2 plants, outside in 5 gallon buckets. Started seeds Apr/May and both are appx 35"- 40" and over all look very good. Recently mainly the bottom leaves have started to turn yellow, then the tips go spotchy brown then continue downward (just maybe 3-4 leaves on each plant). Mainly affecting the longer bigger “petals” in the middle of the leaf than the smaller side petals. Not sure what version of miracle grow I used, but I know I was very careful about picking which one, based on information from this site. I have not been feeding (as I was seeing no problems earlier) . PH seems to be good, 6.5. May be a little on the wet side due to alot of rain here, but pots have drainage holes. Here is the rest of the information:
Strain; Blue Haze
Soil in pots: Miracle Grow
System type? Outdoor in 5 Gallon pots
PH: 6.5
What is strength of nutrient mix?: No additions
Indoor or Outdoor: Outdoor
Light Source: Full Sun
Temps; Day, Night: Day= 85F Night= 65F
Humidity; Day, Night: Day = 75+, Night = much lower
Ventilation system; Sitting on an open air deck, no obstacles
It’s using up nutrients in lower, bigger fan leaves. As an outdoor plant, I think this is totally normal. You aren’t seeing systemic issues (like that kind of yellowing all over the plant), right?
My first blush guess looking at the leaf is potassium deficiency.
Here are pics of both plants. Little hard to see. I picked off appx 2 leaves from each plant, from the bottom, that were almost totally yellow and brown.
Yep - to me that’s just a plant living the course of it’s life… when those leaves get to be 50% consumed, I would remove them… otherwise the plants look mostly great. That top one has that one big fan leaf that’s all curled under, and a few spots where it looks like it’s on the edge of nitrogen toxicity… but overall good.
Well, now is as good a time as any to learn the importance of measuring your PH and the strength of the nutrients in your soil.
I would recommend doing some light reading:
There isn’t any great way to specifically measure for it - we’d look at the ingredients of your soil, and any nutrients you’ve been feeding them… look at the NPK ratio on that stuff. We’d want to test the soil’s electrical conductivity (EC) / total dissolved solids (TDS, measure in parts per million). The results of those tests can tell us what we need to do combined with the plant’s appearance.
Well, I do have and use a PH meter, but being as it’s always in the good range, I have not looked any further. I’ll research what else I can read/buy to
make sure my nutrients, etc… are up to par and what to do if they are not. Thanks again for the fast and insightful response!
If the numbers from the soil aren’t ideal, we can cross that bridge when we get to it. As it stands right now, your plant looks good IMHO so I wouldn’t do anything but what you’ve been doing.
Just out of curiosity, @Covertgrower, I agree with you one hundred percent about the mg soil. Would a good flush, and the addition of good nutes possibly save from a transplant? I think that the roots are probably established nicely. And five gallons of soil is going to be heavy, and the bucket walls are stiff. Maybe a difficult transplant?
@Stoneythetiger420 unfortunately based on previous grows that have used miracle grow products specifically soil, when you do a flush, it actually releases even MORE nitrogen, and creates havoc to the plant, causing nitrogen toxicity, ph issues, etc.
This is why it should be transplanted now, instead of later.
Just a quick search on the forum will come up with many different grows that used the MG soil, with all o f the same results. Nitrogen toxicity, and and ph issues, as well as issues in flower.
Yeah - the “slow release” aspect of soils like MG soils is a problem - you to to flush and the water releases the “slow release” nutes… I would think if you did it long enough, you could flush it, but not sure how long long enough would be. 5 times the pot size? 10?
@Bogleg I watched a previous grow that used this stuff, and it was a nightmare. They did try flushing it, the end results were, it never really went away.
@KimInWis most people here prefer Fox farms Ocean forest. It’s a great all around soil, it’s a little nutrient rich to start seedlings in, but any adult/juvenile plant can be transplanted just fine. Other soils will work also, just be careful to verify on the back that they do not have added fertilizer or slows release fertilizer in it.
FFOF soil should be able to be found locally if you’re in the U.S. Most grow, and big box stores has it. It looks like this:
Fox Farm FX14079 Ocean Forest Soil Bag, 1.5 cu. ft.
@Covertgrower oh ok. Ive never used soil to grow, and NEVER any mg product on my girls. It was more of a question than advice. I didn’t even think about the slow release aspect off the soil either… Thanks for the intellect. @Bogleg hell, by the time all that flushing is done, the plant would be so sick it would take a month to recover. Lol
