some seasoned help is desperately needed. troubleshooting form filled out!

[Rusty Trichome]

I agree, it's looking like overwatering, and slight overnute.

Working with five gallon buckets, you need a few adjustments.
1) Adaquate drainage/airflow ports. This means holes in bottom and sides to allow moisture escape, and increases airflow to roots.

2) You need enough soil in the pot, that the air above the soil won't sit stagnant. Fill to within a couple of inches from top, leaving just enough room to allow adaquate watering.

3) In five gallon buckets, you have to adjust watering, because the soil near the bottom will remain moist for what seems like forever. If you are not allowing that soil to dry between waterings/feedings, you risk lockout and root damage. (root rot) Fill a bucket with soil, and a half-gallon of water, and see how heavy it feels. This will give you a general idea on how light the pots should feel before adding water. The 'brownie toothpick' method for checking soil moisture by sticking your finger in, doesn't work with that type of pot.

[tonyandgina]

hey rusty, when i set up the buckets, i first drilled about 15 , 3/8" holes around the bottom of the buckets, then i put 4-5 inches of river rock in the bottom and added soil to the top of the bucket. i figured i would put the rocks in the bottom for aid in draining, so there shouldnt be any stagnant water. so are you saying that i should probably put holes about halfway up for better airflow?

[Rusty Trichome]

Yup. :thumbsup:

In my 5 gallon buckets, I have around 10 x 1/2" holes in the bottom, and 4 or five holes around the sides, from half way down...to near to the bottom. Air ports (holes) are unnecessary above the half-full mark. No, the soil does not 'leak-out' of the holes.

Also, drainage rocks are very important, but I quit putting the rocks inside of my pots. I now keep the rocks in the tray under the pot. (actually, yesterday I cut a milk crate down and cut it into 5" x 5" pieces, to fit into the bottom trays. Rocks can make the pot sit funny...this remedies that problem) I do this for all sizes of pots, because I got tired of picking rocks out of the roots when transplanting. Works great, and I have approx. 15% more rootspace now. Keeps the pot up out of the tray so I can better see runoff, too. Prevents overfilling, or at the very least...I can see a disaster coming, with enough time to do something about it. :jointsmile:

[tonyandgina]

does it mean anything if the runoff from the plants are discolered? mine was kinda rusty colered.

[Rusty Trichome]

Totally normal. This is the reason those color-coded ph test kits are unusable for testing runoff. It skews the color-coded results.

Anyway...it's just the nutrients and organics flushing out. Looks kinda like a tea, but don't re-use it. It will throw-off your nutrient levels, can possibly be re-introducing salts, and you risk damage to the plant.

[tonyandgina]

your right about it looking like tea. hey man, i just wanted to say thanx for all the help and support here. i really appreciate it. i just got in some "church" seeds from dr. chronic. i hope the experience i am getting from this first grow will aid me in some finished high quality product. have you ever heard of this strain?

[Rusty Trichome]

Strains are like assholes...everybody has one...and they all stink. :thumbsup:

I haven't purchased nor have I been gifted a strain in many years, but Church sounds better than Donkey Dick or Mosque, I guess. Dr. Chronic is a familiar name, but I have no experience with any of the seed houses. My strains work just fine, and I mix my own genetics anyway.