Nitrogen Deficiency or lack of light on lower foliage?

So I have a blueberry plant that is approx 3-4 weeks old. I water it with pH corrected water once to twice a week. 6.0 pH and I added 1/4 strength nutrient solution. Nutrients are 10-15-10. I am aware that this solution is better for flowering due to a high P value however It proved quite effective in my last grow. I am growing in soil. I have 4, 17 watt 2 ft flouros. 2, 4 ft, 54 watt, T5's. 8, 26 watt, 6500k CFL's. 1, 150 watt HPS. Temps very between 65 degrees lights off and 85 degrees with lights on. Humidity varies between 22% and 30%, it never goes above 30%.

My problem is as follows. Last week the bottom leaves, 2 of them to be specific, yellowed, wilted and fell off in the span of 3 days. Now I notice that the next set of leaves above those, 2 of them, are starting to yellow. The plant has quite large fan leaves and I can see that the lower leaves are being blocked from quite a bit of light. I do not personally believe this is an N deficiency but any input is appreciated. None of my other plants are old enough to compare this problem to. They are still getting plenty of nutes from the soil.

In an N deficiency does the whole plant turn yellow rapidly or is it a slow process that can take weeks?

Should this problem persist I plan on uping my solution to 1/2 strength.

Another thing I have noticed is droopy leaves. I believe I am watering it correctly and none of my other plants are drooping. Growth is still strong however I do believe it has slowed slightly. However I have been watching it like a hawk lately since this issue arised so it could all be in my head.

Again any input is appreciated and welcome. I included a picture from yesterday I would take another picture but its lights off right now in my grow room.

Thanks again guys.

Here is the best picture I could get. The second picture shows you the droopiness. Ignore the color in the second picture its caused by the HPS. Its a vibrant lively green color.

Wonderful news. It appears as though my blueberry is starting to perk up. I stirred up the soil, carefully avoiding the root area with my hands to try to dry it out a bit and it appears to have worked. Shes starting to look a bit perkier. I'm still concerned about the yellowing. With my next feeding I will be upping to 1/2 strength nutrient solution. I'll be sure to keep you all updated on how things progress.

this isn't from a lack of light... if anything they look over watered. when over watered they yellow starting at the bottom and they look a little concave down like upside down cups. when they need water they slowly start to just drop a bit almost completely vertical with no concavity. also, when you see them like this you can be 100% sure it's cuz they need water b/c as soon as u give it to them they completely rejuvenate in less than an hour. its really an amazing thing ha. they best way to time your watering is to notice when they are definetly starting to droop because of a shortage, then make sure you water right before they start to do that.

what is you water schedule exactly? looks like you have half gallon pots. on the contrary to above, when i had half gallon and i introduced an HPS it shocked me how much more water they needed. when they got big enough i watered them every day.

than again i've been smoking all day none of this may be new to you lol. hope i could help

snyder007 said:

Wonderful news. It appears as though my blueberry is starting to perk up. I stirred up the soil, carefully avoiding the root area with my hands to try to dry it out a bit and it appears to have worked. Shes starting to look a bit perkier. I'm still concerned about the yellowing. With my next feeding I will be upping to 1/2 strength nutrient solution. I'll be sure to keep you all updated on how things progress.

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Stick with your nutes at a 1/4. Your "droopy" looks like overwatering. Hence the perk up after working the soil. Both allowing it to dry a bit and giving those roots a breath of O2 they wanted. I think you solved your own prob. Nice! Keep on keepin on listening to what your girls tell you.

The pots are actually 3 gallon pots. Watering varies. I try to keep the temperatures constant in my grow room but where I live temperatures fluctuate like crazy. Usually its once or twice a week. Sometimes they go longer without. I wouldn't be surprised if it is over-watering.

Plant is still droopy and soil is still moist below the surface. I haven't given it any water in a week. Yellowing appears to be slowly moving up to the next set of nodes. This is really irritating.

Yellowing appears to be progressing faster now, lower fan leaves are starting to turn a light green in color. Soil doesn't feel wet, just somewhat cold. One of my 2 white widows is starting to droop as well despite the fact that it was doing quite well up to yesterday. The other white widow is strong and healthy. Only noticeable thing going on is a slight Uing of the leaves. No plants have received any water or nutrients in about a week. I am at a complete lose as to what to do. I believe yellowing is a nitrogen deficiency and not over watering. I don't want to water but I feel I need to give them nutrients. What the hell should I do? Temps are now at a steady 77 degrees at all times with lights on.

I have read that Hydrogen Peroxide can help get Oxygen to the roots. Anyone have any suggestions with this route?

Perhaps this is root rot? Is root rot in soil possible? If it is root rot how could I go about diagnosing it and/or curing it? Is it too late?

You want to get your PH up around 6.5 to get all the nutes.



I don't know if it will fix the problems you are having but just something I thought I should point out.

I know if it's root rot the roots will smell, I don't know if you will be able to tell though the soil though.

I pH my water to 6.0-6.5. My soil is at a pH of 6.3-6.5. Today I finger tested the soil for dampness and lifted the pot for weight. It was dry and the pot was incredibly light. I watered it with 1/3rd strength nutrient solution and pH'ed the water to 6.0 flat. After about a half hour the leaves do not appear to be sagging as much as before. I will be sure to monitor this situation as it progresses.

Any more tip, hints, suggestions, telling me to do it my fucking self, encouragement, personal stories are MORE then welcome here.

Well after 24 hours my blueberry is still drooping. However there has been an explosion of new growth on all my plants. I wonder if the pH of the soil got screwed up some how.

There is nothing to worry about the bottom leaves are the first to appear and normaly the first to die off.i would'nt go messing around with the ph or anything else this is normal,the light penatration lower down the plant becomes less so the leaves die off.i take all the bottom's of my plants anyhow waste of valuble nutrients for the buds that you get you want dence buds not the fluffy little buds that you get at the bottom any how.lollypop them mate give the higher foilage more nutrients to create dencer buds.Also flush the plants i flush about every 3 week and at least 3/4 time's during flowering.

Here are some photos for you guys.

Interesting developments. Inner node development is huge. The only leaves that seem to be drooping are the fan leaves. New leaves have sprouted on the lower portions of the main stem. Yellowing is still only on the lower fan leaves. Inner node growth has almost expanded out past the drooping fan leaves. None of the inner node growth is drooping. Foliage is thick thought the plant. So thick in fact its hard to see the area's in which flowering would occur. I take this explosion of new growth to be a good sign. Temps remain steady at 77 degrees or cooler. My white widows have also had an explosion of growth. I will consider keeping watering/nutrient mix at 1/3rd strength. Also all plants show zero signs of nutrient burn. Things are looking quite good all things considered.

It was explained to me today at the local hydro shop that it is entirely possible that this is a salt build up issue due to not using enough water in the watering process. I could be using enough water to feed the plant but not enough water to pass all the salt and things through the root system. After explaining to him that when I water nothing comes out of the holes in the bottom of the pot, he told me that I should water until liquid comes out of the bottom of the pot. Today I plan on completely flushing the plant and following his instructions and seeing if that helps at all.

So I flushed 2 of my 4 plants today. My stunted white widow was starting to droop so I figured why not. Its all a learning experience anyway. I ran enough water though the system to, in my opinion, clean up whatever is potentially causing the issue.

Also I tested the run off water for pH and discovered that it was at 4.0 or below. Not sure how or why this happened. My method for pH testing is using a test vial, about 1 inch in length and using pH identifying concentrate. 3-5 drops in the test vial, check for color, color determines pH level. Water going in registered at about 6.2-6.5, water coming out was at 4.0 or under. This could very well be the problem.

What do you guys/gals think?

Wonderful news. It looks like my blueberry is making a speedy improvement! The flush did the trick for now it seems.

Hi. Your doing a good job of describing your situation as far as problems and solutions for your plants. I hope you keep posting, you seem to be doing a good job. I have just a few thoughts for you.
Your RH @ 30% is pretty low (dry).
Hydrogen peroxide added to your water at 1-2 TBLS per gallon can be very beneficial for getting oxygen to the roots. I always use it after a flush.
It made sense that your Ph was low (you said a 4) after having been under watering (no water coming out the bottom holes). A buildup of salts/nutrients will definitely increase the acidity of your soil. This is one reason flushing often helps.
I found this recently and have been wanting to share it. http://www.ncw.wsu.edu/treefruit/soil/lime.htm It refers to an orchard, but is applicable here as well. I think it's very helpful to any gardener. Enjoy and pass it on. Good luck with your grow and TY for posting.

Thank you for your kind words and the tip on the H2O2, I always wondered how much. I woke up this morning to find my blueberry drooping again. I attribute this to the flood of water it was given yesterday. Yellowing has not spread at all in the past week to week. I'm going to let each pot dry out completely before watering them again.

Speaking of humidity what level is optimal? I think the wood in my closet is absorbing a large portion of the humidity.