whats wrong with my plant?

[Hyroglyph]

plant is 4 inches tall

older leaaves look like this.solid green with brown tips, brown spots along side of leaf going toword center of plant

young leaves look like this. they are lime colored from center to tip then green then brown at the tip

im using fox farm grow big. i am following direction on back of bottle. is this for every watering or once a week ?

 

[EL MAGNIFICO]

are you controlling the ph?

 

[Hyroglyph]

are you controlling the ph?

it is in peat moss and its small.does plant food have a bad ph ? it is growing slowly. i measure about 1200 ppm in plant food.is that too much or little for a 4 inch plant ?

 

[Tyrone Hamilton]

peat moss is very acid.. you might need to add lime and other soil conditioners...

 

[pebbles]

check out this info [see info in post below]

this will be helpfull

 

[McBudz]

I've taken the content from the link and posted here. Its against out guide lines to post to out sites sites like this one. Thanks!

Lime - the Vital Fertiliser!
I am constantly surprised how many gardeners ignore liming. The acidity of the soil has a huge effect on fertility because the acidity of soil controls how available nutrients are to your crops.

Clay soils are also harder to work the more acid they are for some complicated chemical reason.

Different soil types will behave differently so one vital tool for the serious gardener is a tester for acidity levels. You can also judge the acidity of the soil by the types of weeds that grow and their behaviour.

Sorrel, creeping buttercup, nettle, dock and mare's tail are all signs your soil is becoming or is too acid. Reducing soil acidity will help deter some weeds — they are evolved for acid soils unlike our beloved crops.

Soil PH Explained

The letters pH stand for "Power of Hydrogen" and is a measure of the molar concentration of hydrogen ions in the solution and as such is a measure of acidity. Wow! For us non-chemists and for gardeners the scale generally runs from 4.00, which is highly acid in soil terms, through 7.00 which is neutral to 8.00 which is alkaline.

To LOWER soil acidity we need to RAISE the pH value and vice versa

Keeping it simple, if your soil is too acid then nutrients will not be available to the plants even if they are present. To LOWER soil acidity we need to RAISE the pH value (that one always confused me) and vice versa.



Different plants require different levels of acidity — hence we have ericaceous composts for acid loving plants. Most vegetables thrive when the soil is slightly acid i.e. a pH level between 6.5 and 7, Potatoes tend to prefer a lower pH, more acid, soil and Brassicas prefer a slightly alkaline soil, pH of 7.0 or even slightly higher. That's why it is suggested to lime in the autumn after potatoes and to follow with Brassicas who like the high ph.

Changing the acidity level of the soil

To raise the pH and lower acidity or sweeten the soil, we add lime. To lower pH and increase acidity you can add sulphate of ammonia or urea which are high nitrogen fertilizers.

From this you can see that adding manure will also lower pH and make the soil more acid.

It's counter to what you expect, but adding loads of manure year after year will actually reduce soil fertility by making it too acid so the plants cannot access the nutrients. They become locked up.

Never Mix Lime and Fertilizer

If you have ever had a pee (slightly acid) into a toilet with bleach (very alkaline) in it, you will have noticed there is an unpleasant reaction, Just the same if you mix your lime and fertilizer. They will at best cancel each other out in an unpleasant, to the soil, reaction.

So never lime in the same year you fertilize.

Different Soils

Clay soils tend to become acid more quickly than sandy soils and the amount of organic matter has an effect as well. Clay soils can also be slow to react to the addition of lime as well.

Do you need to lime and how much to lime — measuring pH

Measuring Soil Acidity (pH level)

You can buy various types of test kit, often you mix a soil sample with water then compare a colour change to a chart, but this is a bit of a pain for taking more than a couple of samples. I use an electronic meter, which is much easier just requiring polishing and inserting into wet soil.

Whichever kit you use, it will come with instructions and will give you a reading. Never make a judgement on the basis of just one test. You may have hit a spot particularly high or low pH. Take samples or test from a number of spots and this will give you a much better general view of your soil's acidity level.

Types of Garden Lime

Agricultural Lime or Garden Lime

Agricultural Lime or Garden Lime is made from pulverized limestone or chalk. As well as raising the pH it will provide calcium for the crops and trace nutrients. Some recent experiments are indicating our soils may well benefit from the addition of rock dust, adding trace nutrients to the soil.

Dolomite Lime

Dolomite lime is similar to garden lime but contains a higher percentage of magnesium.

Quicklime and Slaked Lime

Quicklime is produced by burning rock limestone in kilns. It is highly caustic and cannot be applied directly to the soil. Quicklime reacts with water to produce slaked, or hydrated, lime, thus quicklime is spread around the land in heaps to absorb rain and form slaked lime, which is then spread on the soil. Their use is prohibited by the organic standards and while fast acting, the effect is short lived in comparison to garden lime.

How Much Lime to Use

How much lime to use will depend on your soil type and how far you have to raise your pH by. The chart below will give you a rough guide for how much ground limestone to use. For hydrated lime you only need between half and three quarters the amount.

Do be careful, too much lime can raise your pH too far and an alkaline soil is as bad as an acid soil for yield.

When to Lime

It's usually best to lime your soil in the autumn and allow it to work its way into the soil over the winter. You do not want to lime when you have crops in the ground as the lime may well damage the crops Since brassicas like both high amounts of nitrogen & humus as well as a high pH, manure in the autumn for them and lime in the early spring,

Conclusion

Testing the soil takes little time and is very cheap. The benefit of liming is huge so do it as part of your rotation and you will see better crops for your efforts.

Amount of Lime to Raise Soil pH from 5.5 to 6.5
Soil Type..............KG / M2...........lb / yd2
Clay.......................0.9.................1.66
Sand......................0.7.................1.29
Light......................0.8.................1.47
Organic..................1.1.................2.03
Peat......................1.7.................3.13

 

[RooRman]

This plant is how old and is only 4" tall?

The Fox-Farms feeding chart is a good place to start for mixing concentration and rate of application...
https://www.foxfarmfertilizer.com/soilfeed.pdf

Other than a fert. burn issue, a pH imbalance could be causing Zinc to be locked out. Test and correct the pH as needed.

 

[Hyroglyph]

This plant is how old and is only 4" tall?

The Fox-Farms feeding chart is a good place to start for mixing concentration and rate of application...
https://www.foxfarmfertilizer.com/soilfeed.pdf

Other than a fert. burn issue, a pH imbalance could be causing Zinc to be locked out. Test and correct the pH as needed.

5 weeks. the older leaves look like there dying so i changed from peat moss to mushroom compost cuz i couldnt find a ph kit

 

[RooRman]

5 weeks. the older leaves look like there dying so i changed from peat moss to mushroom compost cuz i couldnt find a ph kit

Once again, it is crucial to know the pH of your growing medium. If you can't find a test kit locally order one over the net.

 

[Tyrone Hamilton]

Mushroom compost is great, but by itself is too strong... you need to use something inert to dilute the nutes. Get some good potting soil... and go very light on the nutes. They will burn your plant... imagine trying to swallow too much food at once... that's what you are doing to your plants.

 

[tonga420]

This plant is how old and is only 4" tall?

The Fox-Farms feeding chart is a good place to start for mixing concentration and rate of application...
https://www.foxfarmfertilizer.com/soilfeed.pdf

Other than a fert. burn issue, a pH imbalance could be causing Zinc to be locked out. Test and correct the pH as needed.

Hey RooRman,

On your chart on week two, would i combine the tbsp of grow big with a tbsp of big bloom into a gallon of water. Im a frow dummy trying to learn as i grow.

Thanks

 

[flyfishinrock]

I am confused by your pics, why not put real pics on? Looks like your feeding way too much photo shop to em.

 

[Be Irie]

It is one TSP of GB... If you add a TBSP of GB you will toast that plant.... Start out 1/4 strength and work your way up to schedule. Watch out, GB has a kick that can put your plants in a bad state. Go easy and work your way up with the nutes.Like OB said, get some potting soil to mix in with your compost...

 

[RooRman]

On your chart on week two, would i combine the tbsp of grow big with a tbsp of big bloom into a gallon of water...
Thanks

First it is not my chart, it is Fox Farms chart.

Secondly, no you read the chart wrong. It clearly says 2 tsp. (teaspoons) of Grow Big and 2 tbl. (tablespoons) of Big Bloom is the recommended feeding for these in week.

In addition, pay attention to everything Be IRIE already said.