Over-Fert or Mg Deficiency?

Hi all. I had a look through the stickies here, but I'm not entirely sure which issue I have (if any!). Would like your opinions on the health of my plant please; despite a lot of research, I still feel like a newbie!

I'm most concerned about the blotchy yellow areas on the leaves, particularly around the tips. Though new growth seems a uniform green at the moment.

I started growing this on a window with minimal light, and it stretched and kept falling over. I managed to get together a light and box for it, and it's really perked up. I had the light a little close to begin with and scorched the new growth, and I *think* this is why the leaves have a yellow outline. 18/6 cycle, and a fan is 2hrs on, 30mins off. [Edit] I'm using a single 20W CFL at the moment, and will soon replace with two 30W 6400k CFLs.

It's planted in a mixture of slightly sandy garden soil and compost, and I also mixed in some pellet-type fert'.

I've been feeding it Miracle-Gro for the past 3 days (half as much as I'm supposed to - planning to increase feed soon).

I'd much appreciate any comments, thanks for such a great resource

do not increase your feed , i would stop feeding all together for another 7 days then start on 1/4 dosage , that looks like nute burn to me your plant is still to small for nutrients and it looks overwaterd how often are u watering? it should be about every 2-3days

I have heard from the growers around here that miracle grow isn't good to use.

yep your burning mainly due to your choice of nutes and grow medium.

Your using some "pellet" type nutes and MG nutes on top of that the MG alone depending on what your using is enough to burn up a plant if not used right.

There is nothing wrong with MG if used right. Do yourself a favor since your new, and on a budget I would assume. Go to lowes and get MG potting mix thats .21%,.07%,.14% and some MG perlite. Make about a 60/40 mix and replant in that also in a bigger pot with good drain holes

Feel how heavy it is then water it down until it starts to drip from drain holes, now feel how heavy it is. DO NOT water it again until it feels "empty" again and the soil is very dry. Should take at least 4-7 days depending on temps before you should water again.

She should bounce back fairly quick after shock of transplant fades. Keep that same routine going for about 2 months then you will need to start adding nutes with water as the ones in the soil will be mostly used.


PS: Try to get alot more light if possible!!

SikSol said:

yep your burning mainly due to your choice of nutes and grow medium.

Your using some "pellet" type nutes and MG nutes on top of that the MG alone depending on what your using is enough to burn up a plant if not used right.

There is nothing wrong with MG if used right. Do yourself a favor since your new, and on a budget I would assume. Go to lowes and get MG potting mix thats .21%,.07%,.14% and some MG perlite. Make about a 60/40 mix and replant in that also in a bigger pot with good drain holes

Feel how heavy it is then water it down until it starts to drip from drain holes, now feel how heavy it is. DO NOT water it again until it feels "empty" again and the soil is very dry. Should take at least 4-7 days depending on temps before you should water again.

She should bounce back fairly quick after shock of transplant fades. Keep that same routine going for about 2 months then you will need to start adding nutes with water as the ones in the soil will be mostly used.


PS: Try to get alot more light if possible!!

Click to expand...

Also, check your PH runoff. It should be in the neighborhood of 6.3-6.8.

Thanks for all the advice guys. I'm watering every 2-3 days with rain water, but I did put some feed in yesterday. I checked my pH about a week ago and it was around 7.5, which I thought would suffice, but perhaps I should go and invest in some pH-down (although I'm on a bit of a budget). Those bloody pH testing kits are £1.99 a hit .

SikSol - I was thinking about re-potting it, and have heard good things about perlite. Was a bit concerned about the transplant shock though, as it's already been re-potted twice. I think you're probably right though - if I invest in some decent soil now then I won't have to worry about it later.

I hope the plant doesn't deteriorate too much; I can't get out today and I dunno if anywhere will be open tomorrow. We'll see!

+rep, thanks