HELP: mysterious black crud shows up on new leaves

[dkpstarkey]

Our outdoor grow is running into a problem. Here are some photos that show the problem, which no one has diagnosed yet.

1 - happening on ends of branches
2 - no smudging when blackened leaves are rubbed
3 - growing outdoors in Michigan
4 - growth is good. Up to 84 inches
5 - no mites are visible under a magnifying glass.
6 - have seen green inchworms in some of the areas.
7 - just started spraying neem oil. Want to stay organic.

 

[OldHippie]

I've had that on all my outdoor grows, if you look closely with a magnifying glass in direct sunlight you can see the color is more purple than black. Not sure what causes this but I've had no problems with the plants. I've been using kind soil maybe that's causing the color change?? I wouldn't worry too much.

 

[OldHippie]

Here's a pic.

 

[HappyDaze]

I just tossed a male Meds-Web plant that was throwing purple pollen sacks...I'm pretty certain you're correct, it's just the pigmentation of the plant, not a problem.

 

[dkpstarkey]

Thanks, guys! That was what I hoped to hear, but had no clue what was going on with these plants. Yeah, purple not black. Much appreciated!

 

[Spidermite]

What strain is that?

 

[dkpstarkey]

It's a mix of lemon OG and another lemony one, I think lemon kush.

 

[VtGreen1965]

While the discoloration is in the pigmentation of the leaves I'm pretty positive that it comes from the soil that they are in or possibly from a companion plant or weed.
I've had the exact same thing happen in the past to plants that I was growing in an old vegetable garden plot and I've had it happen to others that were planted on a powerline.
it severely retarded the bud production, what I did get from the plants was not real good quality smoke.
It happened to Holy Grail Kush, Super Skunk and Master Kush.
Good luck and happy growing.

 

[OldHippie]

I'm hoping my Blue Dream which has the same coloration in the leaves doesn't have severe retarded bud production. I'm growing in Kind soil on the bottom of the pot and Coco Loco on the top. My thoughts were it's caused by the soil too.
Time will tell!

 

[Spidermite]

Blue dream leaves can and will turn blue and look off. Without pictures we cant say if it's natural color or some issue.

 

[VtGreen1965]

The plants that purpled up like that on me were always in close proximity to Poison Parsnip and/or wild blackberry bushes, does that ring a bell with anyone else?
Unintentional companion planting?
Since we started using heavy duty black garden weed block fabric, cloth grow bags and pallets, plus clearing 15 to 20 dfeet on all sides of the grow area I haven't seen a bit of that. Lots of other things but not the purple pigments.

Just a thought from an old fart.
Have a great today, you never know about tomorrow.

 

[OldHippie]

This purple color on the buds is something I can't explain other than to say it comes out on every bud but then disappears as the leaves grow bigger. Blue Dream, outside grow in Kind Soil with Coco Loco on the top. Plants do look healthy.
First pic is the top up close, 2nd pic is the whole plant.

 

[Spidermite]

Blue dream leaves and buds turn blue. It's normal. Flower under 70 degrees and they will stay blue and look magnificent.

 

[dkpstarkey]

Here's an update to follow up on my original post. A local grower says that the problem I reported is due to watering with a sprinkler, so that the whole plant gets wet and then the Sun burns the new tender leaves that have water drops sitting on them. So basically it's Sunburn! This problem has gone away since we stopped using the sprinkler and just watering at ground level.

So that seems to be the lowdown on that situation. Thanks again for your good input -- it really wasn't anything to worry about.

 

[HappyDaze]

Thanks for closing the loop...never in a million years would I have thought they were getting burnt....I always associate that kind light burn with pale spots on the leaves....but 99% of my shite lives under a lamp, so it's not the same. Not at all the same.