My plants went from beautiful to sick in a matter of days

[socal_schmeowzer]

I have 4 plants but only uploaded pictures of the sickest plant from a bunch of different angles. I made a soiless mix of 50/50 peat/perlite and some lime (for seedlings) then added a couple scoops of local wormcastings(in bigger containers). They are about a month old and I transplanted them from soiless mix into those big containers about a week ago. (I put a layer of soiless mix before i transplanted into the big containers because i didn't want them to burn). Anyways they looked perfect tell i saw some brown spots and assumed they were ready for more wormcastings so i gave it a deep watering and it just got worse. Then I panicked and thought ph was the problem and put ph up and some homemade seaweed tea in there and it just keeps getting worse. And that's where I am now. Does it look like i should flush them? I just hate to wash out the expensive ass worm castings Please leme no what you think i should do.

 

[malicifice]

I'm not sure man, to me it looks like something is going on with your medium. What are you watering with? If you already watered them I would just let them be for a couple day's. Trying to get something fixed fast seems to do more harm IMO.

 

[greasemonkeymann]

i'd also try transplanting to a smaller pot next time, the medium retains too much moisture.
teas can exacerbate the problem, I don't like to feed any teas at all after transplanting, for at least 5 days, longer if you're the type to "ruffle" the rootball when transplanting (which I don't like to do, but that's another topic altogether)

 

[UncleReemis]

Try supplementing with CalMag.

 

[socal_schmeowzer]

@malicifice Yeah I've been using plain hose water to feed them except for when i paniced and used ph up and seaweed fert. I agree i probably shouldn't mess with them for a week until the pot drys out a bit:/ The mediums homemade so i wouldn't doubt its the culprit i hope i still get some good smoke

@greasemonkeymann (lmfao at name) yeah i went from 1 gal to 15gal last week probably not such a good idea but i didn't mess with the roots. Also i think its been about a week since it's been transplanted but the seaweed tea is still pretty damn strong for a small plant probably:/ ahhhh hopefully they do ok

 

[socal_schmeowzer]

Try supplementing with CalMag.

I was typing in my plant sickness symptoms on the web and that's what a lot of people would suggest but inevitably a lot of people voted against the idea for fear of it making things worse. I added some lime into the peatmoss and watered it down and let it soak before i prepared my plants but maybe i still lack some cal mag

 

[Grow4myfriends]

just a side point, this won't resolve your immediate issues but it will help in future... when watering be sure to use water that has been left to stand for at least 12 hours. This allows any chlorine to evaporate. Make it a rule never to feed directly from tap. Usually I have 2 or 3 separate containers full of water standing around so that if I need to add some nutes or experiment with something I have a good supply of de-chlorinated water.

 

[greasemonkeymann]

also in my experience it takes a lil longer for a cal/mag deficiency to show itself. Don't think it's that. I think it's something simpler, too rich of a medium, or just too much water-retention. I have HORRIBLE luck at making my own mixes, I've read all about it, and tried multiple times, and at the end, it's waaay easier less back-ache/head-ache to buy a ready made mix and supplement it, a lil, with some goodies. Yeah it costs more, but at my scale its not much more, and it works so much better. Plus I have a bad-back, so stirring up a huge vat of soil sounds like a crappy pain in my back. If you have access to it, Vermifire is a great, great medium, I've been using it for four years now, and it's very consistent, and NEVER any weeds or bugs (unlike roots, fox farm, ocean forest or happy frog). High quality lava rock, and high quality ingredients, throw some fish bone meal, greensand, worm castings, mychorrizae (always use), and a good layer of sand of diatamecous earth on topto piss off any bugs, and you're golden. Feed it teas, with a good algae extract, high phosphorus bat guano, worm castings, and a lil un-sulfured black-strap. And you get tasty sparkly organinc nugs at the end.

 

[greasemonkeymann]

just a side point, this won't resolve your immediate issues but it will help in future... when watering be sure to use water that has been left to stand for at least 12 hours. This allows any chlorine to evaporate. Make it a rule never to feed directly from tap. Usually I have 2 or 3 separate containers full of water standing around so that if I need to add some nutes or experiment with something I have a good supply of de-chlorinated water.

This is great advice, I used to run a 55-gallon fish tank with feeder "goldies" and a good bio-wheel, to clean up the chlorimines, just so I could feed my girls with the un-chlorinated fish poo water (which they LOVED)

 

[malicifice]

@malicifice Yeah I've been using plain hose water to feed them except for when i paniced and used ph up and seaweed fert. I agree i probably shouldn't mess with them for a week until the pot drys out a bit:/ The mediums homemade so i wouldn't doubt its the culprit i hope i still get some good smoke

@greasemonkeymann (lmfao at name) yeah i went from 1 gal to 15gal last week probably not such a good idea but i didn't mess with the roots. Also i think its been about a week since it's been transplanted but the seaweed tea is still pretty damn strong for a small plant probably:/ ahhhh hopefully they do ok

I think your hose water is the culprit. That outside faucet shit kills just about everything I water with it.

 

[socal_schmeowzer]

just a side point, this won't resolve your immediate issues but it will help in future... when watering be sure to use water that has been left to stand for at least 12 hours. This allows any chlorine to evaporate. Make it a rule never to feed directly from tap. Usually I have 2 or 3 separate containers full of water standing around so that if I need to add some nutes or experiment with something I have a good supply of de-chlorinated water.

Thanks i appreciate the help and I'm gonna start doing that. I've heard people say this before but how bad is the tap water right outa the hose? I notice it smells kinda nasty but I also have orange trees and other plants ive been watering with hose water. should i start letting all the water i use sit out regardless of what plant?

 

[Grow4myfriends]

should i start letting all the water i use sit out regardless of what plant?

That is up to you my friend. It might be a lot of work depending on the size of your garden and a lot of containers standing around. It certainly won't hurt them...

But you have a valid point, we grow all sorts of things in the back garden and always water directly from the outside tap with the garden hose and stuff grows just great. But who knows, maybe it would grow even better with less chlorine.

I simply do not put my weed in the same category as stuff grown in the back garden. That stuff gets planted and watered and either it grows or it doesn't (usually it does). Thyme, sage, spring onions, garlic, rhubarb, potatoes, salad to name but a few... if they fail I can just go pick some up at the supermarket.

My weed, on the other hand, that's kind of essential to me that it goes right and I take every little step I can to ensure that this is the case. And sadly, I cannot go pick that up at the supermarket if it fails

 

[lilroach]

The levels of chlorine in tap water will not hurt your plants. I water straight from the tap and have had no issues. Just as someone used the example of watering our outdoor gardens and lawns.....they have no ill effects from such watering.

Same goes with PH when growing in soil. I water with a PH of 8.1 and no problems.

 

[PoodleBud]

just a side point, this won't resolve your immediate issues but it will help in future... when watering be sure to use water that has been left to stand for at least 12 hours. This allows any chlorine to evaporate. Make it a rule never to feed directly from tap. Usually I have 2 or 3 separate containers full of water standing around so that if I need to add some nutes or experiment with something I have a good supply of de-chlorinated water.

That's exactly what I was going to say! I learned that from someone on RIU and it's been very helpful. I also do that for my dogs' water - no chlorine for any of my babies, the green ones or the fuzzy ones.

 

[Grow4myfriends]

funny u should say that, our cat seems to know that instinctively - we do give him water from the tap but he won't touch it until it's a day old.

 

[greasemonkeymann]

I think your hose water is the culprit. That outside faucet shit kills just about everything I water with it.

Off topic, but I KNOW for a fact that when hoses get hot they leach petroleum products into the water. Rubber is made from crude oil

 

[Maine Buds]

That's exactly what I was going to say! I learned that from someone on RIU and it's been very helpful. I also do that for my dogs' water - no chlorine for any of my babies, the green ones or the fuzzy ones.

Fluoride is just as bad as chlorine!

 

[greasemonkeymann]

The levels of chlorine in tap water will not hurt your plants. I water straight from the tap and have had no issues. Just as someone used the example of watering our outdoor gardens and lawns.....they have no ill effects from such watering.

Same goes with PH when growing in soil. I water with a PH of 8.1 and no problems.

This is simply not true. Chlorine will absolutely demolish beneficial bacteria.
Chlorine is a poison.
In fact it killed many soldiers in WWI. It's harmful for the very reason they use it, because it kills micro-organisms.
that's a FACT.
normally I don't post aggressive posts, but you are spreading harmful misinformation.
They won't curl up and die, but you are harming the soil, which in turn slows everything down, they WILL grow, but not ideally.
If you are a hydro grower with chemicals, not so much, but organic growers? Very bad.

 

[lilroach]

This is simply not true. Chlorine will absolutely demolish beneficial bacteria.
Chlorine is a poison.
In fact it killed many soldiers in WWI. It's harmful for the very reason they use it, because it kills micro-organisms.
that's a FACT.
normally I don't post aggressive posts, but you are spreading harmful misinformation.
They won't curl up and die, but you are harming the soil, which in turn slows everything down, they WILL grow, but not ideally.
If you are a hydro grower with chemicals, not so much, but organic growers? Very bad.

Mellow out. Do you feel the levels of chlorine in our water is harming you or anyone else? You're comparing a grain of sand to a beach as far as chlorine levels used in WWI. Yes, chlorine kills micro-organisms.....but no-where near making soil inert.

I am not spreading harmful information. Look in anyone's garden that has been water-fed from a hose as proof.

I average between 5 and 6 ounces per plant. They are healthy until the day I chop 'em. I know what I'm talking about.

 

[DonAlejandroVega]

wet feet.............dry your act up