Organic grow deficiency

[Shatterstate]

Not sure exactly where to post this question but I am week 8 into an organic grow and running into what I think are Mg deficiencies. The grow style is using dry amendments in a coco/perlite mix with top dressing at the start of flower and midflower. Watering with dechlorinated tap water ph’d to 6.5. I just recently started ph’ing to 6.5 the last couple of waters. Before that I was ph’ing to 6.8. Are the spots on the leaves due to ph fluctuations? What would also be the best way to correct an Mg deficiency in an organic grow? I’ve tried Epsom salts in water and also a foliar spray but hasn’t seemed to help it. Any recommendations are much appreciated!

 

[Backlipslide]

I think for coco the optimal ph is 5.8 not 6.8 or 6.5

 

[Backlipslide]

Sorry where are my manners. Welcome to the site!! Now let get your plants figured out!!

 

[Backlipslide]

It’s looking a bit like copper deficiency, but with the ph being off from the get go, ph fluctuations may be the culprit

 

[Shatterstate]

Thanks for the reply! I’ve been in contact with the company I purchased the dry amendments from and they said the optimal ph would be above 6 in order not to kill off beneficial microbes.

 

[Backlipslide]

What is the top dressing you put on?
Forgive me if I’m wrong but,
Coco is a soil-free medium, there for its considered a hydroponic grow, not an organic.

I’ve been growing in coco mixed with perlite, I’ve fed her 5.8 the entire grow (minus maybe a couple feedings forgetting to ph before feeding)

155B56BE-0AAC-4757-92AE-A15AA65E8A6E.jpeg

• Backlipslide
• Jul 13, 2019
• backlipslide

Dark Angel with flash.

She turned out awesome

 

[Backlipslide]

I just want to add that when plants go into flower it’s common for them to take nutrients from old fan leaves moving it to the colas, where they need those extra nutrients

 

[Emilya Green]

Thanks for the reply! I’ve been in contact with the company I purchased the dry amendments from and they said the optimal ph would be above 6 in order not to kill off beneficial microbes.

Hi @Shatterstate and welcome to the forum. Just because you put a couple of organic things in your coco, does not make this an organic grow. You are in a purely synthetic world with no minerally rich soil, and nothing for microbes to munch on and then give that goodness to the plants. Your plants are not getting very much from the dry amendments and beneficial microbes are going to be extremely hard to keep alive in that medium devoid of organics.
Your pH range in coco is 5.5-6.1. Adjusting up into the soil range is not going to magically make this organic. The person who recommended you to be above 6 pH has absolutely no idea what they are talking about. In an organic grow you don't even adjust the pH, the microbes don't care. Sorry to be so blunt, but I refuse to sugar coat the truth. The spots on your leaves are showing severe malnutrition and it is no wonder after hearing about this odd mixture of artificial and organic methods.
So, to illustrate where you have gone wrong, what have you top dressed in there to supply phosphorus, boron, molybdenum, sulfur, copper, manganese, etc... are you supplying all of these in your artificial system? Unless you are supplying these out of a bottle, your plant is going to suffer multiple deficiencies. I wish it were as simple as a magnesium deficiency, but I am afraid that you are going to have to acquiesce to your synthetic medium and start feeding out of a bottle, like most coco growers do. There are mineral packs that you can throw in, like Earth Dust, and if you had enough active microbes, I can imagine that in this test tube if you supplemented the microbes regularly you could actually make this work. I have trouble enough keeping the microbes going in a good minerally rich soil, and I can't imagine them living very long at all in your supplemented coco mix. It would seem imperative that you regularly supplement the microbes with URB, Voodoo Juice or Realgrower's recharge.
So tell me more about this please... how is it that this is expected to work. Maybe there is good science and all the proper stuff in the amendments you spoke of, and I am curious where the plan has turn awry. I look on it as sort of a challenge to see if we can get you sorted and back on track.

 

[Hdinkleman]

yup like emilya said.
and i thought that if youre in a completely organic grow you wouldnt have to ph your water anyways.

i have not been phong my water at all for my outdoor organic plant, i just use a few organic soil amendments and just water out of the hose.
plant looks great and is getting bigger everyday

 

[Shatterstate]

Hi @Shatterstate and welcome to the forum. Just because you put a couple of organic things in your coco, does not make this an organic grow. You are in a purely synthetic world with no minerally rich soil, and nothing for microbes to munch on and then give that goodness to the plants. Your plants are not getting very much from the dry amendments and beneficial microbes are going to be extremely hard to keep alive in that medium devoid of organics.
Your pH range in coco is 5.5-6.1. Adjusting up into the soil range is not going to magically make this organic. The person who recommended you to be above 6 pH has absolutely no idea what they are talking about. In an organic grow you don't even adjust the pH, the microbes don't care. Sorry to be so blunt, but I refuse to sugar coat the truth. The spots on your leaves are showing severe malnutrition and it is no wonder after hearing about this odd mixture of artificial and organic methods.
So, to illustrate where you have gone wrong, what have you top dressed in there to supply phosphorus, boron, molybdenum, sulfur, copper, manganese, etc... are you supplying all of these in your artificial system? Unless you are supplying these out of a bottle, your plant is going to suffer multiple deficiencies. I wish it were as simple as a magnesium deficiency, but I am afraid that you are going to have to acquiesce to your synthetic medium and start feeding out of a bottle, like most coco growers do. There are mineral packs that you can throw in, like Earth Dust, and if you had enough active microbes, I can imagine that in this test tube if you supplemented the microbes regularly you could actually make this work. I have trouble enough keeping the microbes going in a good minerally rich soil, and I can't imagine them living very long at all in your supplemented coco mix. It would seem imperative that you regularly supplement the microbes with URB, Voodoo Juice or Realgrower's recharge.
So tell me more about this please... how is it that this is expected to work. Maybe there is good science and all the proper stuff in the amendments you spoke of, and I am curious where the plan has turn awry. I look on it as sort of a challenge to see if we can get you sorted and back on track.

What a great welcome to these forums. Thanks

 

[Shatterstate]

What is the top dressing you put on?
Forgive me if I’m wrong but,
Coco is a soil-free medium, there for its considered a hydroponic grow, not an organic.

I’ve been growing in coco mixed with perlite, I’ve fed her 5.8 the entire grow (minus maybe a couple feedings forgetting to ph before feeding)

155B56BE-0AAC-4757-92AE-A15AA65E8A6E.jpeg

• Backlipslide
• Jul 13, 2019
• backlipslide

Dark Angel with flash.

She turned out awesome

I top dressed with a mix of Gaia greens 444 all purpose and 284 power bloom. I think where I went wrong is going off bad information about growing “organic” using coco that’s been amended. Having said that this plant is showing much more deficiency than my other plant (attached photos). I’m thinking a full flush might be in order and go back to bottle nutes?

 

[Backlipslide]

That sounds like a good plan Stan!

Emilya is very knowledgeable in this topic, don’t sleep on her advice

Your other plants look good!

 

[Hdinkleman]

I top dressed with a mix of Gaia greens 444 all purpose and 284 power bloom. I think where I went wrong is going off bad information about growing “organic” using coco that’s been amended. Having said that this plant is showing much more deficiency than my other plant (attached photos). I’m thinking a full flush might be in order and go back to bottle nutes?

never top dress coco.

my local hydro shop guy is a dooshbag who i have heard tell multiple people (including myself) that coco is organic and is actually just soil. COMPLETELY WRONG

dont top dress coco, and personally, its too much work to grow outside.

use organic soil for outdoor organic grows.

you can flush all you want, that stuff you topdressed isnt going away and youd have to run a 1000 gallons of water for it to be conpletely broken down and flushed.

just ride it out and dont add ANY more nutes. just water with plain water and wait it out

your defiencies are being caused by lockout due to all the topdressing, i PRETTY MUCH GUARANTEE IT.
why? because i went through the same thing!!

 

[Alafornia]

Welcome, @Shatterstate . You see what the guy at the store got you. Now let's see what the intelligent and experienced people at 420 Mag can get you. Listen to these guys here. They know what they're doing. You will not regret it for one second. You should make a grow journal so you can document the turnaround and big harvest you're going to get. The "how to" can be found at the "helpful links" in my signature. And if you want to truly grow organically @Emilya is an awesome resource. You can make a super soil mix at home and just water your plants from seed to harvest.

 

[Shatterstate]

Thanks for the reply. Nice to know I’m not the only one that has dealt with this at some point in time lol