Lower leaf yellowing, deficiency?

I'm using Pro-Mix Organic Garden Mix, the cheap 2 cubic foot bales from Walmart. home Depot carries it too. It is like 70% peat moss, 20% coco,10% perlite, and pH buffered. I'll also use Pro-Mix Premium Moisture Potting Mix (also from Wally's). It's a dollar more a bale. It's got a bit more peat and less coir than the Garden Mix. They both give me similar results, just depends on what's in stock when I need it.

I do not pH my nutrient solution. The pH is handled by the buffered soil-less mix. Last time I checked, my nutrient solution is normally in the mid 7's.

I do not have a layer of perlite on top of the res. It's 100% Pro-Mix throughout the bucket.
Thats making me think im wasting my time bring my ph to 6.2 when my medium is buffered to 6.2 lol. Am I ?
 
Thats making me think im wasting my time bring my ph to 6.2 when my medium is buffered to 6.2 lol. Am I ?

If you are in a buffered soil-less mix or soil, there is no need to pH your nutrient solution. Does it hurt if you do? No, but its not necessary.
 
If you are in a buffered soil-less mix or soil, there is no need to pH your nutrient solution. Does it hurt if you do? No, but its not necessary.
So regardless of what it comes to there's no need? When I mix with my nutes in water it drops to about 4.8 5 ph and when I do my silica mix with no nutes just silica and water it goes to around 9.0 9.5. Would this still not matter then? I asked just because the biobizz nutes range does have a PH up and down within it
 
Thanks @safeman - I definitely have mate, thanks for your advice too.

I feed nutrients every single feeding, never plain water. I think with the power of hindsight it's as simple as switching to the wrong nutrient mix too early, maybe the bloom nutes mix from my chart should be used in week 5 or 6 but not the start of week 3, at least for this strain/grow.

I do agree on the lack of light thing below the canopy and that's what I first suspected but clearly its both light and a lack of N/Calmag, I reckon now we are probably close to fixing the issue.

I know about heavy defol but I wasn't planning to do it until day 21 (which is tomorrow) as that's when the stretch is definitely finished and taking a load of leaves/budsites won't effect the stretch? Instead that stress will hopefully go towards increasing sugars? I'm still learning but I've not taken any steps without first reading up heavily on the topic, the problem with all cannabis information is the huge amount of conflicting info on any given subject :rofl:

I'm now planning on waiting a little bit longer before taking any leaves, unless @InTheShed gives me direct instructions otherwise, I'm following his much appreciated health regime for my lady lol :))
Thanks !!yea seem like one doesn't really have to defoliate those sativa's ; even tho it look slike it's needed - for long flower times many companies recommend to use week 6 for additional weeks AND no "n" of course - for me - I use very little nutrients with long flower sativa's, maybe a lttiel organic stuff but mostly water - at any rate your plants look excellent. realllyu not much defo is need because of plant structure
 
So regardless of what it comes to there's no need? When I mix with my nutes in water it drops to about 4.8 5 ph and when I do my silica mix with no nutes just silica and water it goes to around 9.0 9.5. Would this still not matter then? I asked just because the biobizz nutes range does have a PH up and down within it

ph Up and pH down are needed with coco and hydro where there is no buffering agent (normally lime) involved. My nutrient solution (includes Silica, Micros, and a Part A and Part B component) typically comes in between 7.6-7.8 when all mixed together. That gets fed with no adjustment since I'm in a buffered soil-less mix.
 
i woulda pushed you up the feed chart a little further.

The reason Shed recommended a different mix is due to the fact I am reducing Nitrogen with the flowering nutes and there seems to be an N defiency, so bad idea to reduce N intake.


thought you were upping the n with extra calmag. it's something i've done under similar circumstances.

the added n will help, just watch it doesn't reduce the p/k side while you do. the plant is going into a heavier phase for them.


That gets fed with no adjustment since I'm in a buffered soil-less mix.



i get leary of buffered media when running long. if they fail, they fail in flower. i learned the hard way on long running sativas.
 
i get leary of buffered media when running long. if they fail, they fail in flower. i learned the hard way on long running sativas.

Long runs can be problematic, but it has more to do with the source of Nitrogen in your fertilizer than a few drops of pH Up or Down in your nutrient solution.

Understanding pH management and plant nutrition
Part 3: Fertilizers
Bill Argo, Ph.D.
Blackmore Company


Solution pH and the effect that fertilizer has on substrate-pH two different aspects of water-soluble fertilizers.
There is a great deal of confusion when it comes to understanding the difference between the pH of the fertilizer solution and the effect that fertilizer has on substrate pH, and why they are important to the health of your plants.

Just like with water pH, the pH of the fertilizer solution is a direct measurement of the balance between acidic hydrogen ions (H+) and basic hydroxide ions (OH-), and can be measured with a pH meter. The pH of a solution can range between 0 (very acidic) and 14 (very basic). At a pH of 7.0, the concentrations of H+ and OH- are equal, and the solution is said to be neutral. When the pH is above 7.0, the concentration of OH- is higher than H+, and the solution is said to be basic or alkaline (not to be confused with alkalinity). When the solution is below 7.0, the concentration of H+ is higher than OH-, and the solution is said to be acidic.

The effect that a water-soluble fertilizer has on substrate pH is dependent on the reactions that take place once the fertilizer has been applied to the crop and are based on the type of nitrogen contained in the fertilizer. There are three types of nitrogen used in water-soluble fertilizers: ammoniacal nitrogen (NH4-N), nitrate nitrogen (NO3-N) and urea (Figure 1). Uptake of ammoniacal nitrogen causes the substrate-pH to decrease because H+ (acidic protons) are secreted from roots in order to balance the charges of ions inside the plant with the solution surrounding the outside of the roots. Urea is easily converted into ammoniacal nitrogen in the substrate and therefore can be thought of as another source of ammoniacal nitrogen. In contrast, uptake of nitrate nitrogen increases substrate-pH because OH- or HCO3- (bases) are secreted by plant roots in order to balance nitrate uptake.

Another important fertilizer reaction is a process called nitrification. Several types of bacteria in container substrates (including inert substrates like coir, bark, peat, rockwool, and scoria) convert ammoniacal nitrogen to nitrate nitrogen. Nitrification releases H+ (acidic protons), causing the substrate-pH to decrease.

Consider the difference in the amount of acidity supplied by a solution with a pH of 5.0 verses the amount of acidity supplied by 100 ppm of ammoniacal nitrogen. A solution with a pH of 5.0 would supply about 0.01 mEq/liter of acidic hydrogen ions to the substrate. If all the 100 ppm ammoniacal nitrogen were converted into nitrate nitrogen through nitrification, the maximum amount of acidity produced would be 14.2 mEq/liter of acidic hydrogen, or about 1,400 times more acidity than would be supplied by a solution with a pH of 5.0.
 
Higher than 154-30-132? Only place to bump that is the K, which is not easy with the collection of bottles he has.
Isn't the NPK given a s a ratio rather than cardinal numbers?
If you mix two lots of 1-1-1 it doesn't become 2-2-2 :hmmmm:
 
ph Up and pH down are needed with coco and hydro where there is no buffering agent (normally lime) involved. My nutrient solution (includes Silica, Micros, and a Part A and Part B component) typically comes in between 7.6-7.8 when all mixed together. That gets fed with no adjustment since I'm in a buffered soil-less mix.
Cool man thanks im going to try this next time. 👍.
 
Higher than 154-30-132? Only place to bump that is the K, which is not easy with the collection of bottles he has.

.4 g per gallon of Potassium Sulfate (the main ingredient in Terpinator) would bump that K up 46 points and add 19 ppm of Sulfur, not that he needs more Sulfur, but it won't hurt. Measuring .4g of powder every feed would be a pain in the ass so I'd probably add 303g of Potassium Sulfate to a gallon of distilled water and make a solution out of it. Dose at 5ml per gallon. So when @Weffalo asked about upping things for bloom, that would be my recommendation although it requires the purchase of another product, but its like $10 a pound on the Zon.
 
Isn't the NPK given a s a ratio rather than cardinal numbers?
If you mix two lots of 1-1-1 it doesn't become 2-2-2 :hmmmm:
My numbers are in PPM rather than a ratio, based on how much of each bottle he's mixing. The ratios represent the contents of the bottle, so if you mix in twice as much the PPM goes up without changing the ratios (since 2-2-2 is the same as 1-1-1).

The 154-30-132 would be as if you pulled out a single bottle marked 5.13-1-4.4.
.4 g per gallon of Potassium Sulfate
Maybe you can ship him some! I was working with his existing inputs. :cheesygrinsmiley:
 
Isn't the NPK given a s a ratio rather than cardinal numbers?
If you mix two lots of 1-1-1 it doesn't become 2-2-2 :hmmmm:

Its not as simple as just adding the numbers. I go into how to calculate it Over Here.
 
My numbers are in PPM rather than a ratio, based on how much of each bottle he's mixing. The ratios represent the contents of the bottle, so if you mix in twice as much the PPM goes up without changing the ratios (since 2-2-2 is the same as 1-1-1).

The 154-30-132 would be as if you pulled out a single bottle marked 5.13-1-4.4.
That is my understanding too - thanks for clarifying Shed

:thanks:
 
Maybe you can ship him some!

Lol, I probably have some somewhere. I broke down and bought 5 lb bags last time I ordered salts.

I was working with his existing inputs. :cheesygrinsmiley:

And a fine job you did. He says his plant is improving. Another satisfied customer. You're gonna have to get one of the old McDonalds signs that has the changeable number served areas.
 
I'd say you have at least a few weeks before you need to change any numbers, and congratulations on the lack of yellowing!

Don't pull any more leaves off though, but larfy buds are okay to pluck.
Gotya, I'll check back in a few weeks with you on what you recommend changing the mix too if that's cool?

I'll not pull anymore leaves, I didn't mean to get any but it's hard to isolate some of the budsites as I can only get into the tent from the front. I'm like a mechanic working on the underside of the canopy staring up at the light :rofl: :thanks: 🙏

.4 g per gallon of Potassium Sulfate (the main ingredient in Terpinator) would bump that K up 46 points and add 19 ppm of Sulfur, not that he needs more Sulfur, but it won't hurt. Measuring .4g of powder every feed would be a pain in the ass so I'd probably add 303g of Potassium Sulfate to a gallon of distilled water and make a solution out of it. Dose at 5ml per gallon. So when @Weffalo asked about upping things for bloom, that would be my recommendation although it requires the purchase of another product, but its like $10 a pound on the Zon.
Thanks a lot @farside05 Is that a US gallon? 3.78541 litres? :rofl: Would you be able to whip me up a measurement for that K booster in litres please mate? I can buy 1kg of Potassium Sulphate (Sulphate of Potash? Same thing right lol?) for super cheap, would that be more convinient than adjusting the existing tri-part ratios and just adding the potassium sulfate solution you suggest in two weeks?

Is that all you would do during heavy bloom, just increase K? I read so much about cutting N during flower but is that neccessary? I read that too much N causes excess stretching and bad taste in leaves... but then I read that it's actually excess P that causes the bad taste, or an excess of any nutrients for a prolonged time.

Just wondering what truth there is to the matter as I don't know myth from fact currently and feel like I need to adjust my knowledge on how flowering nutes are meant to work :rofl:

Thanks so much for all the help and advice, definitely a happy customer at the @InTheShed Nutrient Clinic here at 420 Magazine :D 🙏
 
The 154-30-132 would be as if you pulled out a single bottle marked 5.13-1-4.4.

5: 1: 4.5

isn't a 2: 1: 3 ratio or similar a bit friendlier ? i agree a higher n won't hurt here though. that is a lot of k.
 
Thanks a lot @farside05 Is that a US gallon? 3.78541 litres? Would you be able to whip me up a measurement for that K booster in litres please mate?


just say 4L and call it a day. it's splitting hairs otherwise. the plants aren't that sensitive to the difference, and it's easy to bump a hair with most nutes.
 
Back
Top Bottom