A question of a fellow grower:
First timer here. Been growing autoflower ak for almost a month, and the lower leaves are turning yellow and getting brittle. Middle leaves have a brownish green color to them. Just started using nutrients that came with my grow box yesterday. Added co2 as well. I have a 200 watt led on them full time. WTF have I done wrong?!?
Is that the actual power draw of the led? Also what height is your light at? Temps?
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Strain; Type, Bag seed, or NA
Soil in pots, Hydroponic, or Coco?
System type?
PH of runoff or solution in reservoir?
What is strength of nutrient mix? EC, or TDS?
Indoor or Outdoor?
Light system, size? Distance from top of plants?
Temps; Day, Night?
Humidity; Day, Night?
Ventilation system; Yes, No, Size?
AC, Humidifier, De-humidifier?
Co2?
Ok, I’m the idiot here, So thanks for all the help in advance.
The info on the light says 85-265v, and it is 3-4 inches above the plant.
I have feminized autoflower ak seeds purchased from Ilgm.
Ghost cabinet 3 ft grow box, hydroponic.
No idea what the pH is. I thought I had done my homework, but I guess I haven’t done all of it. I have a pH meter on order as well as flora bloom nutrients. Currently using the grow nutrients that came with the grow box at a rate of 1 teaspoon of powder per gallon of water. Just added my first CO2 tablet a few days ago. (Also came with the box) 4 inch intake and exhaust fans on the box and an aerator in the reservoir.
This whole set up is in my attic because I have nosy children. I live in North Carolina, and it just got cold last night. Not sure of the temperature or humidity up there, but it’s been comfortable since I started growing
What’s the wattage? No matter, raise that light up! Try it at 18"-24". It’s waaaay too close now & causing major led burn.
Any ventilation or fans, at all? Your grow area temp & humidity? Your reservoir temp?
Your pH is also probably wreaking havoc on your plant. Especially if you’re feeding w/o testing/adjusting pH in hydro.
Not sure co2 will do much good. It works best in high temps, and it needs to be fairly concentrated to be noticeably effective.
First thing’s first, though: raise that light!
Roger that. I was told that because it’s an LED light and not a CFL, I would need to put it super close at the start. It didn’t make sense to me, but I’ve never done this before, so I took the advice. There are two fans on the box, one intake and one exhaust, as well as an exhaust fan in the attic directly above the box. I have a pH tester on order as well as the solutions to raise and lower, so I will have better answers for you on that in a few days. Going to move the light way up now!
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Whoever told you that did you very, very wrong. You should have a word with them. 
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I agree, it looks like very bad light burn.
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That sumb!tch has been growing for years and has a degree in botany! Probably mail order or community college if he gave me that kind of advice. One less person to share with! I did increase the nutrients slightly because I figured it was some form of deficiency. Is that going to have another negative affect? Also, when should I expect to see some improvement in my girl? Can’t stand seeing her looking like this
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Well, those leaves might never recover. However, the new growth should start coming out looking good…as long as you don’t have any other issues.
Also, she’ll start growing taller(stretching) now, too. Since it’s an auto, she might not grow much more, though. At 4 weeks old, she’s probably done vegging & ready to bloom. Unfortunately, with such severe stunting, she might not produce much, at all.
Once your pH meter gets to you, if it were me, I’d start another seed.
Such a shame your friend gave you such bad info.
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That’s what I was thinking. I’m about to start germinating another seed right now. The meter should be here in a couple days. So when is the proper time to start giving nutrients to an autoflower? It seems that all the other information I have is incorrect, so I am just going to ask y’all on this board, if that’s OK. Also, we live in the country and I am filling my reservoir with well water. How much of a difference does that make? Should I use bottled water? Out of curiosity, how big should my plant be at this stage of growth?
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You’re doing hydroponics, right? I am clueless about feeding in hydro. I know you have to watch your reservoir temps, aerate your reservoir, & keep your pH between 5.5-5.8, but other than that I’m no help.
Let’s see who does hydro? @Covertgrower @TDubWilly @donaldj
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For autos, by 28 days, the plant will usually be a foot+ and growing like crazy (give or take, depending on strain), and it should be starting to branch out a bit (also dependent on strain). You’ll probably already see pistils forming, too.
It looks like over fertilization to me. You are burning them up with too strong a nutrient solution. IN fact, they are almost too small for nutrients as of yet. Do not know if you can save them.
You can make a fresh solution PH’d at 5.8, and some Liquid Karma to aid against the stress, or 1/4 strength bloom “part”. You do not want a solution stronger than 250-400 ppm
Good Luck
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The blurple was only 4" from top since seedling. No pH or tds meter, yet.
Well…You definitely need a PH meter before starting a hydro grow
So level with me here. As a beginner with very basic knowledge of this process, am I better off growing in soil? Given that I’m growing in an attic and have very little control over temp and humidity? I’ve read countless pages on dozens of websites trying to get this right, and no two sources have the same information. What temperature should the reservoir be? What should the humidity be? Thank y’all again for holding my hand through this. I’m usually a fast learner, but the more research I try to do, the more confused I get!
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That’s because while most growers follow a basic set of guidelines, we also tweak techniques and find ways to push those guidelines to the limit. So, there are some pretty set in stone guidelines b/c of science and stuff, but there are also some variables that can differ grower to grower, strain to strain.
I went with soil & promix b/c I understand that way of growing. It makes sense to me w/o throwing in too many unknowns.
I’m starting out in hydro. But I spent months reading and researching first. I don’t think there’s any reason someone can’t start with hydro but you definitely need to be very well read in the subject first as there’s a lot that can go wrong and affect the plant. And anything you do wrong will affect the plant much faster than in dirt. The good side of that is anything you do wrong if you catch it quickly it will correct faster than in dirt once you make the right adjustment. The good news is there’s lots of great people here with years upon years of knowledge in this forum. So if you choose to continue all the answers you need are here.
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Absolutely not. Choose one way (hydro or soil) and jump right in. It’s going to take you a grow to get situated anyways whether that be soil or Hydro you will make mistakes and you will learn from those mistakes and I guarantee you by your second grow you will be a much better grower than your first grow.
In fact the first to the 2nd grow is probably where Growers mature the most.
Don’t be afraid of mistakes you make along the way, but embrace them, because they will teach you more than any book possibly could
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Plus, us non-hydro people get to watch & learn from your grow.
Don’t give up on the set-up you bought for growing. You just have a few more tools to get & a few details to figure out, then you’re on your way.
Lots of great hydro growers here to help.
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