nutrient or bug issue?

[Biic]

I just feed them. used fox farm trio minus the tiger bloom at at very low dose. its a northern light auto from seedsman using a qb288 v2 rspec quantum board at 21 inches. the ladies are in 3 gallon pots, based on the pictures i have, 4 questions come to mind:

1. the leaf issue is only on the 3 leaf stems that pop out first. they are low and pretty much touching soil. is this normal or could it be from touching the soil after feeding?

2. the plants are drooping after feeding, did i over water? i gave a gallon of water ph'd to 6.4.

3. plant #1 seems short, is this a light issue? light to bright? the #2 plant seems like its stretching like the lights to low?

4. the grow is in a 2x4 box painted with glossy white paint. should i use mylar rolls instead?

thanks for your time i appreciate it. this is my first grow and i'm new to this so all information provided will help greatly.

Plant #1 is the bigger/bushier short plant.
Plant #2 has less leafs, has the new top stretching from top and appears lighter green

 

[Arthur]

I usually remove the bottom sets. Touching soil invites issues, and makes watering a pia.

How often are you watering? And how much per plant? 1 gallon for each or for all total?

I'm running 1 gallon bags with soil now, and water (feed) every 36 hrs. Your running 3x the soil, depending on your climate, you should be well over that if your watering to runoff. Droop is a sign of overwatering, so you may be correct here.

The white will be fine.

The short one... being as autos are grown from seed, and not clones, there will be some variation. Your dealing with sisters, sometimes you get the pretty one... sometimes you don't. Could also be an issue with environment. I've had a plant in the corner look funky, only to find that corner was somehow not getting as much airflow. At this point I wouldn't be concerned.

 

[Biic]

I usually remove the bottom sets. Touching soil invites issues, and makes watering a pia.

How often are you watering? And how much per plant? 1 gallon for each or for all total?

I'm running 1 gallon bags with soil now, and water (feed) every 36 hrs. Your running 3x the soil, depending on your climate, you should be well over that if your watering to runoff. Droop is a sign of overwatering, so you may be correct here.

do i cut off botom leafs right at the y? and im feeding every 48 hrs. 3/4 a gallon each plant

 

[Arthur]

I'd take those bottom leaves, and 3/4 gallon per every 48 is too much.

I spread 3 gallons over 9 plants in 1 gallon bags.

Add a day to your schedule, my bags are almost completely dry on the outside before watering. You'll get sag if you push too far. Will look like overwatering, but leaves will be dry and feel thin.

 

[Biic]

I usually remove the bottom sets. Touching soil invites issues, and makes watering a pia.

How often are you watering? And how much per plant? 1 gallon for each or for all total?

I'm running 1 gallon bags with soil now, and water (feed) every 36 hrs. Your running 3x the soil, depending on your climate, you should be well over that if your watering to runoff. Droop is a sign of overwatering, so you may be correct here.

The white will be fine.

The short one... being as autos are grown from seed, and not clones, there will be some variation. Your dealing with sisters, sometimes you get the pretty one... sometimes you don't. Could also be an issue with environment. I've had a plant in the corner look funky, only to find that corner was somehow not getting as much airflow. At this point I wouldn't be concerned.

should i dump runoff? or let it soak back up

 

[Arthur]

And yes, as close to the main as you can. Little leaf stems can lead to rot once your in flower. Better to keep the practice always.

 

[Biic]

I'd take those bottom leaves, and 3/4 gallon per every 48 is too much.

I spread 3 gallons over 9 plants in 1 gallon bags.

Add a day to your schedule, my bags are almost completely dry on the outside before watering. You'll get sag if you push too far. Will look like overwatering, but leaves will be dry and feel thin.

& would 1/2 gallon be good every 4 days? per plant or still too much?

 

[Arthur]

Water, let set about 15 minutes and dump. The runoff is waste product and can cause issues if left for the plant to take up.

 

[Arthur]

I try and always water till I get a little runoff, it's not necessarily, you can water less volume more often, but seeing runoff gives me a marker every time I water. Smaller amounts your really watching the plant to tell you when to water.

 

[Arthur]

This is probably one of the biggest hurtles to overcome as a new grower. I did it on this run, moving back to soil from coco, and dropping from 3 gallon to 1 gallon for a seed run. Coco I fed every 12 hrs... hard to get back to looking at plants and not working on plants... and I've been at this over a decade now. Your girls look a little sad, but you won't have an issue cheering them up!