Phosphorus deficiency?

[Mwood1087]

So I've got a green crack plant on day 21 of flower growing in coco. I've used foxfarm nutes and followed the feed schedule from foxfarm. Some of my hairs are starting to turn and I've read that a. It could be an early finisher and b. That it's normal as long you continue to get new hairs. However I'm starting to see some spotting on a few fan leaves. Generally its older growth, but some newer growth at the bottom of the plant is pretty much wilted and eventually dries. I just flushed with ph water yesterday instead of foxfarms sledgehammer because I read some bad reviews. Can anyone confirm that this is a phosphorus issue? If so, how should I go about correcting it without potentially burning the plant by simply increasing the amount of nutes I put in my water?

 

[Chris Scorpio]

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[Mwood1087]

That's the thing.. it's only a few leaves.. more pics coming up

 

[TysonOG]

I can confirm phosphorus deficiency. I dont think it's a lockout because you would have other deficiencies. I dont use fox farm base anymore but I still use the solubles and swear by them. See if you can grab some beastie blooms as that is the stage your in, cha ching will work too since you'll need it down the road. If you dont want to purchase more nutes increase the amount of tiger bloom while decreasing grow big in order to maintain your ec and provide a higher level of phosphorus.

 

[Mwood1087]

I have been using the liquids as well as soluble. That's what is getting me. I have followed the schedule to a T! Gave it open sesame the week before flower as well as the first 2 weeks in flower. Gave it beastie bloomz earlier in the week and then flushed per schedule. Should I increase the soluble amount? Give .25 tsp currently as thats the suggested.

 

[TysonOG]

It doesnt seem too bad to me. Shes clearly pulling phosphorus from some fan leaves but it's not widespread. what ec are you feeding at? maybe just increase the tiger bloom slightly. It also depends on your watering/feed schedule. I think foxfarms has you flush so much because they recommend such a high level of nutes. If your nutes are ideal, you shouldn't need to flush that often. Flushing when unnecessary can lead to short term deficiencies.
I would hit them with a lil extra phosphorus on your next feed and observe from there.

 

[Mwood1087]

I couldn't tell you I don't measure that. I've been going off the schedule and just ph it to 6.5. According to the schedule I should be at 1.9 to 2.1 but not sure if that's correct because I add calmag from botanicare as well.

 

[Mwood1087]

And yes your right it's not bad, but clearly not getting what it needs so I'm just curious as to what I should do to stop it now. How much is a little extra lol.. i used 3 tsp of tiger and .25 of beastie so theoretically it should be loaded

 

[TysonOG]

If your going full strength, I cant imagine you're experiencing a deficiency without it being caused by some sort of root zone issue.

 

[Mwood1087]

On the tiger I'm using general feeding and not heavy. I could bump it to the heavy amount. As far as the beastie I have no clue how much I should put in. Also this is the first flush I've done.

 

[TysonOG]

3 tsp of tiger and .25 of beastie

I assume that's per gallon. I now believe it is your ph since you said 6.5 . while not terrible, it is a breaking point for phosphorus. You have to treat coco like hydro with a ph of 5.5-6. I'll include one of fav charts for ya to consider.

 

[Mwood1087]

Lol well fuck.. I've had it at 6.5 the whole grow. I'll drop the ph and see what happens. Appreciate it dude!

 

[TysonOG]

You can see in the chart why calmag supplementation is extra important in hydro where you keep the ph between 5.5 - 6. That is the exact range where it is difficult for them to be absorbed.

 

[TysonOG]

Also I switched from botanicare calmag to gen hydro. Botanicare has to much nitrogen, it makes it difficult to use sometimes.

 

[Mwood1087]

Yah I know but I dont wanna waste it Haha.

 

[TysonOG]

Agreed. When I bought my first bottle of calmagic, I cut it 50/50 with the botanicare until the botanicare ran out. While I want the best for my plants, I can be a cheap sob sometimes

 

[Mwood1087]

Lol I'm right there with you. Shit ain't cheap!

 

[Mwood1087]

Also, should I still give it a bit more tiger bloom or just adjust ph and go from there?

 

[TysonOG]

You can do a variety of things.
1) you can water with 2x the normal watering volume at a ph of 5.5 - 6 to more rapidly adjust the coco's ph.
2) you could water at normal amount with 4.5 - 5 ph to more rapidly adjust the coco's ph.
3) you can foliar feed temporarily ( this late in flower most people on here would freak out at this, but if you're careful it can be done) Better left for extreme cases where the plant is in dire need of the nutes.
4) you can temporarily increase bloom nutes while watering the same amount at a ph of 5.5 - 6. I would say increase tiger bloom by 33% and monitor for tip burn.

If they were my plants, I would go with option 1. Remember, coco can take and prefers more watering then soil. Sometimes I dont even let the top get dusty.

 

[Mwood1087]

Alright. The top is dry now but I can guarantee the root zone is mist likely still moist from the flush. I'll adjust my ph and see what happens. I have the liquid tester so it's hard to fit SURE know that I'm at 5.5 to 6. It either shows 6 or 5. I should probably invest in a digital tester but I'm strapped for cash this month.