Can't figure out problem - losing my mind!!

[Flanagani89]

Hey all. Hope everything is well.

So this year I have a guerrilla grow going with 16 plants (northeast). Strains are blue widow, dutch delight, ams, blueberry headband, and a few others.

Dug holes (20 - 25 gals each) and filled them with an organic mix in April (pro mix, happy frog, perlite, kelp, bone, and blood meal, tomato tone, gupsum and some greensand) Plants were started inside April 20th, put into holes around may 5th. Plants were sprayed with neem oil first every week or 2, then azatrol twice, then sm-90 a few times.

So, about 2 months ago I started to see these yellow spots appearing on some of the lower-mid leaves on only a few of my plants. Leaves would then turn yellow and die. This shit is pretty much throughout my entire garden now, some plant's have lost a ton of their lower leaves. I thought it was maybe a N def, so I top dressed with blood meal about a month ago. Didn't help. Last week I made a 1:1 mixture of high n guano and high p and top dressed each ond with 4 tablespoons. Checked on them today and it didn't help at all? Plants were drenched with a AACT 2 times a week for the past month as well (guanos, bio weed, compost, molasass) didnt help either..

They are definitely getting worse. A few of my plants are starting to lose that healthly dark green color and change to a pale green.

It's getting to the point now when I'm getting extremely frustrated when I go to check on them... I've tried everything I can think of however nothing seems to help...

Could it be a pH issue? I thought you don't have to worry about pH with organics?

Please is anyone has any input at all I'll be grateful. Hopefully pics do it justice.

Thanks.

 

[corky1968]

You can buy fairly inexpensive soil pH test kits.

That would put that question of yours to rest.

 

[Flanagani89]

I was under the impression that you didn't have to worry about pH with organics, but yeah I think I'm going to buy one tomorrow

 

[corky1968]

Farmers have to worry about pH like everybody else to get good yields.

 

[slownickel]

This is breakdown. What you see above is happening below.

If that soil was very hard and you made a hole and filled it with organic material, you made a swimming pool most likely. Path of least resistance or also known as a french drain. All the holes are going to fill with water when wet. You need to plant on mounds and put in rocks in the bottom of the hole so that water sheds and there is always airspace. Get a real soil analysis and work the soil next time. In the meantime, dig down deep where the organic material hits the soil and see what you find. Smell the soil. If it no longer smells earthy, there is no oxygen. Roots need oxygen more than leaves do.

You can add gypsum and lime (with no magnesium) and hit it hard. That will open the soil up. Also apply the lime and gyp around the outside of the hole even heavier where there is native soil, so as to get it pourous so that water can drain. If you can drain water away by digging a drain, do it. Cover the soil around the plant with leaves so that the water sheds into the drains.

 

[slownickel]

Have you applied any phosphorus at all?

 

[Flanagani89]

Yes, I top dressed with a high p guano last monday, about 4 tablessons per plant, then gave them a drenching tuesday. Seemed to have no effect however..

 

[slownickel]

Gypsum and lime, 2 lbs each on top, well distributed over a 30" RADIUS. Wash it in. Apply 30 grams of powdered milk in drench too.

 

[Flanagani89]

This is breakdown. What you see above is happening below.

If that soil was very hard and you made a hole and filled it with organic material, you made a swimming pool most likely. Path of least resistance or also known as a french drain. All the holes are going to fill with water when wet. You need to plant on mounds and put in rocks in the bottom of the hole so that water sheds and there is always airspace. Get a real soil analysis and work the soil next time. In the meantime, dig down deep where the organic material hits the soil and see what you find. Smell the soil. If it no longer smells earthy, there is no oxygen. Roots need oxygen more than leaves do.

You can add gypsum and lime (with no magnesium) and hit it hard. That will open the soil up. Also apply the lime and gyp around the outside of the hole even heavier where there is native soil, so as to get it pourous so that water can drain. If you can drain water away by digging a drain, do it. Cover the soil around the plant with leaves so that the water sheds into the drains.

Thanks for your in depth reply

So what your saying is I may have root rot?

The native soil was quite soft however the mix I added to the holes was a lot softer, so I understand what your saying completely. This problem seemed to presist even when the plants didn't get water for a longer period of time (5 days or so). The top of the holes has also become somewhat hard, so it takes a minute or so when I'm watering them for the water to absorb into the soil.. wouldn't this mean there would be more run off and less absorption during heavy rain events?

 

[Flanagani89]

In most of the holes I also added gypsum when I made the mix (however not much)

 

[Flanagani89]

Gypsum and lime, 2 lbs each on top, well distributed over a 30" RADIUS. Wash it in. Apply 30 grams of powdered milk in drench too.

Will do. I'll give it a shot tomorrow. What's the powdeed milk used for?

 

[emeraldcityog]

If it were me, I would foliar feed with a dash of Nitrogen ("N" Soul Synthetics brand works well) and foliar some kelp in there for the hell of it. If they aren't noticeably darker by next week, I'd be more concerned. That nitrogen should darken the, right up. Good luck.

 

[Flanagani89]

If it were me, I would foliar feed with a dash of Nitrogen ("N" Soul Synthetics brand works well) and foliar some kelp in there for the hell of it. If they aren't noticeably darker by next week, I'd be more concerned. That nitrogen should darken the, right up. Good luck.

I haven't foliar fed them yet but your right I definitely need to. I appreciate the advice

 

[slownickel]

Milk is calcium lactate with half as much phosphorus in an amino acid. Stimulates micro biology and helps roots tolerate more salts or unbalanced salts, read up on the SAR concept. Sodium adsorption ratio. Basically it is a known relationship where plants can tolerate more salts provided there is more Ca. Magic...

 

[Flanagani89]

Interesting. So SAR would explain why my soil with all of those admendments in it has formed that hard crust on top with little permability? And this would cause problems underneath as well?

 

[slownickel]

Not sure why you are getting crusts. This is all natural rainfall or are you watering?

 

[Flanagani89]

I'm watering as well with well water. I guess crust wasn't the right word to use. It's definitely more of a solid surface though

 

[PoweredByLove]

based on everything ive read and see in this thread your plants look really hungry. you mention that your soil up top is compacted. you might not be getting water on most of the roots. when soil gets hydrophobic like that you can dump a million gallons of water on it and it will all just go around the rootball and away into the surrounding soil. i would rake the top of the soil a little bit and if you see roots then add another inch of some sort of cover mulch. then poke a bunch of holes in the soil a few inches deep all around the base and water very heavily. if you have any fish fertilizer use some of that for a few watering/feedings.


the way i understand it most of the food soil web shit goes on in the top inch of soil (topsoil) and the roots further down just focus on sucking up water. if the roots that suck up the food aren't getting water then they aren't sucking in the nutrients made in the topsoil and the roots down below are only sucking up water and burning leaves to stay alive.

 

[slownickel]

Someone has to dig down to evaluate the moisture at the root level.

The crusting using well water makes me very suspicious of bicarbonates. Do you have a conductivity meter to measure your water? Do you have a water analysis?

 

[Flanagani89]

Someone has to dig down to evaluate the moisture at the root level.

The crusting using well water makes me very suspicious of bicarbonates. Do you have a conductivity meter to measure your water? Do you have a water analysis?

I misspoke when I used the word crust. A compacted layer would describe it better.

Can anyone point me to the best way to take a soil pH reading? Just picked up a tester today, as well as lime and gypsum... Will try it out tomorrow before I head to work