Busy week with trying to correct perceived issues with my potting mix and watching the progress of the plants in early veg with their LST starting to fill out the pots. In week 3 I outlined the ingredients I combined to make my potting mix for final grow pots and mentioned to not use my outline as a guide due to my inexperience. This weeks developments of seeing some signs of nitrogen toxicity and testing runoff PH levels shows I have some issues and I tried to correct them this week.
Day 22 - began LST plants and topped one (plant 5) as all plants were showing at least six nodes and bent most at the 4th node to promote bushy growth. Lowered the light to 24'.
Day 23 - watered all plants with 4L PH 6.87/1 tsp molasses solution - approx 2 cups per plant. Slight runoff after watering. By late day early signs of leaf clawing (nitrogen toxicity) started to show on a few plants.
Day 24/25 - continued LST and tucking leaves and misted plants with distilled water PH 6.8 twice daily to try to minimize nutrient absorption through roots and limit nutrient burn
Day 26 - Big craptacular day of flushing all the pots with well water PH 7.45) mixed with wood ash and agricultural lime to try to bring soil level PH's up as well as add some potassium to the mix. Did not do an aggressive 3 time pot volume/water flush but rather a 1:1 flush to just try to bring the nutrient levels down slightly as well as leech the higher PH water throughout the soil. Runoff from pots at end of flush stages averaged 6.48-6.75.
Day 27/28 - Plants appeared to have tolerated the flush well and are recovered and growing. Leaves fell soft and supple and less clawing is appearing on new growth. Will have to see if the potential shock PH levels of wood ash watered through soil have any significant issues but it looks like the early signs are very favorable.
Some early signs of plant sex are showing on plant 8 and 1 - one or two preflower balls...I will continue them in the grow until I can verify sex 100% or when space really starts to be an issue.
@1stmanny, my result was 10 seedlings from non-feminized seed of which 5 ended up male and 5 ended up female. I culled the males and gave away a female plant to a friend so I am currently flowering four females. I hope to update my grow diary soon with the 3-4 weeks since my last online update...lots of good stuff has been going on, just not able to update the diary for another week or so.
Hope you have a bountiful harvest!