Help recover mother plants

Hey guys, having issues with my mother plants and cant seem to work it out. I'm pretty sure I have a case of lockout and I have been feeding only plain Ro water for the last 4 feedings with no improvement. They are in 2G pots with Roots organic 707 soil mix, temps are 80 degrees with 60% humidity on 24hr lightcycle. They are around 6-7 weeks old. Run off is coming out at around 6-800ppm not sure if its because the organic stuff in the soil or not. Any advice would be great as I am making no progress in correcting there issues. Thanks

That's definitely a magnesium deficiency. It's pretty common for container gardening with ro water especially.

Could also be caused by lock out.

1 tbsp per gallon of epsom salts, applied as a foliar spray if you got a lock out issue. Can be applied as a soil drench if you don't have any lock out issues.

Agreed looks like a for sure mag def with the light green leaf and dark veins ....it also looks like you may be overwatering IMO do to the deformed and droopy looking leafs ....let the soil dry out good before you water again ....GL

If you are using straight RO water , you need to add cal/mag to it since it is nearly a 0 ppm water source and it wont contain any Macro nutrients that tap water will have in it. Like indacouch says, I'd dial back the waterings and check the ph of your runoff as well as what you are putting in. Yellowing of newer growth on the tops is often an indication of pH issues.

Overwatering may be something I overlooked. I usually just do the finger test but don't let it fully dry out, I will wait until they start to wilt this next time and then add the tbsp of mg per G. Will also check the PH of runoff as that is something I have not done. Thanks for the tips guys, much appreciated.

I'd go with mg deficiency too but low mg signs start in the older leaves first and yellow from between the veins near the tips and edges of the leaves working toward the petiole. Your yellowing seems to be starting from the petiole and working out to the tips in younger leaves mostly. This would indicate an iron deficiency to me.

Any time there is a deficiency in mobile nutes, NPK, Mg or Zn the oldest and largest leaves tend to be affected first as the new growth steals from them to keep growing green and healthy. They'll get sick later as the deficiency progresses. With immobile nutes, Ca, Fe, S etc it's the newer growth that is first affected as it can steal those from elsewhere on the plant and if there's none in the soil they get messed up while the older ones look fine as they already have theirs and aren't giving it up.

Most good CalMag has iron in it so some of that would help or even an iron supplement from any garden center as they usually have it for lawns etc.

Higher pH can lock out the iron and other minerals too so make sure the pH in the root zone is 6.5 or lower.

JimmyGrow said:

Overwatering may be something I overlooked. I usually just do the finger test but don't let it fully dry out, I will wait until they start to wilt this next time and then add the tbsp of mg per G. Will also check the PH of runoff as that is something I have not done. Thanks for the tips guys, much appreciated.

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pH run off is not a good indicator. You're gonna wanna actually test the pH of the soil...throw a small handful of dirt with a cup of water...swirl it around and let sit for an hour or two and test the pH. That's your soil pH.

Make sure to use RO or de-ionized water for your test so minerals in tap water don't skew your results.

A method many commercial growers use is to water your pots to the point of runoff, allow to sit at least an hour then pour in enough water to create some runoff and test that. That way you get a more representative sample of the actual pH your roots live in.

If tap water is being used to water your plants you should know what's in it as it has a huge influence on how your plants are going to do. Contact your water supplier and request a copy of their water analysis results. They all have to do the tests and you should be able to get it for free usually in an email. If they want to know why,(none of their damn business but they may ask), just tell them you want to brew beer or raise fish or just because you want to know what you're drinking.

If chlorine is used then aerating the water for 24 hours will get rid of that but if they use chloramine you need a good water filter to get rid of that shit. RO system is a better option.

The amount of minerals in your water is a biggy. If your tap water is over 100ppm then you should be flushing every so often to get rid of the excess minerals that will build up in your pots. After a while carbonates will build up to the point that it will be impossible to keep your pH in a good range for your plants. pHing your water to even 5 won't bring down the pH in the root zone at all as the carbonates will easily bring it right back up again.

There's mountains of info about pH and what makes it what it is so research various plant science sites other than forums for pot for good info. I have a diploma in environmental chemistry and it makes my head spin.

ProMix has a lot of good info about it so you could start there. http://www.pthorticulture.com/en/training-center/media-and-tissue-testing-part-3-measuring-ph-and-ec-of-media/

Another here how water pH relates to the soil pH
http://www.pthorticulture.com/en/training-center/media-and-tissue-testing-part-3-measuring-ph-and-ec-of-media/

JimmyGrow said:

Overwatering may be something I overlooked. I usually just do the finger test but don't let it fully dry out, I will wait until they start to wilt this next time and then add the tbsp of mg per G. Will also check the PH of runoff as that is something I have not done. Thanks for the tips guys, much appreciated.

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Not that I think you need it but a Tbsp/gal is way too much. A tsp/gal at most will be more than enough.

Lift your pots to feel the weight of a fully watered pot and one that has dried enough the plant is starting to droop. Once you get the feel for it you'll be able to tell when the pot is dry enough for a good soaking before the plant actually begins to sag.

Hey guys so I've got about 2 feedings in now using 1tsp of magnesium per gallon with no success. I have even done 2 foliar sprays on the girls now, one with mag, and another with Grow more N-cal at a heavy dosage. I am starting to worry as I need cuts this next week and plants are in rough shape. What is the quickest way to fix this lockout?

JimmyGrow said:

Hey guys, having issues with my mother plants and cant seem to work it out. I'm pretty sure I have a case of lockout and I have been feeding only plain Ro water for the last 4 feedings with no improvement. They are in 2G pots with Roots organic 707 soil mix, temps are 80 degrees with 60% humidity on 24hr lightcycle. They are around 6-7 weeks old. Run off is coming out at around 6-800ppm not sure if its because the organic stuff in the soil or not. Any advice would be great as I am making no progress in correcting there issues. Thanks View attachment 3797232 View attachment 3797233 View attachment 3797234

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2 months in 2 gallon pots, 24 hours of light? Time to pot up. Check your roots, how bound are they?

I still don't think it is a magnesium deficiency but iron. Iron can be locked out by high pH too.

From Jorge Cervantes grow bible, " Interveinal yellowing and irregular rust-brown spots appear on older and middle-aged leaves first. Younger leaves remain healthy". They stay healthy until later stages because Mg is a mobile nutrient and the upper growth steals it from the oldest leaves first.

Your leaves are being affected from the youngest to the middle-aged first so it's not lack of Mg.

Your symptoms point to lack of iron as I read it. If you're going by those deficiency charts that just show a bunch of sick leaves you're only getting a small part of the picture. A good grow bible explains each nutrient and explains the symptoms the plants go thru with deficiency or toxicity of each. Also has pictures of young leaves at various stages of deficiency progression to help with the diagnosis.

@OldMedUser Do you think it would be a good idea to flush through each pot with 2 or 3 gallons of fresh ph'd Ro water just to make sure the soil has the correct PH, then re water with low nutrients to try and fix the iron lockout?