1sttimeguy
Well-Known Member
I'd like to start out by thanking everyone for the wealth of knowledge I've attained reading your boards. There have been a lot of useful tips that I have picked up from posts here. I come to you now in an attempt to diagnose a condition I have noticed that I can't be sure is a problem or not.
This is my first grow, the plants were started indoor and put out into the elements around June 1st. I'm located in a coastal region near the 49th parallel (PNW). These plants seem otherwise healthy however I do have a concern about the purple stems on the top shoots. After much reading I suspect it is either a Phosphorus deficiency or simply a genetic trait. Both plants are showing the same symptom.
These plants are both 20"-26" tall. Both plants are vibrant green (the LED flash on the camera gives a decieving yellow colour to leaves in the foreground). The male plant is nearing the end of it's post-sexing stretch, the female is growing with respectable vigor (new leaf sets with little inter-nodal strectch). She grows about 1" to 1 1/2" daily(cloudy rainy days aside).
The male (yeah I know... kill it ! kill it! It will serve it's purpose soon enough,) showed sex approximately 3 weeks ago and pollen sacs have been developing since, none of which have opened (nor appear as if they will in the next week or so). The peritoles and stems in the top 2 nodes are showing purple, pollen sacs on the male are showing some purple striping as well.
The female showed her first hairs (vibrant white) last week and more every day. Peritoles and small stems show purple in the top two nodes worth of growth.
Grow Details
Grow medium: Sunshine Pro Mix (sphagnum peat moss, perlite, a starter fertilizer charge, a controlled-release fertilizer and dolomite lime) pH is monitored and adjusted to 6.8 (and monitored)
Nutes : Miracle Gro (yeah, yeah) 10-10-10 through veg every 2nd - 3rd feeding. Additionally epsom salts were added a few weeks ago due to a Mg def. to the soil (1/2 tsp : 4 Ll) and foliar fed (1/2 tsp : 1 L), this remedied the problem.
Lighting : Good old solar energy 10am-7pm daily. Temps have been 25C to 33C (day) and 15C-20C (night) for a few weeks. The end of last week and this past weekend we had some heavy rain for a few days and lower temps (down to 12C a few nights).
Watering : Once or twice a week as required using "lift the pot" method. Water used is mostly collected rainwater. Of course there is always mother nature watering them as she sees fit...
Pests: A couple of hiccups with hungry slugs but nothing severe.
Training: Supercropping alternating stems (experimental, just to see how a control stem performs in relation to a suppercropped stem on the same plant).
I have three thoughts on the culprit;
1) Phosphorus issue
2) Temperature drop last week
3) Strain trait
Sorry for the picture quality, I'll snap some before sunset today to get you better a better look.
Please note that the flash on the camera has seemed to have made the foreground leaves look yellow and the purple is enhanced. The colour is much less prominent in daylight.
Thank you in advance, any and all input is greatly appreciated.
This is my first grow, the plants were started indoor and put out into the elements around June 1st. I'm located in a coastal region near the 49th parallel (PNW). These plants seem otherwise healthy however I do have a concern about the purple stems on the top shoots. After much reading I suspect it is either a Phosphorus deficiency or simply a genetic trait. Both plants are showing the same symptom.
These plants are both 20"-26" tall. Both plants are vibrant green (the LED flash on the camera gives a decieving yellow colour to leaves in the foreground). The male plant is nearing the end of it's post-sexing stretch, the female is growing with respectable vigor (new leaf sets with little inter-nodal strectch). She grows about 1" to 1 1/2" daily(cloudy rainy days aside).
The male (yeah I know... kill it ! kill it! It will serve it's purpose soon enough,) showed sex approximately 3 weeks ago and pollen sacs have been developing since, none of which have opened (nor appear as if they will in the next week or so). The peritoles and stems in the top 2 nodes are showing purple, pollen sacs on the male are showing some purple striping as well.
The female showed her first hairs (vibrant white) last week and more every day. Peritoles and small stems show purple in the top two nodes worth of growth.
Grow Details
Grow medium: Sunshine Pro Mix (sphagnum peat moss, perlite, a starter fertilizer charge, a controlled-release fertilizer and dolomite lime) pH is monitored and adjusted to 6.8 (and monitored)
Nutes : Miracle Gro (yeah, yeah) 10-10-10 through veg every 2nd - 3rd feeding. Additionally epsom salts were added a few weeks ago due to a Mg def. to the soil (1/2 tsp : 4 Ll) and foliar fed (1/2 tsp : 1 L), this remedied the problem.
Lighting : Good old solar energy 10am-7pm daily. Temps have been 25C to 33C (day) and 15C-20C (night) for a few weeks. The end of last week and this past weekend we had some heavy rain for a few days and lower temps (down to 12C a few nights).
Watering : Once or twice a week as required using "lift the pot" method. Water used is mostly collected rainwater. Of course there is always mother nature watering them as she sees fit...
Pests: A couple of hiccups with hungry slugs but nothing severe.
Training: Supercropping alternating stems (experimental, just to see how a control stem performs in relation to a suppercropped stem on the same plant).
I have three thoughts on the culprit;
1) Phosphorus issue
2) Temperature drop last week
3) Strain trait
Sorry for the picture quality, I'll snap some before sunset today to get you better a better look.
Please note that the flash on the camera has seemed to have made the foreground leaves look yellow and the purple is enhanced. The colour is much less prominent in daylight.
Thank you in advance, any and all input is greatly appreciated.
