Looking for a solution to my potassium deficient soil

[FreedomFarmer]

So I have been using subcools soil mix and running into K def. since there doesn't seem to really be a valid K source in his mix. Feeling kind of silly I didn't scrutinize this closer earlier....

Anyways, currently I have a few ladies that are in this soil mix(just put into 10gal pots a few days ago) and starting to show K def. I have been feeding with kelp extract as a soil drench, and they get foliar fed with kelp a few times a week also. However, all this doesn't seem to be enough to slow down this deficiency, so I bring my case to the organic soil crew for a solution!

Any ideas?, i'm thinking of top dressing with Kelp meal and continuing soil and foliar feeding with kelp. Should I diversify my K source? Any tips or tricks on how to correct my K def. organically would be greatly appreciated!

 

[FreedomFarmer]

Oh yeah, one more ? for y'all...... can I overdo it on the kelp? Will I only be able to tell when I have overdone it when Ca/Mg become locked out? Any tips on balancing that out would be greatly appreciated also......

 

[mad librettist]

my soluble seaweed came with instructions to use it once every two weeks.

3 times a week is way too much!

can you post pics?

do you have compost?

 

[Scrappy4]

Did you pose this question in any of the subcool forums? You would think they would know.

Sitting here i have no idea if you have a k problem or not, you did not give us a lot to go on. But I do know things work better when you have multiple sources for your plants of any type of nutrient. Rather than rely on just kelp, you could also use some sul po mag. Look for k-mag, or sulfate of potash, or sulfate of potash magnesia. Another source would be earth juice's meta K. I doubt you could add a balanced fert, because of the already hot super soil......good luck.......scrappy

 

[FreedomFarmer]

madlib, yeah i have felt like 2-3x/week is alot, but the defs progress even with the heavy apps so i have been questioning if it really is too much for some big hungry plants that have very little K inthe soil..... sorry no pic access for now, and i do have a good amount of really high quality EWC in the soil, but currently too urban to be brewing up my own compost....



scrappy, i haven't posted this in the sub forum but when i have posted ?'s before I can't exactly say that i have recieved very sound or informed advice. Sorry, I didn't give y'all a ton to work with here, this isn't really a "diagnose my garden" post, as I am positive that my soil mix is lacking in K and my plants are showing the signs(purpling stems, older fan leaves becoming necrotic around tips and turning down, yellowing of older leaf edges, weak stems.....). That first post was typed very early in the AM for me, so let me streamline this into just the basic questions I need to know:



Basic background: K def plants in 10gal smartpot w/ K lacking soil(seems to be fine on everything else....), just transplanted and ready to go to bloom asap.....

What is my best strategy for keeping my girls well fed with K for the next 2 months(liquid feedings?, topdressings?, foliars?)?

If someone has been in similar shoes or just have some ideas, shoot!

 

[schwagg]

a lil kmag in the soil?

 

[Clackamas Coot]

FreedomFarmer

If you strictly want an organic source of Potassium pretty much alone you might want to consider a specific red algae (Palmaria palmata). It's a food source in several countries (Canada, Ireland, Norway, et al.) and is sold under the common name of 'Dulce' and several other names.

While brown kelp varieties Ascophyllum nodosum and Laminaria digitata contain 2-3% Potassium. Red algae contains 7-9% and is available as flakes or powder [cite]

This elevated Potassium comes at a high price however because as you can see from this comparison of various seaweeds, the red seaweeds are completely void of both Alginic acid and Mannitol which are 2 of the most widely studied compounds found in seaweeds.

K-Mag (Sul-Po-Mag) is basically soluble though agitating the water helps speed up the process with a simple toy air pump and an airstone. The problem here though for you is the K-Mag is a natural mined mineral product that does contain Potassium as well as balanced levels of Sulphur and Magnesium.

HTH

CC

 

[Scrappy4]

Meta k from earth juice, I believe it's organic. It could be just what you need for a quick hit of k............

http://www.planetnatural.com/site/earth-juice-meta-k.html

 

[habeeb]

well, were not really sure if this is a K def, or something else making a K def.. as all things play a role with each other


that being said there are many sources for K. guano, liquid nutes, molasses, seaweeds, bloom boosters have P and K.. there are really to many to list, check a garden shop and or nursery that sells amendments and look around to find something you like

but with the seaweed your feeding, should be covered on K now..

 

[Clackamas Coot]

The path of least resistance: Keep It Simple Compost Tea Brewers sells a powdered seaweed extract out of the North Atlantic. World-class product.

$13.99 per lb. which will make 100 gallons @ 1.5 teaspoons to 1 gallon of water.

Potassium issue solved.

CC

 

[CT Guy]

I know Mad said every 2 weeks. I'm feeding the seaweed about 1X every 5-7 days on avg in 1/4 tsp./ gal amounts...

 

[VerdantGreen]

doesnt subcool say you should use some lighter soil around the rootball? if you did this then the roots may have not reached the richer soil yet.

also low temps wont help, and neither will too dry a soil.

VG

 

[mad librettist]

I know Mad said every 2 weeks. I'm feeding the seaweed about 1X every 5-7 days on avg in 1/4 tsp./ gal amounts...

I was quoting your package insert!

I know why you say every two weeks, too. Tell a stoner every two weeks, and he will apply every 5-7 days at least.

 

[FreedomFarmer]

Hey y'all! Thx for all the quick replies.......

CC: Thanksfor the info on the dulce, which i am familiar with for culinary use. Currently the kelp product I have been using is the powdered extract that you mentioned in your next post, picked it up at my local grow store where he uses it in his AACT brewer, so i believe it is a similar product, very concentrated...

Habeeb: You speak the truth brotha, who knows if this is really a K def or some kind of lockout. The K def only is showing up in my most vigorous growing strain though, so that leads me to believe that these plants have a high K requirement....dunno though

Scrappy: thanks for the tip on the metaK, do you know if that is a seaweed product?

CT Guy: thanks for the insight on your doses of kelp, i've been using the extract at 1 tsp/gallon...

VG: Sub does say to use lighter soil as a buffer around the rootball, which I have done, so yeah that is a valid point that they aren't getting full SS benefits yet....
Also I find your points about low temps and dry soil also contributing to probs with K uptake. The low temps down't apply to my situation, but the soil definitely has been getting drier then I would like between waterings due to the fact that I can only visit my site every other day or so.......So keeping the soil more consistantly moist will help with K uptake right?




So the questions that I am left with are this:

Is the kelp concentrate I am using going to be as fast acting as say the MetaK product?


How much time does it take to show improvement with K defs(I heard weeks I believe....)?

 

[Scrappy4]

Scrappy: thanks for the tip on the metaK, do you know if that is a seaweed product?

I believe I read somewhere it is sulfate of potash in a liquid form. It's NPK is something like 0-0-10. I actualy have some but have never used it, because i do use kelp meal and kelp extract, molasses, all with K, so it seems redundant in my grow.......scrappy

 

[jaykush]

comfrey tea = lots of yummy potassium for plants

 

[VerdantGreen]

hey ff yes dry soil will slow nutrient uptake. i only water my plants every 2 days as well - if they are really dry when you return to them you need to leave them a bit wetter than you were. also make sure the soil is wet all through and evenly. often when people transplant into big pots they just dribble some water round the rootball and this isnt enough.

VG

 

[FreedomFarmer]

comfrey tea = lots of yummy potassium for plants

Yeah, wishing I had a bunch of comfrey to play with, it is really awesome stuff. We used to use that as a guild plant around our fruit trees in hawaii.....


VG: This round of plants got a little too big in veg, so they are quite the water drinking monsters right now...... Normally i water them til there is just a little runoff, and do it in 3 stages spread out for full absorption. However, I do think that you are making a valid point with the dry soil, cause sometimes the pots are very dry(im using smartpots so they dry out faster too) when I get to em. I will be staying on top of the water scene closer though, and thinking about adding a layer of mulch to aid in the times I can't get to the garden sooner.....

 

[mad librettist]

when my smartpots get too light I water from the bottom, for a good long while. does the trick.

 

[Glodenglow1]

by comfrey tea, do you mean just a normal everyday comfrey tea, or are you talking a comfrey based nutrient tea that is brewed?

When is the latest you would recommend application of this type ot tea in flower?

I'm right around day 38 of 12/12

Thanks