatering... let the soil go through a cycle: wet > dry > wet > etc....


also, if you used plain potting soil, it's probably too heavy. I add 25% peat and 25% perlite to most potting mixes. A heavy soil will make it very easy to overwater.

Quote:

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Originally Posted by Coachgee

you know I have the same problem with one of my plants as well... It was totally droped I feed it yesterday and its trying to perk back up but not that much action....

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The plant in that 1st pic is way too big for that tiny cup, it is probably rootbound. The others are probably ready to transplant aswell.

Also ... are there holes in the bottom of those cups to allow the water to runoff?

Yea thats true I use fox farm ocean soil.... I know now about the overwatering issue now and I think thats whats going on with his plant too..:hippy:

Quote:

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Originally Posted by Coachgee

Yea thats true I use fox farm ocean soil.... I know now about the overwatering issue now and I think thats whats going on with his plant too..:hippy:

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Yeah, way too heavy by itsself... I'd add perlite and peat so the ff is only 50% of the mix, then add a little powdered dolomite / hydrated lime.

yeah, it just looks like you overwatered. I'd also say it's about time to transplant into bigger pots. On the bright side, i see new growth and the it's only the bottom leaves that are really yellow....and that is pretty normal. You can clip them off or just let them die back naturally! Just lay off the watering for a few days, and make sure the soil is dry to the touch before watering again. Good Luck! :jointsmile:

Not heat stress.

Let the medium dry between waterings. Water slowly till the point of runoff. Don't water again till soil is almost dry. Obviously this is different for each comtainer, each medium and each growroom condition. It's something you'll have to get used to. Once on a feeding schedule, same thing. Water till runoff, let dry-out. If still a few days before next feeding, add some fresh, properly ph'd water. If having problems with medium staying too wet, go get some perlite to mix-in during the next transplant.

Keep ingoing ph near 6.8 or 6.9 as FFOF tends to be on the low side of acceptable range. Whomever mentioned lowering water ph to 6.0 is wrong. Acceptable ph for peat-based mediums is 6.3 to 6.8ish. Your ph will drop further over time as the buffers in the soil fade, so keeping it a tad on the high end of the range is acceptable and warranted.

Keep your ph consistent to rule-out ph fluctuation as a cause of plant stress. Quality demands consistency.

Unless the medium is pre-fertilized, it's getting near time to start them on 1/2 strength nutes. Which are you going to use?

Quote:

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Originally Posted by Bongojaz

from the pics, the plants have that "overwatered droop." this makes sense since you say you're watering every day. looks like the lower leaves are burned a bit. feed once a week, and let the medium dry up a bit. in between feeds, water with properly ph'd water. since you're kind of using a soilless type mix, i'd drop the ph down to around 6. sounds like your medium is probably pre-ferted, and you've amended it with more. this is fine, but remember when adding nutes to the water, use a reduced rate because of the nutes in the medium. those temps. are a bit high, maybe throw a fan on em.

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i miss-read your medium. i thought you were in a mix, my bad.

Thanks all for the information! ill stop watering them daily and see how they go :). about the yellow leaves since they most probably die... should i remove them so the plant doesnt wast energy in those leafs?? ohh and about the soil i am using is Scotts Potting Soil, the pic of the soil is attached :P, and Bongojaz just like you said the soil is pre-ferted says i dont have to worry for 4 months, and in the web page says these are the Fert stats .07 - .01 - .03

Quote:

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Originally Posted by Gojira

...about the yellow leaves since they most probably die... should i remove them so the plant doesnt wast energy in those leafs??

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I just wait till they fall off at which time I remove them to prevent leaf litter. (bugs love leaf litter). The plant is sucking-out (removing) any remaining mobile elements and nutrients as the leaf dies.

Quote:

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Originally Posted by Gojira

ohh and about the soil i am using is Scotts Potting Soil,

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I don't know where the heck I got Fox Farms Ocean Forest from. But regardless, it's along the same lines as Miracle Grow Organic or FFOF. Slow release organics. As with all peat-based mediums, ingoing ph should be in the 6.3 to 6.8 range. I'd still aim for the high-end of the ph range, as the ph will drop over time.