The bottom leaves are yellowing today. Am I over water or under watering? Or is this light burn? There are two plants for observation: Seeds sprouted in December 9th and came above surface December 11th These seeding are kept in average environmental condition: Temperature: 76 F Humidity: 58% RH Light Height: 24” from light manufacture recommendation. I had the lights at 23” because I noticed rescuing/stretching of the plant. They are now at 24” as of December 24th Light Cycle: 24/0 PH: 6.5 in soil and out Feeding: URB daily. A highly diluted (1/4 of recommended for veg) organic liquid fertilizer one weekly. Watering: Was watering a few light sprays (no more than 1-2 ounces) around the base of the plant, daily. Top 1/2 to 1 inch of solid dry by watering time. Media: Organic grow fox farm soil with 2 tablespoons of castings fed on top, added 2 days ago Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
I should of clarified. At this stage it’s only Fox Farm with earthworm castings. I added the castings 2 days ago on top.
I bet this is a fertilizer burn from feeding the castings? I’m a first time grower, I didn’t even think about this. If this is the case, what should I do? Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
OK, well, I'm actually thinking you may not be giving it enough water. The soil is dry looking to me. At this stage it really doesn't need to be fed. The mottling makes me think it could possibly be a nutrient issue. As in too hot? I'm sorry, I don't know what URB means.
URB: URB Natural ™| Unrivaled Soil Microbes: Increase Yields, Reduce Inputs which I believe feeds and enhances the microbes in super soil. I was adding the castings thinking about the microbes and not thinking about the nutrients. How much water, in terms of quantity should I be doing?
Well, something I see over and over is ppl drowning their plants. You don't seem to be doing that. Try giving it a good soak and watch it for a few days. FWIW: I've seen a lot of seedlings wonky at the start and then grow out of it.
Okay I can do that first thing in the morning. I’ll post back here with updates. Thanks for your help.
I watered 12 hours ago, it looks worse than better. Bottom serrated leaves look like they are dying, while the rest of the plant looks healthy. Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
Don't water it everyday. Water it till some comes out the bottom, then let it dry out before watering again. moist-dry-moist-dry, works good. Let that bottom dry out and get them roots searching for water. Its pretty easy to use the weight of the pot to tell if it's dry or wet, unless they are big plants. I don't fertilize little plants, just re-pot them when they need it.
T okay I definitely have been under watering. Also, does it need to get cooler at night? I keep my tent consistent the same temp.
UPDATE: I think this is the result of nutrient burn from foolishly adding 1-2 tablespoons of casting to top layer of soil 4 days ago. Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
What helped me was using a clay pot as it actually helps the medium dry out faster so you can do more of the wet/dry cycle thing.
That definitely looks like some kind of burn, but isn't NPK. Castings have nitrogen, no phosphorous or potassium. Nitrogen burn would cause dark, dark green leaves and tips clawing down. Castings do have tons of micronutrients, maybe some toxicity of those? The new growth seems to be good, but are those new leaves curling? Curling always makes me think root issue. Leaves mimic root structure and all. This is interesting. Check out nutrient burns outside NPK range and see if any match the pattern of damage on the dying leaf you showed. I personally haven't seen that pattern before.
thank you for your detailed and knowledgable response. This plant sprouted above the soil on December 11th. I’m not positive, but as I went to transplant it today, it looked like it might be getting root bound.
Ewc dont burn plants from my knowledge.. Its good for retaining water and has usually very little nitrogen but has calcium iron and a few other littler treats for them. If you like organics like ewcs you should try some chicken manure a bit stronger more of a feed also check out teas. I have feed plants ewc and chicken poo teas and they love it. Nettles are amazing and usually free good in teas or compost. Sent from my LM-Q710(FGN) using Grasscity Forum mobile app
Although nothing definitive, I believe the earthworm castings were too much for the seedlings. I scrapped the top inch of soil off the plants and watered regularly. The Plant A was impacted the most, but it has pulled through, just has a little stunted growth compared to Plant B. I also pulled the light back to 30 inches for a week and slowly lowered it back to 25 over the following week. No other variables were changed.
I think the foxfarm toasted the leaf tips a bit. My wife uses it always seems to cook a leaf or two when they are seedlings. Seriously dont water everyday. I get solid runoff and forget about em till the leafs droop lol. But it needs to dry out in soil.