Health/Growth Problem

[Goldeneye007]

Hello fellow growers, I come here seeking some advice/guidance on a potential problem with my plants.

To give all the required information:

Strain: Northern Lights Feminized Auto-Flower
Soil: FoxFarm Happy Frog
Growing Medium: 3 Gallon Fabric Smart Pots
Lights: Combination of 4 Red/Blue LED Grow Lights a 1 Full Spectrum LED Light.
Age: Roughly One Month.

I am thinking maybe underwatering, but not completely sure. This is my 3rd time growing. The first time I did very well somehow, maybe beginners luck. This was about 6 years ago. That was not northern lights but rather seeds I pulled out of some street product I got from a friend. Then about 3 years ago I tried to grow some Northern Lights. It didn't go so well as I overwatered, stunting growth heavily. This time, above everything else I have been concerned about over watering, and may have underwatered. For the first few weeks I only used a sprayer to moisten the top of the soil a bit using distilled water. For the past week or so I have poured a bit more water in then would come from just spraying. I'd say maybe 4-8 ounces of water per plant, a couple times per week.

Below are pictures, especially the plant on the right in the pictures of all 3 of them seems concerning. The bottom leaves especially are drooping along with the stem, with a couple of the leaves basically laying on the soil. The soil/plants look moist/wet now because I just did a good dose of watering (the largest amount of water at once they've gotten yet), probably about 12-15 ounces each, on the belief I must have been underwatering. The amount of water I was using before couldn't possibly have been enough to over water right?

Also as you can see in the pictures, there is some yellowing/browning on the edges, and some yellow spots forming on some leaves. There have been no bugs at all, which is strange as bugs (fungus knats mostly) were a problem the past two times I grew)

Happy to answer any questions and thanks in advance for any advice!

[Gingerbeard]

Hey Goldeneye007 . All the colors you're describing, they are all purple. Can you do white light? Turn on the flash on your camera with the LED off?

[dilvish]

you should be glad I'm back on this forum....Northern lights have grown in my place a few times!!

First off, temp should be around 27C. Humidity around 50%. Make sure the PH level is between 6.5 and 7.0. Use good nutrients.

As far as watering you should read the watering tutorials on the main site. Personally in soil at that temp I water every 3-4 days. check the soil by using the finger method...when the first 1 1/2 inches feels dry then water again. Don't be afraid to give too much water because fabric pots have great drainage but make sure they aren't sitting in water...wipe or vacuum any excess.

Northern Lights likes lots of light hence the name. If you can't change your light set up (not good enough full spectrum, IMHO) leave them on 24/7.

Cheap lights (inexpensive) can be the single biggest factor in indoor growing.

Having said all this the plants look the way they do likely because they are not getting enough water.

if you have bug problems, try sprinkling a light layer of Diatomaceous Earth (food grade) on the topsoil only and leave it there through the grow. That stuff really fucks up the bugs!

[Ckbrew]

Not a soil grower but in general they look dry, wind burned, and light starved.

[Borophyll]

Borophyll will help

[Goldeneye007]

Hey Goldeneye007 . All the colors you're describing, they are all purple. Can you do white light? Turn on the flash on your camera with the LED off?

Yep will get some pictures with the grow lights off.

you should be glad I'm back on this forum....Northern lights have grown in my place a few times!!

First off, temp should be around 27C. Humidity around 50%. Make sure the PH level is between 6.5 and 7.0. Use good nutrients.

As far as watering you should read the watering tutorials on the main site. Personally in soil at that temp I water every 3-4 days. check the soil by using the finger method...when the first 1 1/2 inches feels dry then water again. Don't be afraid to give too much water because fabric pots have great drainage but make sure they aren't sitting in water...wipe or vacuum any excess.

Northern Lights likes lots of light hence the name. If you can't change your light set up (not good enough full spectrum, IMHO) leave them on 24/7.

Cheap lights (inexpensive) can be the single biggest factor in indoor growing.

Having said all this the plants look the way they do likely because they are not getting enough water.

if you have bug problems, try sprinkling a light layer of Diatomaceous Earth (food grade) on the topsoil only and leave it there through the grow. That stuff really fucks up the bugs!

Thanks for the reply!

Temperature should not be an issue. They are in my basement and the lights put out no heat at all. I haven't measured but it's no more than 20C max in there. Humidity I haven't checked at all but will look into that. Any recommendations on nutes?

I definitly think I was under watering as the soil was very dry. I was just too worried about over watering due to my previous experience and because I know over watering can be much more damaging then under. I've given them a good amount of water and the leaves all perked up that were sagging, so hopefully growth picks back up.

I leave the lights on 24/7 but they could definitly be lacking. They're ~15 dollar each grow lights, nothing amazing.

How long does it generally take for growth to pick back up after under-watering?

No bugs at all yet, likely because there's been so little moisture from my under watering. I do have a bag of food grade DE ready if any show up. I've used it before with great results.

I just ordered this off Amazon based off reviews, size, price etc. You think this will be sufficient for 3 plants in 3 gallon pots each?

https://www.amazon.com/BESTVA-Spectr...=1&keywords=be stva+2000w+led+grow+light&qid=1634440366&sr=8-7

Not a soil grower but in general they look dry, wind burned, and light starved.

Shouldn't be wind burned as I only have a tiny fan blowing at the pots, not the leaves. The leaves are hardly moving at all with airflow. Dry I agree and light starved. Hopefully the water I just gave them will help with one of those, and I just ordered some lights off Amazon (above link) to hopefully help with the light.

[dilvish]

first let me say that not enough water is as damaging as over watering. keep that in mind. As far as nutes go I use the General Hydroponics Flora series because they are straight forward and Nebula has a good feeding guide on her site https://www.growweedeasy.com/wp-cont...s-schedule.pdf just note that the Ph levels she refers to are for Coir not soil.

As far as PH is concerned you did not mention that you have tested it. If you want good grows, PH levels are important. You can find a decent PH pen on many sites including Amazon for around $20.

As far as lighting is concerned cheap lights equal poor buds, IMHO. Cannabis loves light more so than many plants especially strains like Northern Lights.. Be careful that the light you do buy is properly safety tested.

Amazon requires Marketplace sellers that sell electrical products to have recognized safety standards: UL, CSA or ETL (Europe) certified.
The problem is they do not enforce it so there are literally hundreds of sellers that are selling electrical items that have not passed stringent safety testing. Considering the light will be used in excess of 12 hours per day 7 days a week that's an accident waiting to happen if it causes an electrical fire.
My advice to all growers is to find a product that meets these standards. The only one I have found so far that sells on Amazon is ViparSpectra and even then only certain models are UL certified.

You want poor weed? buy cheap lights. BESTVA is one of the brands that claims "safety certified" but they refer to the commonly faked "CE" certification that is not recognized except in Asian countries and even then it is faked...many of these "self certifications" are never actually performed and even then if they are the CE certifications comes with a serial number that many don't even have (faked).

Good luck!

[UndergroundFarmer]

You may want to try moving the fan so it blows off the tent wall instead. In fabric pots, the fan blowing on them will help dry them out faster than normal. Water your girls until they are dripping out of the bottom of the pots, let them sit and drain then pick up the pot and take notice of how heavy it feels. Check them for weight at least every other day and water until they have that same heft then stop.

Also, dilvish is right on about LEDs. I like my own brand but there are several good brands out there. If you plan on growing for years and years, buy the best you can afford. Check out what kind of warranty (if any) you get from the manufacturer and do your homework finding out what results others are having with them. In fact, the only things in this hobby worth spending big money on are these - lights, genetics and test equipment. With most anything else, mid-grade is good enough and DiY is the smart way to go. You can even forego a pH test pen and use the old-fashioned drops and color chart until you can afford a professional-grade one. Even those are still under $100. The cheap ones are unlikely to last more than a year in my experience.

[dilvish]

I have to disagree UGF. PH testers can make or break a good grow IMHO. And the inexpensive ones work fine. I've had mine for 3 years and it still tests fine even though I do have to calibrate it before each new grow. It cost me $15.99.
Although GH FloraTrio comes with the "drops" you refer to, the color chart is not accurate at all IMHO.
As far as lights, my point wasn't about cost so much that it was about safety because there is a lot of crap sold on the market these days and the majority of these sellers are simply trying to cash in on a hobby that has grown exponentially in recent years.

[UndergroundFarmer]

You've been luckier than most of us with the bargain pen. I'd recommend everyone have the drops around just in case the technology goes kaput. I hate having to use them but at least they never get hopelessly out of calibration like a combo pen I bought once.

I don't recommend spending big money on lights for the sake of spending money. I just recommend looking for quality stuff and being prepared to budget appropriately. You'll never catch me spending a grand to light one 4x4 tent!