Wait until pH adjusts before induce flowering?

[PapayaTwins]

Hi All,
This is my first grow and I'm suddenly having pH problems. I have 7 week old Willie Nelson plants still in veg that are showing signs that they would like to flower but are also having pH problems and are showing signs of nitrogen deficiency. Older leaves are turning yellow, then brown, then dead. Top leaves have a lime green quality.

Growing in Fertilome soil. Lights CFL 3-6 inches away, on 24/0. Feed with 12-6-6 Age Old Grow every third watering. PH is 7.5.

The symptoms are worst on the tallest plants which are ~11 inches.

I flushed one several times with water infused with vinegar. I thought I'd wait a day or two to see how this one reacts before I do the same with all the others.
Leaves have been dropping kinda fast over the last week.

Also, the plants are ready to flower. Should I wait to make sure the pH problems clears up, give them one more veg feeding, and hold back flowering for a week? Or should I go for it and switch to flowering lights with flowering nutes?

Help! :smokin:

PapayaTwins Reviewed by PapayaTwins on 08-27-2009. Wait until pH adjusts before induce flowering? Hi All, This is my first grow and I'm suddenly having pH problems. I have 7 week old Willie Nelson plants still in veg that are showing signs that they would like to flower but are also having pH problems and are showing signs of nitrogen deficiency. Older leaves are turning yellow, then brown, then dead. Top leaves have a lime green quality. Growing in Fertilome soil. Lights CFL 3-6 inches away, on 24/0. Feed with 12-6-6 Age Old Grow every third watering. PH is 7.5. The symptoms Rating: 5

[Rusty Trichome]

It's a good idea not to place stressed plants into flower. It usually compounds the stress.

What are you using to test the ph? Ingoing water should be between 6.3 and 6.8 for a peat-based soilless mix, for the entire grow. (veg and flowering)

Do the directions say to use the nutes every third watering? Sounds like too much. No guessing, follow directions.

Is your soil the Fertilome Ultimate Potting Mix? If so, there should be no problems coming from there.

Are the leaves that are falling off from the lower canopy? (twords the base) If so, could be the leaves aren't getting enough usable light. If the upper canopy is growing fine, perhaps lighting is also an issue. 6" is too far away for 23w and 26w CFL's. What are your bulb wattages, and what color is the light when they're on? Yellowish or blueish?

[PapayaTwins]

Yes, it's the Fertilome Ultimate Potting mix. The plants have been really happy in it and have looked really healthy until now.

I'm using a pH probe to test the water and it's not super fancy (one of those $9.99 things you have to constantly replace) and I haven't tested the run off, but the soil is 7.5

Are you saying I'm feeding too frequently? I started with 1/3 tsp per gallon, then 1/2 tsp per gallon, and on the next feeding I was going to increase. Am I only supposed to feed once?

The plants are kind of different heights, and the one that i the oldest and closest to the light (~2 inches) is the one showing the worst signs. I flushed it with vinegar water yesterday and today it looked droopy and the top leaves are really curling under.

I have 3 t12 cfl ballasts with 6 day light bulbs 6,500 kelvin 40w

The leaves that are falling off are from the lower canopy, but there are some nitrogen-deficiency-looking burns on a number of the plants. The newer ones were coming up a lime/yellow color and I treated with epsom salts.

Is there a good way to go about flushing? Should I add lights? Am I feeding too much/frequently?

I'm trying to figure out how to post pictures so I can show you, but for now