Maine Outdoor 2020 (first timer)

Farmers union carries it.

https://coastofmaine.com/product/stoningtonfood/
https://www.parisfarmersunion.com/ORGANIC-STONINGTON-BLEND-PLANT-FOOD-4LB-p/0265027.htm

thumper60 said:

Those plants are hungry those spots say give me some cal, Where did you find stonington plant food?

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You should be able to find that at any garden center that sells Coast of Maine products, or you can order it direct from them and have it shipped. I got it at a local general store. Kind of pricey ($17), you could probably just get the same ingredients and make your own for cheaper. That's what I'll do next year.

If those spots showed up after the rain or a heavy watering/tea I would attribute it to a lack of oxygen in the root zone. Scratch some mulch away from the stalk and poke a couple of deep holes in the soil with a piece of bamboo.

Advice I’ve been given about gardening in dirt with manure: In clay work it in, in sand top dress it. Organic materials use up oxygen as they break down.

You can make your own cal mag... found this a few weeks ago. Will make early next year for my second grow... Bill Ward's
DIY Cal-Mag for your plants. Link

DCcan said:

Farmers union carries it.

https://coastofmaine.com/product/stoningtonfood/
https://www.parisfarmersunion.com/ORGANIC-STONINGTON-BLEND-PLANT-FOOD-4LB-p/0265027.htm

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Do you no if it dissolves in water for hand watering, or just for topdress.

Freedom seed said:

If those spots showed up after the rain or a heavy watering/tea I would attribute it to a lack of oxygen in the root zone. Scratch some mulch away from the stalk and poke a couple of deep holes in the soil with a piece of bamboo.

Advice I’ve been given about gardening in dirt with manure: In clay work it in, in sand top dress it. Organic materials use up oxygen as they break down.

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Interesting theory--if I had it to do over again (next year!) I would've mixed in a bunch of perlite. I did on the last hole, but the other 5 are just compost/soil.

I didn't really notice those spots until after the rain we had early last week, so it's definitely possible.

thumper60 said:

Do you no if it dissolves in water for hand watering, or just for topdress.

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The woman from CoM who created it says you can steep it in water to make a liquid fertilizer--that's why I put some in my teas. She recommends tea for smaller containers or immediate results, topdressing for larger containers and longer-term fertilization. Recommends mixing with a little compost when topdressing--I think that helps break the ingredients down faster.

NewEnglandFarmer said:

Interesting theory--if I had it to do over again (next year!) I would've mixed in a bunch of perlite. I did on the last hole, but the other 5 are just compost/soil.

I didn't really notice those spots until after the rain we had early last week, so it's definitely possible.

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I use biochar in the holes instead of perlite. Great stuff for aeration. I do my starts in special kitty with just a bit of peat and coco so that when they get rained on there isn’t a bunch of soggy peat muck around the root crown.

What thumper said, more cal than mag but they generally Look hungry overall. I do synthetics so not the same deal...I use Remo brand calmag 3-0-0 every week whether I feed them or not. I grow in promix and calcium/magnesium are the first nutrients to go deficient as the fertilizer I use has very little of either added.

Seawood said:

What thumper said, more cal than mag but they generally Look hungry overall. I do synthetics so not the same deal...I use Remo brand calmag 3-0-0 every week whether I feed them or not. I grow in promix and calcium/magnesium are the first nutrients to go deficient.

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OK, I've got some K-Mag here which is a natural organic product that's water soluble, added some at planting time but maybe they could use more. Can make a tea out of it for quick uptake. I just gave them a batch of compost tea this morning so will probably wait a few days and see how they look before proceeding to Mag. Sounds like a methodical approach, boosting one supplement at time gently and watching, is the best approach. Easy to panic and start throwing all sorts of stuff at it at once.

I still suspect they are ready for more nitrogen--I may need to get a little heavier handed with that now that they're getting big. Plenty of that composted cow manure left in my pile, plus kelp meal.

This is really an interesting blend of science and art, isn't it? All about listening carefully to your plants and letting them tell you what they need...

Took a look at my soil test report again and been giving this some more thought. Calcium was extremely low, Magnesium was also low.

I did mix in calcitic lime, K-Mag, and lots of compost to planting holes, but certainly possible the plants have used that up at this point.

Looking at Cervantes' "Cannabis Nutrient Deficiencies & Excesses" poster, it seems like the symptoms I'm seeing may be calcium deficiency, although I'm not seeing the "lower leaves contort and curl." But the yellow spots matches what I'm seeing. Says Mag deficiency shows brown spots which I'm not seeing.

I've added a cup of kelp meal, which has both calcium and magnesium, to the 5g batch of compost tea I'm currently brewing. I'll try a foliar spray and root drench of that tomorrow or the day after. That kelp meal topdressing I applied last week may also help--although probably slower acting than a foliar spray.

I could also try dissolving some calcitic lime into warm water and adding that to tea. Anybody ever tried that?

Hopefully I caught this early enough to quickly correct it and be totally dialed in before flowering begins in another 5-6 weeks.

Will update with results.

NewEnglandFarmer said:

Gulp. If that happens here I'm looking at 12-footers. Hard to imagine. I guess the rate of growth must increase exponentially as leaf surface increases. What's your feeding regiment toward the end of July and how much watering (assuming a week with no rain)?

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Well definitely assume they will close to double. I usually water 1 to twice a week if its not raining.

And I only top dress at the end of july and let them go. Just a little molasses and Epsom salts given.

Applied my 5g batch of compost/kelp tea at dawn this morning. Sprayed foliage thoroughly and then poured the rest on the rootzone. Supposed to be calcium and magnesium in kelp meal so we'll see what that does. Am I looking for the yellow spots to disappear or just not see any more show up?

Interestingly they are only on one plant even though they all get the same treatment. Not sure what to make of that. I'll wait a few days and see how things look at the end of the week. Have some epsom salts to use if need be...but let's see what the kelp does first.

GG--after July just Epsom and molasses through to the end? No need for extra phosphorus/potassium during flower? Maybe your compost contains all they need...

NewEnglandFarmer said:

Applied my 5g batch of compost/kelp tea at dawn this morning. Sprayed foliage thoroughly and then poured the rest on the rootzone. Supposed to be calcium and magnesium in kelp meal so we'll see what that does. Am I looking for the yellow spots to disappear or just not see any more show up?

Interestingly they are only on one plant even though they all get the same treatment. Not sure what to make of that. I'll wait a few days and see how things look at the end of the week. Have some epsom salts to use if need be...but let's see what the kelp does first.

GG--after July just Epsom and molasses through to the end? No need for extra phosphorus/potassium during flower? Maybe your compost contains all they need...

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Those plants should be getting at least 5 gals each.

thumper60 said:

Those plants should be getting at least 5 gals each.

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Hmmm...I only have the capacity to do 5g of tea at a time, maybe I need to give the entire batch to just 1 plant at a time.

I had calculated that the equivalent of 1" of rain on 1 plant (3' diameter circle) is 4.5 gallons. That's what I shoot for when I water them (weekly if it doesn't rain). The tea is a supplement in addition to the watering.

I suppose that could be part of the issue...spreading the tea too thin?

Just ordered a pH meter to check the brook water I'm using. Wouldn't surprise me if it's a bit acidic, most soil around here is.

NewEnglandFarmer said:

Hmmm...I only have the capacity to do 5g of tea at a time, maybe I need to give the entire batch to just 1 plant at a time.

I had calculated that the equivalent of 1" of rain on 1 plant (3' diameter circle) was about 3 gallons. That's what I shoot for when I water them (weekly if it doesn't rain). The tea is a supplement in addition to the watering.

I suppose that could be part of the issue...spreading the tea too thin?

Just ordered a pH meter to check the brook water I'm using. Wouldn't surprise me if it's a bit acidic, most soil around here is.

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The spotting may not go away on the affected leaves. Just as long as it doesn’t spread/continue.

Just for reference, when I water/feed, I use 12 gal of water for my 30 gal pots, 9 gal for the 20s. Any less and I don’t get runoff. You’re in the ground so it’s different but you need to make sure you get the nutrients to the deepest roots.

Good to know, thanks. Sounds like with my current equipment limitations I'll need to do one plant at a time when doing teas.

NewEnglandFarmer said:

Good to know, thanks. Sounds like with my current equipment limitations I'll need to do one plant at a time when doing teas.

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Get some fish emulsion 100% organic it will green those plants right up over night. When I water my outdoor plants they get 20gals each.

Great idea...I was just thinking the same thing. Maybe my wife will let me steal some of her fish hydrolosate--there's a gallon jug in the shed she gets from Organic Growers Supply. It's been a week since we had that most recent rain so tomorrow morning would be an excellent time to give them a deep watering. I'll mix some up--not sure I can do 20 gallons each but maybe 5-10.

I'll be back with results.

How's everything going down on the Saco?

Plants love the river water.