Couple of problems.... probably caused by me!

First of all, long time reader, first time post (apart from my introduction!)....

I've grown outdoors for many years but this is my first time doing the indoors thang. It started off as a PC grow in my home office, then moved up into the loft cos the wife was worried about smell, then moved into a bigger cabinet, then finally I bit the bullet and got myself a proper tent and decent 400w HPS.



Initially it was just 2 feminised autos (Kannabia Smile & Afrodite) but after a month I added a few bagseeds.... yes, I know, what a noob thing to do, but I did it. One bag seed showed he was a boy, so he got kicked out (poor old thing - he looked like a lovely chap!). So I'm left with 4 girls now. After a few weeks of veg for the baggies I needed to put them into 12/12 - obviously this wasn't ideal for my autos, but needs must.

During all of this time I've struggled to keep the temperature pleasant for my girls (it's been bitterly cold over here in the UK over the past couple of months) and they appear to be punishing me for it. I've added a small tube heater (seen in-between the plants) which is on a thermostat, but I think it was too late - the damage was done!!

The autos turned yellow a while ago - I researched the problem, tried all sorts to remedy it, but they never fully recovered. However, the are budding OK now, but they aren't exactly cup winners! I reckon they've got a couple of weeks left and hopefully I'll get a half decent smoke off them, but nothing like the Oz per plant other people seem to get with autos.... it's a learning process!

Problem 1 - Have my Autos gone hermie?
Where the branches meet the main stem I have some bulbus things (excuse my ignorance!)... they look like they're gonna contain seeds... or am I OK? TBH I wouldn't be that bothered - seeds are bloody expensive!



Problem 2 - Are my bagseed beauties going to recover?
As can be seen from the images below, my 2 bagseeds plants are looking pretty droopy and nothing I do seems to be lift their spirits. Do you think they're going to recover??



The move into the tent seems to be helping them a bit, but they are budding VERY slowly. They've been under 12/12 for well over a month now and progress is so slow that I feel like I might be wasting my time.

Any help or advice would be greatly appreciated!!!!

I've got 5 Auto AK47 seeds for my next project, which I have much higher hopes for now that I've learnt the hard way with these!!

Those bulbous things are Calyxes. When occurring solitarily at leaf junctions, they're the first flowers to appear and are then called preflowers. Each calyx has two stigmas sticking out of it. The stigmas collect pollen and then a seed grows inside the calyx. Sensimillia is bud made of unfertilized (seedless) calyxes. So, you're sort of correct about how they look like they'll contain seeds but that should only happen when pollinated.

We're not sure what's causing you problems but here are some things to check.

First and foremost, the soil pH. Imo every soil grower should have a soil pH tester. Just testing the liquids you water with isn't enough. Typical soil should be at pH 6.5.

Next, check the roots for binding. Carefully remove a plant from its pot and see if the roots are spiraling around the bottom corner many times. If they are, your plants have probably outgrown their pots.

Check the temps. That sort of drooping is sometimes caused by high heat & humidity; basicly steaming the plants.

Check your watering schedule. Watering cycles should go from very damp all the way to the bottom, to at least the top third of the soil being completely dry.

Post what you're feeding them. If all else is ok, they probably need food asap. Be sure the soil pH ends up very close to 6.5 after feeding.

Cool - many thanks for the speedy response Mother!

I must admit I haven't been checking the pH - again, a noob mistake! I've just ordered a pH tester from fleabay which should be here by the weekend I'd have thought. I presume I'll need a pH up/down kit too? I'll do a bit of research on here and see what I need to do.

I'll check the roots tomorrow too. They were poking out the bottom a while back, but I read up on this and thought it was quite normal and nothing to worry about? However, it's been ages since I noticed that so they'll have done a lot of growing since then.

I water every other day with tap water (next grow I'm going to harvest rain water). Since they started flowering I've been adding Biobizz Bloom to every other watering. Some of my research led me to believe the yellowing problem on the autos was a sodium(?) deficiency, so a couple of times I've added a pinch of Epsom Salts.... not sure if it helped or not though.

My next grow I plan on buying/creating a soil medium that will stop me having to add extra nutes - I presume that would be a good idea?

PH up & down are useful but you can acidify with lemon juice &/or vinegar and correct too much acid with garden lime.

The first roots to poke out aren't a problem. It's only after more roots reach the bottom and swirl around a few times that the plant may start to suffer. The symptoms of root binding commonly gets worse when you water. It's not high on the list of possible causes of your problems, but it's an easy and cost-less check.

Watering with tap water is usually a bad idea. People who have tried it awhile already and know for sure that it's clean enough can, of course, continue to do so without issues. The problem is that stuff in the water can build up in the soil and some types of these buildups won't just flush out. Because any problem this causes will be from substances that have been building up in the soil a long time, switching waters often won't fix it. You end up having a problem that you can't possibly find the solution for because even though you got rid of the bad water, the substances are still in the soil. We use filtered and distilled water to make sure we don't run into a problem that can't be fixed. Not all tap water is bad, but all pure water is definately good.

Sodium deficiency is very unlikely. I don't know that I've ever seen a pot plant with Sodium def. in my life.

You could get away with not adding any ferts manually but you very likely won't get maximum yield. Mixed into the soil, the average organic fertilizers will put out close to full strength nutrients for around a month. It's all downhill from there. They'll probably keep feeding the plant for weeks more, just with less and less. The steadily decreasing nutrient levels are compounded by the plant's steadily increasing nutrient requirements as the buds get bigger. A good soil mix can relieve you from fertilizer duty for many weeks but even the shorter flowering strains will almost certainly yield more when given some extra K in the second half of flowering.

Once again, you are a STAR!

Just got a couple of new larger pots after seeing swirling roots at the bottom of my bagseed pots - will be replanting this evening and will let you know how I get on. The autos are too far along to warrant replanting and my next autos have bigger (air) pots to live in.

Can't have been sodium deficiency then.... whatever Epsom Salts are meant to cure, that was what I diagnosed!

Will be using much better water with my next grow and also using organic ferts after a month........... I really do appreciate your help mate, many thanks!

Quick update: the repotting seems to be helping - the bagseed plants are improving and I also transplanted the autos too, who finally seem to be fattening.

Ph meter arrived today too (just a cheapy). Down near the roots it seems to be around 5 - 6.5, which I believe is ok? We live in a fairly soft water area, so I guess that helps.

Things are looking up!

If that wasn't a misprint, pH 5 - 6.5 would mean pH 5. You always make note of the furthest reading from 7, as most meters start at 7. If you get readings of 5, 5.5, 6 and 6.5 then the soil pH is 5. The other values were likely caused by the meter not getting a complete reading.

What kind of tester did you get? One with a probe you stick in the soil connected to a guage with a needle that points to the pH?

If you did get any readings of 5, double check and use something like garden lime to correct.