Flush, Feed, or Lime:Take the Poll

ronaldino

Member
I have a dilemma. My plants are putting off sickly spindly seemingly micro-nute deficient growth.

They've been transplanted in from small containers to large 7gal pots for about 3 weeks now.
Once transplanted they were watered w/ straight ph'd water.
Week 1: I gave them a brew of bokashi tea, 1/2 gal per container + 1/2 gal regular water to dilute it.
After I did this I started to notice the weird new growth habits. New growth looks thin, spindly, curled, etc. Pictures attached.
I thought it was something to do with the bokashi so I bought a ph probe and checked the soil which read a high 7.5.
Week 2: I fed w/ a 1/2 strength nute solution of various products, Blue mountain organics tonic, thrive alive, roots XL, Drip Clean, 3dGrow, Kelp, Calcium, & 3d Micro. All 1/2 to 1/4 strength.
This brought the pH down in some of the pots to around 7.2, but nothing has normalized.

New growth still looks bad and the mature growth looks super full on macros but lacking in micro's.

The guy at my garden store just sold me on a $5 box of dolomite garden lime. I asked "Isn't that designed to bring the soil pH up?" and he said it would bring it up or down, just neutralize it. He said it'll kill off any of the bokashi I watered in though, which I can deal with, just brew more.

It's just really hard to tell if it's the soil that's causing this spindly growth or the if it's from the bokashi, or if it's a straight micro-deficiency.

I've been researching possible methods and I've been recommended to do one of the following:

A: Flush immediately each plant with 2-3times gal H2O as are in the soil containers (i.e. 7gal pot=flush with 14-21gal H2O)
~pros-flushes out everything
~cons-risk drowning the plants through overwatering.

B: Fertilize with a fertilizer for "acid loving plants" to try and bring down the pH
~Pros-boosts soil amendments and lowers pH
~Cons-risk a serious nute burn and may not stabilize pH

C: Sprinkle Dolomite lime over the top and water it in to balance/buffer the pH
~Pros-supposedly gets the job done and stabilizes pH issues
~Cons-Kills the Bokashi Microbes ???might be a load of bollocks??? I don't know anyone whose used this stuff.

Experienced growers, What would you do?
 

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gotfondue

Well-Known Member
7.5 isn't extreme. If it was in the 8's or 9's then you have to worry. Mid 7's is perfectly acceptable.


Dolomite lime will raise your pH not lower it.

I have used dolomite lime to raise the pH of my soil, it seemed to do a good job but that is one of those things that less is more. If you do decided to try it though make sure it is very fine. If it isn't fine crush it up as good as you can.

Also I would flush before adding dolomite.
 
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