Save the garden!

[leum]

Having achieved fairly consistent results with one plant, decided to maximize the available space. Big mistake! The garden:

Three sad, three-week-olds in a large air-pot assembled with an "air pipe" in the center. Canna Terra and Canna nutes auto-watered through Tropf-Blumats. Counter-clockwise from back: La Diva, Afghan Kush Ryder, Narcotic Kush.

Began with previous lamp, Blackstar 180W. Probably had the lamp too high initially as plants stretched excessively. Replanted deeper at one week.

Replaced lamp with Amare ProSPEC 300 a few days later. Had both COBs and and LEDs on and plants stalled, grow room temps at 87F. Turned off COBs and lowered to 18".

Noticed a few fungus gnats at two weeks, so added yellow stickys. Gnats returned a week later, so drenched with 4 oz/ gallon SNS 203 (clove and rosemary oils). Planned to drench anyway, concerned with over-fertilizing. At the same time, raised lamp to 24" and turned COBs back on. Added Myco Magic bag to compensate for higher temp.

The symptoms, Afghan Kush Ryder:

Narcotic Kush:

La Diva (not as bad):

Could low humidity cause such dramatic effects? It's very low at 20%. Don't know what else to try. Thanks again!

 

[Waira]

leum-- this isn't a light issue that I can tell,... when did the symptoms start, before or after the SNS treatment? Did you dilute the nutes? Some of what I see is for sure nute burn,... and the high T and low RH are contributing factors, I see signs of heat/transpiration stress on newer growth,.. it all has stunted them it seems- ... is the pH staying stable in the res'? Do you have a EC/TDS reading on the nute solution?

 

[leum]

Thanks for reply, @Waira!

Symptoms started before SNS treatment (haven't seen gnats since, BTW).

Did not dilute nutes - figured flush would take care of that. (Blumats detect soil moisture, so automatically stopped delivering water/nutes for a few days afterward.) Doubt nute burn alone is the problem - never had a problem after several grows.

Reservoir pH has climbed slightly to 6.7. Soil pH (slurry) was 6.1 at three weeks. No EC/TDS reading, will replace nute solution.

As usual, posting got me thinking. (Humidity question is edit.) Noticed slightly higher humidity and slightly lower temp at back of garden where La Diva isn't as bad. Tried setting out pans filled with water and pebbles - didn't raise humidity noticeably. Installed small room, cool mist humidifier. Overnight, humidity is up to 33% and temp is down to 78F-84F. (Surprised humidifier hasn't raised humidity more.) Hopefully La Diva, at least, will pull out of stall.

Symptoms worsened both times COBs switched on - raised temp, lowered humidity dramatically. Any tips for raising humiditiy? Tent is only 5' square, but a bigger humidifier would probably be okay. Very little extra space.

 

[Waira]

..good, on the SNS! I used formula 209 systemic for outdoors this season, and I'm sold solid on it!
...my concern with any auto-delivery system with full str. nutes is a cumulative effect that leads to the burn,.. several nute elements are taken up whether the plant needs it or not, and so can overwhelm their capacity to utilize it and store the extra,... Something like this with constant input may work better with nute conc. treated like they were in coco other soilless mediums.. Strains vary a great deal in their tolerances and preferences for nutrient levels, note how the Diva is handling it far better... add into this the environmental stress from the combo of low RH and higher T's.. this causes the plant to really pump the water up to deal with the heat by transpiration cooling; when this happens the nutes come along as well, forcing more in than is good for them,... larger plants will handle all this better than smaller/younger ones,... You have a humidifier in there now?

 

[leum]

Yes - impressed gnats are gone, but maybe still some larva from last cycle.

Makes sense about nutrient delivery. Believe Canna Terra is soilless, peat-based instead of coco. Worked well with several grows. Will try replacing reservoir with low strength nutes. Grew multiple strains because last auto seeds - would have been better experiment with just one strain.

Humidifier seems to be helping. La Diva and Afghan Kush Ryder are growing again, but leaves are still drooping. Narcotic Kush isn't any worse, but still stalled. Need to find a way to auto-fill humidifier reservoir - maybe something like this from shroomery forum.

Speaking of mushrooms, Myco Magic bag can apparently fruit edible oyster mushrooms once mycelium fills bag. DIY with other favorite mushroom species?

 

[leum]

Pretty clear ultra-low humidity was the problem. La Diva and Afghan Kush Ryder are recovering nicely. La Diva's beginning to flower. Narcotic Kush is still having a hard time. Just goes to show what can happen when you perturb a functioning system.

 

[Waira]

definitely getting better! Not sure why NK is still stalled, might be she still doesn't like the feed regime,.. not uncommon between strains, just like it is for their photo' parents!

 

[leum]

The garden is officially saved! Thanks, @Waira!

Had humidifier on timer - on 1 hour every 4. Still 40-50% after a few days, less than a gallon used. Removed humidifier. Set-up might work with humidifier on just for first few weeks.

Very impressed with Delicious La Diva (a freebie). She was in the best microclime, but she's filled our very evenly. Afghan Kush Rhyder has some big-azz leaves! Narcotic Kush is small but flowering.

 

[Waira]

nicely done mate! yes indeed, it's amazing what a seemingly modest change in RH can do, especially if it's on the edge of bad,... good transpiration rates are everything, and both very low and high RH make for piss poor transpiration! ...... La Diva is lost Gold here, leum,...she's been around a while now, and at one point pretty popular, and a fine strain!.. my buddy Sniper here has made a Dragon cross with her called Frost Dragon, and it's damn good! AKR is also an old "classic",.. there are some freaky monster cola plants of her here someplace, but the grower escapes me right now,...

 

[leum]

Riotous growth, making up for lost time. Afghan Kush Ryder isn't really flowering yet. Could stress have affected her? Strong vegetative growth. Amare lamp and Myco Magic bag?

Re-installed humidifier. Previous grows have been too dry at harvest. It's a compact, evaporative model that also reduces temp nicely.

Crazy growing different strains in the same pot, fed the same nutes. A learning experience! Next version's a photo grow of three Creme Caramels (if they all sprout). Accidentally ordered regular seeds. Curious to try photos again after many years.

La Diva is lost Gold here, leum,...she's been around a while now, and at one point pretty popular, and a fine strain!

Can't wait to try her! The last was an Afghan Kush Ryder. @Waira reminded to check soil pH early on. Enjoying her mellow effects now.