Deficiency? I Need help!

Calicode

Well-Known Member
This is my first grow. Is this a potassium deficiency? Will a teaspoon of espom salt correct this? I'm using Emerald Harvest nutes. This plant has given me so many problems but I refuse to give up lol. Please help, all ideas are welcomed. My ph stays around 6.5, the lights are no closer than 18 inches away from the biggest cola. Also I'm already using cal mag. My ppm stays around 800-900, I'm growing in a 3 gal pot with fix farm soil.
 

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Blitz35

Well-Known Member
It may be potassium lacking. Epsom salt wouldn't fix that, may possibly just cause more issues if you already have too much magnesium in the medium. You can try lowering your ph, as you're growing in soilless mixture and it's better to keep it closer to ph 6. At 6.5, it can start locking out phosphorus...which, in excess, is an antagonist for potassium. What have you been feeding till now? What kind of water are you using?
 

Calicode

Well-Known Member
It may be potassium lacking. Epsom salt wouldn't fix that, may possibly just cause more issues if you already have too much magnesium in the medium. You can try lowering your ph, as you're growing in soilless mixture and it's better to keep it closer to ph 6. At 6.5, it can start locking out phosphorus...which, in excess, is an antagonist for potassium. What have you been feeding till now? What kind of water are you using?
Thanks bro. But I'm growing in soil...not sure if that was a typo or not. I've been using Emetald harvest nutes the entire line besides root and sturdy stalk. What could I use to provide more potassium? At first I thought it was the heat. Sometimes it gets around 85°f
 

Blitz35

Well-Known Member
Fox farm is not 'soil'..it's comprised of mainly sphagnum peat moss plus amendments..peat moss is to be treated as soilless..ph generally between 5.8-6.3 is ideal. I was looking closer and it's why it's a bit hard to say if it is potassium. At first i thought some of it may be light burn or heat burn from the seemingly 'white' leaves. Potassium def will see the edges of the leaves and tips 'burnt' looking, which seems like some of your leaves have..it also seems a bit of magnesium may be needed as some yellowing shows that missing as well. At mid flower where you seem to be..it craves those 2 elements the most, potassium and magnesium. I looked at the website for your nutes..seems they have 2 basic lines of nutes. You can try increasing the bottle with 0-5-4 in it, but also add cal-mag to that so you dont let magnesium get too low compared to potassium and phosphorus. Organic unsulphered molasses is also a good option as it contains many trace elements and mostly potassium. A teaspoon to a gallon to start..it also feeds the cultures in your medium to keep them happy as well.
 

Calicode

Well-Known Member
Fox farm is not 'soil'..it's comprised of mainly sphagnum peat moss plus amendments..peat moss is to be treated as soilless..ph generally between 5.8-6.3 is ideal. I was looking closer and it's why it's a bit hard to say if it is potassium. At first i thought some of it may be light burn or heat burn from the seemingly 'white' leaves. Potassium def will see the edges of the leaves and tips 'burnt' looking, which seems like some of your leaves have..it also seems a bit of magnesium may be needed as some yellowing shows that missing as well. At mid flower where you seem to be..it craves those 2 elements the most, potassium and magnesium. I looked at the website for your nutes..seems they have 2 basic lines of nutes. You can try increasing the bottle with 0-5-4 in it, but also add cal-mag to that so you dont let magnesium get too low compared to potassium and phosphorus. Organic unsulphered molasses is also a good option as it contains many trace elements and mostly potassium. A teaspoon to a gallon to start..it also feeds the cultures in your medium to keep them happy as well.
Oh ok, that's the first time I've heard that about fox farm. Yeah I've normally had a few problems at once and I attempt to knock them out one by one. I've just started using grandma's molasses during my water only feeding. Should I start using it on every feeding or how often? I use cal mag every feeding. I'm doing feed 3x then just water. How many weeks would you say that I have left? It's been 9wks
 

Blitz35

Well-Known Member
Fox Farm Ocean Forest and Fox Farm Happy Frog are both soils and should not be treated as a soilless medium.
Sphagnum peat moss is not soil lol. It's actually a soil amendment to loosen actual clay soil. If you treat it as soil, you will have issues, especially with heavier elements like iron, zinc and copper getting to the plant. phosphorus as well will get locked out at a 'soil' ph.
 

Blitz35

Well-Known Member
People have a tendency to call anything that looks like 'dirt', soil. I use pro-mix, which is also sphagnum peat moss. Usually they come with lime, or in your case worm castings so the ph doesnt drop too low as that's what peat moss does. You can get away with watering 'near 6.5..but when plant is consuming the most is when issues will come up. For example manganese at some point will be missing..phosphorus also gets locked out at higher ph..if it stays in your medium, that will cause other elements to get locked out as well, like potassium, calcium, zinc and copper. In your case it may not be strictly ph..as it's not very far off from ideal, it may just need more.
 

Calicode

Well-Known Member
People have a tendency to call anything that looks like 'dirt', soil. I use pro-mix, which is also sphagnum peat moss. Usually they come with lime, or in your case worm castings so the ph doesnt drop too low as that's what peat moss does. You can get away with watering 'near 6.5..but when plant is consuming the most is when issues will come up. For example manganese at some point will be missing..phosphorus also gets locked out at higher ph..if it stays in your medium, that will cause other elements to get locked out as well, like potassium, calcium, zinc and copper. In your case it may not be strictly ph..as it's not very far off from ideal, it may just need more.
I've done a bit of research and you may be correct. I was just going to ask if you thought that lime would do the trick. It's soil but it's not soil lol. Lime and 6.0ph. I'm also using RO water which causes low potassium right?
 

Blitz35

Well-Known Member
I've done a bit of research and you may be correct. I was just going to ask if you thought that lime would do the trick. It's soil but it's not soil lol. Lime and 6.0ph. I'm also using RO water which causes low potassium right?
Lime is added to the medium..so it depends on what the ph of your medium is. Lime will only neutralize the ph, or keep it buffered closer to 7. If the medium is not very low, like at ph of 5 or less..then lime isn't necessary for now. As you reuse sphagnum peat moss..it breaks down..that's actually the yellowish color you see if you water to run-off...as it breaks down..it can get quite acidic, but the amendments in there will help with that for a limited time. If you use RO water, it won't make your potassium low as it doesnt usually come in high amounts with tap water anyway. You lose out on mainly calcium and magnesium as those 2 elements are usually highest in tap water.,,but it depends on your city and piping..some can have high amounts of iron and sodium as well. For future grows, you can even get silica as that's potassium only and has its benefits throughout the plant's life. With RO water..yes you need cal-mag by the time flowering hits for sure, as for potassium..try upping it a bit and lowering the ph a bit..if there is no fix, you may have a lockout issue instead because of an excess of another element. For those elements, you ideally want at least a 2:1 ratio of potassium to calcium and to magnesium, it can go higher, even as far as 7-1 for some strains. Phosphorus and magnesium work together, they get absorbed best at a 1:1 ratio. Too much calcium, magnesium, phosphorus or nitrogen, will lockout potassium.
 

Calicode

Well-Known Member
Lime is added to the medium..so it depends on what the ph of your medium is. Lime will only neutralize the ph, or keep it buffered closer to 7. If the medium is not very low, like at ph of 5 or less..then lime isn't necessary for now. As you reuse sphagnum peat moss..it breaks down..that's actually the yellowish color you see if you water to run-off...as it breaks down..it can get quite acidic, but the amendments in there will help with that for a limited time. If you use RO water, it won't make your potassium low as it doesnt usually come in high amounts with tap water anyway. You lose out on mainly calcium and magnesium as those 2 elements are usually highest in tap water.,,but it depends on your city and piping..some can have high amounts of iron and sodium as well. For future grows, you can even get silica as that's potassium only and has its benefits throughout the plant's life. With RO water..yes you need cal-mag by the time flowering hits for sure, as for potassium..try upping it a bit and lowering the ph a bit..if there is no fix, you may have a lockout issue instead because of an excess of another element. For those elements, you ideally want at least a 2:1 ratio of potassium to calcium and to magnesium, it can go higher, even as far as 7-1 for some strains. Phosphorus and magnesium work together, they get absorbed best at a 1:1 ratio. Too much calcium, magnesium, phosphorus or nitrogen, will lockout potassium.
Thanks bro I'll give that a try and will see how it comes out.
 

Blitz35

Well-Known Member
Once you have a potassium deficiency, usually you will also see a manganese deficiency as potassium helps with the uptake of manganese. Also, potassium is the plant's 'favorite' nutrient. If your sodium levels (Na) are too high in your medium, the plant will not know the difference between a sodium ion or a potassium ion. Too much 'salt' will also cause potassium to stay in your 'soil':)
 

Blitz35

Well-Known Member
Oh ok, that's the first time I've heard that about fox farm. Yeah I've normally had a few problems at once and I attempt to knock them out one by one. I've just started using grandma's molasses during my water only feeding. Should I start using it on every feeding or how often? I use cal mag every feeding. I'm doing feed 3x then just water. How many weeks would you say that I have left? It's been 9wks
Yes, it becomes a domino effect, as one element gets low or builds up, it affects the next one, and in the end, you're chasing your tail trying to keep up. Strains can differ drastically, so what works on this grow, can make the next one a failure. It takes time to tune in to them and get to know how they operate. This pic can help a bit, but knowing how the plants and nutes and the medium you're growing in, function together, will help even more. Some great videos on youtube!
9 weeks since flip? you may be close to done then..i thought it was earlier. Don't up the nutes too much in that case, you may only have 2-3 weeks then. To know when they're actually done..you need a scope to look at the trichomes.
 

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Calicode

Well-Known Member
Yes, it becomes a domino effect, as one element gets low or builds up, it affects the next one, and in the end, you're chasing your tail trying to keep up. Strains can differ drastically, so what works on this grow, can make the next one a failure. It takes time to tune in to them and get to know how they operate. This pic can help a bit, but knowing how the plants and nutes and the medium you're growing in, function together, will help even more. Some great videos on youtube!
9 weeks since flip? you may be close to done then..i thought it was earlier. Don't up the nutes too much in that case, you may only have 2-3 weeks then. To know when they're actually done..you need a scope to look at the trichomes.
Tell me about it, I've been chasing for about 1 and a half months lmao. Yeah 9 weeks since flip. I might start water only in about a week. The scopes online are too small for me. I'll have to try a more expensive one. I've seen a few cloudy but no Amber yet.
 

Calicode

Well-Known Member
Yes, it becomes a domino effect, as one element gets low or builds up, it affects the next one, and in the end, you're chasing your tail trying to keep up. Strains can differ drastically, so what works on this grow, can make the next one a failure. It takes time to tune in to them and get to know how they operate. This pic can help a bit, but knowing how the plants and nutes and the medium you're growing in, function together, will help even more. Some great videos on youtube!
9 weeks since flip? you may be close to done then..i thought it was earlier. Don't up the nutes too much in that case, you may only have 2-3 weeks then. To know when they're actually done..you need a scope to look at the trichomes.
How often should I use the molasses?
 

ANC

Well-Known Member
You can add K in the form of hardwood ash, but it will push pH up.

Looking at the pictures you will at the minimum have to foliar iron chelate if you wanted to repeat the experiment with adjustments. I'd reduce the food. Commercial farmers feed the soil once before planting as the crop is too tender to go through it again with tractors and stuff to top up fertilizers.

Get some mycorrhizae and Trichoderma to get more out of less food and less water. The primary reason plants have roots is that it acts as an interface zone these guys can attach to. They are also very good at breaking down food.

I have a few problematic clones that were not hardened off properly before delivery.
I instantly know which ones are really dead as the Trichoderma just pops up over the stem, out-competing any harmful germs and fungi.
 
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Blitz35

Well-Known Member
How often should I use the molasses?
At this point, you can give it one last boost. Again, not sure exactly which line you're feeding with, but if you have the 0-5-4, give that only and a teaspoon of molasses to a gallon of water. Depending on the molasses you have..check to see if it has calcium and magnesium in it, most do..if it does, add less cal mag to your RO water. Depending how they are developing..once you see the tops of the buds rounding (coning) off, they are close, cut the nutes out for the last 10-12 days and continue with just the molasses until final watering. As the plant gets old, it hangs on to the sugars more and more, so there is less food for the microbes in the medium, the molasses keeps them happy when the plant no longer gives back to them.
 
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