Hello everyone,

Thank you for taking the time to open my post and read it, I really appreciate it!


For those of you who do not wish to read the rest of the post, and simply wish to know the problem - TL;DR: I think Marsha and Cindy have a calcium deficiency caused by pH levels locking out nutrients. Testing pH reads 6.8; I have heard differences as to what the pH level should be, but I believe I am in the correct range. Perhaps I need to begin fertilizers?


Background history:

Plants are from bag-seed, germinated via paper towel then placed in Solo cups with slits cut in the bottom for drainage. Soil is Schultz potting soil with some sand mixed in for drainage at the bottom. NPK is 12-9-7 for the soil. Grown under two 20 watt CFLs for about a week, then switched over to two 40 watt CFLs daylight, with one 20 watt CFL (total of 100watts CFL). The 40 watt lights are hung from the ceiling using clamp lamps with chains attached, and the 20 watt other is sitting nearby to give a little bump in light; all these lamps are 2-4" away from the plants and everything seems safe temperature wise, my hands don't feel uncomfortable even within an inch of the lights. My girls (knocks on wood) are receiving 18-6 light cycle. Watering when the soil gets crusty, using reverse osmosis water pH 6.8 - 7.0 by test kit, it's stuff I personally drink with my filtration system. No nutrients at the moment, other than what is already in the soil mix from the bag. Temps in range of 70-80F, humidity is 30-45%, 40% right now. One intake fan, pumping fresh air in from my room which is being fed outside air via air-conditioner. (Everything is staying nice and comfy.) One out take fan that is positioned up high, shooting the old air back into the room to circulate with the new and dissipate. Cindy and Marsha began to look a bit strange as I looked them over as they are growing now. They have one node above the cotyledons, the middle portion of the leaf is stretched out, however the other two are small. On either side of the stem that connects the middle leaf, there are also two more smaller side leaves. Here's a mock up in photoshop (no camera at the moment).Picture: Mockup-Sideview

I transplanted them about two days ago after seeing signs and symptoms of lower leaves beginning to yellow and droop. They're two weeks old at the moment, and I thought they might have been root bound. The larger of the two ladies is sitting pretty in a 1 gallon pot, while the smaller is in a half gallon. I watered them to settle them into their new homes. I'll put them in 3 gallon pots straight away next time after the Solo cup. Live and learn.

Current Happenings:

As I said above, I suspect that pH levels are locking out nutrients from getting to the roots, and they are going through calcium deficiency. I found a few pictures of what my girls bottom leaves right above the cotyledon (which is falling off right now getting brown) are starting to yellow from the tip, and have black smudges across the tips, also they have rusty dots on the leaves in small patches. Here are some example pictures: Picture 1: Rusty Dots, Picture 2: Dark Smudges

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Just finished testing Cindy, she's the worst off at the moment. I poured some water into the pot, until I got a little run-off from it, then took the sample from the reservoir dish. Tested it with the hth kit using 5 drops of phenol red as instructed. Runoff is in the 6.8 - 7.0 range.

Also just tested Marsha, she's better off for now, but showing signs of spotting, and blackening on the leaf tips. The pH runoff for her is the same range. 6.8 - 7.0. Looking at the spots under a magnifying glass they're almost perfectly aligned. I'll show you how it looks with another mockup, better this time!

Pictures: Lower two leaves of BOTH plants (just above the cotyledon) , Marsha's Middle Leaf


Marsha's two lower leaves are yellowing, the middle one showing some spots, and darkening around the serrations. The rest of her leaves look pristine.

Cindy shows worse damage on her lower two leaves that came out after the cotyledon, brown tip is on the end. The rest of her middle leaves have some black tint to them on the serrations.

Is the pH too high at 6.8 - 7.0? I've read that 6.5 is ideal for soil. Is there some other cause perhaps? Hopefully this information helps you to help me! Thanks again for taking the time to read my post.
Probst Reviewed by Probst on . 2Week old plants, curling, spotting, yellowing Hello everyone, Thank you for taking the time to open my post and read it, I really appreciate it! For those of you who do not wish to read the rest of the post, and simply wish to know the problem - TL;DR: I think Marsha and Cindy have a calcium deficiency caused by pH levels locking out nutrients. Testing pH reads 6.8; I have heard differences as to what the pH level should be, but I believe I am in the correct range. Perhaps I need to begin fertilizers? Background history: Rating: 5