All feeds with nutes use either a whole ratio or combination of "Veg Mix" and "Bloom Mix"concentrates DILUTED in water until a total ppm of add in is reached using a (Total Dissolved Solids)TDS Meter measured in PPM (parts per million). The "Veg Mix" concentrate will eventually be added in smaller ratios and "Bloom Mix" concentrate what will eventually replace the "Veg Mix" concentrate entirely with the ppm and ratios listed when I feed. Veg mix recipe is on week 3. Bloom Mix recipe is on week 5.
Day 35 start of week 5 since sprout
Today I increased my ppfd to 410 highest, 400 center, and 385 lowest (also raised the light panel to 32 inches and increased the wattage to my second tick up of 5)
temp and humidity are set at 74F/63%RH/33%IL Vent
Oldest leaves are looking more and more crusty now and crack when touched. And now one of my newest leaves are starting to show signs of the brown spots.
HST looks to be going okay as all branches turned upward in a day - seems like the stems are now dried out but I could just be noticing hardwood setting in - I know they are still letting something through as the newest nodes are starting to grow - hoping it's just a transition to the new position but will obviously monitor
Defoliation, removed the 4 oldest leaves affected by the brown spots to see it it speeds up on the next leaf. Did light LST to adjust binds and ensure they are not constricting the branches.
Day 36
(late entry but this happened yesterday)
Stats were all checked, VPD 1.0 with 73F/64%RH/33% IL Vent - Light measured ppfd at 410 highest, 400 center, and 390 at lowest
Took control stats - 3 soil ph meter tests 5.35, 5.24, and 5.33 - truly concerned this is my issue, I went with hardwood ash from my grill.
Measured 1/3rd cup and sprinkled it over he whole top being sure not to get any directly on the plant for fear of burn - used a gallon of de-chlorinated tap water at 8.06ph to water it in. Noticed side runoff but looked like less than a quart came out. This is where I realized I never change my drip tray out before I did this, so ppm test would be worthless so I skipped it.
Day 37
Took stats this morning-
VPD and lights mostly the same as yesterday, but with new growth the lights changed a little - ppfd at 410 highest, 400 center and 400 at lowest.
took control pictures for each section again for comparison still showing more brown spots spreading over the oldest leaves.
However the hardwood ash seems to have helped the ph. I took 3 soil meter readings this morning and got 6.27, 6.56, and 6.69 for avg of 6.506
Now I will watch to see if the feed nutes can get through and help stop the spread of the issue.
Day 38
Checked ph meters - liquid meter needs slight calibration but since Im not using it today, I'll do it later. However my soil meter is still spot on.
So I took 3 readings - 6.11, 6.09, and 6.1 for and avg of 6.1 - falling from yesterday by about .4 - also took a picture to show where I have been random in my soil checks
Took test pictures of each quarter again. UL, UR, LL, and LR - each quarter got progressively worse still however the new growth seems to be doing pretty good still. - I dont want to take the older ones off until she shows a positive response to something. (only have these and the new leaves left.)
So I plan to treat with feed dunk/de chlorinated tap again (not today, in a day or two)
Did some slight adjusting of the branches to keep them the same height as the left side was lifting the binds out of the soil.
ppfd now at 430 highest, 420 at center and 415 at lowest - VPD steady at 1.0 using 73F/64% RH/33%IL Vent
Day 39
Did 3 morning readings of ph - 6.84, 6.78, and 6.85 for an avg of 6.823(higher than yesterday's avg by .7 and 2 days before by .3 so I will continue to monitor so that I can catch it before it runs up by flushing with lower ph feed or water)
She is growing as noted by the increase in height now. close to 9 inches tall here and the 8 cola tops look fairly level so I didnt do any LST or bind adjustments. But measured ppfd and got 455, 440, 435, and 425 over the 4 new growth areas.
VPD still consistent at 1.0 - 73 to 76F/ 63 to 64% RH/ 33% IL Vent
Brown spots are still increasing and the leaves are beginning to taco as the last ones did. New growth doesnt seem to be showing any signs yet, so fingers crossed I got it with ph.
Day 40
Checked stats - PH seems to have stabilized, 3 readings 6.81, 6.84, and 6.82 for an avg of 6.823
VPD at about 1.0 with temp at 74F/63% RH/ and 33% IL Vent. PPFD was at 455, 440, 430, and 435 over each cola in same order as pictures.
She is still growing so I took pictures of that progression with a tape measure.
Hardwood seems to have set now as none of the branches lifted by flexibility just new growth. Still relatively flat
Calcium deficiency seems to be staying on the oldest leaves with the edges now crisping enough to begin to crack on bending attempts. The newest leaves are still not showing any signs of issues. I may defoliate them tomorrow so she can have time to recover before binding the branches again once she's above 12 inches tall.
---- correction ----
Now that I have examined the new growth on a larger scale in photos, I can see the start of the issue there now too!
Q!%#$
Day 41
Im going to defoliate the bad leaves and see if it progresses any further in the next 2 days and re-evaluate in 3. It's been 5 days since the wood ash treatment and the last time she's been given water. However the soil is still fairly wet since that was so close to the dunk before, so I plan to feed with nutes in a day or two to replenish more of what washed and and hope the ph was the single issue fixing the rest.
Removed the other set of binds today and took front/back pictures of the leaves I took off. They were surprisingly wet even though they look crispy. There's still plenty getting to these branches as they stand tall in my hand for close to 30 minutes before finally drooping over by being cutoff.
Noticed red stems making me think it might need phosphorus in that next feed
Also added a modified tomato plant support to the pot to get an idea of what kind of growth Im looking for next should she still want to grow on