# Problem with leaves



## unlogistika (Jun 14, 2014)

Hello.. It's my first time growing so all the info in here is a bit overwhelming. I did look up my problem by myself but the pics of the sick leaves i found weren't quite similar to mine, so i figured might as well ask here and be sure. 

My plant was growing fine until i added 2 more lights to it (24W), the second day the bottom leaves looked sick. Here's a couple of pictures showing the leaves and the setup. What i gathered is that it might be nitrogen deficiency but people are saying this happens in later stages. Anyway, any help is appreciated. 

Thank you.

Oh and only one of the plant is doing this. 

View attachment IMG_2794.jpg


View attachment IMG_2795.jpg


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## trillions of atoms (Jun 14, 2014)

Ph issue.

Get a digital ph meter and do more research.


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## Hushpuppy (Jun 14, 2014)

Welcome to The Passion  We need to know a couple things more to make a proper diagnosis as there can be many things that can cause similar issues. 
First, what kind of soil do you have them in? How often do you water/feed them? What nutrients do you feed with, if any?
What is your temperatures like in the space, and do you have any ventilation for the grow space?


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## unlogistika (Jun 15, 2014)

Thank you for the welcome.  

I have a bag of soil that says rich in npk, special for sowing and re-potting. I water them once every 4 days on average and spray the leaves once or twice a day. I don't water it too much, meaning i don't let the water run to the bottom, i only did that once and i haven't fed them any nutrients yet as they are still small and figured they'll get what they need from the soil. The temp ranges from 26 to 27 Celcius (about 78.8 Fahrenheit). For the ventilation i have a fan on the bottom (you can see it in the 2nd  picture) and on top i cut out a 30x67 cm hole (11.8x26 inch).

Hopefully i can solve this before it gets damaged beyond repair, as one of the upper leaves is starting to look the same.


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## Rosebud (Jun 15, 2014)

Hi unlogistika! Welcome to MP. 

I am concerned about what soil you are in, can you give us the name and the npk ratio?

I don't do ph as i am organic, but if these folks say it is off, it usually is. Do you have a ph tester?

I might suggest you move her out of  that soil.... but need more information.  Why are  you misting the leaves, quit that...lol  Green mojo for you grow and glad you are here.


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## unlogistika (Jun 15, 2014)

Thank you Rosebud. 

The soil is called terra planta, it's in a yellow bag. I tried googling it but couldn't find anything on it, the bag itself has no information on it beside this "special pour rempotage semis, riche en npk" which translates to "rich in npk, special for sowing and re-potting"

Unfortunately i don't have a Ph tester. Not sure if i can find one where i live. 

haha i don't know, i figured it might be too hot in there for her so i'm refreshing it with a spray bottle lol. 

I'm afraid i might stress it out further and kill it if i move it from that soil, i just topped it off a couple of days ago. I was thinking of cutting off the yellow leaves for the plant to stop it wasting energy on them, but that too would probably kill it.


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## Rosebud (Jun 15, 2014)

The thing is if it is prenuted soil that doesn't usually do well with marijuana. The more you water the more it is fed. We like to control the food, not the potting soil. Well, i use Happy Frog or Fox farm soils, and they are made especially for marijuana. and they do have some organic nutrients in it. Do you have any other options for soil?

Don't worry, we won't let your plants die...


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## unlogistika (Jun 16, 2014)

Unfortunately we don't have those kind of soils here. I'm going to try and find a ph tester and check it's level. I'll let you know what happens. 

Thank you for your help, i appreciate it.


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## unlogistika (Jun 16, 2014)

I tested the water and it showed a 5.5 on the ph meter.. I then watered the plant and tested the soil and it showed 5.9. If it should be between 6 and 7 could this 0.1 make my plant sick?


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## The Hemp Goddess (Jun 16, 2014)

Unfortunately, I believe that if you are going to have to find some better soil (or make your own) or I am afraid that your plants are not going to make it.  Prenuted soils are simply bad for mj and I truly believe that your soil is killing them.  Tell us more about your situation and maybe we can help you find some alternatives.  If you have a source for good natural rich soil you may be able to amend that.    

Second, the probes that you put into the soil are really poor pH meters and are horribly inaccurate.  And we generally do not measure the pH of the soil, but of the run-off.  Do you have access to dolomite lime?  This helps with thepH.  As a side note, you really need to be watering your plants to runoff.  When you water just the top part of the soil, it keeps the roots from growing to their full potential and growing deep.

Rosebud is right about not spraying the leaves.  

Adding the extra lights had nothing to do with the condition of the plant--it is just coincidence that it happened at the same time.  You will eventually need way way more light though, so you will need to work on getting the heat down.  Temps under 80F will generally not cause problems, but they do like it a bit cooler.  You may find it better to suck the heat out near the top of the space , rather than having the fan push air into the space.

I will tell you that this growing encompasses way more than just sticking some seeds from a bag in a pot and putting a few CFLs over top.  Cannabis has some very specific needs and wants that are not optional.  I encourage to do more reading so you know what it takes to bring a plant to harvest.  It is about a 4 month process and the plant has different nutrient and lighting needs at differing stages of its life.  You need to learn what these are and then look for what you are going to have to do to achieve this end.  You are at a disadvantage since you cannot simply walk into a store and buy what you need or sit down at your computer and order what you need.  We can help you out with alternatives in some cases, but some things are not optionable.  We can let you know what those things are.

So, read up more so that you know what you are trying to achieve.  Look for some better soil and let us know what kinds of things you have access to--there are a lot of natural things that can enhance soil--that is basically what organics is--feeding the soil so the soil feeds the plant.  Oh and see if you can get a small oscillating type fan that blows on the plants all the time.  This helps move the air around and helps strengthen the stems for those big buds you are going to grow.


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## jingo (Jun 17, 2014)

Looking at your pics you have classic magnesium deficienvy, lower leaves turn yellow between veins first, then spots start to die and so on. Easy fix, mix a little Epsom salt (1/4 tsp.) Per litre next time you water. 

When you see changes in lower leaves, like yellowing, first think deficiency.

Nutrient rich soils are often magnesium and calcium deficient.


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## jingo (Jun 17, 2014)

PS no other nutes  for now that soil is hot, personally i like hot soils and simply add mag water 3-4 times a grow.

You probably can get a couple of weeks into flower without nutes depending on when you re pot, etc.

One more thing, the hardest part is getting the seedlings to grow in hot soil, but once they develop good roots they take off. So you got past the hard part.


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## EsC420PoT (Jun 17, 2014)

The Hemp Goddess said:


> Unfortunately, I believe that if you are going to have to find some better soil (or make your own) or I am afraid that your plants are not going to make it.  Prenuted soils are simply bad for mj and I truly believe that your soil is killing them.  Tell us more about your situation and maybe we can help you find some alternatives.  If you have a source for good natural rich soil you may be able to amend that.
> 
> Second, the probes that you put into the soil are really poor pH meters and are horribly inaccurate.  And we generally do not measure the pH of the soil, but of the run-off.  Do you have access to dolomite lime?  This helps with thepH.  As a side note, you really need to be watering your plants to runoff.  When you water just the top part of the soil, it keeps the roots from growing to their full potential and growing deep.
> 
> ...



Welcome to MP unlogistika! And Good to see you as well Hemp Goddess!! Long time no see! Listen to hemp goddess "Unlogistika" she knows it all! And if it worn't for her guidance, I wouldn't have turned a decent harvest ever..  With that being said, i agree that it is a magnesium deficiency. however, you for sure gotta get rid of that soil. Especially if there's no ingredients shown on the bag, that's like going to Walmart and getting that miricle grow crap.. It just doesn't work efficiently with the genetics of Marijuana. that stuff is more for like grass, or random flowers like tulips and all that crap. I would suggest Fox farm as well, when it comes to soil, I have ALWAYS used fox farm ocean Forest. however, if your not able to obtain these products, you'll def. have to make some.. check online for organic soil mixtures. Or, soil mixtures from resources in your back yard. None the less, when you put them in soil that you don't know whats in it, then you have a bunch of variables that are unnecessary such as what your having now.. I agree that your soil is killing your plants, and you need to transplant into diff soil ASAP. Good luck!


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## unlogistika (Jun 18, 2014)

Thank you for all the replies. I will have to see if i can get some better soil and some magnesium. The thing that is baffling me is that only one plant seems to be affected by this. They both have the same spread of light, soil etc. I might just make my own like some of you suggested because we don't have these brands here and i cannot order it online, as it would take maybe a month to get here.. 

Speaking of lights, right now i have 8 24w CFL's and a reflector on top of them to direct the light back down. Hemp Goddess, you mentioned that i will need way more lights. I am a bit restricted with space, how many more lights do you think i should put in there?

I am slowly upgrading the set up, i will buy the fan this week that constantly blows on them. 

Again thanks for the help everyone. I will let you know what happens with the magnesium.


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## jingo (Jun 18, 2014)

If your growing dif strains some may not have the mag deficiency. 
I know everyone is hating your soil, but that is because they don't know what's in it.

If you don't have pests, then new soil is the best way to bring them in. Be careful and avoid shops that store their soil outside.


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## unlogistika (Jun 18, 2014)

No i believe it's the same strain. I wish i knew what was in my soil, the ratio that is. All it says on the bag is that it's rich in NPK. I don't have any pests, i looked all over the leaves. 

I'm going to try the magnesium first, if that doesn't work i'll change the soil. Since these are my first plants i'm afraid to severely hurt them by transplanting them anew.. But if all else fails there's no harm in trying.


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## MR1 (Jun 18, 2014)

Do you have a tds or ec meter? You could test the runnoff of your soil to see how strong it is, it won't tell you what is in the soil but it will give you an idea of it's strength.


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## Hushpuppy (Jun 18, 2014)

That soil sounds like standard potting soil which can be quite high in nitrogen. And from the looks of the plants, they are on the edge of nitrogen burn as they look very dark green. Iff you continue to have issues with them, then I would suggest that you flush them with 3x the amount of water as the volume of soil. This will remove most iff not all of the "stuff" within the soil and allow you to start from scratch and feed them your self. Then you just need  to get a good MJ formulated nutrient and do the ffeeding your self.


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## unlogistika (Jun 18, 2014)

No MR1, i don't. I went looking in 8 different shop to find a Ph meter and none of them had one. I couldn't even find the strips in pharmacies. I guess not too many people grow indoor here. :S I did manage to find one in the end but it was the cheap probe one, not the digital one, and many have been saying that it's highly inaccurate. 

I really like this idea Hushpuppy, thank you. I can probably find all the nutrients it needs or alternatives for them, so that seems like a good option. I made a mix of magnesium and calcium mixed with 2 liters of water. I didn't add too much as to not shock the plant and for it to get adjusted, as i understand it, calcium will increase the ph level and someone mentioned that it is a magnesium deficiency. So hopefully it will work out for the best. I did notice that my leaves were too green on the second plant. 

I'm also thinking of cloning one of them next week in a completely different soil. To experiment a bit.. 

Oh and btw those deficiencies didn't seem to affect the growth of it, it's still growing like a beast.


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## MR1 (Jun 18, 2014)

Unlogistika, I used those probe type way back when I started growing but quickly found them to be inaccurate. I was actually talking about a tds or ec meter, used for measuring total dissolved solids or electrical conductivity of your water so you know how strong the nutrients are that you are feeding them. You may have to try Ebay, Amazon or some other online shop.


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## Rosebud (Jun 20, 2014)

unlogistika that is great news they are growing like a beast! awesome.


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