What went wrong?

Hey guys, this is my first attempt at growing in soil. I have 2 plants. One Early miss and one dwarf low flyer. Both are autos from crop king. Lights are on 19/5. I'm running a marshydro 300 (132 actual watts) over dlf and a hlg 100 over em. The soil is gaia green living soil. Dlf is in a 2gal pot. Em 3gal. Nutes gaia green power bloom. I've been top dressing. Ph'd water about 5.5 - 6 (I have the cheap liquid test kit). Average day time temp is 25C and RH between 32% to 50% depending if I turn the intake fan on. Both are 44 days old. All my experience has been with DWC. My problem is with the dwarf, her buds are minuscule but frosty. I will post better pics when I get a chance.

Too me they look nutrient burnt. When top dressing it is hard to know what the plant has used from last time you top dressed. Therefore it accumulates and causes problems. But I don’t know much about the living soil growing so listen to the vets.
Also how often does your extraction fan run, they look possibley starved of co2

Thanks for the reply! That's what I was afraid of. Any way of reversing it? Haven't turned on the carbon filter because I haven't had a smell issue. Plus I check them twice a day with the tent door wide open. Should I run it constantly or every now and then?

Give them a 12/12 photo period. Some auto phenotypes lean a little too far away from the ruderalis and thus won't flower properly without 12 hours of dark each day.

In my opinion no it can’t be reversed really. But they’re not too bad looking either. Your tent being open for a while twice a day just is not enough.
The only way to know is to have a c02 meter. So since nobody can afford them in the hobby world people just vent air constantly or some people have an extraction fan set on a thermostat to click in when it gets too hot. Either way frequent/constant air changes are crucial. I ruined a few plants in a air tight cabinet a few years back.
If you want to look into c02 and sealed room grows that’s an option. Its typically not for “hobby” type people.

Bobby Long Buds said:

In my opinion no it can’t be reversed really. But they’re not too bad looking either. Your tent being open for a while twice a day just is not enough.
The only way to know is to have a c02 meter. So since nobody can afford them in the hobby world people just vent air constantly or some people have an extraction fan set on a thermostat to click in when it gets too hot. Either way frequent/constant air changes are crucial. I ruined a few plants in a air tight cabinet a few years back.
If you want to look into c02 and sealed room grows that’s an option. Its typically not for “hobby” type people.

Click to expand...

These are pretty cheap, I keep one in each of my rooms so I can log the CO2, temps and RH%.

Renfro said:

These are pretty cheap, I keep one in each of my rooms so I can log the CO2, temps and RH%.

Click to expand...

When is the best time to ensure proper co2 levels? I thought I read somewhere that lights off was even more important than lights on? Or is it crucial 24hours a day? I also thought I read that a quick lights out period, mid day during veg can help co2 absorption. Please enlighten me.
Not a bad price at all no. Thanks

Crucial when lights are on.

Thanks for all the info. Next grow I'll do a journal. Will switching to 12/12 have an adverse effect this late in the game? I'll definitely switch the exhaust fan on today. If I were to use a larger pot, 7gal or what have you, with super soil would I need to fertilize?

Coldwarninja said:

Will switching to 12/12 have an adverse effect this late in the game?

Click to expand...

I would expect the opposite, it should help them actually flower properly and finish.

Coldwarninja said:

If I were to use a larger pot, 7gal or what have you, with super soil would I need to fertilize?

Click to expand...

I would guess that in later flowering they may need a little feed but I would refer that question to the guys in the organic growing section.

https://growershouse.com/exhale-365-self-activated-co2-bag?utm_source=google&utm_medium=cpc&adpos=1o2&scid=scplp11474&sc_intid=11474&keyword=&gclid=Cj0KCQiAnY_jBRDdARIsAIEqpJ0hJpn7htv15beDzk1QE2iqrWJBCDu6diA3D_Il0_i3yTmatUU3y50aAupzEALw_wcB You may be able to get by with a co2 bag or 2 if that's the case if you dont need the extraction for heat.

Mars 300 is their oldest model. Try their other models if you have a chance in future.
I found that Mars was doing giveaway on their website for their newest light and tent.

Firstly, if these are Autos, don't change their photoperiod to 12/12....you are wasting yield, yield and yield if you do. These plants are bred to flower regardless of photoperiod. Your best bet is to give them all the light they'll take.

Secondly, while more CO2 may be beneficial, the lack, or what you seem to think is a lack of CO2 is not your issue.

I would say if I bought a strain with the word 'dwarf' in its description, I would be amiss to think said plant is going to be a giant. Agree? Can you confirm if your DLF is growing contrary to others who are running it?

What's your fertilizer schedule for these plants; how many times have you amended the soil with Gaia Green since you began this run? When was the last time you fed these plants? It looks as though you pushed your plants a little too hard hence the leaf tip burn. Did you slow down on what you're feeding because of this burn?

Thanks fake stoker I'll check it out.

Canna country: shoot I switched this morning I'll put it back on 19/5 when I get home.

I absolutely agree with you in that I wasnt expecting a massive plant but the flowers look quite small for how long it's been in flower mode. Unless I'm way off base. From what I've seen on other grow journals, the flowers appear to be underdeveloped.

I started top dressing with 1/4 strength after 4 weeks not knowing how much nutes was left in the soil. I repeated every second watering. I haven't done any amending....I know I'm such a noob. According to the packaging and research the dwf has approximately 9 week life cycle. Is amending still needed?

Thanks for the help!

I think cannacounty is right most likley to many nutrients. I just thought it could possibly be not enough c02? I would pop a few more seeds and get the ball rolling on some new ones while you try get those straightened out, there autos anyway. If they were mine I’d at least flush clear water through them to try rid your soil of excess.
And then I would get some photos started most Ryder type strains are not well loved it seems.

Top dressing can take some experience, you need to learn the strength of what your using & how fast it moves in your soil to actually time it properly, not to mention the need to keep the roots in range, if your roots are tight in the pot you should go lightly on what you top dress untill you learn your nutes.

If you are having a hard time with nutrients mid-flower you could always pre-cook a mix for flowering and transplant 10-14 days prior to flipping, this will lessen the nutrient decline during flowering requiring smaller/easier amounts of correction if even needed.

So just checked and wow... there wasnt any yellowing yesterday!. I just watered them with zero nutes. Switched the lights back to 19/5. I hope they bounce back. Gonna take Bobby long buds advice and pop a jack herer auto. I do have white widow photo, could I run them together?

Am I the only one that thinks that a 5.5-6.0 ph is off for a soil grow?

Normally, I wouldn't think twice about ph in soil, but in 2 and 3 gallon pots, there isn't much to buffer.

Coldwarninja said:

So just checked and wow... there wasnt any yellowing yesterday!. I just watered them with zero nutes. Switched the lights back to 19/5. I hope they bounce back. Gonna take Bobby long buds advice and pop a jack herer auto. I do have white widow photo, could I run them together?

View attachment 4282736 View attachment 4282737

Click to expand...

As long as you treat your grow room as if you were growing a photoperiod strain you can grow both at once. You will possibley end up giving your auto 12 hrs light though which will work but like stated above it will lower your yield slightly perhaps. But the good news will be that you will have a photoperiod plant growing as well. But the question then is why grow an auto if your growing a photo already why not 2 photos. Good luck

3rd Monkey said:

Am I the only one that thinks that a 5.5-6.0 ph is off for a soil grow?

Normally, I wouldn't think twice about ph in soil, but in 2 and 3 gallon pots, there isn't much to buffer.

Click to expand...

I don’t know but is “gaia green living soil” referred to as soiless or soil. It has spaghum peat in it so I thought that would be soiless and you’d want a ph near 6? But I have no idea.