plants wilting/spotting/curling

This is my first grow. :cool: the plants are about a month old maybe more.
the first couple weeks were going good and then the bottom leaves turned yellow on a couple and eventually fell off. i thought nothing of it idk. then the leaves above those ones started to yellow and crinkle. and then after that i notice small brown spots appearing on the leaves and on the tips of different leaves. also sometimes my plants will be wilting really bad and sometimes not. the pictures are all from 3 different plants. i water my plants every 3 days and spray them lightly every day sometimes i use a miracle grow food with my water. i checked for bugs with a magnifying glass and didn see anything..... pleaseeeeeeeeeee help :eek:

(one of the pictures has a really bad burn from one of the plants growing while the lights were off and i got to it to late, it was rubbing a light and got burnt) :(


Water source- tap. it sits out for a day or two before use
Source water pH- i have no idea im not reading ph and dont know how
Age- they are about a month old maybe a little more
Type of fertilizer- i just use a mixture of Miracle grow organic potting mix and some other miracle grow soil
Lighting source and distance from plant- i have 1 200w soft white CFL, 2 100w day light CFLs the soft white is about a foot away from both and the day lights are about 4-8 inches. its a standing lamp.
Temp- is about 70-80 F
i have no idea what the humidity is i dont have a meter for that
Lighting schedule- 18/6
Type of ventilation- they are in a closet with an osculating fan and a smaller fan. the door is open the majority of the daylight time(when the lights are on)

first off you need a way to check your pH. you can get by for the time being with a freshwater aquarium kit. you can find one for ~$7. if you intend on taking this seriously you'll want to invest in a digital pH pen.

when your nutrient mixture doesn't fall within a range of 6.3-6.8 in soil, you get what's called a nutrient lockout. or sometimes it will allow too much of one element to be uptaken and this can cause another element to be locked out.

your lights need to be kept within 1-3" from the tops of your plants. the lack of light was the reason the lower leaves yellowed and fell off. you are going to want to add way more light when you decide to flower.

there is no need to foliarly spray your plants unless you are trying to fix a deficiency. this just adds moisture which can lead to mold.



-shake

can i get one of those kits at walmart or something and how much would something cheap for the ph cost?

dude im new to this stuff completely

and whats
"when your nutrient mixture doesn't fall within a range of 6.3-6.8 in soil" mean?

thanks

i also forgot to add that one night i woke up and ALL my leaves had like a gloss to them almost looked like someone sprayed clear glue on them and it dried. its only in little spots now and is slowly going away. i have no idea what that was. maybe it was some type of mold your talking about?

Quote:

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Originally Posted by crazedkid

can i get one of those kits at walmart or something and how much would something cheap for the ph cost?

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should be able to. lemon juice to lower pH, baking soda to raise.

Quote:

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Originally Posted by crazedkid

dude im new to this stuff completely

and whats
"when your nutrient mixture doesn't fall within a range of 6.3-6.8 in soil" mean?

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it means you have a lot of reading to do. read ALL the stickies at the top of the forums in the growing section.


-shake

thanks alot dude. i just mix the baking soda or lemon juice(depending on what i need higher or lower) with my water?

and i definitely will get reading more. i just figured out how to post things on this forum tonight and im still gettin used to terminology when it comes to growing and everything.

i know you said i need to get more light. assuming im on a budget below 100$ do you have any ideas what i can do?

buy a bunch of CFLs and "Y" splitters. you can make a reflector. actually, someone posted a link to a 400W HPS for like $90 if i can find it.

you need to pH you water and your nute mixture. mix nutes into water and then adjust the pH when feeding.


-shake


-shake

by
mix nutes into water and then adjust the pH when feeding

you mean add something like Miracle grow liquid African Violet plant food with the water plus like baking soda or lemon juice then water?

sorry for all the questions iom just trying to do things right from now on

Quote:

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Originally Posted by crazedkid

by
mix nutes into water and then adjust the pH when feeding

you mean add something like Miracle grow liquid African Violet plant food with the water plus like baking soda or lemon juice then water?

sorry for all the questions iom just trying to do things right from now on

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NO!!! YOU NEVER MIX CONCENTRATES OF ANY KIND!!! this can cause chemical reactions. you always get your water in your container, add nutes, take pH, adjust up/down as needed, take pH again, adjust if necessary


-shake

ahhh lol soo get my water put in that Miracle grow liquid African Violet plant food test the ph of my water before i give it to the plants. ok. but if i cant add baking soda or lemon juice to the solution i make how can i adjust the ph? just add water to dilute it and add more food to increase it?

no, pH up/down. like i said, if you pH doesn't fall in the proper range your plants aren't getting everything they need.

-shake

ooh.
okay. you have been a huge help imma get an aquarium kit tomorrow and check out getting more lights with the y adapters.

now would you happen to know about those brown spots on the leaves D:

appreciate it bro