Watering Schedule and Plant issues

I've heard a lot of things when it comes to watering plants. I am using a potting soil/coco/perlite mix, all from the local grow shop, and have been watering every 4-5 days with nutes on every other watering. Most of the water is drawn in and out in run-off, but leave the soil looking wet for about a day, and feeling moist for few under the top soil. After reading about people using coco I hear them saying they water every day, so now I am wondering if I am under watering my plants?

Some of my plants leaves are yellow and some necrosis spots and they are not a freindly green color in general as a whole. The growth has been steady and they look good, besides the yellowing. I'm trying to figure out what the deal is so I can correct it as I'm a week into flowering and don't want to have wasted time on my 30 plants. Probably should have figured out the issue earlier, but I didn't and need to now. I'll post some pics this weekend so everyone can see what I'm talking about color wise.

I've been reading into mag/cal deficiency and it seems like that may be the issue with mine, as I have not used any nutrients for mag/cal. I'm getting PH testing stuff when I go to the shop tonight so I can verify that it is all good proir to feeding and eliminate that from a possible problem and will also check the run-off. I never knew all the work that goes into a healthy garden and definitley have slacked off in regards to keeping mine healthy. I'm going to try the evian challange after eliminating the obvious problems that I have been reading about, PH especially.

Can underwatering make plants turn yellow? Would it mimic mag/cal deficiency? I.E. brown tips, yellow leaves, necrosis spots. Can you overwater a soil/coco mix? I hear a lot of people watering coco everyday, but have not seen anything on a coco/soil mix, unless that is what people have been refering to whan they say coco.

Once I get pics up I'm sure you'll understand what is bothering me about my garden. Check back Tomorrow please for pics.

First off are you growing indoors or outdoors,also if outdoors are the plants in the earth or in planters,another question is the coco,are you using coco in small amounts to loosen the soil or in large amounts.

Other than the obvious need to sell product i know of no good reason a grow shop would advise a new grower to mix coco in soil.

Unless there is very little soil in your coco/soil/perlite mix then fertilizing every other watering is way too much & most likely the cause of the problems.

Fertilizer builds up & creates nutrient lock,this is where the roots cant take in any nutrients no matter how much you feed them,the more you feed the worse lock out becomes,soil grows never need fertilization with every other watering,never ever .

Post the details i asked about & we can go further,so far im betting the plants are suffering from lock out & nutrient burn.

@Panhead
I'm growing indoors in 3 gallon bags with a 1000W HPS. I am using a 50/50 mix of soil and coco. I'm using about a 1/3 of a bag of perlite. It's all mixed together. The grow shop didn't suggest the mix though. The person I got the clones from was using that same mix, with me being new I didn't question it. The CoCo is from B'Cuzz, thier coco substrat and the Potting Mix is from Nickel City, their Just Right XTRA Mix. It contains cocotek coconut coir, Maidenwell Diatomite Silica Stone, Ancient forest humus, larger perlite, rare earth, and earthworm castings. Are you saying I should be using only coco or only soil with perlite added in?

I think your problem is a straight forward ph & over nute problem.
Always check the ph of anything going into the pot.
"Brown tips, yellow leaves & necrosis spots". MG & probably calcium lockout due to ph.
You will badly hit your yield if you dont sort out this problem. You will still get something but dont be surprised if you are disappointed, so treat the next phase as a learning experience.
Flush with water that has been ph'd to 6.5 of 3x the pot volume, Check the runoff ph. It should start at whatever the ph of the contents are but then change towards the 6.5. Perfect range for ph in soil is 6.3-6.8, I like 6.5.
No nutes for at least 3 of your regular waterings then follow a water, water, nute regime but only say 70% nute strength. Since you are in flower, you wont see much new growth, if it is pale, up the nutes to 80%, if it is dark, lower it to 60% until you find what the plant wants.
If you have superthrive, put a couple of drops per gal of water you use for flush/watering, it may help as a stress reliever.
Green mojo dude. W

@ Panhead
What would you suggest for a feeding schedule, if not every other time? I've heard a lot of people say water, water, nutrients?

@Woodydude...
I checked the PH of the water I've been using and it is at 6.8-7.0 before adding nutrients. I'm using organic nutrients that change the color of the water really dark, which in turn doesn't give me a good readout using the testing vile and liquid drops I have. What is available to check the PH of water that is dark from organic nutrients? I thought about getting a soil PH tester and adding water to a soil sample so it is mud like and testing it that way. I wasn't sure if those testers were worth a damn, rapitest makes one. I will flush the ladies when my lights are back on, but I just watered them 2 days ago, will this be a problem if I flush while they are still moist?

As far as it being nute burn, I don't think this is the case. I was seeing these problems occur before I ever started nutrients. It has been progressivly getting worse over the course of vegging. I can understand it being lockout from bad PH, since I have not been testing like a noob, lol. I have not seen any bugs or anything like that either.

One update to this whole thread as well....I was using some master A & B nutes that a friend gave to me by Humbolt Nutrients. I only had a little bit (used it for 3 weeks) and now that I have the funds to get some of my own I bought an organic nutrient kit that came with the following: Bio Thrive, CaMg+, Bio Root, Bio Weed, Bio Bud, Bio Marine, and Diamond Black. It's manufactured by GH, Inc. I liked the idea of using organic nutrients. Anyways, 2 days ago I fed them with the nutrients and last night, the color of the plants did appear to be greener. Also, 2 days ago I moved the plants out of directly under my 1000W bulb, I am not cooling it yet and it seemed to be too hot above the ones directly under the bulb. I moved them so I have about a 3 foot diameter floor space in the middle of the group. I've got a filter and fan now and will be hooking up on Monday night and moving them back in the layout I had them before and the ligt will be cooled. I will post pics, I don't have the means to at the moment, I need to borrow my brothers camera when I see him in a few days. I checked the PH of the water and nutrients I was using, it's good at 6.3-6.5 right?

The member above gave you some excellent advise,if it were me i'd follow his advise only i would be a bit more cautious on the percent of fertilizer used,maybe keep it at no higher than 50% strength till you see what happens with the ph.

You need to get a real ph tester,you can pick one up prettg cheap.

I have a real PH tester, it has a solution to drip in a water sample. I also have one that tests a soil sample. What other kind is there?

NoMFiNReason420 said:

I have a real PH tester, it has a solution to drip in a water sample. I also have one that tests a soil sample. What other kind is there?

Click to expand...

Shit man,after re reading how i posted the suggestion of you getting a better ph tester i see how my response was vague & kinda like i was being a dick,sorry bout that.

Anyhow the drops you have are the most basic ph testing device around,they are not very accurate either,the ph testers or meters most growers use are a pen type meter,they are the shape of a super fat ink pen that kids use or maybe like a small flashlight.

These meters have a probe on one end that you dip directly into the water,you swirl the probe end around in the water for about 10 seconds & a digital reading will show up on a small led screen on top of the unit.

You can spend a few grand on a laboratory grade model or as low as $20 for an economy model that works fine,these units are the indusrty standard for growers like us & are well worth investing in.

Manufacturers such as HANNA OR MILWAUKEE make the most commonly used models due to their affordability & companys such as BLUELAB make the uber dollar models for seriuos growers or lab nerds.

I'll have to pick one up today after work. I figured there were better ones available than what I had, I was confused on how I was suppose to get a reading using the organic nutrients I am using. They turn the water so dark already it doesn't show any correct color to match up with the chart. I didn't think you were being a dick, I was like okay what's out there to get? I just thought you were vague and I was still unsure what was out there. Thanks for your responses, I'll get this PH right eventually.

Hi again,
Flushing shortly after watering has the potential for causing root rot but if it is a one off, it should not be a problem. If the soil you have has any nutes in it, they are probably time release, if they are, that would account for the nute burn before you used any nutrients yourself. If not, it is difficult to explain the brown tips. In my experience, I have never seen brown tips that were not the result of over nuting. This attachment may help, it has a problem solver in it as well as a few other things.
View attachment Plant problems.txt


I have included this table so you can see the effect of ph on your plants and how it needs to be within certain ranges.
View attachment 1715034

I would recommend getting a digital ph meter, http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/DIGITAL-p...urement_Equipment_ET&var=&hash=item5f77d6f6d7 they are not too expensive, this is similar to the one I have. They are very accurate as long as calibrated.

I should add, I am not trying to be a smart arse or know-it-all here. I want you, like everyone else, to grow stonking weed. I am a believer in the power of sharing knowledge. If I pass a little on to you, maybe one day you will do the same for a new grower who needs help.
Peace all. W

Thanks Panhead. Lots of usefull information you provided. I've seen some of it around on the website, but now I have a copy of it on my PC.