Hey guys, so this problem has been coming on now for a couple of weeks and I need some help figuring it out. I suspect by the looks of it that it's a mag deficiency, however, I treated my plants with Equilibrium this past week (3 days ago) and they're strangely looking sad again now. The first couple days they looked like they were going in the right direction and then tonight when I looked at them it appeared as if they had taken a turn for the worse. I grow in an organic soil comprised of many different elements, however, this past run of soil I cut my rock dust amount by about half per a tip from a fellow grower on here so I'm not sure if that would have something to do with it. In addition, I use a combination of dolomite, calcium carbonate, and gypsum, so I was thinking maybe there is a lack of magnesium due to the cut in the dolomite lime content? Anyway, here are some pics from tonight, any and all tips would be greatly appreciated!
Figure I'll just add the mix so all the info is on the table. My mix is as follows for 3 cubic feet of soil: 7.5 gallons of Pro Mix BX with Mycorrhizae 7.5 gallons of Coast of Maine EWC & Coast of Maine Lobster Compost & Cow Manure Compost 7.5 gallons of perlite/diotomaceus earth 1 and a half cups dolomite lime, 1 cup calcium carbonate, 1 cup gypsum for a total of 3 cups liming ammendment 3 cups kelp meal 1 and a half cups alfalfa meal 1 and a half cups neem meal 1 and a half cups crab meal 1 and a half cups dr earth organic fertilizer 12 cups rock dust As previously mentioned, I cut the rock dust to 6 cups per 3 cubic feet this last time around...definitely curious if that is why this problem is presenting itself in such a manner. I've had small little things like this here and there in the past but never this much. I should also mention that I do teas every other week and with them I add silica at a teaspoon per gallon and aloe at a tablespoon per gallon. I also realize that this might just be a case of "having to wait to see improvement" which I can also understand. I'm just wondering if I should stick with the Equilibrium treatments and if so should I combine them with the silica and aloe or will that be overkill? Thanks again guys!
IC a heat problem, not real bad "clip on fan" Looks like a small Potassium Deficiency. Potassium isn't absorbed properly when there is too much calcium or nitrogen in the system. Check the pH of your water, and flush your whole system with water that contains half the normal amount of nutrients and see if your plant starts showing signs of improvement.
Heat could definitely be an issue, I never even thought of that. I do have a clip on fan blowing on them but I will adjust it tonight and see if anything gets better. As for potassium not being absorbed properly, I think the issue that would cause that in my situation would come from calcium over nitrogen since I would most likely be seeing nitrogen abundance in the leaves no? However, I also understand that I could be wrong there lol. In addition, I think you are on to something when you say that the potassium deficiency would be caused by an abundance of calcium since I water with aloe (basically just calcium and magnesium) each watering and also water with silica every other watering (which should make it hard to have a deficiency for any other reason than the abundance of calcium). As for PH'ing, I normally never PH since I grow organically but I will definitely check it and see what it is at. As for the cow manure, I've actually been planning on taking it out of my mix and substituting more lobster compost in as it seems to work beautifully on its own. That's all I can think of in terms of info to help you guys out but please if you have any other tips keep them coming! Love learning new ways to spice up my grow life haha.
Anyone?? My day to water again is Thursday and my main question is if I should do the Equilibrium treatment every water or every other water and also should I use it WITH the silica and aloe or use it in place of them? Thanks guys!