g-13 said:
im having a problem, my plants started getting yellow in between the veins. then the tips started curling upward. now its just droopy all over the plant. can some one give me some help ill really appreciate it. im using an ebb and flow hydro system 600w hps, lights are on 18 off 6 hours. im using gh flora nutes. i flushed them for a week and nothing happened they just got worse. my ph is 5.6 ive been doing the same thing since i started so im really clueless as to why this would happen. could it be from over or under watering them. my pump is set to water 6 times a day for 12 minutes.
Hey g-13, we can figure this out.
First things first, the nutrients. With the GH Flora series, you have to mix the nutrients EXACTLY in ratio to each other as on the bottle. You can adjust the strength of the overall solution, but not the ratio between the three parts.
You're in vegetative growth, so you should be mixing your nutes into a solution of:
Brown = 2 ml.
Green = 3 ml.
Red = 1 ml.
I use either full strength at this much per/gallon of water, or half strength with this much per/TWO gallons.
The ratio stays EXACTLY the same. Just the amount per/gallon changes.
THE BROWN NUTRIENT HAS TO BE MIXED WITH THE WATER FIRST.
If you don't mix the brown one into water in a seperate container first, the entire batch of nutrient is ruined and the plants will starve from lockout of the nutes no matter how much you give them.
I use two gallon plastic jugs to make mine in. I measured an EXACT two gallons of water and marked the jug for that EXACT amount.
Then I mix in the BROWN nutrient in the amount I want to use.
Then I mix in the GREEN AND RED parts AFTER the brown part is mixed into the water.
I've found that with most strains, you have to use HALF STRENGTH nutrients until the plants are at least a foot tall. With some strains, you have to stay with half strength vegetative nutes. This is something you have to figure out with each strain.
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Ok, that's the nutrients. Now, for the timing of the feeding.
I've found that running the pump for an hour each time is the best. Remember, this is the only time the plants get to feed on all the nutrients they want. The feed cycle you're using is much too short. Whoever told you to use that cycle is wrong. It will starve your plants to death.
The media will retain enough nutrients to last the plants through a two hour drain and oxygenation cycle.
So, you need to set your timer to ONE HOUR ON, TWO HOURS OFF.
Mix your nutes to a very precise mix of either half or full strength. I would try the half strength first until the plants pick back up.
NO FLUSHING IS NECESSARY IN AN EBB AND FLOW SYSTEM.
Unless you've done something like mixing your nutes WAY too strong, flushing is a waste of nutes and time.
DUMP OUT your current nutes and mix a new batch using a separate container that has been MARKED EXACTLY to one or two gallons.
MEASURE YOUR NUTRIENTS EXACTLY. A teaspoon or some such thing is not the right thing to use. Buy a 50 ml measuring flask that is marked in one ml increments. Use that to measure with.
THE FLORA NUTES are VERY CONCENTRATED. If you've been guessing or using a teaspoon to measure with, your amounts can be so far off that it will kill your plants.
You CANNOT ADJUST THE AMOUNTS that you mix in ratio. They HAVE TO be in the ratios I mentioned above.
Let me know what you've been doing differently than what I've explained above, and we'll work from there to get your plants healthy again.
Good luck man!
