[Hemphrey Bogart]

I'm seeing the small inner leaves display what looks like a zinc deficiency...Brown tips and yellowing foliage...all the outer leaves look ok. I'm wondering if the foliar sprays I'm giving them are too much for my plants to handle. Soil PH is right around 6.5, so that's not the issue.

Wish that refractometer I ordered would hurry up and get here already.

HB.

[milkyjoe]

Originally Posted by Hemphrey Bogart

I'm seeing the small inner leaves display what looks like a zinc deficiency...Brown tips and yellowing foliage...all the outer leaves look ok. I'm wondering if the foliar sprays I'm giving them are too much for my plants to handle. Soil PH is right around 6.5, so that's not the issue.

Wish that refractometer I ordered would hurry up and get here already.

HB.

Do you have a soil test? More likely K.

[Hemphrey Bogart]

Originally Posted by milkyjoe

Do you have a soil test? More likely K.

No exhaustive soil test yet, milky. I've been using the cheapy rapid test kit with the pills of powder and the little test vials with color charts on them.

Not very high tech, but I've only got a handful of plants.

I'll check the soil tonight and see where my K levels are at (roughly).

HB.

[Bulldog420]

Originally Posted by milkyjoe

The first thing I would do is keep your soil alive with the tomato formula I posted. My basic take is 90% of the results come from the soil. The foliar is just a boost and ideally would be tailored based on observation at a min and mo better on tissue or sap analysis.

Having said that photomag, kelp and micropak for sure. The rest bases on what you see.

If you have a lot of compost then for sure liave out pht k

I have a premium mix of soil, which I could post if you would like, but without soil tests it wouldn't do much good.

I have 33% compost. Which a third is EWC and the remaining amount is Bu's Blend steer compost. Not sure if that equal's too high of K levels or not. Like I said, I need a soil test.

Thank you for the help, I am going to give this a shot on Monday.

Originally Posted by Bulldog420

and the remaining amount is Bu's Blend steer compost

Steer manure/compost is good to lay some at the bottom of holes. Pretty high in salts. A friend a few years back tilled a bunch of bags of steer compost into his garden and I just groaned. Cheap yet ineffective. Was a pretty crappy year for him.

[FatherEarth]

25$ + shipping...to get your soil tested fellas, well worth the investment and 3-5 day wait. If you want the most out of your efforts... The idea is to have the dial, hold the dial, control the dial. We are trying to fine tune or even just tuning is a start. It requires knowing what lies beneath and then reaching for your dial(s).. Brix meter isnt telling you much without knowing what your soil is up to. I mean you can test before you foliar and then after and say hey my brix went up, but you are still left wondering. Like in my case Im giving them all I can possibly give them and they still arent near perfect. My soil is out of balance and the colloid is likely full of K and interfering with the uptake of Ca and B. Creating problematic hollow stems and petioles. Thus hindering the transport of nutrients and keeping my plants from reaching full potential health yield and overall quality. Its all good to try the products and learn about them but also learn the methods in which these tools can be fully utilized. All the ppl behind these nutrients are teaching farmers how to step up their agriculture game. The first thing they tell them to do is get their soil tested. Lots of respect to you guys Im glad you are here and along for the ride. Please dont hesitate to share your info or whatever you like relating to the topic.





FE

[Bulldog420]

Originally Posted by CaliGabe

Steer manure/compost is good to lay some at the bottom of holes. Pretty high in salts. A friend a few years back tilled a bunch of bags of steer compost into his garden and I just groaned. Cheap yet ineffective. Was a pretty crappy year for him.

In all fairness this is really high quality compost. I would be very surprised if it contained high levels of salt, however when I get my soil tests done if it shows high salts, I know where it came from. When I have used coco in the past my soil tests were ALWAYS high in salts. Coco dried out better in my moist climate at the time.

Edit: after going to their website it isn't steer compost, it's dairy compost. Here is what is says:
Dairy cow manure endows the earth with powerful fertilizing and healing forces that chicken manure, steer manure, horse manure, and bat guano simply don’t have. Why? Because a dairy cow has an unequaled digestive process which is enhanced by cosmic-life giving forces in her hooves and horns that enable the nitrogen in her manure to re-kindle life within the earth.

Our products are certified biodynamic by Demeter® USA, the American chapter of the world’s only certifier of Biodynamic® farms and products. Demeter’s strict standards ensure crops are grown with the avoidance of chemical pesticides and fertilizers, utilize compost and cover crops, and set aside 10% of the total farm acreage for biodiversity. In order for our product to bear the Demeter logo, it must be made with certified Biodynamic ingredients and meet strict processing standards to ensure the purest possible product. These standards ensure the dairy cows that provide the manure that is the basis for our compost receive no genetically-modified feed and have access to the outdoors. Further, we ensure our farms grow at least one third of their cows’ diet on the property, make efforts to reduce pathogens, and make minimal turns on the compost, thereby enhancing compost fertility.

All of our Biodynamic blends contain ingredients of the highest quality and integrity. We find the best source for each ingredient, ensure the highest level of sustainability, and never ever ever use any fillers or fluff. We test all our products and carefully craft each batch of compost, potting soil, and compost tea to enliven and enrich your garden!

Originally Posted by FatherEarth

25$ + shipping...to get your soil tested fellas, well worth the investment and 3-5 day wait. If you want the most out of your efforts...

FE

I know, I am on it. I just got my plants in their final pots, so I am very late to the game. They are in a greenhouse getting extra light to prolong the season, but I am behind. Not sure if any of that was directed at me or not, but I appreciate the advice.

[FatherEarth]

LOL steer or dairy cow both in the same bovine family, not much difference. Dairy farms are quite the unsightly thing IME,(twas once a family bussiness) if its not a factory farm, its mah and paw squeezing utters with hired help, which is rare these days. Im in the opinion of the only kind of poop you want in your soil is from earthworms.. If I was to consider anything in the realm of manure the only thing worth having is chicken manure, well composted none the less.

OB is that you?

[Bulldog420]

OrganicBuds here.

So a cows, a cow. Dairy or steer, lol, must admit, that was a lame difference I pointed out.

So EWC as the main compost source, does that mean your mix has different ratio's? I have always been of the school of thought that you don't want more than 15% EWC in a soil mix. That means I usually add another form of compost to get that ration up to 33% total compost. For a total soil mix of 33% aeration, 33% compost and 33% Peat.

Chicken compost in my past experience has always been super hot, and high in K.

Garden compost just seems blah to me and I never use it on cannabis.

What compost do you use, chicken right?

[reppin2c]

There is a difference between cow and steer manure. Alot of the nutes in dairy cow manure has came out they're udders. But that's splitting hairs and not splitting hairs would be that they're both high in K.

After my BaS K epidemic I think Id rather start with a neutral medium, tea and liquid feed em. Compost is out from now on. Its still a constant battle here on the farm. I may scrap 40 yards of soil and start fresh next year.

A soil test is a no brainer after you do it once you'll wonder how you lived with out it