Plants and buds wont grow

Title is self explanitory . I started 12/12 flowering cycle on April 4th and all 4 of my plants just seemed to stop growing. I still have leaf tips curling down (im thinking copper deficiency). Im using 600 watt hps, soil, 3 gal pot, watering every 3-4 (usually 4 days). plants height reanges from 17 - 18.5 inches. Will the small size of the plants affect the size of the buds? I have included some pics of my plants including a size comparison with a standard size spray bottle of 409 cleaner. How do i get light down to the buds on the bottom which are way smaller like stubs? And lastly how can I lower the soil pH which is high at 7.3 - 7.4 even though my nutrient solution is 6.4 - 6.5. Please leave suggestions and feed back I need all I can get. Thanks.
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To get the light on the lower buds you could get some kind of air cooled reflector so you can get the light closer ,how far is it now? or you could add some cfl side lighting. For the ph of the soil you could flush it with 3x water to the amount of soil and ph the water to where you want it.
Your plants look healthy apart from a a little yellowing which could be a few things but i would get some epsom salts and add that to your next feed at 1 tbl spoon per 10L

The lights are about 17 - 18 inches away from tops of plants. I like the 3x flush idea. I read that hydrated lime will work which is at a pH of 7.0. i was think of doing that concidering I just did a flush less than a week ago. What do you think about my plants being so small as well as the buds? I thought epsom salts were for mag deficiencies. Thanks for your feedback. Please reply if you have more input.

You should try and get the lights as close to the tops of the plants without burning them, place your hand under the light for 10 secs and if it burns they are to close. People add dolmite lime to the soil and that balances the ph. I said about epsom salts as my leaves were yellowing and i always thought they were N def but was wrong and after some help realised that they were magnesium def, get it sorted sooner rather than later or they'll start to lose alot of their leaves quickly. How big are those pots you are using? They could be root bound which would mean you need to transfer them into bigger pots or cut the bottom off and place them into another pot.

With an air cooled hood i can get my 600w about 8" away

im in 3 gal pot and i like your idea about cutting the bottoms out and placing them into bigger one. i had thought about doing that, but wasnt sure if it would work or not. I was thinking of cutting the 3 gal pot down each side with metal snips and pulling away from soil gently and placing the soil root ball into new pot and soil. Do you think doing that would stress the plants out?

I use cal mag everytime i water as im using purified water with nothing in it. So im worried about using epsom salts as i might over do it with magnesium. Also woudnt epsom salt add alot of salt to the soil content as well?

The reason i was keeping at a min of 18 inches away is for 2 reasons. The first is because they growers bible says a range of 18 - 24 inches is recommended. and also edges of some of the leaves are slightly curling down and een folded under. I thought the leaf edge fold and curl was do to heat from closness of light. i could be and probably are wrong about that. I will give 8 - 10 inches a shot though. t

Thanks again for your feedback, i really appreciate it. Please reply with any feedback and info you may have about anything regarding these plants and how to get the most out of them. Would it be ok to send a message to you if i have run into any problems in the future? you seem knowledgeable.

ps. I heard that dolomite lime has to be added in the beginning before transplant as it needs to be mixed into the soil because its not water soluble. Imight just give the hydrated lime a try. I will keep you posted on this thread about that.

You could try that with pot, you just need to be really careful not to harm the root ball i'd cut the bottom of the pot of and place it in the another pot as its already if flower and stressing it may turn it hermi or really stunt its growth even more.
What strain are you growing? Looks like some sort of indica which would why they are short plants

Okay i think ill cut the bottom out and do it that way. The strain is Grandaddy Purple. I alway new indica was short and bushy. but i didnt think it would be as small as they are. If i started the flowering cycle on april 4th, will transplanting the pots into 5 gallon extend my flowering cycle or will i still have to harvest in a few weeks?

let it go a couple extra weeks if you want, transplanting now might make some difference but it's best to do it when you are starting flowering. maybe use 5 gallon buckets for a pot (drill drainage holes) if you want more yield next time. also veg longer like a month or two, and if you prune that lower growth early on, maybe tie some stakes to branches you can open it up to the light but they will take up more canopy space that way

looks fine to me, theyre only been flowering a month, you have another month til they are ready. theyre nice and stout keep them close together and get the light nice and tight as you can without burning your plants.

Just keep doing what youre doing for another month and see how it looks then

^agreed!^ they look pretty good fir being a month in
longer veg=higher yield
ride it out, see how you do, learn from your mistakes, grow on!

i was under the impression that when your growing in 3 gal pots that you should only do and 8 - 9 week total cycle. Also how does one know when its time to harvest. Timing is crucial, right?

dude these plants look pefectly fine to me, the guy with the big fish pic gave you all correct info, be really careful when you transplant there delicate right now. just get that light as close as you can, open the canopy a lil more get some good light penetration in there try some string from branch to pot an tie it down. in another month they should be atleast double the size, good luck bud.

Im thinking the tips of the leaves are curling on my plants because of a copper deficiency. The first pis below with red circles is from 'Marijuana Growers Handbook'. I been told many times that it could be a result of over fert and/or over-wtering, but im in 3 gal pots and i only water once every 3-4 days (usually 4 days). Im using 'General Organics Bio Thrive, CalMag, Bio Bud' together every other watering. and I did a flush last week. The leaf tips curling has been with the plants since I bought them as clones.
<----- Plants when they were a few days into veg. Leaf tips are Curled down. Notice purple stems. Major phosphorus deficiency. I corrected that soon after.
<------ Copper Deficincy: Picture from Marijuana Growers Handbook

Thanks bro.

watering every 3-4 (usually 4 days)




the culprit. those plants are stunted. the buds look okay for 4 weeks, but those plants have been vertically stunted. water when dry, not on a certain day.

Its weird, Ive let the plants go for as long as 5 days and they feel light, I would stick my finger down into the soil and also take a sample from a few inches down. The soil would always seem dark and a little moist. Some soil would still stick to finger. Prob sounds stupid, but in my opinion knowing when to water is one of the the hardest things to grasp.
- Thanks for the feedback.

knowing when to water or feed...... less is more when it comes to growing, a plant with survive a drought or lack of nutrients much easier than it will survive over watering or over feeding

Bigger containers, bigger rootballs, bigger plants and buds... Closer the light source(s) with controlled temps and good airflow, the better quality the medicine... CO2 added to environment, chunkier, better developed buds... Oxygenated, distilled water for the root development... Pull leaves as they turn yellow... Use pruning techniques to bush out the plants and maximize growth... U r almost too late to see any big results from a transplant now, and this late into flowering, it could shock and stunt them even further, or worse turn them into hermies... Get bigger pots next time, keep soil at a nice moisture level at all times, instead of letting it get too dry in between waterings, without over-watering, of course...and use a nice soil mix with dol lime and ep salts, and add in some nice organic goodies like worm castings, blood and bone meal(at proper times), and fish emulsion( the non-stinky kind), and guanos, plenty of perlite and vermiculite, and mabye some rock phosphate when u start flowering too... U should see better, bigger results...

Thanks ganjagd4200.

I've read through both threads on your "Copper def" and this is just funny to me, all frantic over nothing. Putting all your time into a def when you should just be reading the basics and READING forums. Almost all your problems would be solved with basic info (Like plants stop growing after the big stretch while in flower to focus on bud growth, go figure...) and keeping things simple... Little effort and less expecting the answer to find you is what I recommend along side a heavy dose of calm down and common sense...