Worry about Nitrogen in week 6 flower?

[SecretSquirrel]

Hi everybody! Here's what I got...

25% perlite
15% castings
60% MG Organic Choice garden soil (.1 - .05 - .1) ("slow available N")
...in a 3.5 gal container...about 20 inches from 400W hps...from 73-86 deg F w/daytime avg 82 deg...35-40% humidity... 24/0 veg and 12/12 flower. Constant fan above tops, pretty good air circulation.

Used half-dose MG 30-10-10 beginning veg then half-dose MG 18-24-16 fert during late veg and half-dose Expert Gardener 10-52-10 for first 3 weeks of flowering. (half the recommended dose for indoor plants...at every watering). I water every 4-5 days as needed.

Added 1mL SuperThrive /gal every watering until early flowering. Added 1/4 tsp/gal epsom salts once late veg and once early flowering. During late veg the soil pH was low 5's and I thought salt buildup so I flushed and after a couple days repotted larger with a bit of wood ash and ground up natural calcium carbonate (caliche) to try to stabilize pH higher. I flushed again(overfert paranoia) 4th week of flower and started using Advanced Nutrient Bloom (0-5-4) at half-dose. I also added some worm casting tea after this flush for a bit of nitrogen supplement.

Picture shows plant(supposedly Power Plant seed)starting 6th week of flower. Foliage began losing darker green color and turning lime green overall quite early in flowering and has continued yellowing. Fan leaves are now showing necrosis, curling and dropping from stem at a fast rate and I'm a bit concerned.

After learning a ton of lessons this go, I believe that the plant is suffering from a premature nitrogen deficiency due to "not enough to begin with" and that pH fluctuations didn't help. The tops still seem to be growing decently although the lower budlets on lateral stems are slow-developing even though they are exposed to light. I don't want to screw it up now at the finish line and obviously want max growth out of what I got.

Questions, comments, suggestions from anyone? My tentative plan is to go 3/4 dose AN Bloom next watering...then full dose next watering, then flush, let soil dry and get the scissors ready. Should I worry about the nitrogen this late? Am I adding enough P and K or should I add some bone meal tea or something similar organic?

In the picture there is a clone in the background but the rest is from one plant that has been "trained and tied(tried and true)".

:thumbsup: Thanks for any input here!

SecretSquirrel Reviewed by SecretSquirrel on 07-03-2006. Worry about Nitrogen in week 6 flower? Hi everybody! Here's what I got... 25% perlite 15% castings 60% MG Organic Choice garden soil (.1 - .05 - .1) ("slow available N") ...in a 3.5 gal container...about 20 inches from 400W hps...from 73-86 deg F w/daytime avg 82 deg...35-40% humidity... 24/0 veg and 12/12 flower. Constant fan above tops, pretty good air circulation. Used half-dose MG 30-10-10 beginning veg then half-dose MG 18-24-16 fert during late veg and half-dose Expert Gardener 10-52-10 for first 3 weeks of Rating: 5

[mscaboo]

what color are your trich's?

[SecretSquirrel]

Trichomes are all still white; no swollen calyxes yet but looks like it's getting close.

[mscaboo]

i wouldn't worry about the nitrogen now.just remember to keep the nitro going for longer next time

[stinkyattic]

25% perlite
15% castings
60% MG Organic Choice garden soil (.1 - .05 - .1) ("slow available N")
...in a 3.5 gal container...about 20 inches from 400W hps...from 73-86 deg F w/daytime avg 82 deg...35-40% humidity... 24/0 veg and 12/12 flower. Constant fan above tops, pretty good air circulation. !

No problems there!

Used half-dose MG 30-10-10 beginning veg then half-dose MG 18-24-16 fert during late veg and half-dose Expert Gardener 10-52-10 for first 3 weeks of flowering. (half the recommended dose for indoor plants...at every watering). I water every 4-5 days as needed.!

I'm not going to beat the dead horse but you may have gathered by now that miracle grow is not recommended by the vast majority growers on this site.
You don't necessarily have to go half-dose either. These plants can take some ferts! Remember the average houseplant is not being aggressively cropped under HID lights!
Next time around use FoxFarm or another more appropriate fertilizer that is meant to be used on this type of plant.

Added 1mL SuperThrive /gal every watering until early flowering. !

You know that's way more than the recommended dose? A drop'll do ya.

Added 1/4 tsp/gal epsom salts once late veg and once early flowering. !

Good call.

During late veg the soil pH was low 5's and I thought salt buildup so I flushed and after a couple days repotted larger with a bit of wood ash and ground up natural calcium carbonate (caliche) to try to stabilize pH higher. I flushed again(overfert paranoia) 4th week of flower and started using Advanced Nutrient Bloom (0-5-4) at half-dose. I also added some worm casting tea after this flush for a bit of nitrogen supplement.!

Flush- good. But the repot is where I think you may have screwed yourself N-wise.
I would have mixed some fish emulsion in with the fresh potting soil for a slow-release N fertilizer that would last into the bloom phase.
Worm tea isn't meant to be used because your plants need N, but because of the humic substances in it. Any N is just along for the ride.

Picture shows plant(supposedly Power Plant seed)starting 6th week of flower. Foliage began losing darker green color and turning lime green overall quite early in flowering and has continued yellowing. Fan leaves are now showing necrosis, curling and dropping from stem at a fast rate and I'm a bit concerned. !

Ouch. Poor girls are starved for nitrogen, but it's too late to really give them a boost.

After learning a ton of lessons this go, I believe that the plant is suffering from a premature nitrogen deficiency due to "not enough to begin with" and that pH fluctuations didn't help. The tops still seem to be growing decently although the lower budlets on lateral stems are slow-developing even though they are exposed to light. I don't want to screw it up now at the finish line and obviously want max growth out of what I got.!

Honestly those buds look good-sized. But the more valuable thing is learning by making mistakes!

Questions, comments, suggestions from anyone? My tentative plan is to go 3/4 dose AN Bloom next watering...then full dose next watering, then flush, let soil dry and get the scissors ready. Should I worry about the nitrogen this late? Am I adding enough P and K or should I add some bone meal tea or something similar organic?!

If you're doing another full dose, I'd do it earlier rather than later, and then give pure water for the rest of the grow. It's late to see much benefit from organics. They need time to be absorbed.
Keep an eye on your hairs. I believe letting the soil dry completely before harvest is good practice.

Hope this was some help.

[stinkyattic]

BTW I LOVE your 50's pink bathroom tile!

[SecretSquirrel]

Thanks mscaboo and stinkyattic for your advice. I won't necessarily be able to get max possible yield out of this one plant but I've learned many valuable lessons for the next go, among them:

1) MG ferts- paint em green and give em to the rabbits
2) Extra N amendment at beginning flower
3) stabilize soil pH at beginning with dolomitic lime
4) easy on the superthrive
5) use Mylar
Next time around I'll be preparing my soil to better deal with long-term macronutrient and pH requirements. I started intensive research into nutrient needs AFTER starting this grow and I've been chasing my tail ever since.

Some of my lessons learned are positive...

1) my soil mix seemed to be good for veg. They vegged for only about 6 weeks and growth was good with decent internodal spacing.

2) I have room for 3- 3.5gal containers but opted to let just one plant(trained and tied) use that space. Next time I may veg 2 plants for 4-5 weeks and train them into the available space.

3) Apart from my Nitrogen and pH issues, I'm happy with the way this one plant responded to having its apical meristem(college botany flashback) trained down to the same height as the lateral stems. I did this at the beginning of flowering over a few days and the tops of the lateral stems responded very quickly to being "at the top of the plant". Now I have the main cola (far left of my original picture) plus 18 lateral stems that "think" they're king of the mountain.

SO.....I'm going to put the N def in my "lessons learned" folder and try to give the buds what they need (P&K) for the home stretch. Will fert today with full-strength AN Bloom and let it ride. They are day 39 flower today, almost finishing week 6 so I'm not going to dick with adding any more nitrogen to this girl. I will flush thoroughly in another 7-10 days then let soil dry out before harvest.

Thank you all for your input and advice.

[Dutch Pimp]

This is a very good thread...........bump.

[wattsie503]

I used the dreaded miracle gro pour and feed but stopped when i went to 12/12 30 days into flowering and my plants yellow leaves look identical to yours should i flush if so how without drowning plants and is tap water ok, i have switched to Bio Flores NPK 2.5-2-5 twice a week i have been doing this for 1 week a slight improvement but tips are now brown ? but bud are ok trichomes are still white
would welcome your advice.
Mark(wattsie503)