New Grower Lowberry & LowryderMint 1st Autogrow

[gtron]

Bottled water tested with a calibrated ph pen measured 5.0-5.5 is all they have had besides the drenching they got from the rain a week ago.
Soil ph tested at 5.8

 

[gtron]

A little direction?

I won't be posting pics so close together again, especially of such young plants. But I am thinking it is time to plant the party cups into their final organic soil mixture.

They have been in straight "Ladybug brand" organic compost, mineral sand, expanded shale, perlite, & Biozome. ph of the soil in cups as of today is 6.6. No nutrients added, only watered with bottled water with a pretty consistant ph of 5.5. Temps are a little on the high side (low to mid 80's) Lighting is Blackstar 240 set about 18" from the top of the plants.

The reason for posting the pics is that the Lowberry (LB) looks like shit to me and 1 of the Lowryder Mints (LM 1) seems to have yellowing on the very outer edges of the leaves. And with the exception of the WhiteJem (WJ) they all appear to be getting lighter green.

They soil mix the party cups will be tiered into is:
40 liters =(1.5 cf) Lady Bug Vortex Potting Soil- blended compost, Natural expanded shale, biozome
2.25 KG = ( 5 lbs) Lady Bug Pachamama Earthworm Castings-
8.8 liters = (8 qt.) Perlite
.250 mL = ( 1Cup) “N” Bat guano
.250 mL = ( 1Cup) “P” Bat guano
.250 mL = ( 1Cup) Bone Meal
.250 mL = ( 1Cup) powdered lime
.125 mL = (.5 Cup) Epsom Salt

Any guidance or direction would be appreciated.

EDIT* i forgot to mention, when I pulled the "bottom cup" off of the main cup in order to see if the roots were getting close, I was surprised to see several long roots strands had already made it to the bottom of the cup.

 

[gtron]

Impatient? Problems? or both?

I am not sure if I am just being impatient & have unrealistic expectations or have problems or what, but I was expecting a bit more growth by this time. Granted they did get frigging soaked by the rain 2 days after popping out of the soil & the growbox was tending be in high eighties the first week, but I have that figured out and the box has been running 80f- 85f since then.

Those who know please give me your thoughts. I tried to give 2 different perspectives, but picture taking is not my forte'.

 

[gtron]

Perplexed!



So, the title says it pretty well. They all seem pretty tiny. Some appear to have nute, burn some don't. Except no nutes added in the watering. The main pot soil mixture was almost 30 days cooked. the party cup was straight organic soil, no additives cept perlite. Ph has been between 5.0 -6.5.

 

[JM]

sorry... didnt pick this up till now...

Ph has been between 5.0 -6.5.

big issue ph must be 6.0-7.0 max ange... should target 6.3 - 6.5



also... the temps you describe are a bit warm for seedlings... should stay around 65-75... though i think your problem is ph and... did you add these already to your soil?

They soil mix the party cups will be tiered into is:
40 liters =(1.5 cf) Lady Bug Vortex Potting Soil- blended compost, Natural expanded shale, biozome
2.25 KG = ( 5 lbs) Lady Bug Pachamama Earthworm Castings-
8.8 liters = (8 qt.) Perlite
.250 mL = ( 1Cup) “N” Bat guano
.250 mL = ( 1Cup) “P” Bat guano
.250 mL = ( 1Cup) Bone Meal
.250 mL = ( 1Cup) powdered lime
.125 mL = (.5 Cup) Epsom Salt

or are they not in that yet? cuz that would do it tooo... seedlings are VERY sensitive to nutes and stress...

:smokebuds:

hope this helps

JM

ps in my signature... you should read Fd's guide to hefty autos
and deficines

 

[savoy]

All I know about is the thing that caused the most trouble in my first grow (which is ending now) is soil ph. I killed 10 seeds because the soil was way to wet and cabinet way too hot, I don't even know what the ph of those were .Next attempt out of 5 cups I had 1 with a ph of 5 or so and that seedling looked a lot like yours. Everyone says to put some dolomite lime in the soil mix and it maintains a balanced ph due to slow release. I've had other ph probs throughout and will def use lime next grow. Seedlings are really sensitive.

 

[gtron]

Thanks for weighing in JM & Savoy.
There is definitely nute burn on the AA as it did not have tip burn until I put the party cup in the soil mix, but the others were looking wimpy before they were tiered except the WJ, which seems to have good color but seems tiny to me (as they all do)
I just want to be clear about the ph issue so I get it right.
The party cups was about 6.6 when the seedlings were planted, don't know what it is now because I don't want mess up any roots with the huge probe I have for measuring soil ph.
The party cups were not tiered into the mixed soil until 10/20 at which point the the 3 Lowryder Mints, the Lowberry had been seedlings for 14 days and the Auto Assassin & White Jem had been seedlings for about 12 days.
The mixed soil tested today @ 6.2 in the LM3 & WJ pots and tested @ 5.8 in the others.
The bottled water I have been using has been testing @ 5.5 pretty consistently with one low of 5.0 and a few higher @ 6.5.

So ideally I want my soil ph AND my H20 ph to be in the sweet spot of 6.3-6-5 give or take a few .1's? Correct?
Given my tiered potting setup what would you suggest to get my soil back into range without too much more shock.

And our tap water runs a very steady ph of 7.2, even after it has been aged & aerated for several days.
Should mixing the bottled water and the aged tap to get a good ph work?
I would prefer not to get ph buffers if I don't have to, but if I need to I can.

 

[savoy]

what you need is a ph up and down kit. Amend the water after any additives before you pour. tap water needs to sit out for at least 24 hours for chlorine and other crap to evaporate out. I test my soil by waiting till I get good run off then lifting the pot to drain into a clean beaker (or party cup) and testing that water, I feel like testing the runoff in the tray isn't accurate because the tray is too dirty and contaminated to get an real reading. If you dont have a ph up down kit I think you can use lemon juice (down) and baking soda (up) but don't quote me on that because I haven't personally tried it. Also i know my fox farm nutes always throws the water way low and it takes a lot of up to get it back, so you'll need a buffer no matter what.

I don't think bringing up you soil will shock it (assuming its gone low), you could probably do that by balancing the water then adding 2 tsp lime pr gal (maybe epsom salt) to it and then watering with that. Thats how I got mine under control.

I'd also prepare for the worst and consider a fresh start on the real yellow ones. Again I'm not very experienced, I just read a lot and am finishing my first grow. I'd wait for one of the experts especially about the up down alternatives.

 

[JM]

pretty much right on savoy... I'd reccomend white vinegar for your ph down in place of lemon or lime jice... 1 tsp per gallon seems to swing ph about .5-1 depending on your water...

baking soda is great for up... but you need to be careful as its very aggressive for a small amount... I'd start with an 1/8th tsp per gallon... sitir real good and wait about 10 minutes... stri again... then remeausre...

So ideally I want my soil ph AND my H20 ph to be in the sweet spot of 6.3-6-5 give or take a few .1's? Correct?

correct....

I'd reccomend sourcing better water immedaitley... Rain water is great and free... just put a rain catcher off of one of our gutters into a barrel... bring that in and use a small air pump.... aerate for 24 hours... check ph... I've found here in the NE US I get 6.5-70 ph on my rain water every single time...

hope this helps...

:smokebuds:

oh one other thing... with as stunted as your ladies are your day counts will be off a little.. (expected growth vs true growth)

so a real stunted 14 day plant may be more like a 7 day seedling.... and therefore still not ready for nutes yet:
http://www.autoflower.org/content/auto-life-span-effect-ph-lockouts-other-stress-issues-245/

 

[savoy]

whew, i was nervous. my first real attempt at trying to give advice.