Is This Normal

Hello folks, been havin trouble wi this plant since germination, first of all planted 3 seeds Nirvanas Northern Lights and ran oot of soil whiles re-potting the seedlings, i usually use 3 litre pots, so on the third seedling I had to use a smaller pot and typically the two larger potted seedlings turned oot male, and the one in the small pot female..
Now i was expecting the smaller pot would result in a smaller plant but for some reason this plant has stretched longer than any plant i have ever grown in a 3 litre pot meaning to fit in my grow box I have had to bend the top and support with paper clips and string.

As if this trouble wasn't enough i recently used cheap soil to grow tomatoes in home and was invaded by fungus gnats. I put fly strips in the grow box and found a few stuck to it but the population around the plant seems to be contained. (sticky fly strips VERY effective)

Im now 6 weeks into flower, and ive noticed the edges of some fan leaves are turning yellow, also that there is an odd number of narrow curly bud leaves, I was aware that yellowing can be common in the flower phase but have never had this with this strain in the past..

does anybody have any expert opinions please nutrients etc ???

please see pics ps.extra layer of perlite was part of war against gnats

Yes nute and insect issue i should think, how much perlite is in that pot? Leats hear watering and fert schedules ppms etc etc and what soil it is.

Fly traps are for identification not control methods, they catch like 10percent of the population overall and never keep things under control. Tin foil or aluminium foil as it is correctly know as (they stopped using tin ages ago) get this and plaster it everywhere, hang strips from lower and upper leaves, line the floor and wall with it, tinfoil makes flies wana go live elsewhere, it confuses and annoys them a lot. Cover the tops of the pots to prevent more larvae and bugs getting to the soil and reduce temps as bugs like the warmth and breed slowly in the cool. On top of this buying some predatory mites and a couple of types will basically give you a mini army of pest munching little mites that invade the soil and plant seeking out fresh insect meat. No need for a spray this way trust me. Peace

One other thing make a garlic, chilli powder, jalapeno mix and leave it in a jug next to the plant, should also repel them, organic methods beter in my opinio.

awrite mate cheers for info al ad your methods to the war effort (will tinfoil be safe when it comes to hotspots etc?? ) ,,

the soil am using is john innus no3 av always had good results with it in the past, it appears to have a lot of sand content and iv read the gnats are not to fond of the sand but im aware there is lots of other organic material ther to tht theyl love. Watering is aroond every 3 days with bottled highland spring water I usually wait until the leaves start to droop down some what or the pot is light to lift. The perlite in the soil itself is a couple of handfulls not to much n theres aroond a centimetre of it on top of the soil.

the environment= 4 x 20/100wt cfls Temp 72C Humidity 40% Fert is an asda soluble plant food NPK 16.3.27 over the flower period i usually increase the content as time goes by and schedule along with watering (at present trying to convert to organic methods but av only recently set up a worm bin and the gnats have also invaded that .. )

out of curiosity could the yellowing be down to the gnats???

Iv looked into buying those predatory nematodes u mentioned that eat the larva could you please tell me if i was to ad these would they effect the root system or the plant in any way ??

once again a very much appreciate yur help please reply

No but with one plant there are other methods as well, find what works for you, i run a sealed 9 plants and get bugs most of the year, my methods control them good but if all else fails theres always the chemicals, against my methods though. Tinfoil shouldnt create hotspot on low wattage bulbs, your cfls couldnt make a fly hot let alone bounce enought light energy of tin foil to burn a plant. Tinfoil works well but it needs to be in lit areas around the plant, cover the pot with it to to stop the flies getting in.

Lots of threads and a whole forum on bugs, many more methods, go to the top of the hospital forum i think or the noob forum and like a lot of threads on bugs and the same situation as yours.

Predatory mites, wasps etc etc are plant safe, thats why they sell them. Just cheap to get the packets if you got a decent grow shop near you. Use the tinfoil cause its cheap and easy, google it to learn yourself, plant might look like a christmas tree though!lol! Organic bug control works best if you use a few methods, chems only need one spray. Good luck

Ferts NPK 16:3:27 from asda, ask any grower this is not for flowering marijuana, not even veg period, no wonder you got yellowing. Buy proper fert dont skimp!lol!

cheers mate thanks a lot for the info am gonna look inti all of this tonight and get it set up, going to dobies garden world today..

one mair wee question av always been suspicious up wi this fert a only baught it as it had the highest K content a could find, as one aspect av found difficult is researching what brand of fert to use, most of the advised stuff on here is all american etc, nd a hav trouble finding advice on a decent brand thats sold in the uk, noticed yoor a fellow celt, you woulnd happen ti have any ideas would yoo ??

I use biobizz grow and bloom and maxicrop seaweed for the micronutrients. It sounds like you are very hazy in this area, lots of reading on ferts to do. Some good brands are mainly available online or growshops. I buy from aquaculture they have shops and online just google it and go to there soil nutes section, pretty much a good list of whats good here and widely used

http://www.aquaculture-hydroponics.co.uk/category.aspx?categoryID=16&subCategoryID=274

Then decide chemical or organic, you already used chemical so you got to stick with chemical nutes, they kill all the soil microbes that make organic nutes.

Basically dont buy organic nutes this grow. Vitalink earth is popular round my area so go with that.

Land of the hairy, taking the mic!lol! We aint hairy where im from. Where you from, the South no doubt!lol! pEace

Exactly what knats, little white things hoping round the soil and in the runoff water and bottom of the pot in the tray?

aye mate always had confusion on this area, shite products aroond ma area n aye av still got bit research ti do oan the auld NPK hink a sort of ignored it ti some extent because a had decent results the first few times. al hav a deek at what yoov advised, deffo converting ti organic next crop..

n naw mate the further south a go a break oot in a rash am a Scot born n bred n am very hairy lol Alba Gu Brath peace

a done the research wi the gnats took pic under the microscope very much identified as dark winged fungus gnats, its deffo gnats

Scotish, in't that grow shop abergreen up in scotland, google it.

Ferts is basic, you want two ferts, one for veg period and one for flowering, you generally use both for flowering then you want your trace elements or micronutrients on top, usually come in another bottle. About as basic as it can get, NPK for veg is in ratios 3:2:1 is 6:4:2 just weaker if you get what i mean. Veg NPK 3:2:1 flower 1:2:3 or any similar ratio could be 8:6.5:4 or 2:5:6. Do your reading but try keep it simple, just read the websites for biobizz and others to get a feel for them and what they offer, veiw their NPK and find out their other additives. Good luck