Hey guys! Newbie here! Im in need of help and this is driving me nuts, I put my plants in a 12 on 12 off cycle about a week ago and went to a flush cycle by feeding them water with no nutrients. Growing them in nothing but the soil from my back yard and they are now looking like this.. slowly progressing to get worse day in and day out. They were doing so well before hand, never had a problem! I've been feeding them nitrophoska as of late thinking I had a nitrogen problem but still no sign of getting better. Leaves feel really dry and are curling inwards. But have shoots that are doing well starting to bud and some that are not. My next guess is an iron deficiency??? Any help would be greatly appreciated.
Help!
- Thread starter nemisone
- Start date
SPLFreak808
Well-Known Member
Looks like S deficiency.
Curious, why did you flush if they were moving along nicely? Bad move imo lol
Curious, why did you flush if they were moving along nicely? Bad move imo lol
Dr.Pecker
Well-Known Member
Solution For Cannabis Iron Deficiency
Note: Sometimes a cannabis iron deficiency (like all nutrient deficiencies) can be triggered by stressful conditions, and the plant may recover on its own after the period of stress is over.
1.) Adjust pH to Correct Range
Easily the most common reason growers will see an iron deficiency is if the pH at the roots is too high. Iron tends to get locked at at higher pH levels, especially when the pH is above 7.0, and iron deficiencies are more commonly seen in soil or coco coir than in hydro.
If you suspect your growing cannabis plant has a iron deficiency due to too-high pH,flush your system with clean, pH'd water. This will remove any nutrient salts that may be affecting the uptake of iron and help restore pH to the proper levels..
2.) Give the Right Nutrients
The truth is, most cannabis growers don't need to add more iron in response to an iron deficiency!
In fact, most growers have actually already given plenty of iron to their cannabis plants since it is found abundantly in most tap water. If you're using quality soil or cannabis-friendly nutrients, you probably don't need to worry about adding more iron.
Iron deficiency symptoms caused by true lack of iron are more likely to appear when a grower is using heavily filtered or reverse osmisis (RO) water to feed plants since any iron has been removed. There are other nutrient problems that can trigger the symptoms of an iron deficiency, for example problems with with calcium and magnesium, or an excess of copper can all lead to symptoms of an cannabis iron deficiency.
If you suspect you have a iron deficiency even though the pH is correct, or if you believe your system is truly lacking in iron, you may want to consider flushing your system with clean, pH'd water (if on schedule, you can do this alongside a dose of your regular nutrients) and add a supplement that contains Iron, Calcium and Magnesium.
Cannabis loves Calcium and Magnesium, and they work hand and hand with Iron. A Calcium-Magnesium supplement (often called "Cal-Mag" even though they also include iron) can help prevent all of these deficiencies from appearing.
Cal-Mag products are suitable for Hydro, Coco Coir and Soil (not organic, though). This may be a great choice because it also contains extra calcium and magnesium, which are deficiencies that are relatively common for cannabis, and often happen alongside an iron deficiency.
CaliMagic by General Hydroponics is the calcium, magnesium, and ironplant nutrient supplement that we use, though pretty much all other Cal-Mag products will work just as well for growing cannabis (for example Botanicare Cal-Mag Plus and many others).
3.) Take Good Care of the Roots
Iron deficiencies can show up with the plant is having root problems or if the plant is overwatered, even if the pH is right and the iron is there. Proper watering practices help plants grow healthy and avoid a host of problems!
4.) Watch for Recovery
After going through all the above steps, watch to make sure that the iron deficiency starts to clear up within a week or so (try to be patient since iron moves relatively slowly through the plant). The yellow leaves from before may not recover completely, especially if there was a lot of damage, but when new growth is coming in green, you know you're good to go!
Note: Sometimes a cannabis iron deficiency (like all nutrient deficiencies) can be triggered by stressful conditions, and the plant may recover on its own after the period of stress is over.
1.) Adjust pH to Correct Range
Easily the most common reason growers will see an iron deficiency is if the pH at the roots is too high. Iron tends to get locked at at higher pH levels, especially when the pH is above 7.0, and iron deficiencies are more commonly seen in soil or coco coir than in hydro.
If you suspect your growing cannabis plant has a iron deficiency due to too-high pH,flush your system with clean, pH'd water. This will remove any nutrient salts that may be affecting the uptake of iron and help restore pH to the proper levels..
- In soil, iron is best absorbed by the roots in the 6.0 - 6.5 pH range (although it's generally recommended for soil growers to keep pH in the 6.0-7.0 range, iron tends to get locked out when the pH is higher, especially above 7.0)
- In coco coir or hydro, iron is best absorbed by the roots in the 5.5 - 6.5 pH range
2.) Give the Right Nutrients
The truth is, most cannabis growers don't need to add more iron in response to an iron deficiency!
In fact, most growers have actually already given plenty of iron to their cannabis plants since it is found abundantly in most tap water. If you're using quality soil or cannabis-friendly nutrients, you probably don't need to worry about adding more iron.
Iron deficiency symptoms caused by true lack of iron are more likely to appear when a grower is using heavily filtered or reverse osmisis (RO) water to feed plants since any iron has been removed. There are other nutrient problems that can trigger the symptoms of an iron deficiency, for example problems with with calcium and magnesium, or an excess of copper can all lead to symptoms of an cannabis iron deficiency.
If you suspect you have a iron deficiency even though the pH is correct, or if you believe your system is truly lacking in iron, you may want to consider flushing your system with clean, pH'd water (if on schedule, you can do this alongside a dose of your regular nutrients) and add a supplement that contains Iron, Calcium and Magnesium.Cannabis loves Calcium and Magnesium, and they work hand and hand with Iron. A Calcium-Magnesium supplement (often called "Cal-Mag" even though they also include iron) can help prevent all of these deficiencies from appearing.
Cal-Mag products are suitable for Hydro, Coco Coir and Soil (not organic, though). This may be a great choice because it also contains extra calcium and magnesium, which are deficiencies that are relatively common for cannabis, and often happen alongside an iron deficiency.
CaliMagic by General Hydroponics is the calcium, magnesium, and ironplant nutrient supplement that we use, though pretty much all other Cal-Mag products will work just as well for growing cannabis (for example Botanicare Cal-Mag Plus and many others).
3.) Take Good Care of the Roots
Iron deficiencies can show up with the plant is having root problems or if the plant is overwatered, even if the pH is right and the iron is there. Proper watering practices help plants grow healthy and avoid a host of problems!
4.) Watch for Recovery
After going through all the above steps, watch to make sure that the iron deficiency starts to clear up within a week or so (try to be patient since iron moves relatively slowly through the plant). The yellow leaves from before may not recover completely, especially if there was a lot of damage, but when new growth is coming in green, you know you're good to go!
It's funny you say that, I started off with organic soil to start with and the soil my grandad was using to grow tomatoes in the back yard. both 2 different seeds in different pots to see what differences there would be in growth. The organic soil seedling took a while to shoot up, grew decent and healthy, then the soil from the backyard seedling shot up quick and grew substantially, healthy and quickly over the 4 weeks I had them growing in veg. This was the one that towered over the 2. I decided to re pot them into a large container together and use the soil from the backyard once again. The organic soil seedling grew rapidly catching up to the other plant. Ever since I flushed them they are not liking it so much. I was using power feed plant food which is Australian made product and was recommended on using. But got laughed at on another site for using this exact product after reaching out for help like I am now.. Even though I had no problem using them on my plants previous.
Dr.Pecker
Well-Known Member
I'm not familiar with the product you're using. One thing I do know is, if you use a chemical fertilizer on organic soil it will kill off the microlife in the soil. Once this happens you will need to keep using chemicals. Organic microlife is what actually feeds the plant in organic soil.
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