PLEASE HELP! Brown spots!!!!

[Jenny1400n]

Hi all,

I've got brown spots forming on some leaves! WTF?!?!

Recap: 2 auto widow cheese plants in OF ~25 days in the ground; 2 125w cfl's: 1 2700k and 1 6400k. Was worried about pH initially, but have been getting decent runoff (~6). I watered last Saturday (10/4) with pH adjusted water and a 1/8 recommended dose of Grow Big. The plants were getting super bushy, so I thought it was a good idea. I watered again with pH'd h2o on 10/6. Yesterday, I fed another 1/8 dose of Grow Big. Today, I discovered this:


Help?!?! Is it nute burn? Have my low soil pH issues finally caught up with me? Is it something else? Bottom line, what should I do now?

Thanks so much, y'all. Cheers, Jenny

 

[Eekman]

I am not good at diagnosing stuff Jen


I don't think it's nute burn, what about calcium and/or magnesium? I am betting a master diagnoser will stop in and check this out.

Trace elements are a must IMO

Eek

 

[StormsEniGma]

im no real expert on issues either, it does seem like its not effecting all leaves? just random, any sign if insect activity?
and your not foilar feeding at all?

 

[Waira]

Hi Jen'- That's looking a lot like Ca defc. to me,... an easy fix, so no worries! ..run-off is around 6, ay? Well, without knowing what the pH was going in, I can't say for sure, but likely--especially with FuxFarm soils these days-- it's a bit too acidic in there,... and Ca starts to lock out under those conditions,... I used to really like soils, but this year I got bags of both OF and HF that were stoopid acidic-- we're talking around 5.0 here! :slaps:...made a hash of my first round,...
So, at 25 days, you should have some fuzzy bud crowns starting... A whole plant pic would be helpful too, please,... if so, it's time to start working in bloom nutes now,.. we'll chat more about this after we see where your girls are at,.. meantime, do you have a dedicated Ca-Mg supplement? What's your water source? (checking on what kind of hardness and buffering capacity your water has-- big influence on pH, Ca availability, etc!) ... treatment should start with a strong soil dose at least,...adding a foliar spray would be even better!... this method is the fastest way into the plant, and gets the goodies right where they need to go, without the delay of the plant having to transport the nutes to defc. sights,... A water spreader/wetting agent is critical for this, and a very handy product to have around for other needs too,... this stuff takes the surface tension out of the solution you're spraying, so it coats more evenly, instead of beading up and rolling off,... more surface area covered = more absorbed! Let us know what you have, or can get, and we'll get you set up for treatment, okay? It looks like early symptoms, which is good, but it can progress pretty fast, so let us know ASAP! If you want to learn foliar technique, we can get you set for that too,... :Cool bud:

 

[StormsEniGma]

if you do foliar spray, do it at lights out, lights + water drops = burn spots

 

[Jenny1400n]

Thanks, guys! Waira, you're my new hero

Here are some pics:


The group shot is from yesterday. The closeup is the day before.

I've been watering with tap water that has sat out for at least 24 hrs. I've been adding pH up because the soil is so acidic.

I'm headed to the store in a bit and will pickup some cal-mag and a sprayer. I'd love to learn foliar feeding techniques. Is there anything else I need to get on my shopping trip?

Finally, would a flushing do any good. They probably won't need to be watered until tomorrow, but if it'd help....

Thanks again so much for the advice and guidance. I can't even begin to tell you how much I appreciate it!!! :tiphat:

 

[Waira]

:Sharing One: Jen-ay You quite welcome! ooOOoo, nice looking girls Jen, great job on them- Ahhh, this is why we ask for whole plant pics- there's a little Mg defc. happening too... Still, no worries- it's no coincidence that Ca and Mg are paired together in supp's! Treatment is the same and simulanteous.... You've done your homework girlfriend- :thumbs:- dechlorinating your tap water and using some pH up! *( a quick side note here about dechlorinating tap water: some places use a different form of chlorine called chloramine, which doesn't gas off like the usual form... only way to tell if to get in touch with your water co. and find out,... plants don't like it, but the soil microbes take a real beating from it! Just a heads up here, I see nothing noteworthy on the girls concerning this,... if it does happen to be chloramine, let us know and we'll recommend a product to neutralize it; usually, it's a product used by aquarium keepers...) ... there's all kinds of good choices for Ca-Mg-- I like General Organics CaMg+ because it's in a fermented sugar base-( I think it's made from molasses in part...? anyway, probably a bit more nutritious because of it... molasses has a fair amount of Ca, Mg and K in it...)... lots of good sprayers too,... I recommend a pump type, 1 liter size, to save your hands! Solo makes a great one, with and adjustable direction tip which is very handy fro spraying under leaves, something you should do when foliar treating anyway,.... ask about a water spreader too; there should be a few good choices out there,... Adv. Nutrients has one called Wet Betty that ridic' $$$, so find something else... most should be about $10-15,... ask the shop folks what they like! I use a product from my old orchid nursery job, which isn't readily available, so I can't name a specific product for ya... Oh yeah-- what do you have for pH testing? LOL! one can spend a pretty penny getting set up with the right tools,... 3 things that will cover all the bases: a liquid testing pH meter, a soil pH probe (Accurate 8- hands down the best; cheapy ones you see of this type at garden centers, etc. are useless) which tests the actual soil in the pot, vs. run-off testing, which I don't like (too many sources of possible error in measurement IMO), and a cheap TDS meter, to test water hardness, and how loaded your nutrient solutions are,.. not as critical for soil growers, but knowing how hard your water is will help keep an eye out for mineral/salts build-up,... Certainly, don't flush! this is not a nutrient overload issue, or even a lock-out thing so far as I can tell,... this is usually used as a last ditch effort to fix severe issues... and is a trauma of sorts by itself! .... still have some $$ left? :roflcry: A soil microbe innoculate would be very beneficial too,... head spinning choices there, wide price ranges, but Fox Farms and a few others have liquid types that are reasonable (about $20-25)....
... I know, this is an eye-full to digest, so get what you can, most important of course is the CaMg supp' and some kinda sprayer... and the wetting agent! as mentioned, foliar is great, but soil treatment will work fine too, so it's not mandatory just now, things aren't that bad! Keep in mind, that it'll take a few days to get in ther via the roots, and symptoms may continue meantime,... and they don't reverse in this case... we're looking to halt progression and prevent future issues! :ama: Let us know what you score, and we'll go from there okay?

 

[Jenny1400n]

Thanks, bro. If you weren't on the left coast, I'd invite you over for a beer :Cheers: I've got nothing to smoke yet, but hopefully we're gonna fix that "AFN smoke out"

Already went to the store. They close early on Saturdays. Told my shop dude that I needed some cal mag and a sprayer, and he looked at me like I had two heads. Said he'd never heard of anyone foliar feeding cal-mag. Admittedly, he doesn't know what I'm growing, and I didn't go into detail. Is it an auto flower thing? I know he grows "something".

Anyway, I left with a bottle of General Hydroponics "CALiMAGic". Went to Ace for a sprayer (1.5 L) so as to not be disrespectful to my dude.

What is a wetting agent? I don't have that. Is it hard to find or would they have it at the aforementioned Ace Hardware? If I can't get a wetting agent today, should I go ahead and treat the soil?

If I should treat the soil, here are a few things to consider that I have questions about.

1. The directions on the cal-mag are 1 tsp/gallon. Is that what I should follow?
2. Should the water be pH adjusted or just tap? My tap water is pretty neutral. If adjusted, should I ad the cal-mag first and then test for adjustments?
3. Should I add any other nutes? Again, I watered with an 1/8 dose of Grow Big on Thursday. I have Big Bloom and Tiger Bloom on hand.
4. Regardless of what's in the water, should I give a good soaking or just dampen the soil? I usually water slowly until I get ~1/4 cup of runoff. (For reference, that's what I consider a pretty good soaking.) Lately, that's been roughly 3/4 gallon per plant in 3 gallon pots.

On the other hand, if I'm to spray them down, how does that work (i.e. concentration of additive/s, amount, technique)? Do you just mist the whole plant down, do do you try to avoid the baby buds. Here's some pics of the little darlings today:



Thanks again soooooo much. Let's kick this cal-mag issues' ASS :ama:

 

[Waira]

:smoke: Hi Jen- Oh man,- this was at a horticultural supply shop?! :slaps: Paint a giant scarlet "L" on that slack-jaw,... honestly, foliar feeding is one of the most frequently use methods in the entire nursery industry! ...Well, as they say, good help is hard to find....:dunno: .... CaliMagic- great!- that product is quality stuff, and will do the job just fine! I have some of that too, a free sample to try... I use it mostly on my orchids... not as "mucky" as the General Organics CaMg+ I mentioned above- same company BTW ...It's okay for soils too, but I think that specific one is meant more for hydroponics,...
>> yes, treat the soil ASAP!...for this first round, I'd go 2 tsp./gal in the soil, just to load up plenty in there initially, then add it as recommended for a second treatment when ready to water again (mixes just fine with your fert's-- add it first!),... then, once a week at least to prevent down the road here,... we'll see how they react and what they need... auto's especially seem to be rather variable in their Ca-Mg demands... some folks doing regular supplementing have still had some defc. issues crop up! :dunno:
>> Water spreaders/wetting agents are usually a soap-like product, that, as mentioned above, take surface tension out of the water or whatever solution you're spraying so it coats and sticks more evenly,... You see, the only way into the plant via the leaves are the stomata, "pores" that can open and close for water/gas exchange... it's through here that nute's get in only-- the rest of the leaf is well sealed... so, the more surface area you cover, the more stomata you cover, the more gets taken in... and only when in liquid form BTW, once dry, that's it unless redissolved by water again... *** No, a horti-store is where you'll most likely find it, or order online! So, you can still spray without it, and some stuff will still get in, just not as much, see? Mix up the 1tsp/gal ratio for foliar, and use the finest mist you can generate, they spray like you're painting the leaves, top and bottom... no need to utterly soak it, just enough to wet the surface evenly...top and bottom of leaves! Do this away from direct lighting (to avoid potential light burning from droplets acting like lenses), earlier in the light cycle, to make sure they dry completely by lights out ( to avoid potential mold issues).... I often do the re-misting thing with just water to redissolve the goodies and serve up a second helping! .... if you weren't in bloom, I might recommend using a mild detergent as a substitute wetting agent, since fans get tossed/lost anyway along with any residues,.... No need in this case to adjust the pH for foliar, just mix and go! I'd leave out anything else for the spray-- again, minimize residues at this stage, but soil feed as usual feeding --start those bloom nutes full time now! Big Bloom is good stuff- it's very very mild (look at the NKP#'s, all in the decimal range) -I treat it like a supplement, and add it nearly every time; Tiger bloom is your full strength bloom fert'.... Watering to a little run-off is okay, just be mindful not to keep them really wet for long, some drying out is best-- roots breathe better! I like to heft the pots, to feel the weight,...do so after a watering and then when they're on the dry side, to calibrate yourself,... if the top is dry-ish, but the pots still fairly heavy, water more lightly,...
.... Okay, back to football!! ....let us know what you did...

 

[Jenny1400n]

Hey W! Thanks for checking in :thank:

Here's what's gone down since last we wrote:

I read everything I could find that sounded somewhat sensical and came up with a plan :dunno:

I should start by saying that I've got the girls under lights 24/7. I had them with a 6500k 125w cfl under a reflector and a 2700k 125w cfl hanging vertically. I switched the 27 to the reflector today. Figured since I'm going to bloom notes, might as well focus on bloom lights (?). Comments, please….

That said, I wasn't sure how to foliar spray. I took the girls out of the box, and sprayed them down, buds and all, with 1 tsp cal-mag in 1 qt. h2o. I didn't do anything to the h2o but let it sit out; no pH adjustments. I sprayed them all over trying to get the bottoms of the leaves as much as possible. I let them sit out in the room for about half and hour while I got my soil solution prepared.

Ended up watering with 1 gallon pH upped h2o with another tsp cal-mag, 1/4 tsp of Tiger Bloom and 1/2 tsp of Big Bloom. Each plant got about half a gallon of solution, and there wasn't any runoff.

After watering the soil, I put them back in the box under lights and fan. They were out at least an hour. I tried to kind of shake them off a little, and I rotated them back and forth in the box closer to the fan often. I wanted to try to counteract the magnifying glass effect of the light on the droplets, but I thought they needed to be warm for the nutrients to absorb (?). The fan probably just dried everything up, huh...:slaps:

Here they are after "treatment":




Planning on spraying with straight h2o tomorrow. Is that a good idea? Do I need to do anything to correct any mistakes I made today? I tried to go easy on everything nute-wise figuring that's better than too much.:dunno:

Hope football's going your way. I'm a baseball girl, myself: Cubs fan always, but loyalties transferred to the Orioles temporarily. Basically, anybody but the Cards :Grrr:

Have a good one, and keep in touch :tiphat:

Cheers,
Jenny