Molybdenum, Mites, Mildew, Aggravation...MMMA 1st timer :)

Hello fellow greenthumbs!

My original post was lost when I hit backspace and firefox went back to the previous page, so here we go again..in a condensed version:

Quick stats:
1000w MH - 24hr cycle
9 plants, approx. 12 in
OG Kush (supposedly..)
3 gal smart pots
Ph: Between 6 and 6.3 based on color strip test
Soil: 3 parts Pro BX Mychorrizae, 1 part Roots Organic Potting Soil
Amendments: Blood meal, fish emulsion, greensand 1 tsp each/plant container. I am not willing to use chemical ferts, at all. Natural and organic is my path.
Temp: 75-80F
Known issues: Clones came w/ spider mites. Also the white dots in the pics were present in 1 or 2 places upon arrival of clones.

I have sprayed with Neem Oil twice so far, with 4 days in between each spray. The lights were ON when I sprayed, and I now understand that this may not be good for the plants.

I'm glad I didn't pay for these clones.

My main questions are:

The white dots - is it indeed powdery mildew? Pics 1 and 2

The yellow spots look to me like molybdenum deficiency, however this is my 1st cannabis grow and I am basing that decision on VERY limited knowledge. What do the experienced growers have to say about them? Pics 3, 5, 7

The edges of a few of the plants new-growth appear to be slightly yellow, is this a cause for concern? Pic 6

In the 4th pic, are the leaves looking curled to an unhealthy point? Could be my imagination.

I really appreciate the help guys, I know many of you are probably sick and tired of these 1st-time-help-me threads. I will pay it forward and pass the baton of knowledge when I get there..I really want to produce the best product for my patients

Don't see any PM.

See dis-coloration due to water spots / Neem treatment and nute problems.

Dump the PH test strips ASAP...you can buy a simple test tube liquid PH kit for less then 10 bucks. PH test strips are crap..just exposing it to the air will change the color, not to mention touching it, even on the end.

Looks a little soggy also. ( soil )

Cut any leaves off below pot edge inside the pot. And never let them touch the soil.

Get your PH right and let them dry out . And yes never spray plants with the lights on.

If you can re pot them throw some perlite in there.

Also some plants don't dig a 24 hour light schedule...some do..most don't. Give it at least 4 to 6 hours of darkness.

Your not nuting yet ? right ? As most soils contain enough nutes for the veg cycle.

From what I see all your problems are PH and over watering.

Hey I appreciate the response!

Dump the PH test strips ASAP...you can buy a simple test tube liquid PH kit for less then 10 bucks. PH test strips are crap..just exposing it to the air will change the color, not to mention touching it, even on the end.

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I actually used a product called RapiTest PH something or other...basically you put some soil in, add distilled h20, 1 green capsule and shake it up - are these inaccurate as well?

Looks a little soggy also. ( soil )

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I have been watering about every 4 days. Each 3 gallon pot is getting around 1/2 gallon of h20 - is this really too much? I am used to growing veggies outdoors, never anything in pots. I give you indoor growers much respect, it is a totally different world.

I should have known better about the leaves touching the soil, and you're spot on with the lighting suggestion. The room was getting too cold during the off hours, but in my newb frenzie, I didn't even consider doing 20/4, which I have switched to doing. I think it will be fine if I change the schedule so the lights are off in the warmest part of the day, probably 12-4pm.

Get your PH right and let them dry out

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It seems like everywhere I go, there is a different suggestion for Ph...The Cannabis Grow Bible suggests that 7 is ideal, other people have said 6.3, while others have told me between 6.5 and 7...what works for you folks?

Thanks again,

MS

Most cannabis grows best between 5.8 and 6.5 ( soil ) and even lower for hydro / DWC.

7 is too high and 5 is too low for any plant. They will grow at those extremes of PH but your wasting your time. These extremes cause nute lock out leading people to think it's low on nutes...so more nutes...more problems.

The pot should be light when picked up ( so you know when to water ) One way to do this is fill an empty Smart Pot ( love these things..use them myself ) let the soil dry out and pick it up. Should almost whack yourself in the face picking it up because it's so light.

Cannabis loves to be dry.

It's not how often you water...it's what the soil and plants want..not you.

I've seen the exact same problems as you ( had them myself ) and it was due to overwatering and PH.

The soil could look and feel dry...but you could have a root ball clump area that never gets a chance to dry out.

If your not using perilite...get some.

I lay a base about 2 inches deep of pure perilite in the bottom of my Smart Pot...then add a soil / perlite mix of 50 / 50.

Also think about raising the pots off the floor so air flows underneath. I keep mine 3 inches off the floor on a large metal grate.

And yes..no matter where you go ( websites, forums etc ) everyone has an opinion. Just peruse the info and distill it down to what works for you.
Good luck

listen to the above poster... very accurate except the 24 hours of light thing... i personally dont think that they need a sleep time in veg but that's just me.

it doesn't look too bad dude these plants are tough.. in fact, heres a picture of my Tahoe OG when I got it. It had severe moisture stress upon the roots

And here it is today, looking much healthier

If it is true OG Kush you will smell it. rubbing my fingers on the stem of this Tahoe OG brings straight Lemon Diesel Skunk Funk and it should soon fill the air as it is in week 3 flower

I should've went with my intuition on the watering. I wasn't planning on it before the guy who gave me the clones made the comment "Wow those look really dry." Would it be safe to do a test, such as let them go dry until they wilt, record that length time, then water? Obviously I won't do that every time, but just as another way to measure. (I will def. fill the empty smart pot too!)

And just to clarify - I should put 2 inches of perlite on the bottom, then mix the Roots Organic/Pro Mix (which already has some perlite in it) with an equal part of straight perl?

I agree with you on keeping them off the floor, I'm actually using milk crates for that atm.

You guys rock.

it doesn't look too bad dude these plants are tough.. in fact, heres a picture of my Tahoe OG when I got it. It had severe moisture stress upon the roots
Attachment 2061104
And here it is today, looking much healthierAttachment 2061105

If it is true OG Kush you will smell it. rubbing my fingers on the stem of this Tahoe OG brings straight Lemon Diesel Skunk Funk and it should soon fill the air as it is in week 3 flower

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Thanks for the pics Bull, they make me feel much better about my situation. They look almost identical.

And I really don't think it's OGK. They do leave a nice smelling odor on my hands after I touch em, but I've seen/smelled these babies in full flower and there is actually hardly any smell whatsoever! And def. not that yummy lemon diesel perfume!

Mister Sister said:

I should've went with my intuition on the watering. I wasn't planning on it before the guy who gave me the clones made the comment "Wow those look really dry." Would it be safe to do a test, such as let them go dry until they wilt, record that length time, then water? Obviously I won't do that every time, but just as another way to measure. (I will def. fill the empty smart pot too!)

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when you water your plant just pick the pot up over and over and make a mental note of its weight... and then just put off watering til you think they cant go any further. but really when they're dry... they will feel weightless as the above poster mentioned

Mister Sister said:

And just to clarify - I should put 2 inches of perlite on the bottom, then mix the Roots Organic/Pro Mix (which already has some perlite in it) with an equal part of straight perl?



.

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Yes..mix any pre bagged soil with perlite, even if it has perlite in it.

With the good balanced dirt mix you are using, I wouldn't even worry about PH of the soil, just make sure everything you pour into it is within good ranges. I don't see any problems with the plants except for some Mg def in pics 3 and 6. They actually look like healthy plants except for the obvious foliar spray residue, as well as what looks like burning on some leaves most likely related to the foliar sprays.

In regard to Pro-mix BX, i feel like it definitely benefits from added perlite. I have been happy with Pro-mix HP (high porosity) as is. I believe the difference is like 20% more perlite or so in the HP.