Can not source problem I'm having with plants. Nothing changes with my efforts

Hey RIU community and supporters!

It's been quite a while since I have posted here, but I am in need of a little RUIK (RollItUp Knowledge)
I have 2 plants my mom started from my bag seed, but didn't have the know how to keep them going. So, being I have done this numerous times before (Granted they are on the personal scale) I wanted to give her what she needed.

These two nice little plants are housed in a "Natural Compost" given to me by the unknowing mom. The PHs run off is generally around 5.0 or so, I water it with the 3 part fertilizer every 2nd water. I am currently 5 weeks into bloom and i cant afford to lose all of my fan leaves and as you can see... it has gotten serious over the last 3 weeks or so. Started with the absolute bottom old fan leaves, has now progressed half way up. They feel kind of damp/ have moisture, certain spots are dry and crisp. Top fan leaves have a few spots that are crusty and all of the leaves look to be clawing hard.

I keep the plants under:

1x 2100k, 250Watt - 11,000 Lumen CFL
2x 2700k, 43W/ea - 2,275 Lumen CFL

Sometimes I put 2x 6500k, 23w CFL's but its depending on the internal temperature that day (around 27c / 35-55% Humidity)

So.... the question is... What do I do here?

I have no idea what it is anymore... at first i thought it was Mn, but dot thing so, then Zi, and finally i thought it could have been disease but i am stumped.

Thanks for all of the help, it is truly appreciated and Rep is given accordingly

enjoy your evenings

Sorry i should be a little more clear.

The soil they were originally grown in were a Compost mixture from dinner scraps and what have you.
They are both bag seed. The PH run off is not horrible at 5... You wont water @ 6.5 and get 6.5 run off... their is a change in the soil and I have had the very same outcome even when I use ProSoil (Like my last 10+ Grows) - I know at 5 weeks in it is getting late to do anything, and last watering was a flush where it was at least 5x volume of the pot. I know my product wont be garbage... they are super frosty, but had they grown from Veg in my closet i know the outcome culd have been better.

And a brief history on the plants...

(Mom germinated them using paper towel and plate method.
Planted in Peat cups then transplanted 1 week in - into 1 Gal
Then 4 weeks after into 5Gal. They are max height and no point transplanting now.
I got them because she didnt want to fuss with them (As i have) and due to health reasons she wouldnt be able to care for them properly.

The completely yellow leaves on the lower half of the plant looks like a nitrogen definciency. 5 weeks in bloom is a little early but not unusual. The dead black spots on the otherwise green leaves is most likely a phosphorous definciency.

You mentioned you are using a 3 part fertilizer. You aren't using hydro nutes in soil are you?

I agree with gu. I also see mg def in the yellowing margins of the green leaves. Multiple deficiencies sounds like nutrient lockout. Either due to improper ph of your nutrient mix, or poor soil, or overfeeding and salt buildup.

Runoff ph 5 is horrible for soil. That's where I started having trouble. I would flush with clean water and end with mild nutrient solution at 7.0. I'd continue feeding mildly at a high ph, watching the runoff ph.

If you want to do a more precise sol ph test, google for NCSU Pour-Thru Method. Testing runoff is useful when watching the trend from the beginning of the grow. But, it's not very accurate by itself. If you read that NCSU method you'll understand why.

EDIT: In the future use 2 Tbsp/gal dolomitic lime in your soil to help hold it higher. Powdered, as fine as you can get. Not pelletized. If you get something sandy or pelletized, mash it into a powder.

Under water or over water could cause this. Pull the yellow leafs off immediately. The plant uses lots of energy keeping them on.

In some pics the soil looks dry. Do you pick your plants up every day?

So to reply to the few much appreciated replies.

I have used Dolo lime in my waterings. I soak about 1/2 cup in a gal of water until its broken down. It has not helped at all to date. The PH I know is low, but I have had these with the same run off since getting from my mom. I can't do much about it right now but I will trim those dying leaves and give it a really thurough flush tonight.

The top soil only dries about 1" down, and the rest stays somewhat moist. I use GH soil 3 part fert. I have had zero problems in the past, but likely that is all because I knew what the soil was going into the grow. Being this is what ever the hell.soil, it is and will be a bit harder to pin point. I mean, she doesn't need POWERFUL stuff, I know what I do get from Tue both of these will be enough to last her a good several months. I appreciate all help and will keep this thread alive as best I can with updates.

Thank you all for your help and $0.02

BquamB said:

I have used Dolo lime in my waterings. I soak about 1/2 cup in a gal of water until its broken down.

Click to expand...

How soil do you feed? The customary amount of dolomite to amend into soil is 1 cup per cubic foot of soil. That's 16 Tbsp in 7.4 gallons of soil. If you're in a 3gal container, you'd want to amend about 6 Tbsp of dolomite. If you're applying 8 Tbsp every watering, that's too much.

For treating soil after planting, you'd amend 1 tbsp into the top soil of a 3gal container, water it in. You might do that 2-3 times. So, again, 1/2 cup in more than one watering sounds like too much.

It takes two weeks for dolomite to have an effect. Depending on when you began "feeding" dolomite, you might still be waiting for it to kick in.

If you used the "pour-thru" method to measure soil ph, and confirmed it's acidic, you could use hydrated lime to pull it up quickly. I've done it 3-4 times. I used 1/2 tsp to 1 tsp per gallon of water. It's harsh and not healthy for the plant. But, it's a tradeoff between that and the unhealthiness of nutrient lockout.