Water only organic nutrient depletion in flower?

[Northern Boxer]

This is my first organic grow using a well cooked globally amended mix. The only additions to my water only approach was some foliar feeding with kelp in the early vegetative stage, top Dressing with a worm casting, fish meal, kelp and alfalfa meal at week 3 of flowering and 4 balanced organic tea applications over the past 8 weeks with the last a week ago. Trichomes are clear and only about 20 % of pistils are brown with about 3 weeks remaining until finish. As evident by the attached pics, it appears as thought I haven't supplied enough amendments in my mix for sustained nitrogen and I'm sure other nutrients. Should I just try to ride it out for the remaining 3 weeks with RO water as any attempts at a organic top dress likely won't provide any benefits before that finish anyways?

 

[Chip Green]

Check into the Organics sub forum.... There are some f'n wizards in that section, they'll have a method.....

 

[Bernie420]

This is my first organic grow using a well cooked globally amended mix. The only additions to my water only approach was some foliar feeding with kelp in the early vegetative stage, top Dressing with a worm casting, fish meal, kelp and alfalfa meal at week 3 of flowering and 4 balanced organic tea applications over the past 8 weeks with the last a week ago. Trichomes are clear and only about 20 % of pistils are brown with about 3 weeks remaining until finish. As evident by the attached pics, it appears as thought I haven't supplied enough amendments in my mix for sustained nitrogen and I'm sure other nutrients. Should I just try to ride it out for the remaining 3 weeks with RO water as any attempts at a organic top dress likely won't provide any benefits before that finish anyways?View attachment 4272115

Up the mag and add a microbes product a little every week

 

[Northern Boxer]

Up the mag and add a microbes product a little every week

I was thinking General Organics CalMG + and EM1 for the next watering (today). Just not sure if I should continue through to finish or give the girls one last application and ride it out with RO for the remainder as I don't want to effect the taste taking it so close to cut down? Otherwise the nugs are getting pretty hard and starting to show a little frosting.

 

[Renfro]

This is my first organic grow using a well cooked globally amended mix. The only additions to my water only approach was some foliar feeding with kelp in the early vegetative stage, top Dressing with a worm casting, fish meal, kelp and alfalfa meal at week 3 of flowering and 4 balanced organic tea applications over the past 8 weeks with the last a week ago. Trichomes are clear and only about 20 % of pistils are brown with about 3 weeks remaining until finish. As evident by the attached pics, it appears as thought I haven't supplied enough amendments in my mix for sustained nitrogen and I'm sure other nutrients. Should I just try to ride it out for the remaining 3 weeks with RO water as any attempts at a organic top dress likely won't provide any benefits before that finish anyways?View attachment 4272115

As I stated in your other post, looks more like an Iron deficiency.

 

[Northern Boxer]

As I stated in your other post, looks more like an Iron deficiency.

Any option other than tap water at this point?

 

[Renfro]

Well as you are limited to organic sources of iron, I dunno. Normally composting material provides enough iron but that may be depleted, however I sorta doubt it, those plants aren't that large.

I think we need to check the pH of the soil and your water. If there is an issue with it being high then thats the problem. Honestly the most common cause of this deficency in other crops is high ph, they call it lime induced chlorosis. Make sure the pH is good, at 6.5

 

[Renfro]

If the pH is high we gotta get that down. Id try and take it down to 6.3 and then let it up to 6.5 on the next watering and hold.

I'm not an organic grower so other than a basic diagnosis I can't really advise treatment methods.

 

[Bernie420]

I was thinking General Organics CalMG + and EM1 for the next watering (today). Just not sure if I should continue through to finish or give the girls one last application and ride it out with RO for the remainder as I don't want to effect the taste taking it so close to cut down? Otherwise the nugs are getting pretty hard and starting to show a little frosting.

I think that the calmag is fine but just epsom salt is what you need imo and some microbes that will pull what the plant wants and get it to the roots. so Up the mag and add a microbes product a little every week is my advice from what I see

You in prime growth why flush it now and for three weeks during this time and they will just suffer. I dig the flush just not now.

And imo the flush helps with the taste but it isnt why your shit may or may not taste good and that taste comes from a proper drying and curing process.

So basically your starving your plants during prime growth and worrying about the taste that doesn't happen till it gets dried and cured properly.

 

[ShLUbY]

I think that the calmag is fine but just epsom salt is what you need imo and some microbes that will pull what the plant wants and get it to the roots. so Up the mag and add a microbes product a little every week is my advice from what I see

You in prime growth why flush it now and for three weeks during this time and they will just suffer. I dig the flush just not now.

And imo the flush helps with the taste but it isnt why your shit may or may not taste good and that taste comes from a proper drying and curing process.

So basically your starving your plants during prime growth and worrying about the taste that doesn't happen till it gets dried and cured properly.

flushing is for toilets, not for organic grows

This is my first organic grow using a well cooked globally amended mix. The only additions to my water only approach was some foliar feeding with kelp in the early vegetative stage, top Dressing with a worm casting, fish meal, kelp and alfalfa meal at week 3 of flowering and 4 balanced organic tea applications over the past 8 weeks with the last a week ago. Trichomes are clear and only about 20 % of pistils are brown with about 3 weeks remaining until finish. As evident by the attached pics, it appears as thought I haven't supplied enough amendments in my mix for sustained nitrogen and I'm sure other nutrients. Should I just try to ride it out for the remaining 3 weeks with RO water as any attempts at a organic top dress likely won't provide any benefits before that finish anyways?View attachment 4272115

i've given you a method to check your pH in the organic forum. start there, because any addition of ANYTHING is misguided by speculation rather than using proper data. I cannot stress the importance of making informed decisions rather than blindly guessing at something. Get the pH, narrow the variables.

 

[Bernie420]

flushing is for toilets, not for organic grows



i've given you a method to check your pH in the organic forum. start there, because any addition of ANYTHING is misguided by speculation rather than using proper data. I cannot stress the importance of making informed decisions rather than blindly guessing at something. Get the pH, narrow the variables.

You dont ever need to check the ph in an organic or soil grow the microbes regulate the ph at the root surface. You water in at a ph of 6.2-6.5 and the microbes do the rest.

 

[ShLUbY]

You dont ever need to check the ph in an organic or soil grow the microbes regulate the ph at the root surface. You water in at a ph of 6.2-6.5 and the microbes do the rest.

that is true if minerals are in balance and your biology is proper as well. you can over buffer an organic mix beyond the control of the microbes and the plant. I've seen it in my own grows through recycling and amending mixes with oyster shell flour. Over time, OSF built up in the mix and the pH would not go below 7. I've recently excluded OSF to my recycle mixes. I figure between the crab meal, rock dusts, and gypsum, there is plenty of calcium in the mix. The great thing about gypsum is that the Ca is not in carbonate form (though it can form these complexes on its own) so there is less of an effect on the pH of the medium. Once that pH reaches 6.8 and above, solubility of metals is practically gone, so there goes your Fe for photosynthetic redox as well as all your coenzymes like Cu, Co and Zn and the plant is going to suffer. Those metals are immobile in the plant, so you typically see yellowing in the newest growth, like the OP is experiencing. Bacterial dominated soils can actually stabilize with a pH of 7-8, while fungal dom soils can stabilize at pH 6-7. It has recently been shown that cannabis prefers close to a 1:1 ratio of bacteria to fungi, which i'm assuming helps keep the pH in a suitable range. But if you have no fungal foods in the mix...or they disappear over time... then imbalance occurs. It not as simple as we'd like to think it is

edit: i would bet money that the pH of that soil is improper.

 

[Northern Boxer]

Soil ph tested @ 6.2

 

[Northern Boxer]

flushing is for toilets, not for organic grows



i've given you a method to check your pH in the organic forum. start there, because any addition of ANYTHING is misguided by speculation rather than using proper data. I cannot stress the importance of making informed decisions rather than blindly guessing at something. Get the pH, narrow the variables.

ShLUbY, correct me if I'm wrong but if my ph @6.2 is in the lower range and I cal mag ...... General Organics CaMg+ at 2 tsp/ gallon of RO water comes in at 4.8. Am I not exaspering the issue of low PH?

 

[Northern Boxer]

ShLUbY, correct me if I'm wrong but if my ph @6.2 is in the lower range and I cal mag ...... General Organics CaMg+ at 2 tsp/ gallon of RO water comes in at 4.8. Am I not exaspering the issue of low PH?

Also I tested a mix of EM1 and it came in at 6.8. I have not added anything but checking PH values to see where I may have gone wrong earlier in the Grow.

 

[ShLUbY]

ShLUbY, correct me if I'm wrong but if my ph @6.2 is in the lower range and I cal mag ...... General Organics CaMg+ at 2 tsp/ gallon of RO water comes in at 4.8. Am I not exaspering the issue of low PH?

I'm not quite clear on what you are asking here, can you please rephrase the question? and your pH (assuming the reading you took is correct) is 6.2... that's perfect! I prefer to see it in that range. maybe your soil was deficient in trace minerals?

 

[ShLUbY]

also when you say "globally amended mix" what do you mean? what was your soil recipe?

 

[ShLUbY]

and also, i see no evidence of Ca or Mg deficiency on your plants. no rusty spots (Ca def.) from what i can see in the photos, and interveinal chlorosis (Mg def). I am seeing anthocyanin production in the upper regions. All your plants seem to be affected.

 

[Northern Boxer]

My soil recipe consists of...
8 gallon organic soil mix
6 gal perlite
4 gal worm castings
1/2 cup Gaia Green 4-4-4
2 cups bonemeal
2 cups feathermeal
1/4 cup soft rock phosphate
1/4 cup oyster shell flower
3 cup alfalfa meal
2 cup kelp meal
1/2 cup gypsum
When I transferred to my flowering pot I used the same mix but layered the bottom of the pot with general purpose Gaia Green 2-8-4. I also Top dressed with 1/2 cup of worm castings into week 2 of flower as the fan leaves appeared lighter than normal otherwise I am 6 weeks into flower and all I have added was 2 applications of compost tea Since flower. The first at a ratio of 5-1 at week 2, the second at a ratio of 3-1. Since then I have watered once 4 days ago with straight RO. Need to water tonigh and debating if I should add some EM 1 so I'm not using straight RO. Am I incorrect to believe that straight RO will strip any remaining nutrients and minerals from my soil?

 

[Northern Boxer]

Just one other comment. A friend is growing with the same genetics/ same soil recipe but is using a 600 HPS with no issues. One suggested my more powerful LED cobs and high ppfd is part of my issue? You mentioned anthocyanin which I understand provide a process of light wave absorption. could there be any correlation here. Excuse my nubeness, I'm just looking at all angles.