Too much K? Too little Mag? PH? Yellow wilted leaves

Bubba Red

Member
Here is my problem. Plant #1

I didn't add lime to soil. It is just super soil and cow manure with some green sand mixed into the top. Tips are green and i have been fertilizing it up until i saw signs of yellowing tips of the longest fingers of a few leaves. I figured this was over fertilization so i stopped feeding about a week ago. Both plants are given a equal mix of fish emulsion and liquidfied seaweed extract, or kelp meal basically. My feedings began in May and i fed moderately once every 3-4 times i watered.

My water PH is 6.9 and i unfortunately don't have a soil PH meter just yet.

Plant #2


and the middle of the plant as well....


I just picked about 25 dead leaves from the bottom of this plant just last week. Also notice the purple leaf stems. I didn't lime the soil either but i gave it a super good mix of foxfarm ocean forest, foxfarm planting mix, happy frog potting soil, a hand full of gypsum about a pound or more of kelp meal, and a few pounds of green sand.

I recently added a few table spoons of hydrated lime to my water and gave it mostly to plant #2 but also a little to plant #1. So far I haven't seen much improvement.


My guess is Magnesium deficiency maybe from not liming it in the begening? Or maybe giving it the kelp meal with every feeding it has taken up too much potasium and it is making it hard for it to get the Mag? Or maybe just PH?

PLease anyone with some experience chime in and help out if you can!
 

BongLoader

Member
So you gave them all of those nutrients and saw no improvement? Then that means your PH is off, because PH is what enables your plants to absorb nutrients. That's definitely magnesium deficiency, hence yellow leaves and purple stems. If its not PH You can try giving them epsom salt by adding 1 teaspoon per quart of water.

Good Luck!
 

Bubba Red

Member
Thanks bongloader. I actually have given one of my others that is now budding a few table spoons of epsom salt and now the whole plant is starting to turn a yellow green. The tips are fried crispy but the leaves turning white and dying seems to have slowed but not stopped. If it is PH and i didn't lime the soil and my water is 6.9 then i assume it is on the acidic side of the scale and then the lime i added to the water should have helped but it hasn't really. Should i try wood ash? Also i will see if i can get a pic of the other plant soon.

Also with good foxfarm soil should i still need to add epsom salt to my soil? You would think that it would be amended already for the price the charge. Also if it is a PH problem then couldn't adding epsom salt be bad?
 

Quickee

Well-Known Member
i would call taht N def..not mag..they are just turning yellow..what week of flowering are they in..it is natural for plants to yellow during flowering ya know
 
I've got the same problem, mine are hydro. My leaves are yellowing exactly the same way. Nice plants by the way. I was told today by GH that I needed to reduce my TDS overall down to 1,000. They said that yellowing can also be a sign of too much nutrient? I drained off 1/3 of my water and added fresh, then ph tested. Too early to tell. If you find out specifically what is causing your's to yellow, please let me know... I'll be sure to do the same.
Good luck.
 

Bubba Red

Member
Well the one i don't have pics for is about 2 weeks into flower. It was started in Febuary and then began to bud on its own do to some weird weather. So i continued to force it when the weather cleared up instead of having it revert back to veg. Try to get some pics of that one by tomorrow. It isn't the same kinda low N yellow from the bottom to the top, it is more consistent with the leaves dying sporadically. Also it has been fed normally like the rest and it shows signs of the tips being yellowed and then burned to dead material. So if anything i think i over did the nutes. They were all low number organics however... Hope it comes back and finishes ok.
 

Quickee

Well-Known Member
Its not Nitrogen deficiency because the stems are turning purple.... Nitrogen starts at the very bottom.
here hommie a quote from something you need to read.since im telling you what the problem is and you dont believe me


Nitrogen Deficiencies
Plants will exhibit lack of vigor, slow growth and will be weak and stunted. Quality and yield will be significantly reduced. Older leaves become yellow (chlorotic) from lack of chlorophyll. Deficient plants will exhibit uniform light green to yellow on older leaves, these leaves may die and drop. Leaf margins will not curled up noticeably. Chlorosis will eventually spread throughout the plant. Stems, petioles and lower leaf surfaces may turn purple.
 

Bubba Red

Member
Well like i said before i have been giving it Nitrogen and it hasn't responded.

"Plants will exhibit lack of vigor, slow growth and will be weak and stunted."
"
Leaf margins will not curled up noticeably"

This is not true actually they are growing steadily and are not stunted as much as i would expect for a deficiency problem. I actually topped it 16 times just 10 days ago and all the new tops are now 4-5 inches long. I wouldn't say it was stunted at all. Plus a lot of the new growth leaves have uplifted margins. And i do know better then to not give my plants the most essential element it needs for vegative growth. I know my N-P-K pretty well its the micro nutes i need touch up with.
 

Bubba Red

Member
Well after looking at the link, i think that it may be possible i might be confusing tip burn from over fert from possibly tip burn from too much heat. These are in a green house but the last few weeks the temps have been in the 90-100's range. I think 103F was the hottest and maybe averaging 95 for the last 14 days. Maybe i should have a fan on them in the for the hotter parts of the day?
 

Bubba Red

Member
OK here is plant #1


and here is plant #2


And finally here is plant #3 that is now budding. I gave it epsom salt when it showed the same signs as plant #2 and looking closer i think it helped. However i stopped giving it the salt when i saw the signs of the tip burn shown below. I think i might give #2 some epsom salt and see how it responds.


Signs of over fert or heat stress?

Which ever i am coming to the conclusion after re-examining my plants that #2 has a mag deficiency and that #1 just might have a Nitrogen deficiency. I think i stopped feeding after i saw signs of the yellow tips and that might not have been the right approach. Notice there are pretty much no purple stems on plant #1 and it has just been transplanted from a smaller pot and was probably root bound. And the growth has slightly sowed the last few weeks, unlike plant #2 which is booming. I just gave it a healthy dose of fish emulsion and we will see how it responds the next few days.
 

justsmoking

Active Member
Im wondering are there strains that have that caracter where the some leafs turn diferent colors? what would i know since im a first timer. sorry
 

Bubba Red

Member
Well plant #2 is either Pineapple queen or purple urple X Pineapple queen. And the other is a hybrid of my own design. Just a good mother and father crossed from last year. Mostly indica.
 

Bubba Red

Member
I just read this.

"Note that when adding iron to the solution, it is often necessary to not use fertilizer for that watering. Iron has a tendency of reacting with many of the components of fertilizer solutions, and will cause nutrient lockup to occur. Read the labels of both the iron supplement and the fertilizer you are using before you attempt to combine the two."

I have been battling a high iron problem with my water. But lately i think i have fixed it by using a holding tank and pumping from the top. I hope the damage hasn't already been done. Anyways i gave #2 & #3 some epsom salt today and hope to see some improvement soon.
 

Smokey95033

Active Member
You are over analyzing this. Your plants are in a healthy enough state that you will be happy with your results. I would say stick to your regular schedule and have fun! Don't scare your self with all the technical talk, save it for hydro.
 

Bubba Red

Member
Thanks for the advice. Sometimes it is hard for me not to be a perfectionist. Especially when i am picking about 20 dead leaves off my plant every 4-5 days. Anyways i will keep posting my results so that others having the same problem might get an idea from my posts.

Also 95033 is my old area code :)
 

Bubba Red

Member
So #1 is looking better new faster growth and less yellow dying leaves.I have been giving it a light mix of fish emulsion the least three waters. I should have known it was sun burnt instead of nute fried.

However #2 is showing signs of less yellowing leaves however i now have these little spots all over the outside margin of the my leaves. Is this good? Is it too much mag? Should i start giving it lime? Should i flush?

I gave it 3 tables spoons of epsom salt to 4 gallons of water just to be on the safe side. And then i did it again about 3 days later.

I use a water softner and i just read this.

"Water Softeners are used to treat hard water. They work by replacing the calcium and magnesium in the water with sodium. They may also remove a small amount of iron or manganese, but for high levels, it is not recommended."

 
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