Test Grow #3

Tuesday, 22-06-2022 Partial to total crop failure. I have culled plant # 2 and plant # 3 doesn't look like it will survive the week. Throughout last week the plants were not responding to water as usual. They were progressively wilting with water under them. On Friday I did a foliar treatment with an Azadirachtin (Neem-X) product for the increasing aphids and Saturday I fed with the mix from the previous week with added EMAS (Em1 activated solution). The amount of EM was at least 50ml/gallon and possibly 100ml/gallon. When I fed the plants, plant # 2 was fully wilted and plant # 3 was partially wilted. By Sunday morning they had not responded to the water and plant # 2 was even more wilted and plant # 3 was basically the same. Later in the day I attempted a clear water flush which probably sealed the fate of plant # 2. The recommended dosage for EMAS varies by source but I think I did the 1:00 dose and if not it was 1:50. I do know that I was feeding at too high EC for too long i.e. I was to have done 3.2 EC for one week. I did 3.2+ EC for at least ten days and more likely 2 weeks. The reasons for this are many but the main one was just loving the plants to death. At the start of this grow I made a point of trying to avoid that but here I am. My tap water has a naturally high, unamended EC of 1.2 so without and added nutrients the plants are getting less available "free" pure water. It has been my practice to make my mix to the required EC and then add supplements. But those supplements generally increase EC putting me way over what my feed chart recommends. For the past month I have been slowly starving the plants of water. Retrospectively, the early signs were there, most notably clawing and downward canoeing of the leaves. I also made the point to follow the feed guide and I have not. To say I am disappointed is an understatement but the lessons learnt will be invaluable for future grows. I thank the plants for their service.