Best amendment or method to combat early yellowing?

[Sodium Sunburn]

Hey guys,

Just wondering what you organic gurus do to combat mid-late yellowing during flowering.

I know that in most cases this is a "good" thing, but, this current run seems to be yellowing a bit earlier than I had expected.

Would a cover crop (legumes, barley, alfalfa, etc) help combat this? Or is there an extended release amendment that I should be using? (Cottonseed meal, or other)

Thanks,

 

[HidingInTheHaze]

I find once it has started it is almost impossible to stop. The one thing I dislike about organics is there is no such thing as instant gratification.

 

[stasis]

get some iron. greens em up w/o nitrogen

 

[Bulldog420]

Pure Protein Dry helps, but you have to hit it hard, both foliar and root drench. Then a top dress to keep the N coming will help as well. However the top dress this late might be too much depending on the strain.

 

[Redbuddz]

If you're fertilizing properly then you should not have to do anything! The leaves are yellowing for a reason. It's natural or you're not fertilizing properly

 

[Sodium Sunburn]

Thanks for the replies guys,

I think I should have been more specific in what I was asking.

At this point, my current run is just about done so I know there really isn't anything that I can do to stop the yellowing now.

I am planning on remixing this soil batch (Tilling) and I was wondering what I could add to the mix to combat any possible early yellowing.

 

[Lapides]

Try growing in much bigger containers. Like beds.

 

[TheyCallMeJJay]

I've found Alfalfa meal to be the best one that worked for me. I try to get my plants to go longer (dont judge me) and Alfalfa meal got me an extra week before the death yellow came in. When I start to see yellow, It tells me that within 2 or 3 weeks I'm going to have to cut. I hate cutting. Its a lot of work.

 

[VerdantGreen]

there are 3 main reasons for early yellowing and you need to consider which reason/s are the ones affecting you.

the first is genetics, some strains will naturally yellow earlier than others. the only way to know is to run them a few times and see if it consistently happens at the same time. Roots become less efficient at taking up nitrogen as the plant gets further through flower, some more than others.

second is root space and rootbinding - if the plant has been in the pot too long or is too big for the pot, it will yellow as classic N deficiency... which is what it has, but this isnt because the soil is running out of nutrients, its because a high proportion of the roots are not in contact with the soil. getting the timing right for up-potting or using really big pots or beds (as already suggested by lapides) will help in this situation. In normal sized pots, just leaving the plant in the pot for an extra week before flowing will likely make it start to fade a week earlier in flower

lastly it could mean that the soil is running out if N or more likely the soil cannot yield N fast enough for the plant's needs. i this case some feeding may slow down the fading, something fast like alfalfa tea or high N guano may help - but beware using these types of feeds deep into flower - it may be detrimental to the smoking quality.

so you really need to consider all these possibilities or combinations of these possibilities.

personally i dont worry too much, some of my best yielding plants have started to fade earlier than i wanted.
i have a theory that 'switching the genetic trigger' for the plant to recycle the nutrition stored in its leaves may actually wind up in increasing the yield - just as the roots are losing their efficiency the plant suddenly has another source of nutrition to draw upon and keep those buds swelling.

VG

 

[Weird]

scatch that

 

[Budley Doright]

If you wasnt growing organically I would say you need a source of nitrate N.....

There are 2 sources of rapidly available N that I can think of....

Blood meal..... sort of yucky


and fish emulsion smells yucky..... 5-1-1

 

[Scrappy4]

Another way to go about keeping your plants green longer is to used coconut water. It delays sensencing and keeps leaves green longer due to the hormones in the coconut water.

I did not use coconut water for this reason, but it really does work this way. The hormone I'm talking about cytokines, can also be found in spouted corn seed made into teas.

 

[sisterwilliam]

When early yellowing is happening in my plants i just simply do this: In a five gallon bucket add 1 cup alfalfa meal and a 1/4 cup kelp meal, bubble for 24-48 hours, feed plants...thats it..works every time..SW

 

[DCG Farmas]

I use Microlife all organic acidified 6-2-4 biological fertilizer that can be added at any time. Made up of Alfalfa, Fish Meal, Humates, Kelp meal, Wheat middling's, Molasses, Rock Phosphate, Sulfur, Iron Sulfate, Sulfate of Potash Magnesia, Potassium Sulfate, Cottonseed Meal, and Corn Meal. Love the stuff!

 

[stasis]

.

 

[stihgnobevoli]

you could always pee on em. urine diluted 10:1 in water = good source of N and it's rapid release and doesn't last long.

 

[Weird]

I used neem meal to condition some plants going into flower they were yellowing and it brought them right back

 

[sisterwilliam]

I used neem meal to condition some plants going into flower they were yellowing and it brought them right back

Weird, I'm curious, do you top dress the Neem cake or make a botanical tea with it.

When I make teas with it I often find myself standing over it with my face in the bucket inhaling that awesome smell of Neem cake...can't help it, the stuff is amazing.

 

[sisterwilliam]

you could always pee on em. urine diluted 10:1 in water = good source of N and it's rapid release and doesn't last long.

stihgnobtoevoli, I agree, I've been known to pee on my outdoor crops from time to time. As sure as the moon rolls around the earth, that shit works..SW

 

[Weird]

i work it into the top of the soil