im curently using flood and drain i started to notice over the past few days that the leaves are curling upwards it seems to be magnesium deficiency i read that you can add epsom salts to cure the problem im not sure if i can add it directly to the tank if so could you tell me how much to use the ph was 52 but now ive raised it to 58 ive read a bit of it under problems this is what ive picked up so far /////////////////////////////////////
The more I read through this thread and the more I think about it the more I think my initial post to you was correct - your ph is wrong and it's this that's causing your Magnesium lockout, along with your water. As kp says, your ph should ideally be around 5.8 and certainly no lower than that, if it were me I'd have it more 6.0-6.2 personally at least until the Mg problems go away and then you could drop it back to 5.8 - just watch for other possible lockouts occuring.
It's not calcium deficient, calcium def's are extremely rare in potted plants and I'd say Mg def's was probably either the second or third most common deficiency for indoor potted plants - usually because of the dissolved Calcium Carbonate salts in the irrigation water. Even at 200ppm excess Calcium Carbonate can start locking Mg out.
The only real long term solution to this (as I'm having to do) is get an RO machine to remove all that Calcium Carbonate from the water.
I think the reason you're seeing slow progress is twofold, as I've already said your ph is too low, secondly your dosages of epsom salts are also on the low side and it can take anything between 2-6 days for changes to start showing in the plant. I usually use 1 teaspoon per Litre of water for epsom salts (either level or heaped depending on how much I think they need) or 1 level-heaped tablesoon of epsom salts per gallon (4.5 litres).
In my opinion foliar feeding Epsom salts at a slightly less dilution rate than for root feeding is probably the fastest way to get results from it because the plant can access this directly through the leaves and ph is taken out of the equation.
Just don't overdo it and make sure you use a wetting agent with the foliar feed to help the water droplets penetrate the leaf surfaces. Also make sure you do it just after lights out so the light doesn't magnify the water droplets and burn the leaves.
The more I read through this thread and the more I think about it the more I think my initial post to you was correct - your ph is wrong and it's this that's causing your Magnesium lockout, along with your water. As kp says, your ph should ideally be around 5.8 and certainly no lower than that, if it were me I'd have it more 6.0-6.2 personally at least until the Mg problems go away and then you could drop it back to 5.8 - just watch for other possible lockouts occuring.
It's not calcium deficient, calcium def's are extremely rare in potted plants and I'd say Mg def's was probably either the second or third most common deficiency for indoor potted plants - usually because of the dissolved Calcium Carbonate salts in the irrigation water. Even at 200ppm excess Calcium Carbonate can start locking Mg out.
The only real long term solution to this (as I'm having to do) is get an RO machine to remove all that Calcium Carbonate from the water.
I think the reason you're seeing slow progress is twofold, as I've already said your ph is too low, secondly your dosages of epsom salts are also on the low side and it can take anything between 2-6 days for changes to start showing in the plant. I usually use 1 teaspoon per Litre of water for epsom salts (either level or heaped depending on how much I think they need) or 1 level-heaped tablesoon of epsom salts per gallon (4.5 litres).
In my opinion foliar feeding Epsom salts at a slightly less dilution rate than for root feeding is probably the fastest way to get results from it because the plant can access this directly through the leaves and ph is taken out of the equation.
Just don't overdo it and make sure you use a wetting agent with the foliar feed to help the water droplets penetrate the leaf surfaces. Also make sure you do it just after lights out so the light doesn't magnify the water droplets and burn the leaves.
