Visitor message from edu

Thanks again for your kind attention allatup!
I live in Europe so the products available are different from those in America. The brand I use is Canna, and their recommended product to help dissolve dead roots and solidified salts is Cannazym (enzymes) http://www.canna-uk.com/cannazym. That’s the only thing I use for roots but not sure if that prevents root rot, do you? It’s kinda tricky thou as it actually “lays out” a lot of extra nutrients to the plant by decomposing all that is organic and solid in the soil and you can easily “over feed” and cause nutrient toxicity with it (another one I had to learn the hard way). If any different recommendations to prevent it, i’d really appreciate it!
Here’s my schedule:
1. Soil (canna professional plus) http://www.canna-uk.com/terra_professional_plus on 7 litres pots
2. Root stimulator (rhizoctonic) http://www.canna-uk.com/rhizotonic - spray and water cuttings first 3 weeks, before transplanting to bigger pots - then 1 more week till beginning of flowering (SOG method) tab this point water EC is usually between 0,2 and 0,4
3. Water PH in between 5.8 and 6.2 (a bit low now I realize. Should’ve been in between 6.0 and 7.0 range according to GWE. might have generated a problem absorbing nutrients correctly)
4. Canna terra vega (nutrient) http://www.canna-uk.com/terra_vega been using 1/2 of recommended amount throughout vegetative period, realise it’s way too much, intend to use it only a couple of times on next crop
5. Cannazym http://www.canna-uk.com/cannazym as explained before, I use it once here at beginning of flowering stage and once again 2 weeks before harvest (around 7th week of flowering)
6. Canna terra flowers http://www.canna-uk.com/terra_flores 1/2 of recommended amount till 2 weeks before harvest. (Again realise it’s still too much, will cut it to half of half for next crop)
7. CannaBoost http://www.canna-uk.com/cannaboost from 2nd through 7th week flowering, half of recommended amount
8. PK 13/14 http://www.canna-uk.com/pk_13_14 once on the 6th week flowering, 1/2 of recommended amount
9. Plain PHed water EC 0,0 till harvest (2 weeks)

The only kind I grow is Amnesia Haze which is about 60%sativa or so they say. Overall problem is that plants look droopy as if I had over watered them (not the case at all) and/or as if they had a nitrogen toxicity. So they didn’t grow much, besides buds are too small. Those symptoms always begin when flowering stage start (last 3 crops as explained on previous post). After all I’ve been through considering experience fighting gnats, mites (came in with clones) and mildew, I can assure air circulation and temperature are optimal. That pretty much led me to suspicion the condensate water being toxic, and after your comments on the subject and smelling it, I guess they are getting imposioned on every water which finally explains why after I water them (I let the soil almost dry first - every 3 days or so - 7 litres pots) instead of looking happy they keep a sickened appearance that actually improves a little after 2 days when it drys a bit again. Now root rot as in brownish smelly roots I’ve never spotted here...
would you agree with me it’s the A/C water intoxicating them? Or am I missing something right under my nose again? (if you catch my drift)

[alltatup]

Hello Edu, and thanks for the very thorough information!! You are a soil grower, and I assumed yesterday that you were a hydroponic grower when you mentioned the large reservoir in your post yesterday.

I myself am a hydro grower, currently on my 6th grow, so by no means an expert--just an avid learner. Here are my suggestions and observations:

1. Don't use the condensate water and see if there's a difference.
2. I did one landrace sativa grow, and she was extremely sensitive to over-feeding; she did get nitrogen toxicity at one point in flower.
3. Seriously think about what could have changed when your plants changed. Sometimes we miss the smallest thing, and then we realize that it's a culprit!
4. Try growing another strain that is stronger; your strain may be finicky. A classic strain like Dutch Passion's White Widow is easy to grow and she's an excellent producer (I've grown her twice). That is, if you can get other strains. I order all my seeds from the UK.
5. I don't think your problem is root rot, which is a much more common problem for hydro growers like me. It's a shame to have to waste the air conditioner condensate, but if you have nothing else you can do with it, you may have to let it go. You are dealing with large quantities of water, but you could try something like GRAPEFRUIT SEED EXTRACT in the water, which will kill all fungi and crap in the water. It will kill the good enzymes and bacteria as well, but if it's applied correctly, it provides a sterile root zone. Look it up and read about it.
6. You could have a sample of the water analyzed to find out what's in it, which may help you to eliminate anything bad. You may need chlorine; GSE may not be the correct product. But you need to know what's in the water first.

I have fought root rot and found my solutions through a series of experiences and multiple grows. I had to invest in chillers for both of my reservoirs (I grow in two stealth boxes--one large and one small). I also fought gnats and I won! ;-}

I wish you the best of luck, and keep sleuthing! We do eventually figure out what's affecting the grow and once it's solved, we move on. I think it gets easier and easier to solve problems the more experience we acquire.

cheers,
atu