SOIL Help a new grower if you can!

[Malevolentus]

Hello everyone,

Like many others, I presume, I decided to give the homegrown approach a try after years of purchasing. Got good seeds (BombSeeds), got a decent light (Mars Hydro Ts1000), a good tent, a Rhino fan and Pro Filter, Canna professional Plus soil and thought I’d give it a try. Temps are kept steady at 23C for the 20hrs and 15-17 at “night”. The plants are autos. I did a fair bit of reading and set off. The two plants on the photos are a week apart in age with the older one being 30 days old. Ish as I didn’t keep a diary..
Found larvae on the first one which I think I got rid off but now the younger ones shows signs of infection. Brown spots on the leaves etc. I water with ph’d water at 6.4. Any ideas?

apologies for the long intro but I thought it’d help identify the problem.


Thank you in advance!

[Canuck147]

Looks like one could save it - first - tell us what is in your Canna Professional Plus soil - professional for what? If that soil is prepared for cannabis it should contain 30% perlite in the soil already. I see none. Roots need to breathe - your professional soil is getting compacted from gravity and watering - thus- your roots are having a tough time growing.
The ugly coloring is one or maybe both of these things - in need of calcium/magnesium - or - because you have unhappy roots - maybe your ph is out of whack. Doesn't say you are phing your water - if not - then i suspect the coloring is from nutrient lock-out - your plant can't absorb the nutrients you are giving it because the ph has been out of whack for a while.

30 day autoflower should be shooting up pistils by now - mine is about 30 days old and I have topped it and it's showing pistils.

[Malevolentus]

Thank you for your prompt reply. Apparently the soil is made by a Dutch company specifically for that. That’s why I bought it instead of mixing up my own. Drainage is decent and I’ve started feeding them with some Canna nutrients. I’m pasting the spec for the soil and nutrients and you might understand more!

Soil:

• CANNA Terra Professional Plus is composed of airy peat moss and types of tree bark that have an antiseptic action. They promote exceptional root development and the formation of thicker stems.
• Also, faster metabolism combined with low sickness rates ensure an increased production.
• The medium is pH-adjusted for long-term control with a lime charge large enough to last an entire cycle. It has a mineral-nutrient starter charge that adjusts the initial level of nutrients up to a good beginning charge, correcting the ratios to work perfectly with CANNA TERRA nutrients.
• The special structure provides optimum amounts of air and water in the medium.
• CANNA Terra Professional Plus contains trace elements and chelates, which protect the plants during growth.

Nutrients:


Canna Terra Vega NPK 3:1:4.



As for the water, I have a digital tester which I calibrated very recently. I water with ph 6.4

[Canuck147]

Okay - so I'm wrong - again. Maybe you still have pests. Sorry. But your plants should be bigger.

[duckman]

I would agree with Canuck147 at first glance...rule out soil aeration issues and pH issues before doing anything else IMHO. good luck!

[Toker1]

You should add perlite to your soil mix. Improper drainage can cause issues like this.
what is your run off water PH like from the 6.4 going into the container?

[403grower]

I agree with the boys check ph of water check ph of soil check your ph on your run off, make sure those roots are getting oxygen as well if drowning or lack of pearlight they will not thrive. Then without issues in those categories go for deficiencies in nutrients. I noticed you didn’t give a list or description of nutrients being used perhaps your trying to go organic( no nutes) so you gotta make sure your soil is up to par with calcium and magnesium. Others are required but I would say those to are most important for beautiful green leaves. Happy growing !

[Malevolentus]

Thank you all for your responses. The soil is quite airy but I did realize that I had made the mistake of not leaving the extractor fan on for the 4hr night period which mustn’t have helped with accumulated humidity thus keeping the soil moist for longer. I’ve amended that and fingers crossed. Also here’s a snap from the back of the nutrients I’m using.

ps. I don’t understand why when I upload photos they get reorientated.

[Cali]

Since you are new to this maybe give organic soils try. I made a post back in the beginning of 2019 of the soil mix I’m using and the very little amendments to mix with you base soil mix. By just using kelp meal teas alone you have as much nutrients as it shows on your bottle and it’s more than likely cheaper. Just saying it would be less things to worry about and you can reuse the soil since you won’t be adding salt based nutrients.

[Cali]

Oh yeah, to me they look like they been kept wet. I had similar issues with mine when overwatering. I recommend you let it dry out a bit then what I do is I bubble some kelp meal/alfalfa meal and water my plants with it soil and leafs 48 hrs later plants are nice and green. Assuming you have quality soil. Not sure where you are but look into buildasoil.com also check out kissorganics.com for premixed quality soils and everything else you need. The true way of Growing Weed Easy in my opinion because then all you need is good water.

[Malevolentus]

I want to thank all of you for your comments and your help. I’m glad to report that a week after I fixed the air flow issue and the soil started drying faster, both Berry Bombs are doing great. I’ve done some LST and I’m into the early stages of flowering. Thanks again!

[duckman]

looking good! be careful not to overwater and you should be fine. good luck!