Possible Lockout Issue...

Okay, so I leave home for two days. Watered before I left, possibly 1/2 day earlier than normal. They are in FFOF soil with 25% perlite, didn't add any nutes yet and they are approximately 5 weeks from sprout and are all autos: easy rider, afghan kush ryders, 2 other lowlifes earlier in their low life. I have switched to RO water mixed with tap since it had a high ppm, was extremely hard (PH was 6.7 so that was fine). The first 3 weeks I watered with ph adjusted tap water, then made the switch 1.5 weeks ago to RO, watering with pure RO, then mixing tap into the RO the next time. Well, they seemed to like the RO, and most hadnt progressed with the yellow tips they were having, which i was assured not to worry about unless they got worse.

The problem is, when I returned home after a 2 day absense, I found that the leaves dried out in a smaller plant all over and the bottom leaves of alot of them are turning yellow and then crisping. I cant help but wonder if this is N deficiency and possibly even some other def. as well due to lockout maybe. What do some of you guys think? Simply nitrogen, and if so could lockout be the culprit? Any advice?

Also, could a lower humidity cause this. I forgot to mention I switched to a bigger fan for circulation, and humidity dropped as low as 20-25%. Doesn't seem to be improving yet but humidity is up around 40% now.

I have never grown an auto so I suggest that you get some other opinions as well...It does look like a deficiency of some sort. Although i don't really know what it could be with FFOF 4:1 with perlite. Could be a ph lockout thing, but may just need a bit of food. Can you test your soil PH? If PH is in a good range (I believe 6.5-6.8 is what FF recommends). Then I would think it is time to add some flowering nutes at very low doses too start.

But again, I really am not SURE having not had either auto's or any real nutrient issues. So, please get other's thoughts as well....kewl!

MrGhettoGrower said:

5 weeks from spout is what 5 weeks in veg this is a long time
are you using H.I.D. lighting this is usually a MH light for veg
or are you using cfl's I use 100% ffof I'll usually feed at 2 weeks
I've tried the 50% perlite thing didn't like it for now on 100% ffof
for me I can't see going 5 weeks and not feeding nutes I use the
Grow Big but for flowering I quit using tiger bloom and use advance
nutes sensi bloom much better~

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I am using a 1000W HPS right now. Before flower I was using a 1000W MH. I have big bloom and tiger bloom for nutes. I also have Grow Big, but accidently ordered the hydroponic version. Can I still use it in organic soil or will it mess something up? I fed big bloom to two of the plants and didn't really notice much effect yet at 25% strength. Im about to get a little bit crazy with the plants, because one looks like its just not gonna make it and a couple more look like they are stunted in growth. Until about a week ago they were doing fine, besides some yellow tips. Maybe its just time to really feed em.???? Gonna have to wait though because I just watered them yesterday with plain water. Hope I can save this crop!

bkbbudz said:

I have never grown an auto so I suggest that you get some other opinions as well...It does look like a deficiency of some sort. Although i don't really know what it could be with FFOF 4:1 with perlite. Could be a ph lockout thing, but may just need a bit of food. Can you test your soil PH? If PH is in a good range (I believe 6.5-6.8 is what FF recommends). Then I would think it is time to add some flowering nutes at very low doses too start.

But again, I really am not SURE having not had either auto's or any real nutrient issues. So, please get other's thoughts as well....kewl!

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I suppose I could go buy a soil tester for ph. I just heard from alot of other posts that they are unreliable at times, so I allways just made sure the the water is ph adjusted to the acceptable range. I feel the same way about the issue with Foxfarm and deficiency. I have read not to feed autos until around this time, sometimes later when using FFOF soil. It stays hot for 6 weeks Ive heard. So I guess Im still torn between lockout from 3 weeks of high ppm water or just time to feed them a light dose of nutrients, namely Nitrogen. I have to wait another 2 days at least before I can water/feed them so hopefully nothing will happen to them too extreme until then. If its lockout Im thinking its gotta be due to high salt buildup from the heavy tap water I was using before I switched to RO. The PH has always been adjusted in the water, and the runoff tested around 6.5. Some of the plants are blowing up with buds and starting to get dense, while others appear stunted, one of them just shriveling up before my eyes. The way theyre acting you'd think I fed them poison or something. Maybe tonight Ill post more pics for the experts. It would be tragic to lose all of them to something that can be fixed when some of them are close to 4 weeks from harvest.

Okay, so its been about 4 days since my original post. I have watered the poor girls with good clean ph'ed water. Then about 3 days later, which was yesterday, we put a 1/4 strength blend of nutrients, including some Grow Big(the plants seem N deficient). The plants have seemingly "perked up". The plant in the first pic is one of the healthier plants and has been filling out quickly, along with about 5 others, forming crystals and maturing fast. There are also about 5 in between plants, that appear to be going about things slower, but still progressing okay.
Now, the last 2 pics are showing what the worst plants are doing, about 4 or 5 of them. They have shrunken a bit, some alot, and have alot of death of lower leaves. We are on about week 3 of flower for the most mature plants and only a few days behind on the others (besides 2 that we planted later in the cycle). After a healthy dose of nutrients, a couple of the poor performers have seemed to open back up. The pictures are before the nutrient dose. The last plant in the pictures has since started to come back after being given a healthy dose of N along with some other nutrients. Im starting to wondering if some have also been burnt due to very high temps and more windy conditions, because while I was gone for 2 days it got dry in the room and I put a bigger osc. fan in the tent. I feel that this may have stressed them, but I also think the yellowing is due to nitrogen deficiency maybe? Either way I appreciate any input on what this looks like to anyone who has seen it before. Is there any way that I can turn the very bad plants around before harvest and get decent smoke from them? Keep in mind they are autoflowers and will probably be starting to finish in about 3-4 weeks possibly. I was also wondering, if they got stunted in growth, will they still finish at the same time, given that they have different genetics than photo strains, or will they take longer to finish thus giving me time to increase growth? All input is appreciated very much. If someone responds I will be most grateful. Ask me anything, criticize me. I wont cry I swear!View attachment 2010962View attachment 2010959View attachment 2010955

Sorry I had 1/4 of my post erased, here are the pics, hopefully they are up now.

try adding some lime

dannyboy602 said:

try adding some lime

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How would you suggest going about doing this most effectively? Also, why do you think that I need lime? I will definitely try it, and thanks for replying.

Gave 1/2 of them a proper flushing, and within about 2 hours some had started uncurling their leaves and showing strength again. Will give the rest of them the very same treatment tommorrow when I wake up (need to run for more water). Transplanted one that was terrible into fresh potting soil. I know it is not advisable to transplant during flowering but this one has turned into a kind of experiment. We put it in a 5 gallon eco bag after cutting it out of its pot to minimize stress. Tried to shake off as much dirt as possible. Root system looked fairly decent. I am thinking that all the salt from the water I was using the first 3 weeks (a mistake) had started to build up mainly in the last inch or two of soil. When the roots reached those bottom inches, I believe that it started to lockout nutrients/burn my plants. I think that the flushing will help, with a proper feeding next watering when the soil dries enough. I am still searching for some dolomite lime but cant seem to find any locally, may order some. Will post a few more pics tommorrow when the sun is up.

Progress looks to be good. Here they are about a day after flushing. The leaves seemed to have stopped or at least slow down immensly on the yellowing. I am left with alot of dead/near dead growth and am kind of waiting until they're brittle enough to just pull off on their own. What does anyone think? Should I cut the some of the worst leaves off, or wait?
Also wasn't sure whether to feed them nutes next feeding or wait one more and just give them water. Havn't made up my mind on that. View attachment 2018026View attachment 2018027View attachment 2018028

The girls are looking healthier every day now! However, I feel like this whole issue has stunted some of them, putting them a week behind starting around week 2 of flower to week 3 until the issue was corrected. What I am now wondering, is since they are autoflowers, if they will just take a week longer to finish, or if they will finish in the same amount of time with less yield/possibly less potent. I am hoping they will just take a week longer with time to fill out more. Anyone know which one it will be?

A bit of both....

^Slanty said:

A bit of both....

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So has this happened to you or someone you know with autos? You mean they will take a little longer to finish and yield a little less? Less potent as well? Thanks for the reply.