Hey guys!
Here’s an update on my auto flowering plant.
She is almost 2 weeks into flower.
The stalk looks really nice and thick. But the first leaves are dying off (above the cotyledon leaves)
Is this normal or a deficiancy?
Also, take a look at the leaves below. I zoomed I. Quite a bit to show you a good example.
I’m not sure what these yellowish orange spots are. Not all the leaves have them just a couple.
Also, the leaves look like they’re starting to yellow out, any idea why this happens?
I assume it’s a nitrogen deficiancy since I haven’t fed it In 2 weeks.
The soil is Fox Farms Ocean forest.
Temp and humidity are almost perfect.
If anyone has any advice or anything I would really appreciate it.
Also, does anything think I should just let it do it’s thing, or prune the bottom fan leaves to get more light up in the internodes?
Also! Does anyone know why she is somewhat curling downward?
Haven’t watered her since Wednesday. I feel like she may need a feeding of some Grow Big or Tiger Bloom.
Interesting observation. It could be, Fox Farms ocean forest is pretty rich, I only fed it a little amount when it was 3 weeks into life.
Way less than reccomended dose, she seemed to really like it too ( the plant will always tell you what it needs and what it doesn’t like)
Haven’t fed it in 2 weeks though, just giving it water.
Didn’t even give it any flower nutrients yet, which today or tomorrow should be time to water, so I’ll probably give her some Tiger bloom from Fox Farms since she isn’t using much nitrogen anymore.
Also, from what I’ve been learning and correct me if I’m wrong, nitrogen toxicity or an abundance of it, the leaves will become a dark green. Almost like cucumber green.
And when the leaves start turning yellow at the tips and make it’s way up the leaf, it’s nitrogen deficient, since it’s experiencing the plant taking the nitrogen from that leaf and moving it to the other parts of the plant (nitrogen is a mobile nutrient, so the plant transports it to where it needs )
Try to get runoff ppm and ph then we will have a better idea of whats going on and how to help. The input of the current ph and ppm would also help so we can compare input vs output. They should ideally be pretty close
Ppm meter and PH meter is definitely on my shopping cart for future buys.
Any recommendations for good but affordable meters?
Would PH problems would cause these yellowish spots?
I would assume so, since PH is important.
I will say, I don’t believe the PH is way out of wack, considering Fox Farms ocean forest PH is optimal, and I’ve only been using bottled water and Fox Farms nutrients only.
have any natural remedies I can use to bring PH up or down if this is the issue?
You can use limestone which is one of the most common ways to raise pH. You can also use wood ashes . This can raise the pH quickly but does not have as long-lasting effects. You can use baking soda, too. This is a cost-effective method that is quick and easy to do. Baking soda also does not last as long as lime (similar to the ashes) but can produce results in just a few days. Baking soda is fairly gentle on both the soil and the plants, so you won’t have to worry about harming your plants.
Mix a tablespoon of baking soda into a gallon of water. (You can use this ratio to increase or decrease the amount you need, based on the size of your garden.) Be careful not to add too much baking soda or use too much of this mixture in your garden, as it could create an imbalance. You can do this every few months as needed to maintain the optimum soil pH. For organic ph down you can use vinegar or lemon. Id reccommend the apera 20 budget ph pen and the bluelab for ppm/tds. I personally use all bluelab and love the brand but they are a bit pricey
Sodium bicarbonate introduces extra sodium into your soil. If not cautious, it can end up creating a sodium excess and actually be quite harmful to your plants. Not saying a little baking soda to raise pH in a pinch isn’t just fine, but personally I’d rather stick with dolomite or potassium silicate.
I added a teaspoon of Epsom salt into my water, as well as some Tiger Bloom from Fox Farms, which should take her through flowering, maybe I’ll need to feed her one more time.
From the pictures you posted of the diagrams, It appears to be a magnesium deficiency. The yellowing started between the veins of the leaves and not starting from the tips (nitrogen deficiency ).
It seems like the yellowing stopped or slowed down. But I’ll continue to keep a close eye on it.
Since I didn’t top this Autoflower and didn’t do much LST besides bending the stalk a little, bouncing the leaves gently, a nice breeze from a fan, etc.
What I’ve noticed though, which is really neat, the internodes grow stems that become bud sites as well!
Here’s some pictures.
The pictures of the up-close of the leaf, is the same leaf, just different finger.
Id say ride it out and watch for anymore issues. They look good now. My plants in flower have a small issue as well but since it only affects very few leaves ive decided not to take any action till things get worse
