normal or no?

[Jerrys84]

Hello all, am in the final stretch for my 2024 grow. Best one yet so far. Sunlight grow with northern lights non autoflower, soil in 7 gallon bags. Getting a fair bit of leaves drying up and dying. i know some of that is normal, but a few of the leaves doing this are on the buds. I figure i have about a month to go to harvest. Looks a bit like nute burn, but ive been pretty sparse on fertilization. ph is always a challenge, my local water company aims for a 7.4-8 ph. for lack of better equipment i prep water with a dash of ph down. no fix for the autowaterer water.

[dirtymike]

https://www.growweedeasy.com/cannabis-symptoms-pictures

[Jerrys84]

Yea i looked there first. Have gone down the rabbit hole previously, its a bit misleading as ph is the problem vast majority of the time. Not sure what to do with my city water, i dare not remove the auto waterer.

[Rwise]

Time for a good PH meter.

[Jerrys84]

Yea i had a blue lab pen previously but like a dumbass i didnt maintain it properly. been just flying by instinct for this grow. Theres two plants, one is under an open window and gets some rainwater, which i know tends to be more acidic and it isnt showing these issues.

[Gingerbeard]

Have you checked for bugs? I see non-trichome white spots.

Edit: Join date more than 4 years ago. One previous post with no response.

[Jerrys84]

yes spider mites are a constant in my setup. I alternate between azamax and another product for the entire grow.

[Gingerbeard]

Looks very buggy to me because there is no uniformity to the necrotizing leaves themselves or where they are on your plant. The leaf damage is going all the way down at least a few stems which means there may be something systemic. Buggy, to me, also means systemic.
If you are just now seeing those issues, I would not look at a pH issue unless you changed something. It could also be whatever pH helper(?) that might have been in your soil has washed out at this point and that first thing I said is wrong. But I don't think that first thing I said is wrong.
Since you are outdoor, where are you, generally. There might be someone in your area who knows the weather, bug, and mold/mildew situation.

[Jerrys84]

whats a ph helper? i do not have that. honestly, the mites are the weakest theyve been. its a quasi greenhouse, lots of airflow barring a lack of wind.

[Gingerbeard]

Helper? Buffer? Adjuster? Some premixed soils adjust pH on their own. Like having the nutrients premixed. When I first started growing, I had no idea about pH. I have done a lot of outside gardening and have several houseplants but have never considered pH.
The first soil and nutrients I used adjusted pH without me knowing. I'm not sure how or why I figured all that out. The point is, after so long, the soil you started with is not the soil you have because additives are removed through the plant and runoff.
Wind on plants. Can't say enough about that. Even in a greenhouse, well placed breezes are better than any poison, and you can use wind during flowering.

[Jerrys84]

I caved, ordered a ph meter. still worried about ph fluctuations through, city water very alkaline. should i balance it out by aiming for the low level of acceptable acidity, or would that increase the whiplash for my girls?

[Gingerbeard]

You did not cave, my friend. You did the right thing for your plants. My water comes out over 8. I would not be growing weed without my pH meter.

[Rwise]

In soil in veg PH 6.2-6.5 in flower 6.5-6.8