My plants are dying, please help.

MisterBlack

Active Member
Hello, I am new here. I have learned a lot lurking here, now I hope I can get some specific help.

I have a number of plants, various strains, some autos and some photoperiod. Many of them are sickly and week, with small leaves and maybe stunted growth.

Growing in a 4x4 tent with two LEDs and one conventional light (think it is HPS, not sure.) Plants are in soil that I try to amend with compost and then reuse. I add fertilizer about every 3 waterings at about half the suggested amount. Twice I added some molasses and microbes. I started this grow with just the LEDs, but the plants didn't look so good, so I added the HPS light hoping it would help. It hasn't helped. I tried just leaving them alone for a coupe weeks with plain water (I leave it out for a day or two), but they just looked sickly and weak.

They are getting worse every day. Leaves turning yellow with green veins, so gave them a shot of fertilizer for the nitrogen. Didn't help. Some of the leaves looked to me like magnesium deficiency, so I got some magnesium sulfide and added that. No help. A week ago I decided maybe they had nutrient lockout, even though I didn't feel I was overfeeding, so I flushed them to remove all the salts and anything else. Then I was away for a few days and when I came home they looked worse than before the flush - more turning really yellow with green veins, some with curled up, drying, dead leaves. That was about 6 days after the flush, with one watering (no nutes.)

Last night I didn't know what to do, so I thought maybe it was nute deficiency again and I mixed up some more fertilizer (regular strength this time) plus some microbes and a little magnesium again. Today they are worse.

I have used this tent and basic arrangement before without major problems. I have tried to isolate any variables that are different from before with not much luck. I don't over or under water. I have an oscillating fan and an exhaust fan. Temp is 25c and humidity about 50%. They are on 18/6 cycle.

What am I doing wrong???
 

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xtsho

Well-Known Member
Why are you trying to grow so many plants? To be honest those aren't even worth trying to fix. They're already flowering and nothing you do now is going to make much difference.

I'd start planning for the next grow. Clean everything up and stick with 4 maybe 5 plants. If you start having trouble ask for help before things get that bad.

I'm sure someone will come along and tell you to add this or that, question you about VPD, PAR, etc... but you'll just be spinning your wheels no matter what you do. Use this as a lesson and don't make the same mistakes next time.
 

MisterBlack

Active Member
Why are you trying to grow so many plants? To be honest those aren't even worth trying to fix. They're already flowering and nothing you do now is going to make much difference.

I'd start planning for the next grow. Clean everything up and stick with 4 maybe 5 plants. If you start having trouble ask for help before things get that bad.

I'm sure someone will come along and tell you to add this or that, question you about VPD, PAR, etc... but you'll just be spinning your wheels no matter what you do. Use this as a lesson and don't make the same mistakes next time.
I agree that things got a little out of hand, but I was having fun having a few plants ready every few weeks. I give some away and people give me some, and it's hard to say no sometimes lol. I don't even smoke, just having fun. Still though, the 3 bigger ones on the left are photoperiod and have not been flipped. Those are my main concern, not the autos that are flowering. Those 3 should be able to recover if I only knew what to do. The leaves look a lot like zinc or sulfer deficiency, but that seems unlikely since they had been getting some fertilizer. Maybe someone can look at those 3 on the left and identify something that will help?
 

420 Garden

Well-Known Member
I have to second that idea. Kiss stands for: keep
It
Simple
Stupid
1/2 of any nutrients. Never go with nutrient company recommended doses. Go with a nice soil (unless your coco). Good soil you can almost get away with 1 to 2 feeds till you flip a photo. You got this man. Shake it off and run. GL!
 

Fallguy111

Well-Known Member
Go buy a bag of ffof and their grow and bloom. Follow instructions and complete at least one grow. That way you have an idea on how a plant should look and you'll realize you don't need 10 bottles to grow fire. Then move on to mixing your own soil. Good luck.
 

MisterBlack

Active Member
holy shit. you need to slow down and learn the basics. i cant even begin to explain that..

watering and nutrient issues for certain.
Yes, I'm sure. I tried plain water as mentioned above, and light nutrients. I have not had this problem before. I don't do anything crazy or unusual to them.
 

MisterBlack

Active Member
I have to second that idea. Kiss stands for: keep
It
Simple
Stupid
1/2 of any nutrients. Never go with nutrient company recommended doses. Go with a nice soil (unless your coco). Good soil you can almost get away with 1 to 2 feeds till you flip a photo. You got this man. Shake it off and run. GL!
Thank you. I am using a potting soil with no added nutrients mixed 50/50 with worm casting compost. Is that ok? I am using Miracle Grow like I always have at 1/2 teaspoon per gallon (I know what some people say about MG, but Bugbee says it's ok, and I have not had these problems until now.)
 

MisterBlack

Active Member
Obviously you did do something unusual to them. Step one is to admit your mistake (we all make them). Step 2 identify mistake. Step 3 (this is the hard one) learn from mistake.
Yes, I did something, that is why I have been reading for weeks trying to figure it out and finally came here to ask help. What I meant is that I never accidentally over fertilized, under fertilized, overwatered or underwatered or anything else UNUSUAL that I don't normally do that I can think of.
 

MisterBlack

Active Member
Go buy a bag of ffof and their grow and bloom. Follow instructions and complete at least one grow. That way you have an idea on how a plant should look and you'll realize you don't need 10 bottles to grow fire. Then move on to mixing your own soil. Good luck.
Thank you, I might try the ff soil in the spring, but I have had a number of good and successful grows here, and I just can't figure out what is different this time. I thouht some people here might be able to help identify the issue or issues since I have been trying with no luck.
 

xtsho

Well-Known Member
Ok, let's look at just this one. Also I changed the image I posted before because it seemed like there were too many plants and it was overwhelming some people.
Do nothing right now. At this point I'm pretty sure that your soil is saturated. You don't want to keep watering. Trim off all the rotten leaves and wait for the soil to dry out before doing anything for now.
 
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