Leaves dying in flowering <pic>

I held off for a while from saying something but kinda feel like giving my 2 cents now. It is okay for plants to yellow but if they are yellowing early the plant cant give its fulest potential. What I mean is it is like a human. You take a person who is hungry compared to someone who is full. The hungry guy will be able to do the work but not like the ful guy. The full guy will get more work done and quicker cause he has more energy. Another words you can let your plants yellow if you want and it is ok. But if you give extra nitro substitute like dark energy(what I use) during 3 and 4 week the plant will show its love. If it like a 12 week sativa do it 3,4,5,6 and it will put you in heaven. Long story short I grow whiteberry. I like to test different things out and see what happens for myself. I fed one plant 1/2 strength bloom nutes no nitro boost had 4 1/2 oz. Another one 1/2 bloom nutes with nitro boost 5 1/4 oz. Yet another 3/4 bloom nutes full strength nitro boost week 3,4 and 1/2 strength week five. Then started flush. Guess what 7 and 1/8 oz. Extra may not be necessary but it helps.

Well, it looks like this pH testing kit I bought is pretty much useless. I add a few drops of pH up and it gives me a more acidic reading. Wtf? So now I don't really know what my pH is or was because I feel like I can't trust this kit - it gives me a different reading everytime. I ordered a Hanna digital pH pen which will hopefully arrive in a week or so and then I can finally straighten this situation out once and for all.

The buds really do look nice and smell strong...but I'm losing so many leaves I'm afraid to keep picking them off because this plant will be bare. I've discontinued the molasses and fed w/ 1/2 strength bloom nutes today.

I think I'll still end up with a decent yield and some good smoke, so I'm pleased with how the plant is looking considering this is my first grow. Next time I'll be ALL OVER the pH situation from the start and I'll also remember to feed extra N during weeks 3 and 4 of flower. This thread has been all about dying leaves and it's depressing me...so here are some bud pics. Today is day 33 of 12/12.

First grow and not checking ph or anything whole way through. I gotta say not bad. It looks like you will still get a descent bit. What strain is that do you know? Keep your head up man it can only get better and better each time. Good job.

jayrock32580 said:

First grow and not checking ph or anything whole way through. I gotta say not bad. It looks like you will still get a descent bit. What strain is that do you know? Keep your head up man it can only get better and better each time. Good job.

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Thanks jayrock. I have no idea what strain it is, looks to be sativa dominant - just a seed I picked out of a bag of schwag and threw in a cup of water and then put under a CFL as an experiment. Eventually I got my 400w HPS and put it under that. Overall, I ended up vegging this plant for like 4 months. I also supercropped this plant.

I actually did a lot of research before this grow - I just didn't think pH would end up being this important. There is SO much I will do differently next time - I expect my next grow to be magnificent, thanks in no small part to you guys. If I could smoke ya' once this plant is havested, I would.

So I got my Hanna pH pen in the mail today. The instructions say to soak the tip of the electrode in pH 7.01 buffer solution before using for the first time. I don't have any pH buffer solution, so I figured distilled water would work - but it's giving me a reading of like 7.8 with straight distilled water. Is that right? I thought distilled water was about 7 normally?

user192021 said:

So I got my Hanna pH pen in the mail today. The instructions say to soak the tip of the electrode in pH 7.01 buffer solution before using for the first time. I don't have any pH buffer solution, so I figured distilled water would work - but it's giving me a reading of like 7.8 with straight distilled water. Is that right? I thought distilled water was about 7 normally?

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No you cannot...sorry, that doesn't work. Distilled water does not have a PH of 7.0 and does not contain any buffer to maintain that PH.

Atmospheric Co2 will throw off the ph of the distilled water and calibrating to that would mean the whole thing is pointless.

The meter didn't come with any kind of PH buffer solution?

laserbrn said:

No you cannot...sorry, that doesn't work. Distilled water does not have a PH of 7.0 and does not contain any buffer to maintain that PH.

Atmospheric Co2 will throw off the ph of the distilled water and calibrating to that would mean the whole thing is pointless.

The meter didn't come with any kind of PH buffer solution?

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No. Is that something I have to buy?

I just checked the pH of the distilled water again using the pen, just out of curiosity....and it's giving me a reading of 6.25.

This thing is more useless than the color coded pH testing kit I already had.

Yellowing of leaves is very common during flowering specialy if your useing flowering nutes and bloom boosters with little or no nitrogen. During flowering marijuana doesnt need nitrogen anymore so the leaves do turn yellow, nothing to worry about. If leaves are still yellow with potato chip crispy edges, thats nute burn. You should hold back on nutes and then stop 2 weeks before harvest to ensure a good smoke and not some shit that taste like poop and crackles when you take a hit.

GooDGR3EN13 said:

Yellowing of leaves is very common during flowering specialy if your useing flowering nutes and bloom boosters with little or no nitrogen. During flowering marijuana doesnt need nitrogen anymore so the leaves do turn yellow, nothing to worry about. If leaves are still yellow with potato chip crispy edges, thats nute burn. You should hold back on nutes and then stop 2 weeks before harvest to ensure a good smoke and not some shit that taste like poop and crackles when you take a hit.

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You've got to be pretty far along by now so there really isn't much you can do about the yellowing anymore, the PH, well you gotta get a buffer solution, and you need to read the directions on how to operate it properly. Generally you have to soak the electrode and get it ready for use. Should've come with all of this stuff, but then, I've never used a pen. Maybe it works a bit different.

Everywhere I've looked these meters are sold with buffer solution...

http://www.pulseinstruments.net/index.asp?PageAction=VIEWPROD&ProdID=2930

Is it this kind of meter?

It's this.

http://www.professionalequipment.com/hanna-checker-1-digital-ph-tester-hi-98103/hanna-ph-meters/

I'm going to call the hydro store tomorrow and see if they have pH buffer solution. Even if there's not a lot I can do about the leaves at this point, I would still like to get an accurate reading of my pH...just to see how far off I really was. Today is day 38 of 12/12...buds are lookin' nice, hopefully they'll fatten up in these last couple of weeks.

user192021 said:

It's this.

http://www.professionalequipment.com/hanna-checker-1-digital-ph-tester-hi-98103/hanna-ph-meters/

I'm going to call the hydro store tomorrow and see if they have pH buffer solution. Even if there's not a lot I can do about the leaves at this point, I would still like to get an accurate reading of my pH...just to see how far off I really was. Today is day 38 of 12/12...buds are lookin' nice, hopefully they'll fatten up in these last couple of weeks.

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They will fatten up Man, this is BULLSHIT! That unit is supposed to come with the buffer solution. If you read the reviews on the link you sent me they make references to THE ph 4 and PH 7 solutions. They are supposed to be with the unit. Does the box have an 800# for Hanna? They are the ones that really screwed up here, I'm sure the distributor you bought it from won't be able to do much. The hydro store will probably have it though.

You still want you ph right even now. At this point even if you figured out what was wrong with your plants there wouldn't be anything to do except get your ph right. Out of curiousity, what does it say when you check it with that meter? Not that it matters.

Wow, you're right, it looks like it was supposed to come with the pH buffer solution. Oh well - from what I can gather, the solution will only cost me a couple of bucks - hopefully the hydro store has it and I don't have to order it and wait another week.

I picked a couple of dead leaves off the plant that looked like they had some trichomes on them....smoked 'em up, and caught a decent buzz. It's been like 3 months since I've smoked...cut me some slack.

The pH of the water I've been using since the flush, which is a gallon of distilled water w/ a full dose of bloom nutes....using the uncalibrated pH pen was 5 on the dot.

user192021 said:

Wow, you're right, it looks like it was supposed to come with the pH buffer solution. Oh well - from what I can gather, the solution will only cost me a couple of bucks - hopefully the hydro store has it and I don't have to order it and wait another week.

I picked a couple of dead leaves off the plant that looked like they had some trichomes on them....smoked 'em up, and caught a decent buzz. It's been like 3 months since I've smoked...cut me some slack.

The pH of the water I've been using since the flush, which is a gallon of distilled water w/ a full dose of bloom nutes....using the uncalibrated pH pen was 5 on the dot.

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Yeah, we need to know what that soil's ph is. I'm afraid it's going to be something like 4.5 - 5.0 and that's just too low for soil.

If you have access to a hydro store you shouldn't even be on this forum right now, should be picking up some buffer solution to calibrate your ph meter for your ladies...

Ladies first

Well they're not open at 9pm...so here I am. I'll check with them tomorrow about that solution though.

The progession of the yellowing/browning of leaves seems to have mostly subsided since I quit using molasses and added a few drops of pH up to my water....even though I don't actually know the true pH of my water or soil. Once I get the buffer solution I'll test the runoff from watering and report back.

user192021 said:

Well they're not open at 9pm...so here I am. I'll check with them tomorrow about that solution though.

The progession of the yellowing/browning of leaves seems to have mostly subsided since I quit using molasses and added a few drops of pH up to my water....even though I don't actually know the true pH of my water or soil. Once I get the buffer solution I'll test the runoff from watering and report back.

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I'm sorry, I gotcha...it's much earlier here.

I'm glad to hear the plants seemed to have responded well and slowed the yellowing.

Now, pictures brotha, pictures!

Certain kinds of powdery mildew can cause this yellowing, then browning, and dropping of leaves. None of the pics I saw were close enough to tell for me. I once baffled for months over almost exact same looking leaves. Realized I had a small powder infection. Just an idea.

Don't see any powdery mildew and I can't get better pics because I'm using my cell phone...thanks for the suggestion though.

I'm not positive...but if I had to guess...I'd say my pH was the culprit here. I'll know to stay on top of that situation from the beginning next time.

user192021 said:

Don't see any powdery mildew and I can't get better pics because I'm using my cell phone...thanks for the suggestion though.

I'm not positive...but if I had to guess...I'd say my pH was the culprit here. I'll know to stay on top of that situation from the beginning next time.

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Yeah, sounds that way. They look great and you will be rewarded soon. The great news you can punish these plants later for their turning yellow early by burning them little by little

definately get the solution and calibrate. Always recalibrate every 3 or 4 weeks. If your yellowing is slowing now that you stopped the mollases you were definately getting a lockout. Still think it is based because of your ph. A lot of people say I stay to high at 6.8 but I never have any bad luck and that is what I run even in flower.My runoff never goes below 6.7 I think if you stay in that range on your next grow it will help alot. If your ph drops to low in soil you can always up it and neutralize by usining a fine dolomite lime and foliar feed so the plants still get nutes.

Un-fuckingbelievable. So I bought the pH 7 calibration solution...then I looked at the instructions for my pH pen again...and it says I ALSO need pH 4 calibration solution in order to do a full calibration. Is this necessary? Can I get away with just calibrating to the pH 7 and not the pH 4?