New Grower 1st Grow Problem

[Tybee]

Greetings to all out there. First time grower, first time poster. I need a bit of advice.

First, my setup. Stanley 336 cabinet with 2 90w LEDs and 4 18w T8 side lights. Went Subs SuperSoil route, using a base soil mixture of OF and Light Warrior soilless (2:1). Put SuperSoil in bottom third of potting container and base soil above.

Planted all AF-Fem seeds, 2 Pandoras, 1 White Cheese and 2 LR #2.

Ran a 24 hr light schedule for first two weeks, and switched to 20/4. Only two of the T8’s are in use.

Planted in one large container on the theory that I could gain four or more inches in soil depth for deep roots than in 3 gal pots. Saturated the soil before planting directly in soil. Watered lightly each day 1st week, then to every 3 or 4 days, but never saturate. No nutes fed.

The results after 3 weeks are below. The two smallest plants on the left are the Pandoras. The tallest one in the middle is the White Cheese. Only one LR #2 germinated and it is the mid-sized one on the right.

As you can see, the ends of some of the leaves on all the plants are yellow. The Pandoras droop and sure look like they have been stunted. Their yellowed leaves are almost ready to drop off.

Any suggestions of what may be going on? Are the Pandoras worth saving? I have more seeds on the way and could just replant.

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[hereb4]

what's the ph of that soil mix?

 

[Tybee]

Haven't measured it. What's the best way?

 

[hereb4]

I personally use the Accurate 8 wizard soil tester mfg by cws industries..for spot testing,and a nutradrip tri-meter to test liquids....
but ph in soil should be in the 6.3 to 6.8 range..

you can pick up a kit in a pet shop for testing aquariums for just a few dollars

 

[Tybee]

I have an aquarium test kit for water, but it involves putting chemicals in a sample of the water. How can you do soil?

 

[KindredSpirit]

Hey Tybee. Welcome to AFN! :smokebuds:

I'll echo hereb4's recommendation of getting a read on your soil pH. I also use the Control Wizard Accurate 8 and it's probably the best investment I've made in my whole grow setup. While it's a little bit pricey ($75-$80), it's more than worth it. I went through three different $10-$15 Rapitest soil pH probes before realizing that they were very inaccurate. Having an accurate soil pH probe saves so many headaches over the course of a grow and takes a lot of the guesswork out.

Another option that will give you a pretty good idea of your soil pH is to test the pH of your runoff. However, it's going to be really tough to do this accurately using the aquarium pH test kit that you have. Your runoff will be different colors depending on what's in your soil and what nutes were added to your watering solution. Once the drops are added, it will likely give you a false reading when you compare it to the chart. If possible, I would recommend snagging a good pH pen. I've heard good things about the one hereb4 recommended. I use the Hanna hi99104 meter and haven't had any issues with it in the almost 2 years that I've had it. It has never shifted more than 0.05 over the 2 month periods between calibrations.

Once you get a pH pen, here's how you test your runoff: When you water, place your pot in a container that will collect the excess water and water until you get about 10% runoff. You then test the pH of your runoff. Then determine the difference between the starting pH of the solution that went in and the pH of your runoff.

If your runoff pH is higher than your starting pH, use this equation to determine your soil pH:
Soil pH = Runoff pH + Difference

If your runoff pH is lower than your starting pH, us this equation:
Soil pH = Runoff pH - Difference.

For example, say your the starting pH of your solution before it goes in is 6.5 and the pH of your runoff is 7.0. The difference is +0.5, so using the above equation:
Soil pH = 7.0 + 0.5
Soil pH = 7.5

If your starting pH is 6.5 and your runoff is 6.0, your difference is -0.5 and using the above equation:
Soil pH = 6.0 - 0.5
Soil pH = 5.5

Hope that makes sense and wasn't too rambling - I'm freshly medicated.

Again, welcome to AFN bro! :smokebuds:

 

[Muddy]

I agree, most likely a pH issue. One other point, planting different strains in the same container usually isn't a good idea. Different strains often have different nutrients requirements so it may be difficult to give each plant exactly what it will need.

 

[late]

You have two healthy plants. I don't know hwo big your cabinet is, but those 2 are going to get a lot bigger.

We need to know what you are using for soil and nutes.

But prob your best bet is to be glad you've got a couple of healthy plants.

 

[Tybee]

To all,

Got a cheap soil tester today (I plan on taking herebe4's and Kindred's advice and get an Accurate 8 someday soon) and it tested at 6.7. However, pH may still be the problem. I had tested my water source before beginning with an old aquarium test kit and it looked to be fine. On a hunch, I bought a new test kit, and it is way high. Gonna get my water straightened out and see what that does. Thanks for pointing to the pH.

To late,

The interior dimensions of the box are 60x22x17. I am not planning on feeding nutes as I am using the Subs SuperSoil method. That is, unless the wisdom here is that nutes should be used in conjunction with the SS. Thanks for the two-healthy-ones assessment . . . Being a first-timer, I had no idea if they were where they should be or not.

 

[smokerjoker]

i had a cheap soil tester and funny enough it showed 6.7 aswell and in beer 6.7 and wine 6.7 and even bleach 6.7 i f*cked it in the bin(if i had checked im sure it would have said 6.7) sj