All strains affected! help!

MrPresident

Active Member
I have about 8 diff strains in soil. 2 600W HPS under yeildmaster reflectors. Insulated venting and masssssssssiivvveee carbon scrubber it weighs 200lbs!! Also the room is made with Panda sheets for reflectivity(a word even?). I have trainwreck, blueberry, masterkush, himalaya gold, arjan's haze, ice cream, and just started auto ak47. I have used many diff nutes and I have gone full chem to full organic. I have experimented with soild SOG, soild SCROG, soil topped, soil natural grow. Temps are ideal and humidity perfect, with good circulation. I veg'd everything cepts the auto obviously for over a month to two months.

THE PROBLEM: No matter what strain, soil, water, nutes combinations I try I only get under and ounce per plant max. Even from a 4 foot masterkush!! and 6-7 ft trainwreck!!! Once it hits 4-5 weeks in flower... plants start to let the lowest fan leaves droop, then they dry and yellow, and before they drop, the next level begin the droop yellow and drop cycle until the end of about 8 weeks almost all leaves with a stem have been shed. All I have is bud, bud leaves and fan leaves sticking out from the buds that actually are starting to yellow then growth is stunted from about 7-8 weeks until the final swell. I also have compared bud structure to about 6 others in the hobby around here and mine look most fluffy as opposed to dense. Weird thing is.. anything I have seems to be by far the strongest, tastiest, and unique in experience and high. I figured it had to be because anyone else around here was doing hydro. but.. my theory on me being the little soil guy was false, they are all doing soil. SO im stumped. HELP PLEASE!!

I thought I over watered... well after waiting til they wilt on my next grow this problem still happens. So then I thought it was nutes, then changed that for a grow, then I thought it was root binding... so I doubled my buckets. Then I thought it was a lack of certain nutes being proportioned incorrectly. Other than testing PH I tried it all. So... then I decided use RO water instead of my tap. Same problems... So I change things up with 4 different soils, and the same problems happen to all my diff strains.

Recap:
Tried the following:
More and Less water per week
More Nutes
Less Nutes
Diff Nutes
More root capacity
Draining vs non-draining buckets
Tap water vs. RO water
4 Diff soils (5 now)
Air circulation
Humidity
 

thcheaven

Well-Known Member
How would you go about checking them? My HPS is about a yr old, I have a brand new one waiting to replace when needed.
 

thcheaven

Well-Known Member
2. makes absolute sense lol and I will be buying a meter ASAP. Thanks again RAT! and look out for that 1000 post!
 

MrPresident

Active Member
Light intensity is great. I forgot I also have a LED UFO in the center down low and my lights are 50cm away from the tops of the plants. 1 hps is 8 months old and the other about 5 months old. I have tried with and without the UFO. I tried a lot of CO2 I tried no extra CO2 and I tried a little extra CO2 ... same problem. The room is vented very well. I would rather relax, sleep and spend most of my time in the room because it has such a nice atmosphere. I have tried using no OZONE at all for 2 grows. I trie with OZONE for 2, no change. I dont have a ph meter but if I used many diff soils, and many diff nutes, and tap water starting at about 8.4 ph and going to neutral OR water this problem still occurs with the exact same pattern. I would have at least expected a change.

UPDATE:
I have switched to 8 parts PRO-MIX/ 2 parts worm castings. I am also using BOTANICARE Pure Blend Soil Organic Liquid Nutes now as opposed to organic dry nutes like RAINBOW BLOOM MIX. We will see if we see a change on my next set of auto ak47s.

Any other ideas?!!?!?!
I have a far fetch'd theory. Air circulation is verygood above, thru, and under foliage due to trimming and strategic fan placement. I find the top inch of soil is bone dry. Kinda like shake and seeds lol. And the deep you go, the wetter it gets. slightly Moist at 4 inches and wet at bottom. I am wondering if when the soil is all wet it grows roots upwards into the soon to be bone dry zone. then after a few days 40% of the roots dry to a crisp while the bottom ones are still wet. I figured it might explain the limpness and yellowing drying pattern while the more demanding parts of the plant receive the majority of the moisture left at the bottom. I also notice watering a little more give a temporary fix until they dry again and when I go to water a second time that week or when needed.. the plant ends up reacting even more dramatically with this problem. This is why I went pro-mix, being more airy or peaty combined with a wetting agent to disperse moisture seemed to fit my rooms characteristics and demands.
Anyone care to comment my theory?!
 

desertrat

Well-Known Member
I have a far fetch'd theory. Air circulation is verygood above, thru, and under foliage due to trimming and strategic fan placement. I find the top inch of soil is bone dry. Kinda like shake and seeds lol. And the deep you go, the wetter it gets. slightly Moist at 4 inches and wet at bottom. I am wondering if when the soil is all wet it grows roots upwards into the soon to be bone dry zone. then after a few days 40% of the roots dry to a crisp while the bottom ones are still wet. I figured it might explain the limpness and yellowing drying pattern while the more demanding parts of the plant receive the majority of the moisture left at the bottom. I also notice watering a little more give a temporary fix until they dry again and when I go to water a second time that week or when needed.. the plant ends up reacting even more dramatically with this problem. This is why I went pro-mix, being more airy or peaty combined with a wetting agent to disperse moisture seemed to fit my rooms characteristics and demands.
Anyone care to comment my theory?!
the best way to water is to get exactly the result you describe, drying at the top and wet at the bottom. this forces the plant to grow bigger, longer root systems that support a more robust plant. when it dries out a couple of inches you should water thoroughly until water flows out of the drainage holes. maybe your 'temporary fix' hurts the roots somehow.

also, have you amended your soil with something like perlite to improve drainage?

other than these ideas, i'm stumped too. maybe pics would help
 

MrPresident

Active Member
the best way to water is to get exactly the result you describe, drying at the top and wet at the bottom. this forces the plant to grow bigger, longer root systems that support a more robust plant. when it dries out a couple of inches you should water thoroughly until water flows out of the drainage holes. maybe your 'temporary fix' hurts the roots somehow.
Temp fix was to water more...

also, have you amended your soil with something like perlite to improve drainage?
Lol oh yeah experimented with diff levels of perlite too.

I'll have to get pics. when i get home from work tonite i will post. Thanx for staying involved!
other than these ideas, i'm stumped too. maybe pics would help
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