I just got my Michigan medical marijuana permit, so I bought some Afghani strain seeds online. I originally intended to grow them hydroponically but ran out of funds just as my seeds were germinating. So I quick went out and bought some Miracle Gro potting mix and Miracle Gro all purpose liquid plant food and a 5 Gallon pot. This is my first time growing so my initial method was a mix of different suggestions from different sites and friends. I didn't mix the soil with vermiculite or anything like I probably should have, I just planted the germ in the pot and put a 35 watt Fluorescent studio bulb over it and stuck it in the closet with a small desk fan for circulation.
Everything went great for the first few weeks, the plant was perfect and green and symmetrical. As the plant got bigger, I added an 85 watt Fluorescent bulb (these studio bulbs are specifically calibrated to be almost exactly the same bandwidths as sunlight and cost a hell of a lot more than regular fluorescents, so I'm pretty sure the light is at least adequate. I'm a professional photographer and I have a dozen or so lying around so that's why I use them.)
A week later the plant was looking great but it was getting to difficult to move around in the closet so I moved it to the bedroom, which is the same room I use only for storage and now for growing; no one goes in except me, and then only to water and check it out. I also added another 85 watt lamp when I moved it. Anyway, a day or 2 later, nearly all of the older, larger leaves started to turn yellow around the edges. I looked up possible reasons online and the answer I got most was nitrogen deficiency. I had been fertilizing the plant every other watering, so I started fertilizing with every watering. I mix the water according to the directions on the bottle. After about a week I still saw a slow steady decline in the look of the plant. I figured that since the extra fertilizer wasn't helping, it might now be getting too much fertilizer, so I flushed the soil with water.
A couple days later it looked no better, the wilting of the older leaves got worse and seemed dead and dry. By this time even the younger leaves had a ring of yellow around the edges, and the older larger leaves have some yellow, brown and light/dark green discolorations going almost to the center of the leaves. I figured I might not have much time before the plant dies so I put it on a 12/12 light cycle to flower it. That was a week ago. So far I haven't seen a major decline in the health of the plant, but I don't think it's gotten any better either. Right now only the newest of leaves (2-3 days old) are free from discoloration, but it seems like they only live a few days before turning yellow.
I was wondering if anyone out there might have any ideas about what's wrong with the plant? I've looked everywhere and can't seem to find a straight answer about what I should do. The plant is about a foot tall now and doesn't seem to have grown much since I started flowering it. It's about a month and a half old, and it's had this problem for maybe 3 weeks. All I know is that everything was perfect until I moved it out of the closet and added another 85 watt bulb. Is there such thing as too much light? They are cool fluorescent bulbs, 205 watts altogether, I keep them a couple inches away from the plant, with white reflector umbrellas to beam stray light back at the plant. Temp is kept at around 75 degrees, possibly a little warmer when the lights are on.
I'm a rookie at this stuff, but I plan to keep growing after this so I want to make sure I get everything right. Also, sorry about the novel post, I wanted to give you guys as much info as possible and I didn't want to leave anything out. I have some photos that I just took of the plant that I will attempt to post. If anyone out there has any ideas, your input will be greatly appreciated.
Also, I was wondering if anyone could tell yet if this is a male or female plant? I took a photo of what I believe is the spot to look for differentiating the 2. If you need more info or photos let me know and thank you for the help.
-Steve
This is a macro photo of what I believe is the spot to look to determine sex.
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