Also looking for an organic solution...

My horrible attempts at self-diagnosis are probably causing more problems...
An excerpt from my journal:

10 AUG 09
Gave her 1/4t/gal. molasses, about 20oz/until it dripped through the bottom cause of "nitrogen def."
Droopy leaves (tips not petioles)
Uniform discoloration of leaves (nodes 1 and 2, very light green)
Cotyledons (yellow, shriveled, about to drop)

New growth:
4th set = 5 points
5th set = visibly coming up.

Top dressed w/ perlite (cactus mix), poked holes in soil to help aerate... I think I overwatered.

That's lengthy... sorry, and now for the stats.

22 Days Old (from germ.)
Room temp 85*F, Canopy temp 92*F, Soil temp 90*F surface, inside 82*F (meat thermometer)
Homemade CO2
Last feed: 10AUG 1/4t/gal molasses
Last pH: 9AUG ~7.0 (watered with ~7.4)
400w Mh about a foot away
Soil: 1 part homemade compost/2 parts Jiffy Organic Mix (sphagnum/vermiculite/lime for pH)
Also bubble water, and 'teas' just in case of chlorine but I think the city only runs water through activated charcoal.

Reading the plant moisture stress, self diagnose your plants, etc unfortunately isn't helping this newb...
I'm sure that I'm all effed up and could really use some help, first Mary grow...
and now the pictures...

if that 400 is only 1 foot away then take it up higher to get those temps down a lil . (they aint THAT bad but still its a lil high) other then that i think it is just a lil over watered .....Wait till they are DRY before watering again.....That mix you have should be very lightweight when it is dry, so it should not be that hard to tell. they are WAY to young for molasses in my opinion!

wyteboi said:

if that 400 is only 1 foot away then take it up higher to get those temps down a lil . (they aint THAT bad but still its a lil high) other then that i think it is just a lil over watered .....Wait till they are DRY before watering again.....That mix you have should be very lightweight when it is dry, so it should not be that hard to tell. they are WAY to young for molasses in my opinion!

Click to expand...

The light has been raised to 19 1/2"... Canopy temp is 89*F now and temp @ soil is 87*F.

Tried adding the molasses to correct my perceived nitrogen deficiency (uniform yellowing from the bottom up?)... If that was it, I didn't use enough or should have used something else. Any other suggestions? Heh. I do appreciate your input.

Still wondering about the crispy leaves, was it the light/heat perhaps? They were fine before all this overwatering/yellowing begun.. temps were pretty much the same and the light was lower.

the 7.4 ph going in is too high, that is likely giving some mild nute lock, which will likely get worse
a bit of ph down should help

growone said:

the 7.4 ph going in is too high, that is likely giving some mild nute lock, which will likely get worse
a bit of ph down should help

Click to expand...

pH testing like everything I can get my hands on right now... unfortunately with the fish tank dropper one until my meter shows up...

So far I've got:
Aerated tap water: ~7.4
distilled: ~6.5
h2o I soaked cedar mulch in: less than 6.0?
1/4t/gal molasses + 12oz budweiser: 6.4

As far as around the house natural pH downs I've only found vinegar so far... supposedly very strong at 1t/gal and you add that drop by drop to what you're adjusting checking pH as you go.

i think your simply over watering and over worried. do you know about the finger test? take it easy, dont stress and only water when the soil is dry, good luck

i'd be very careful of cedar mulch, that could do bad things
distilled is dead on where your water should be, 6.5
using distilled plus some nutes should improve your situation
some do use vinegar(in moderation) to adjust ph, seems to work for many
your tap water is bad, probably not worth using if you can get something better
de-ionized water is available at many chain store, about 30/40 cents a gallon, and has a ph close to distilled

KaleoXxX said:

i think your simply over watering and over worried. do you know about the finger test? take it easy, dont stress and only water when the soil is dry, good luck

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THIS is whats going on .... 7.4 WILL NOT cause nute lock! If its easy for you to get the distilled water then yes its better @ 6.5 but if not then use the 7.4 it is soil!
THE molasses DOES NOT CONTAIN nitrogen! and that is not the prob u have! NO BEER EITHER!








READ THIS VVV

Get a 20 20 20 nute solution n ull b fine

wyteboi said:

THIS is whats going on .... 7.4 WILL NOT cause nute lock! If its easy for you to get the distilled water then yes its better @ 6.5 but if not then use the 7.4 it is soil!
THE molasses DOES NOT CONTAIN nitrogen! and that is not the prob u have! NO BEER EITHER!








READ THIS VVV

Click to expand...

Wyteboi`s right on this one Ghost. The PH of 7.4 shouldn`t cause lock-out, your plants just seem short on N. If you can, water with the distilled and personally I`d grind up some coffee, brew a batch, let the run-through grinds dry (oven, 200C, 20 minutes) and top dress the medium. With watering the grinds will give off a progressive feed of N in medium quanities, nothing overwhelming. Otherwise keep your temperatures in check and RH around 60-65% and they`ll be fine. Check my signature if you questions with the grinds, I have an organic additive thread in there that may help you out. Happy growing mate,

KC

That plant is fine. Just allow the soil to dry up a little more between waterings. Once you see the leaves perk up (which they WILL as the soil dries up to their liking), and see some healthy, perky new growth, you can give them some VERY dilute organic grow nutrients (if you're taking the bottle feeding route), or top dress with something like a little bit of worm castings and alfalfa (if you want to get your hands dirty with some REAL organics).