African Gas

[golfnrl]

Tina and Louise have had a rough couple of weeks. Leaves wilting, pale green, yellow leaves starting at the bottom of the plant and moving up. Thought I was dealing with a nitrogen deficiency caused by a lockout. Turns out it may have been a PH problem caused by mis-calibrated equipment. When I recently calibrated the PH probe for the rez controller not sure what I did, but something happened. That probe was off by 4 points. I run my rez at 5.5 to 5.6 PH and use the controller to set the PH when I mix nutrients. I have a PH pen that I use as well. I noticed the difference but thought the controller probe was correct because I had just calibrated it. Bottom line is the probes are all calibrated in the same solution and now read the same. All of the equipment got a wash and is sparkling.

Without knowing the PH probe was off I tried everything I knew to fix the problem. Today, I finally did a not-recommended for autopots top down flush of 15 gallons each pot with a weak nutrient solution. I verified the flush by run off EC and PH being the same coming out as going in. I put the system back together and as I made a new nutrient solution for the rez, realized the problem with the PH readings. I have been kicking my own ass. I despise that with a white hot passion.

In spite of the PH issues the flowers are getting fatter. I hope to start the PK load in a few more days. I have my fingers crossed I've corrected the problem.

[AMP]

I had the same issues with my ph pens a couple weeks ago but luckily caught it after couple waterings. Best laid plans lol Good job finding the issues and getting those girls back on track. Lessons every day I've learned to always assume it's ph first cuz I'm pretty good at measuring out my nutes and only feeding every other. Ph is the only part of growing where I'm relying on something else to tell me it's correct. Calibrating is annoying. Cant wait to see how they repay your love and attention to detail ❤️

[Smallgrow]

Ya that really sucks.
I have a soil probe and pen. At last calibration the pen was off, luckily I wasn’t relying on it and I had the second device to alert me there was a problem.
It’s a good lesson for everyone. If you’re relying on a device for critical data and the device is off you best have an alternate way to verify the info.
We’ve all gone way down the rabbit hole and missed the problem wasting time and resources only to circle back to a solution we missed
Your grow is going very well golfnrl your slight detour, even though in flower, will not keep you from having a nice harvest.

[Gator]

Some beautiful vegetation going on there!!

[golfnrl]

I think I may be in the middle of a bad but learning experience. I found two buds during the final couple of weeks of flower that had bud rot. I cut them off the plant but left everything else. The plants finished and I jarred them up yesterday. As I was jarring them up I noticed more bud rot. Misunderstanding of how spores spread, I may have cross contaminated the entire harvest, that would be 14 jars. I didn't weigh it but it's still 14 jars, @&#^$%#%!!! I emptied every jar today to let the buds dry some more as the RH was way to high. Since this is my first real rodeo with Botrytis Mycelium should I trash the whole harvest? Should I inspect each bud with a loupe and only trash any infected flower I find? Should I try and salvage what I can and make gummies? I understand that smoking grey mold is a no no. I thought it would kill a person but AI says it will most likely only infect your lungs. Not sure if I trust AI on that one, but finding out is not worth the risk. What to do?

[Smallgrow]

Oh man that’s terrible what a drag. I feel your pain.

I think you have to be safe first. Your health is more important than your stash
I know that’s easy for me to say , and I have definitely smoked moldy weed before but a few joints is different than 14 jars.
Do your research as I know you will, but my understanding is that once Botrytis has infected a plant it is throughout the whole plant. It may only present as rot in some places but it’s everywhere. As for cross contamination I really don’t know.

If you were up here in Canada I’d just mail you a couple ounces to get you through.

[golfnrl]

Smallgrow thank you for the kind offer. Fortunately my stash is ok. I’m kind of coming to the conclusion that you have. The whole plant needs to go. Im upset about that but I don’t want to waste this opportunity to learn. If I can determine the cause I’ll feel better about it. My first suspect is a RH spike at lights out. I happened upon that but have no idea how long it had been going on. It was a 10 point jump from low 50’s to low 60’s.

[Smallgrow]

I don’t know if you have a sunrise/sunset feature on your light controller , it’s becoming pretty common. I recently started using it for the sole reason of smoothing out the environment spike caused but the lights coming on or off. It’s not a silver bullet but it helps.
With the light fading on and off slowly, I do 1/2 an hour, the temp change is slower and so follows humidity. Obviously you still need something to humidify or dehumidify depending on your situation

[golfnrl]

I will give that a look. My lamp is a couple of years old and doesn't have the sunset feature. I've always thought the guidance was a sunrise/sunset feature did not wake the plants up or anything like that. When the lights come on the plants are ready to work. Your suggestion makes sense. When you say, I do 1/2 hour, do you mean you allow 1/2 hour at lights on and lights off or both? Does that impact or change the 12/12? Would I need to run a 12.5/12.5 light schedule to accommodate the sunset?

[Smallgrow]

Ya I agree sunrise/sunset is not beneficial to the plants but not harmful either, in theory the smoother environment would be nice for them.
Ya I tried 30 minute fade on and 30 mins fade off.I extended my lights to 12.5 hours and that seems fine for the girls. I see people do 13/11 fairly often with success.
For example if lights on is 6am to 6 pm I set the fade on for 30 mins and start it at 545am full on at 615, then 30 mins fade off starts at 545 and ends at 615