Please help! TS form included

[sergentjunk]

C=Answer if you grow coco
E= EVERYONE needs to answer lol!


E-indoor
E-coco
E-specific medium: coco/perlite
CSL-Soil type/brand: Readygro Moisture formula
SCL-Anything you have added to the soil: none
SCLR-Soil or slab runoff pH: 6.5
E-Water source: Tap
E-Source water pH: originally 7.5-8. PH Down to 6.5
E-Age of plant: 2.5 months
E-Type of fertilizer: Pure Blend Pro (organic)
E-Rate of application: feed once every other week. half dosage
E-Lighting source and distance from plant: HPS now 6"
E-Air temperature:75* lights off, max 80* lights on
E-Air % Relative humidity: 35%
E-Lighting schedule: 12/12 8p.m. to 8a.m.
E-Type of ventilation your room has: in a 2'x2'x4' homebox xs dayton exhaust, inline duct from a/c unit for intake w/4" can fan to boost cold air (it's hot here)
TR-Did you pre-soak your media in pH corrected solution: no


Okay, here's the deal folks. Please keep in mind I'm very new (my first grow) and all products used are recommendations from my local hydro shop, so hopefully he's not as much as a douchebag as he seems:

I have four plants: 3 fems, 1 male. One of the fems is having some strange leaf development. They are almost 2 weeks into flowering (started 6-14-09), the tallest lady started showing some leaf curling in a few of the lower leafs. This after watering with veg nute still.

The only thing I did up untill changing the light from MH to HPS on 6-20-09 was change the light cycle from 18/6 to 12/12. So basically I left the MH in for a week, and gave one more dosage of veg nutes this past Saturday. I also changed to HPS this past Saturday.

The fingers on the leaves are curling in from the edged turning into "tubes". Some were worse than others, but the upper leaves (half way up and up) seem ok. There is some discoloration (yellow-ish) on some of the curled leaves, but some of the curled leaves are still green. It's acting very strangely considering what I put into them. My watering schedule is about once a week...I've read to wait until the pots are dry a few inches down to water, and that's how long they take to get that dry. Every other watering I give half the recommended dosage of nutes. I water with balanced 6.5 water, and the runoff is the same as the input. I have not tested the PPM as I didn't have a tester at the time.

Birthdays are good to me though and my friend got me a Hanna 98129 tester. So being the eager beaver, I tested my tap's PPM and it was almost 600(590-ish). I was using his tester for PH balances previously. He has the pimptastic Hanna tester.

A little history: These plants were started in an Aero Garden and stretched A LOT. Maybe I should've LST'd this particular one. Other than the leaf problem, the plants seem healthy and took to the transition from the Garden to coco pots nicely. Nice thick stalks, longs fingers, etc. Other than this leaf problem there would be no indication that anything is wrong.

Tonight whilst I wait for some saint to reply and lend their expertise, I am going to run 6.0 PH water through them and flush thoroughly. Maybe they're under nourished? I don't quite understand the whole PPM logic yet. Don't know what it's supposed to be, what is too much or too little. I did read around here as much as I could, but could never find a definitive answer to what the plants like best growing in coco.

If pics are needed let me know and I'll snap some tonight.

Thanks in advance for any help everyone. It is very appreciated as I know how long this post is LOL.

****Almost forgot! The guy at my hydro shop said that coco will "assimilate" to what you put into it. So if I add 6.5 PH water, the coco will be 6.5. For shits and giggles I bought a cheapo $10 soil meter just to get some indication of the coco PH, it read between 8-7. Don't know how accurate that is, just thought I would throw it in.

*junk

sergentjunk Reviewed by sergentjunk on 06-26-2009. Please help! TS form included C=Answer if you grow coco E= EVERYONE needs to answer lol! E-indoor E-coco E-specific medium: coco/perlite CSL-Soil type/brand: Readygro Moisture formula SCL-Anything you have added to the soil: none SCLR-Soil or slab runoff pH: 6.5 Rating: 5

[phatsesh101]

here too

[phatsesh101]

some pics would help

im not sure but i think 6.5 is a lil high for coco i will check but i think it shuold be a bit lower

have you calibrated your new metr yet?

[sergentjunk]

PHATESH: You're right, it's supposed to be 5.8-6.2. Some of the leaf tips now are taking on all new little twisty curly shapes LOL.

However I've done some MORE research and figured out what my problem is. That is that I'm an idiot. I did so much research on this, but was researching the wrong thing.

I was ASSUMING coco was treated as a soil grow, so I was following guidlines for soil...not coco. Coco, come to find out, is a considered more of a hydro grow and needs to be kept moist. I've been watering once a week, when the medium gets almost dry. Not good for coco. So much of what I was doing wasn't good for coco.

The entire problem is that watering once a week, every other time being a balanced nute formula. Well during that week the nutes dry, solidify, turn to salt, etc. When I water the following week, I only water enough so water just starts to drip. Not really "flushing" the hardened week old nutes out.

Current readings: Input: PH(no nutes) 5.8. PPM 600
Output: PH 5.6. PPM 1200-1400 depending on the plant

I'm no scientist, but I see a problem here.

With the water I had prepared I was able to flush to get them down to a PPM of 900 across the board. I will continue to do massive flushes over the next couple of days to get the PPM down to a reasonable level, once I research more and find out what that is. But from what I've gleaned, I think it's around 300-500?

So sorry for waisting anyone's time, and thank you Phatesh for trying to help me out. That's what I love about this forum, someone doesn't do enough research and STILL gets a helping hand.

Peace
*junk

[Dutch Pimp]

What size HPS light?..cool tube or reflector glass-inclosed?

6 inches seems very close?

[Rusty Trichome]

Did you know there is a feeding schedule available for Botanicare products?

Botanicare Feeding Schedule

Ph stress and underwatering will cause problems in the upper canopy, especially if pushing the limits with nutrition, bulb distance and temps.

[phatsesh101]

I was thinking bout running coco so ihad some info.

glad we can help, its always a learning experiance good growing.

oh and grow room pics are worth more than you could ever write in any form and are always reccomended for a faster and better and more responses.

[sergentjunk]

Dutch: It's 250w. I will get the water cooled cool tube eventually, I just don't have the 275 to drop in it right now. Probably next cycle. Since this is the tallest of all plants, I went ahead and bent it over and tied it down. My theory there is two fold: One..expose the middle of the plant to more light(it's pretty bare in that area). Second...to get it farther away from the light. Now they're all the same distance from the light: about 10"

Rusty: Ya I just found that last night, but not sure how to interpret the schedule. If I'm reading it correctly, then I should have fed them 25-30ml (almost 2 tablespoons). My confusion is: is that every watering/feeding every day, once a week? dosage per plant: 4 plants would come out to 100-120ml for the whole water formula? Or dosage per total water formula? Also...I have read that it's best to administer half the recommended dosage, does this hold true for coco and organic nutes??

Also, during the "Transition" period, it calls for 15ml of veg 15ml of bloom(which I already have, just haven't administered). So is that the two mixed together? Again, per plant? My watering method is to prepare about 4-5 gallons of water, balance it, and water all plants. I'm preparing more now obviously to continue with the flushes, and once that balances out the PPM, I will resume feeding with bloom. This time keeping the coco hydrated. Please excuse my ignorance or just flat out stupidity in this matter, but looking at the feeding schedule just raises more questions for me. Maybe I'm making it too complicated than it is.

You had mentioned that PH stress and underwatering will cause problems in the upper canopy. Well that's the rub...the upper canopy is fine, the problems are occurring well below the canopy. Does the same philosophy apply? I've been testing my PH for the past three weeks and it SEEMS fine, but my PPM runoff is off the charts. Need to stabilize that and water MUCH more.

I have to search more to find out what good PPM levels are. I have no idea what they should be, but I'll find it. I just know they should be lower than they are, and need to be watering more than I am. Does anyone know how to reduce PPM in tap water??? Mine comes out at 600.


Thanks so much for the replies! I really appreciate everyone taking the time to read my lengthy posts.

*junk

[sergentjunk]

Thank you Phatesh! I totally spaced on taking pics lastnight. I spent so much time and was consumed with the flush I didn't even think about it. I WILL take some tonight and post. Ya this is ALLLL learining for me, but for my first attempt it's going pretty well...of course a lot of that has to do with this forum. I just feel lucky enough to be starting out with 3 fems out of 4 plants.

[Rusty Trichome]

It's a week-by-week schedule, not day by day. Plain, properly ph'd water inbetween when necessary.

With the schedule, you add everything it says to add for that week, and give it that day. (mixed into water, of course) Don't save it to add more the next day, it will go bad. If in the transition period it says to add something...add it, too. If it doesn't say to add it, don't add it. But until you get used to working with those nutes...one feeding a week.

Although a picture is worth thousand words, it can have a thousand stories. To me, pictures are just another tool. Filling-out the troubleshooting form is still worthwile.

Wish I was good enough at troubleshooting that I could diagnose and suggest a treatment plan, just by looking at a picture. Sure would save me a shitload of time.