Please help, first time grower! I think my plants have Iron deficiency / Nutrient lockout

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elementhc

Active Member
Masterdank420 said:
Yeah I'd go the full recommended dose as the girls are hungry. Im not sure if you should water until runoff in this particular situation... I've done bottled nutrients with coco only with good sucess which requires watering until runoff. Im concerned the earth worm castings will change the way the coco behaves making more like a soil and less like coco. I'm leaning towards no runoff though.
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I think with bottled nutrients if I don't water to run off I will get salt buildup in the medium? Or am I wrong?
 
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elementhc

Active Member
Masterdank420 said:
If your are using synthetics yes, not with organic liquid ferts that don't contain salts.
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That's what I'll do, as soon as the hydro store opens I'll go and get some organic liquid fertilizer I'll see if they have something comparable to the list Myke posted above. The plants are starving but I need to wait until medium is on the dry side before feeding the liquid fertilizer right?
 
Masterdank420

Masterdank420

Well-Known Member
elementhc said:
That's what I'll do, as soon as the hydro store opens I'll go and get some organic liquid fertilizer I'll see if they have something comparable to the list Myke posted above. The plants are starving but I need to wait until medium is on the dry side before feeding the liquid fertilizer right?
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Yeah you don't want to add over watering to the list of complications lol. Best wait until it's not heavy.
elementhc said:
Should I spray the leaves with cal mag foliar spray once a day until I feed the liquid fertilizer? Or skip the foliar spray all together?
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I've never used foliar sprays before, but in this situation it might be a good idea.
 
myke

myke

Well-Known Member
I believe your issue is 100% ph,you said after your tea this happened? molasses in the tea will drop ph huge.
Since this really an experiment at this point,i would water one with a high ph,see what that does.
Coco organic is known to be problematic,might as well experiment.
 
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elementhc

Active Member
myke said:
I believe your issue is 100% ph,you said after your tea this happened? molasses in the tea will drop ph huge.
Since this really an experiment at this point,i would water one with a high ph,see what that does.
Coco organic is known to be problematic,might as well experiment.
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On the last watering I measured the runoff and it was ph 5.8. I just measured the soil with a soil pen and it's at ph 6.4. Not sure if that gives enough info. Also on last watering I tried to measure ppm but I guess my pen went to a 1000 only and the runoff went over that number. I'm getting a new ppm meter today.
 
myke

myke

Well-Known Member
elementhc said:
On the last watering I measured the runoff and it was ph 5.8. I just measured the soil with a soil pen and it's at ph 6.4. Not sure if that gives enough info. Also on last watering I tried to measure ppm but I guess my pen went to a 1000 only and the runoff went over that number. I'm getting a new ppm meter today.
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Ppm means nothing,your coco has slow release food.Mixed with ewc it will break down and feed.
I use the exact same mix 1 cup gaia per 5 gallon promix,now promix has some food ,your case coco has nothing but the ewc.
The Gaia will kick in,444 is 3% water soluble N so its there.I suspect these issues will continue as the coco cant accept the food in dry form like peat no matter what you do.
As said experiment with them,only give one plant one thing and see.
The alternative is feed them salts to a good runoff,issue is the gaia wont simply wash away, its there now.
 
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elementhc

Active Member
myke said:
Ppm means nothing,your coco has slow release food.Mixed with ewc it will break down and feed.
I use the exact same mix 1 cup gaia per 5 gallon promix,now promix has some food ,your case coco has nothing but the ewc.
The Gaia will kick in,444 is 3% water soluble N so its there.I suspect these issues will continue as the coco cant accept the food in dry form like peat no matter what you do.
As said experiment with them,only give one plant one thing and see.
The alternative is feed them salts to a good runoff,issue is the gaia wont simply wash away, its there now.
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Would I be able to feed them instantly with a ewc and bat guano, kelp, alfalfa tea? Or at least put some microbiology back in the medium and top amend with dry amendments. Might do that with 3 plants and then 3 plants with liquid fertilizers.
What would be the correct ph water level and ph for the tea in coco / perlite and ewc mix?
 
myke

myke

Well-Known Member
elementhc said:
Would I be able to feed them instantly with a ewc and bat guano, kelp, alfalfa tea? Or at least put some microbiology back in the medium and top amend with dry amendments. Might do that with 3 plants and then 3 plants with liquid fertilizers.
What would be the correct ph water level and ph for the tea in coco / perlite and ewc mix?
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Coco should have a ph of 7 IIRC by itself. If you just scratch in EWC to the surface and water in that will take care of the microbes.
I suspect the ones you give salt food to will respond better.
I can’t remember exactly but the CEC of coco is basically zero. It can’t hold onto the dry food like peat. Again I don’t know the science behind it but my bet is feeding them salts will be the better path.
There are a few here that have done the organic coco thing. Look in the organic section ,maybe a search.
 
Week4@inCharge

Week4@inCharge

Well-Known Member
elementhc said:
I'm going to the hydro shop today as soon as they open, do I just tell them I need a organic liquid fertilizer kit for coco?
Also when I get the liquid fertilizers what should I treat my coco like hydro or soil as far a ph goes or do I just follow the steps on the fertilizer bottles?
Do I wait for the medium to dry a bit more before introducing the liquid fertilizer?
With liquid fertilizer do I start feeding to 15% run off and should I go full strength on first feeding?
Thanks for the help just trying to get as much info before I go to the hydro shop.
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I'd do half what the bottle recommends to start out, and yes run off, it's a must with botted nutes, don't mix up organic grow advice with synthetic grow advice, what you were initially doing was aimed towards synthetic grow (with the watering) only you were half going organic with the dry amendments, forget about the dry amendments (until you get some good soil on your next grow) and just water with the bottled nutes as usual. (half the recommended doses) If not, you'll go from underfed to overfed too quickly.. good luck
 
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elementhc

Active Member
Week4@inCharge said:
I'd do half what the bottle recommends to start out, and yes run off, it's a must with botted nutes, don't mix up organic grow advice with synthetic grow advice, what you were initially doing was aimed towards synthetic grow (with the watering) only you were half going organic with the dry amendments, forget about the dry amendments (until you get some good soil on your next grow) and just water with the bottled nutes as usual. (half the recommended doses) If not, you'll go from underfed to overfed too quickly.. good luck
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These instructions you are giving me are for the synthetic nutrients correct? I just want to make sure I buy the right thing. Thanks
 
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