tips of leaves pointing downwards

[BentBuddha]

Hey there.

 

I have 6 plants in coco fibre using GT nutes. Two of the plants are blueberry and the tips of the leaves are pointing downwards. It's only recently that they've been doing that. Maybe a week or so.

 

Can anyone help?

[SukonmiSkunk]

whats the ppm at budda,

How often do you flush...some times a good flush is all it needs... certainly a good place to start.....

 

also what are they growing in? straight coco fibre? could be overwatering??

[BentBuddha]

I have the ppm 1120. Straight Coco. Timer comes on twice a day for 2mins. I flush every week. I dont' know if it's coincidence but I've recently changed to GT nutes from Cana. They looked much happier before but i dont' want to be too quick to blame that incase it's not the cause. The leaves are pretty much horizontal, but the ends of them point down like a right angle. They are 8 weeks old and only now are they showing these signs. I'm using 30ltr pots too. Last crop i had no probs and that was with 50ltr pots. So perhaps the roots are more compact in there and water getting trapped?? Dunno mate. Any suggestions much appreciated

Edited April 13, 2006 by BentBuddha

[SukonmiSkunk]

looking at the pic, it looks like its overwatering..... straight coco does hold a bit of water....I gues thats why they recommend about %30 perlite in the mix, for extra drainage. I would say just give the 2-3 minute feed once a day when the light comes on. See how they react to that...

 

is there any discolouring of the leaves like light and dark green patches.. burnt leaf tips?? Bottom leaves yellowing?

 

normally I would say 1100ppm is about 500ppm too low, I run mine between 15-1800

[BentBuddha]

thanx mate i'll giv that a go

[Pure]

as well as mixing some perlite in something I have found works great is to put about 2-3 inches of somethign like clayballs or lava rocks, at the bottom of each pot , your coco would be VERY damp at the very bottom of those large pots , the top will dry out in a day but the verry bottom of it won't and continuing to water will leave you with a very damp bottom of the pots , havign the rock medium there allows for SOOO much better drainage

 

This sugestion is ofcourse for next time , I am not saying you have to repot at this stage but you will have to cut back on the waterings , treat it more liek soil and wait untill it is totally dry before you water her again, you can tell by weight once you know your plants and the pots , but if you want a meter for it bunnings sells soil moisture meters , they are not messure on a scientific scale as such but it will tell you if the soil is drenched , damp , dry , ect

 

as for the problem at hand a close up shot of the leaf sound help to trouble shoot a little better, if you have a scanner scan it in ( they come out perfect ) looks liek it could be overwatering like SS has mentioned or possibly a slight nute deficiency

[Tom]

I have 6 plants in coco fibre using GT nutes.

You need to use nutrients that are designed for use with coco as they have a higher calcium content and other added trace elements that are necessary when growing in that media.

 

[BentBuddha]

Thanx guys. I have GT coco. The thing that's got me stumped is how come only after 8 weeks would they be pointing down if it was over watering? Someone did tell me to put stuff on the bottom for drainage and i didn't listen . Nutrient levels are kinda low i guess. I'm filling the barrel today so i'll put it up to at least 1400. I bought a air stone and stuck it in the brain. Also, i've got the PH at 5.5. It's what i had my Canna nutes at and they loved it. I read on back of GT that their product works better at 6.0 so i'll be changing that too. Also, i changed timer to 3mins when they wake up. See how that goes. Fark u learn a lot with this hobby.

 

ps. I have 6 plants and two of them are blueberry. The BlueBerrys are the ones with the tips pointing downwards. I went to stick my finger in the coco to feel the moisture and i couldn't get it in due to there being so much roots in there. But the other plants i can slide my finger right in no probs

Edited April 13, 2006 by BentBuddha

[SukonmiSkunk]

its probably exactly what pure has said.... the pots arent draining properly... and now after 8 weeks the roots are more than likely sitting in the wetter medium at the bottom, leaf tips pointing down is a classic sign of over watering and you said theyve been fine up until now.. but I would say the roots have finaly reached the bottom of the pots....

this could be an issue come the end of flowering.....

 

cut youre waterings back to once a day... maybe even once every 3 days..... but as for now Id let them dry out a bit..... so nothing for a few days.. watch for wilting.....

 

back to basics... when you were gardening with nana... how did she set her pots up?? Rocks in the bottom maybe a little bark and then the potting mix.....nana knows best...

 

clay balls(hydroton), course versa rock or sun hardened scoria all can be re used over and over

[BentBuddha]

I've dropped the feeding down to 2mins when the lights come on. In my other room i had 4 plants 1 week old in Coco. This time in 50lt pots instead of 30. I pulled them out, mixed the coco with 25% of some medium, i forget the name, it starts with 'M', it's like gravel. Also, i put 3 inches of gravel at the bottom for drainage. If dropping the watering down to 2mins in the flower room don't work, i will have to replant them into bigger pots with gravel at the bottom. It's a head fuck and might stress them, but they are my two best plants (BlueBerry) and i want to get a decent yeild off them. Edited April 14, 2006 by BentBuddha