Dark Devil Autoflower First Time Grow - Are my plants sick?

[Catcohern]

NP man I had the same problem when I started..Its a balance ..switching nutes to bloom then up to full strength.dude I know how it is..I over fed then next I under fed cuz I was afraid to overfeed again LOL .I try to give mine just as much as they want..its tricky ..you got to know your strains info for better results..some dont like nutes and throw a fit..But my SS all loved nutes ..I had a lil 2 much N in my grow but they came out fine as wine and frosty!

Yeah I'm finding the nutrient bit the trickiest! I did some reading before I started and thought that autos were quite sensitive to over feeding and so haven't been feeding them with every water. With coco can I use nutes with every water, taking on board what you said about increasing the nute strength? Also do I need to invest in some cal/mag as they're not currently getting any? Thanks man

 

[Catcohern]

They're looking good cat! ^_^

Just a bit underfed as DAB said - (nice advice on the (ec upping) feeding DAB!)
I think you made a good choice with the coco - i get much better root development and find watering easier with coco.

Thank you very much blue, that's both a relief and very nice to hear! Does the fact they're quite hungry mean that my overall result will be affected or is the problem not too bad?

Ah okay that's good. Do you find that with coco you have to be more careful when I comes to PH range? I've read different things about salt build up and I find it a little bit confusing! Thanks blue

 

[blue]

No worries buddy

Yeah - the overall result will be affected, but you'll still get buds! - Feeding the way DAB suggests is a really good idea.
With coco, i was feeding too low (5.6 to start) - On the advice of others I've upped my PH to anywhere in the 5.9 - 6.3 range. Starting at 5.9 and gradually swinging up to 6.3 towards the end of the grow.

Salt buildup i dont worry about. I rarely (if ever) check my run off these days - Just add a little bit of feed and PH my water to somewhere 5.9-6.3

I over watered last time so every 4 days to begin with sounds about right. ^_^

 

[Catcohern]

Hey cat.. I know nada about coco but I do know those are hungry girls for sure.. What's your run off pH sitting at.. If it's where it should be then up your feed.. Steadily..

Really that's what you want to be doing from the first feeding... Building them up each week with a progressively stronger feed.. Until you reach their limit then ease off a little & cruise on home.

You're doing well for your first grow cat.. So don't get disheartened.. Most first grow plants end up a little... Haggard shall we say.

Mine were shocking!!

Hey Kush. Thanks for your reply man. That's cool no worries still good to hear your advice I haven't checked the run off PH yet, I'll be able to do that on their next water. Am I right in saying that I should be aiming for a PH of 6-6.5? If I gave them 1/4 strength bloom last water do you think it's ok to increase to 1/2 next water?

That's good to to hear thanks Kush, I have to be honest I did think they were slowly going downhill! I guess it's because I have nothing to compare it to so panicked a bit when I started seeing yellow!

Haha okay. I think it's something that I'm certainly not going to mind practising lol!

 

[Catcohern]

No worries buddy

Yeah - the overall result will be affected, but you'll still get buds! - Feeding the way DAB suggests is a really good idea.
With coco, i was feeding too low (5.6 to start) - On the advice of others I've upped my PH to anywhere in the 5.9 - 6.3 range. Starting at 5.9 and gradually swinging up to 6.3 towards the end of the grow.

Salt buildup i dont worry about. I rarely (if ever) check my run off these days - Just add a little bit of feed and PH my water to somewhere 5.9-6.3

I over watered last time so every 4 days to begin with sounds about right. ^_^

Hey Blue

Thanks for your reply

Right ok that's cool, I guess that's to be expected considering. I know this is going to sound like a really stupid question but this is a good place to ask - DAB said about increasing nutes by 100ppm - how do I achieve this?

Okay so I should be aiming for a PH of 6 at the mo then. You seem to have extremely accurate readings blue, do I need to invest in a digital PH reader?

Lovely ok, in terms of watering then I'll carry on using the lifting method as that seems to be a pretty good indicator. Thank you!

 

[Kush T]

Yeah I'd def up your feed cat.. Better listening to the coco guys as I'm a soil guy.. But in future.. As soon as you see the green in your leaves start to fade.. Time to up the feed.. You want lush green foliage.. The yellowing is her eating her own reserves in order to produce flowers.. The only time you want to see yellowing is flush time..

Good luck Cat :smokebuds:

 

[Catcohern]

Hey guys.

I'm due to water them either tonight or tomorrow morning. I've just been and checked on them after getting in from work and I've noticed that all 4 plants have got some leaves with brown tips and yellow edges with slight curling on one or two. Some of the newer leaves at the top are also yellow on the edges and brown on the tips. A few of the leaves have started to dry out and crisp up. Are these all signs of under feeding as well? Thanks guys

 

[Kush T]

Well I'd say so cat if you've been feeding low strengths.. It's very possible that she has used up those crispy leaves completely.. I dunno wether to tell you to up feed or not though.. I've never grown in coco before.. I'm always watching my runoff pH cat.. As far as I'm concerned if you don't know the pH of your feed & medium.. You're flying blind..

My gut is saying your girls are starving.. But it might not be because there's no food in your medium it may be the pH is badly off.. If that's the case.. Then food isn't available for them to eat.. No matter how much is there..

Have you a pH meter? Before you feed next time check your pH of the feed solution.. Blue says up there aim for in around 5.9-6.3.. & you want it coming out the other end roughly the same as it goes in..
:smokebuds:

 

[Catcohern]

Well I'd say so cat if you've been feeding low strengths.. It's very possible that she has used up those crispy leaves completely.. I dunno wether to tell you to up feed or not though.. I've never grown in coco before.. I'm always watching my runoff pH cat.. As far as I'm concerned if you don't know the pH of your feed & medium.. You're flying blind..

My gut is saying your girls are starving.. But it might not be because there's no food in your medium it may be the pH is badly off.. If that's the case.. Then food isn't available for them to eat.. No matter how much is there..

Have you a pH meter? Before you feed next time check your pH of the feed solution.. Blue says up there aim for in around 5.9-6.3.. & you want it coming out the other end roughly the same as it goes in..
:smokebuds:

Thanks for your help Kush.

I've invested in a PH meter this evening and held off watering the girls until tonight so I could get some testing done first.

So I gave 1/2 bloom this evening along with a full strength bud additive. The total composition of my mix was N3.9 P10.2 K13.8 per litre. Does this sound ok?

I tested the PH of the solution after feed was added and it came out at 6.7, after reading blues advice I lowered it to 6.2. I've now fed the girls and waited for run off. Upon testing, the PH runoff in all 4 pots came out at 5.4!

I'm very confused right now. I'm guessing that my medium is slightly acidic and therefore lowering the PH? Please help guys. Thank you

 

[Catcohern]

I forgot to add that quite a few of the leaves on one of the girls are drying and crisping up quite a bit - she doesn't look too great really!