New guy. First attempt at auto’s

[carpenter21]

I used no nutes for the fist 4-5 weeks. I have been doing a 1/2 strength nute feeding with every feed for the past 4 feedings from 2/9-2/21, prior to that I alternated between plain water and 1/4 or 1/3 strength nutes. I'm using both Tiger Bloom and Big Bloom.
I will try your method for testing the runoff next feeding but I should have my Accurate 8 by monday or tuesday so I can check the soil pH.
Thanks for the heads up on the coco loco, My Roots Organic will be here tomorrow so I will use that instead.
Your help is greatly appreciated

 

[Waira]

...cool- read the A8 instructions carefully,... when testing the soil, make sure you haven;t feed in the last half day at least, and the soil should be nicely moist, not freshly watered/saturated, or anything close to dry in order to get best results,.. wipe the probe clean after each use with a damp paper towel; buff the bi-metal tip are before each use after storing,.. tarnishing/corrosion will compromise accuracy.... treat it nicely for storage too!

 

[carpenter21]

Thanks @Waira. I got the A8 this morning. I had just watered the Trans yesterday morning with nutes ph’d up to 6.8 so the soil seemed just about right to test. I took a few readings and got ranging results from 5.2-5.6, 5.4 seemed to be the average.
Here are a couple pics of it today. Looks rough but the buds seam to be fattening up despite the overall unhealthy look. What should I do next? Should I pull off some the dying leaves? Thanks

 

[Waira]

...pH is low, I think most folks stay around 6.0 during bloom in coco (not a true soil, just a reminder!),.... I'd feed her a good dose of bloom and pH adjust to the same again to try and work that in-pot pH up more,... she's hitting the fans hard for reserves! Let leaves shut down and fall off on their own, they are being tapped out for needed mobile nutes like P,... Next time you feed, test the ppm going in, and then the run-off after about 15% has gone through, we need to see if you have a salt build-up issue as a possibility,....
Flushing is coco is a whole different deal than soil... you use a solution of RO/Di water, with 150ppm Ca-Mg, plus another 150ppm nutes, pH to 6.0,... pour through until run-off is at or near inputs values,... let it drain and dry out some before starting reg. nute regime again,...

 

[carpenter21]

I know I mentioned coco along the way but the Trans is in soil. Fox Farms. I’m guessing that still means the soil ph is very low?

 

[carpenter21]

She’s looking worse every morning but the buds are filling out a bit more. Does your opinion change since a soil grow? I just don’t want to lose what I have so far. Should I flush it assuming there is a salt buildup in the soil or just ride it out and continue to try and raise the soil ph through feedings? It likely won’t need another feeding for 2 more days.
Here are this mornings pics. On a brighter note my Candy Kush is looking good I think at 13 days and my Dark Devil broke through last night. It’s my first grow in the Roots Organic you suggested.

 

[Waira]

right, sorry, got it mixed up! yes, that pH is worse for soil,... pH to 7.0 on your feeds,... what's your water like for pH and hardness? Getting some buffering action in there is what's needed, and water with hardness will help with that,.... with the light feeding, I doubt it's a nute salt build up problem, I'm still leaning toward lack-of defc.,... it's a tough call on the flushing... it'll help fix the pH faster, but is a stressor itself, and does take out other nutes as well,... Usually it's 2-3x the pot volume of water, pH'ed to 7-ish, some hardness to it is best either as tap or Ca-Mg added, and the final pour should have 1/4-1/2 str. nutes in it... it needs to be done fast, under 20 min. to lower smothering factor of the roots,... draining fast is key too; after free draining stops, set the pot onto a stack of newspaper and some paper towels under the pot itself to make good contact with drainage holes,.. this will draw out more excess water faster by capillary action,... The dilemma is with pH that far off, P is getting locked out, and fixing the pH needs to happen first; hard to do while feeding, which is acidic as well,... I'd say your off enough to try flushing,... symptoms may worsen initially, but if the pH is corrected enough, P can start getting taken up better again,...

 

[carpenter21]

My well water is a bit hard, not sure how to measure that though. We have a water softener in the house but the water I use for the plants is not softened. It always ph's around 6.5 straight from the tap, just checked it again with a freshly recalibrated tester. I will try flushing it I guess. I don't want to lose what I have so far. Thanks again

 

[carpenter21]

Well Waira I took your advice and gave her a full flush yesterday afternoon. Seemed to go pretty well, it drained really good and I pulled out as much water as I could with paper towels under it.
I think it maybe to wet for an accurate measurement but 24 hours later the soil PH reads 6.2 via a few probes. Seems like an improvement to me.
My guesstimate is that it should be about ready to harvest in abut 2-3 weeks so hopefully this will allow it to fill out a bit.
When it’s ready for its next feeding should I PH to 6.8-7.0 range again?
Thanks again

 

[Waira]

...let's see what a day or two brings for pH changes,... but that's a good sign, it's up basically a full point! If it's in low 6's by them, go ahead and ph adjust to 6.8 one more time,,,