Hi guys, my four plants have been showing some nute defficiencies of late... now at first I diagnosed it as mg defficiency, which I think was part correct and have fed them with a small amount of epsoms...

However I think they are suffering from other problems also, probably N defficient.

I recently have repotted the plants into 11litre pots and also added some osmacote slow release ferts to the compost (standard potting compost from the local DIY store)

What I would like to know is should I get some fertilisers to sort out their deficiencies or should I wait for the slow release stuff to act... I get the feeling that adding more nutes now would be overkill.


Anyway, here is a pic for reference... 4 plants in total, in 11litre tubs of standard potting compost under a 125w envirolite in my growdrobe.

Click to view attachment

The reason I am asking is that since repotting they seem to be developing fresh yellowing on leaves that were previously unaffected... am I being too impatient?

Your plants are N def.
Either the compost is not strong enough nute wise .. or adding the MG. has given you N lockout.

Ok, as I suspected really... I don't think its nute lock out as the plants were showing these symptoms before I fed the epsoms, plus I didn't give them a great deal.


Dya think I should give them some mroe nutes to boost N levels or would this do more harm than good considering the slow release stuff in the compost?

I am no expert, but if that were my grow I'd take the following steps:
Remove all of them from their pots (which are about twice too big for them), and re-pot into a 6.5 Litre square (max, maybe even smaller), using a decent compost like JAB+JI.
I'd be after getting them free of that compost and the Osmacote (which will hardly have released anything by the time you're ready for harvest! Its very slow release, Spring - Autumn, iirc).
Spray all of them with a nice rinse of S & B Plant Invigorator.
Innoculate new compost heavilly (See "Plant Magic" stuff advertised at the top of the page)
Get a decent sized HID in there, maybe a 400 MH?
Make sure all the ventialtion and extraction systems are running efficiently and well. Bad environment can make plants look that very quickly. Although I am not suggesting you have such a bad environment - I don't know what environement youv'e got, after all.

listen to arnold mate , he khows his stuff and is been modest

also fill in your profile bud ,it will help people in helping you

good luck

stickyrussian

cheers guys, while Arnolds advice is undoubtedly good, this grow is a serious shoestring jobbie, so things like S&B plant sprays and splashing out on HID lamps aint gonna be happening for a while (till I find a job)


Lights wise they are gonna be grown under cfl's exclusively as I cannae afford anything more, I know this will have a detrimental affect on the yield, but this is just a learning curve for me, so I don't expect mega dense bud anyway!

Nutes wise I am in the process of finding something that will just do the job on my budget... I used the osmacote stuff as it was already in the shed! I am now getting the impression that it aint gonna do much so I will get hold of something that will feed the little blighters now rather than in 4 months time when I hope to be smoking them!

Also, whats the deal with scaling down the pots they are in..? I didn't think it would make a difference, in fact I thought it would be better to give them more root space to grow into rather than continually disturbing them... ah well, I'm just gonna have to make do as what little odds I have to spend on the grow is gonna be going on nutes tbh...


Not the ideal grow, but its a start I suppose... things can only get better as they say.

The deal is: The plant puts out roots that fill out a pot of compost. When the main roots find a solid edge they curl round all the time putting out smaller roots that penetrate the mass of compost. No edges, not compost penetration
Now, some will say "Pot up when you see roots at the pot base". No! That would defeat the object entirely. Wait, wait, wait. Let the roots penetrate that compost till you can see them clearly covering the entire face of the compost ball. This way, the plant roots into all the available compost. And when potted up, is ready once againt to root right through the new mass of compost, rather than just lazily meandering around the edges
Head down your nearby allotments and watch the old gardeners at work. You will learn a ton.

More on this, from oldtimer1

Nutes wise I am in the process of finding something that will just do the job on my budget...

Nothing wrong with that really it just depends what you expect to yield. Get a 500 ml bottle of BioBizz Grow - should be around £6 in a grow store. Always use liquid - you can know the dose and granules are slow release so difficult to work with unless you have experience with previous grows with the plants and the same feed.

Get a pippet at the same store (plastic inexpensive type). Switch to a different growing medium - take a look in the threads on compost grows. Check the nute levels on new medium and see when you will need to feed them. Depending on mix used should be around 2-3 weeks.


Also, whats the deal with scaling down the pots they are in..? I didn't think it would make a difference, in fact I thought it would be better to give them more root space to grow into rather than continually disturbing them...

You are right on disturbing the plants too much, as you don't want to induce transplant shock. However, the issue you face is that you have a feed already in there and the medium is viable but not great - gently brush the feed off that you can see, avoidng root damage as far as possible. Then transplant to new medium in a smaller pot - the advice from Arnold Layne is sound. Roots don't like to have too much space to grow into at first, you need a good, well established root ball before potting on. The pot size is about balance and solid root development. Water with fresh room temperature water, check plants each day.


Not the ideal grow, but its a start I suppose... things can only get better as they say.

You have done ok so far - just work with what you have and improve where you can. There is always a better way, a set of expensive nutrients, better seeds. You just have to cut your cloth according to your means which is what you are doing.

It is my first grow and I have read Greg Green's book but I still read on here, ask questions, read mags and talk to peeps in my local shop.

Best wishes...

Woo Hoo! I did something right!!


Just had a look at the thread by oldtimer, and the roots on my plants were very well developed like the KC33 in the top pic... I think this delay in repotting was more due to having to wait to buy new pots rather than wisdom... but hey!


I think I'll take your advice Lorien, and get me a small bottle of bio bizz... I reckon I should be able to afford it just!
Unfortunately these plants are just gonna have to make do in their oversized homes and I shall make sure I follow correct proceedure with my next grow... its very frustrating trying to grow on a shoestring as it has turned out to be more expensive than I planned! But also more addictive! hahaha

And no matter how expensive growing might get, I can't see it ever being more expensive than buying commercial bud from the little scallywags round our way, and certainly much more rewarding!

its very frustrating trying to grow on a shoestring as it has turned out to be more expensive than I planned!

It's very expensive being poor.

There is something that will do the job we want for £100 but we haven't got £100 so for £40 we buy something that will nearly almost sort of maybe do what we want. A year later we realise that we need the proper kit and find the £100. So us paupers pay 40% more and don't get proper results until a year later than non paupers.

We can muddle through like that in almost every area of our lives but with cultivation we really really shouldn't, the prize is far too precious.


Say you had a favourite uncle that grew and let you have weed at £20/oz, the deal was on the basis that only you and the missus toked it, how much would you be spending on weed?

That's what's available to spend on your grow. After all, you'd give it to uncle if the weed was ready to take home and anyone that goes to the wine shop for a bottle could spend it on homebrew supplies instead.

My budget works out at electricity 50%, consumables 25% and new equipment 25%. I started this budget a few years ago and I don't really need any new equipment now so I'm spending that 25% on interesting projects instead.

Keep plugging away, it will come good but setting a budget and keeping to it will get you self sufficient a lot faster and remember, buy cheap, buy twice.

I like the way you have put it... and he would definately be my favourite uncle!!!

As it is with my finances right now I would probably owe him about £500 or summat, but your point is a very good one indeed!

I think that is why I am finding it a bit frustrating at the mo', I ordered an envirolite and some seeds, modified my cupboard and thought i'll cross any bridges as I come to them as I was just really dying to get a grow sorted. Now I have hit a bridge that not only needs crossing but needs a bit of dough spending on it aswell as it needs to be repaired before I can cross so to speak, and it is making me realise that I am gonna end up spending wedge in the future as my economy grow setup is sort of false economy. But I'm just gonna have to make do and, like someone said up there^, just make improvements where I can and when I can afford to build a proper set up with HID lamps etc I shall use my current set up as a veg chamber (that was sort of originally the plan anyway, I just want it all NOW!!!) hehe

Quick update!

Finally got hold of a bottle of Bio-Grow and gave my little ladies a feed yesterday... I can't believe how much they've perked up since then!
Obviously there is still yellowing on the leaves etc... but I imagine that won't go away, those leaves will die and drop off but the plants have a healthy glow about them that they hadn't had since their first week or two!

Plus they seem to have grown noticably overnight!

Also, call it beginners luck (I do) but they are all showing pre-flowers, and they are all laydees!




Heres some pics

First up is one of my CaliO girls, she was the one crying out for nutes the most and was really pale all over, she looks happy enough now!

Click to view attachment


Next up a group shot...

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As you can see I haven't repotted them, I am gonna leave these in the 11 litre tubs and just take whatever repercussions there are... hopfully more beginners luck will ensue!

And i'll make sure I have a strict potting regime for the next batch.

Gonna start flowering in a week or so... gonna start with the light I have first week or so of 12/12 whilst finding a way of getting hold of either a red spectrum enviro or some sort of multi cfl bulb set up!

Wish I could afford a HPS, would come in handy right about now!

Ah well, its all a learning curve.

love it mate

keep growing in all aspects - if you are short on dough the HPS would cripple your lecky bill!

best - lo

Heya , personnally i would of follower Arnold Layne's advice and potted down , you dont what gaps of compost between pot ups you need roots or the roots and tip left dangling there will die later on in the plants life , and replicate that on youre leafs ie burt and dead leaf tips and so forth .

Cheers lo


And I agree with you, and Arnold, Sherrif.

However I don't have any pots or new compost to pot down into, and all spare cash that I rounded up has just been spent on a bottle of bio-grow (£8! last of the big spenders here!!)

Rest assured I will learn from my mistakes with this grow and reading on this site so I appreciate the advice, but my hands are sort of tied with this grow, I am just gonna have to make do with what I get from it crop wise. I know I will get tons more knowledge than bud, thats for sure!

I pay just over a fiver a week to run my 600 on 12/12, think thats a fair amount for the buddage

Some of us have to get started ad hoc, it's how we are. If I had waited until I had enough saved to do everything right at the start I'd still be waiting. Once a few harvests are in though, the penny drops which makes it a lot easier to be patient.


If a 4 x 4 grow space is available, a 600w hps is capable of giving an average of an ounce a week. I count ballast losses as 20%, allows for extras like fans etc. So 12/12 is ~61 Kwhr per week, 18/6 is 91 units, that's £7.30 and £11.00 on my tariff.

I use passive hydro, run to waste, it's the waste that keeps the plants healthy, seems expensive but worth it imo. A fully vegged seed grow uses almost 2 litres of GH micro and 4 litres of bloom. So that's almost £30 in nutes per grow. If buying 5L micro and 10L bloom at a time, that's a £75 outlay, smaller bottles end up costing more, once again, being poor is expensive.

7 weeks under 18/6 including germination = £77.00

10 weeks under 12/12 = £73.00

5 x fem seeds = £45

New 600w Grolux bulb every grow = £20

% of carbon filter used = £25

lucas formula + Liquid Silicon, run to waste = £40

Media, I use Fytocell = £20 (Supposed to be recyclable but haven't tried to recycle it yet.)


Total of £300. A half decent scrog will give 20oz+ so that's £15 per ounce. 17 weeks growing time plus 2 weeks drying in the groom gives 20oz in 19 weeks. Not much room for error if you toke an ounce per week but hey, it's only one light and there's no cloning involved or separate veg space.

That's an inefficient grow, it can be done a lot cheaper per ounce but get the ounces rolling in first, then worry about lowering the unit cost.