Plant dying?!?!?!

[chroniceles]

My beloved first plant is starting to die I think!

I started growing in the middle of June from some bagseed a mate picked up in the Phillipines (which apparently was really good shit!). Anyway, it took aaages to germinate, and it is only this tall <see photos link at the bottom> now.

The Plant and pics

Anyway, the bottom leaves started to become yellow and curl, which I read somewhere was some sort of deficiency. I bought some epsom salts (which is what the site said to do) and sprinkled a seemingly modest amount on the topsoil, then watered it (this is the first time I had ever done anything with fertilizer with is, apart from putting some SeaSol/water mixture on it at the end of August. Otherwise its just been watered with tap water).

 

By the way, this is an outdoor plant that receives around 8hrs of sunlight a day, and it is located in Sydney's east (near the metropolitan area).

 

iAnyway, I checked it out today, and it looks really sick. The leaves are yellowing, and the bottom leaves look somewhat burnt.

 

I am a newbie, and i have no idea what would have caused it, but I have waited so long and spent so much time looking up information for growing that I really want to do my best to save it. I am on a VERY limited budget, which is why I am growing outside, and my flat mate is a tight ass and i had to convince him for about a week to let me keep the little beauty.

 

Anyway, what should I do with it? I am considering buying a 20cm diameter pot and transplanting it into some new potting mix, but it would be better to do this when the plant is healthy.

 

So what do you recommend doing? The website below has some (although sketchy) pictures of the plant from around 2-3 weeks ago when it looked healthier, and it now.

Please help me, I really want my first attempt at growing to be reasonably successful. Thanks alot.

The Plant and pics

[Luke Skywalker]

Hi mate, hope I can help out here.

 

Firstly, you should only ever be potting in good quality potting mix. Not just garden soil from out the back. Australian soils, (with a few exceptions) are about as impoverished and hungry as they come, usually also extremely old soils too, which means that they have almost no structure and are nutrient poor in the extreme.

 

So I'd say go down to the local garden center and get yaself a bag of Quality (those red ticks) Premium potting mix. This should contain all the nutrients the plants will need for at least a month, probably longer. You should also pot out your seedling into a much larger pot, like at least 30 liters, or a 300mm pot. This will be large enough so that you can grow out from youth to flowering, and it will be much more room for the roots to develop.

 

The larger the pot, the less water you'll need too, and the better the quality mix, this is also going to reduce the amount you'll have to water, so don't overdo it. Wait until the top inch or so of the soil is drying out, and then water, but water deeply and well.

 

I'd say you were more likely overferting than under, particularly if the plants were burnt looking, but it could also have been underfert from a pH problem. The pH levels affect the nutrient forms and uptakes for the plants, and if it's too far either way outside the 6 - 7 mark in soil, then you'll likely end up with nutrient deficiencies. So make sure your ph is in that 6-7 range, and your plants will get the nutes that they need.

 

Plants can also lose leaves if they're being shaded out, or are just plain older leaves which have outlived their usefullness to the plants, but it sounds more like an overfert or pH imbalance to me.

 

So yeah, transplant the pot, being gentle, and give it a good watering with a 1/4 strength vegetative nutrient. Seasol is also a good pick me up for stressed plants. The key is to never overdo it with ferts, more doesn't mean faster, it usually just means dead, so always at least halve the manufacturers recommendations.

 

You could also do well to pick up a bottle of pH down (phosphoric acid) and a pH test kit for the soil and water. Tap water is frequently quite alkaline, and if you water with a high ph water consistently it can change the ph of the soil and affect nutrient uptake. Perhaps adjusting the water to about 6 will help. I know that may be a bit of a bugger, but it can definitely be worth it IMHO.

 

Hope that helps mate.

[chroniceles]

Luke, man, you are some sort of weed demi-god.

 

I'll head out first thing this saturday (when my landlord whom lives upstairs goes on hols) and then transplant it into a 250-300mm pot with some nice quality potting mix. until then however, what should I do? I mean hopefully it won't die in a couple of days, which would really suck.

 

Also, when transplanting, what is the correct method? Should I get rid of most of the original soil and whack it in the new mix? Should I 'flood' the current pot to make it easier to move? If someone can give me a link to an appropriate transplanting post or site, that would be fantastic (all the ones I've seen have dealt with huge indoor grows with heaps of fertilizers and other expensive stuff, I'm just growing one plant to see how it is to smoke something of your own doing [ie. natural!]). Anyway once again, thanks alot luke, you're a saviour.

 

One more thing, what is the best like all purpose fertilizer to use? Is their one widely available fertilizer that balances all the nutrients correctly to appeal to the cannabis plant? If so, is it costly? If not, do I have to buy a bulk load of other fertilizers that each do a different thing and attempt to balance the dosage (as well as my wallet )?

 

Sorry for all the questions, but i am really determined to make my first grow a successful one, so i can go onto bigger and better things. Thanks once again.

[Luke Skywalker]

Thanks man.

 

When transplanting, the main thing is to be gentle. If you are transferring from one soil to another type, and particularly if it's a crappy initial soil being changed to a better one, then yeah, I'd say gently remove the excess soil from the plant, and then use a bucket of water to rinse off the remainder. Don't be rough with the roots, and don't worry about getting the lot. The main thing is to disturb it little, but still give it a good chance in a new media. The plants should take a few days off from full sun when tranplanted out as well, so put the pot into a semi-shaded area for a couple of days, and perhaps give the plant an initial soak with some weak seasol or seaweed emulsion, as this can help with shock.

 

There are a few different soluble liquid fertilisers out there nowadays which are MJ specific, so to speak, but really, they're more for hydroponic use. Although there are a few which are organic, and can be used in organic methods, so a trip to the local hydroponics shop and asking for a good soluble nute for soil growing could be worth the effort.

 

That said, many organic and outdoor growers don't use MJ specific nutes, and there are many good brands, (and a few crappy ones) out there. Firstly, I'd say don't bother with "thrive", some use it, but I, and many other growers, have had much trouble with this so-called "soluble" fert, which doesn't do the job. You could try Dynamic lifter, which is a good all round nute, or various others like nitrosol, aquasol, or blood and bone.

 

MJ likes nutes, and sucks up lots. It's what's referred to as a "gross feeder" plant, meaning it can use plenty of nutrients in comparison to other species. Tomatoes are another good example of "gross feeders". That doesn't mean to just dump on as much as you can, as plants can only take so much and then you'll just hurt them, but in comparison, they're quite fond of a fair amount of nutes. What you'll want to do is get one which is high in the Nitrogen component, (the N in NPK) for the vegetative phase, something like 20-12-8 or something, and then one with a higher P (phosphorus) and K (potassium) for the flowering phase, like 12-12-20. This is because the plants use more of the latter in flowering, and more nitrogen in the vegetative phase, and by using different formulas for different stages you'll get the best results. Some growing methods use single ferts for the entire growth and flowering of the plants, but most will say they use a Vegging and then a Flowering nutrient mix to keep the plants producing optimally.

 

You shouldn't have to worry about making up your own formulas, or buying bulk ferts and mixing them, most of the soluble fertilisers will contain the entire spectrum of macro and micro nutrients for good plant growth. If you go into the local hydro shop and ask for a complete formula you shouldn't go wrong. Remember that you're after a vegging nute at the moment, and don't overdo it. Seeldlings will only need about 1/4 strength, and probably only once every week or so if in soil.

 

Hey dude, don't worry about asking questions, there is never a stupid question if you don't know the answer. Have a bit of a look through the various growing diaries and threads in some of the other boards here, and you should be able to pick up quite a bit of good information about what nutrients people use in their home growing, and what you should avoid doing. This forum allows everyone to show off their mistakes and then through that, help avoid them for others.

 

Hope that helps mate, and good luck with the bubbies.