Problem with new growth

[cheapsunglasses]

I have a problem with the new growth on my plants.
The tips of the new growth are turning yellow almost white. They are in the fourth week. Planted in MG Organic Choice (I know I know). 400 W about 15 inches up from tops. I have used 1tsp. of Epson salts/1 gallon water twice. No change in the last few days. Seems that they have slowed in growing as well. I haven't fed them any nutes as of yet. I do use well water, could that be harming them? The PPM could be high.

I have searched but seem to come up with diff. situations than mine.
TIA

[cheapsunglasses]

Wanted to add. Soil ph is about 6.5. Water ph is low like 5.0.

[Wobster]

I don't know what the deficiency is but heres what I'd do. Flush your plants asap with 3-4 times the volume of the plant pot and then water with a mild (1/3) strength fertilizer... No epsom salts. I think that you have a toxic salt buildup from adding the Epsom salts. You really need to flush them out as they will lock your plant up completley.

The problem could've stemed from using well water. It's hard to tell whats in your well water. I'd switch to tap water and unfiltered. Tap water is really quite good for your plants, gives them a few trace elements like Mg and Ca and doesn't usually need to much altering of ph.

Hope it gets better mate

[Weedhound]

I don't grow in soil but I'd wonder about his water as well and I'd also wonder what the ph of his soil runoff is.

I wouldn't flush until I was sure the ph was abnormal. If it is....flush....if not....i'd switch to RO or distilled water and add Cal Mag as Wobster said. I'm just not sure that plant needs an entire flush......measure your soil ph first. Should be between 6.2-6.8.....and measure ph of water as well. It should be the same.

[Mr. Clandestine]

What size pot are they in? If they're not what you plan on flowering in, have you checked to see if they may be rootbound?

[cheapsunglasses]

Thanks for the replies! Their definatly still on the downswing. They have been in 3 gal. pots for two weeks. Will check PPM of well H2o & runoff PH. My plan will probably be to flush them with RO and feed 1/4 strength General Hydro FloraGrow & FloraMicro half a week later.

Cheers....

[stinkyattic]

Flush them out FAST.
Epsom salts are meant to be used ONLY to treat a verified deficiency, which yours DON'T have, and even then, a foliar spray at only a pinch or 2 a quart is more than enough... 1/4 teaspoon per gallon is the soil dose and even that I don't recommend in almost any situation because of the risk of locking out other nutrients, messing with soil pH, or salting up the soil.
If your soil pH is 5, make a solution of tap water at pH 6.8-7 and flush 3 gallons through, then water heavily with a solution of your grow fert at 1/4 strength.

[cheapsunglasses]

OK, Heres the update. Still getting worse. Took the recamendation and flushed with lots of RO water. Then I feed a weak solution of Floragrow&Floramicro (general Hydroponics). Now three days later they are not only alot more yellow they are starting to curl down & up on the tips? Tested my nute before I feed. they were PPM of 029 (to low?) and a PH of 6.45.


TIA

[cheapsunglasses]

Couple pics

[Mr. Clandestine]

If you've been using RO water, have you been adding CalMag like Weedhound and others suggested? If calcium and/or magnesium were already locked out before you flushed, and you've been using RO water since, then you may still be deficient of Ca/Mg... and the Floramicro feeding may not have provided enough to balance out the levels. This is one of the biggest reasons many growers don't like MG soils, because of how much of a chore it can be to pinpoint where deficiencies are coming from.

It might be a good idea to fill out the troubleshooting form in the Plant Problems forum, and list it here. I've full faith that our more experienced growers can help you out, but they might need a little more background info on your regimens, setup, and the like. Hopefully Stinky'll show back up and drop off her two cents. She's a bastion of sound advice 'round these parts! Take care. :jointsmile:

[daihashi]

It's hard to say now because you've used epsom salt but it appears that you have nutrient lockout of some sort.

1. Either your pot is too small and you're rootbound really badly.
2. Your soil ph may be 6.5 and water may be 5.0 but what is your soil runoff ph. That's what we really need to know. The reason why I say this is because it looked like you either had a ph problem or a deficiency.
3. How much did RO did you flush with? Did you add calcium or magnesium? This is important especially after doing a flush.

I'm going with either PH or rootbound on this one, but it's hard to say on this one because you may also be suffering lockout due to the epsom salt.

[cheapsunglasses]

I thought that these nutes had Ca/Mg? I have to check that. I used about 1 1/2 gal. RO to flush each plant with. They are in 10 X 10 pots. I will test the run off. To do this correctly, should I pure more RO through and collect the first runoff drainage and test?
Just popped the worst one out to check out the roots. They are a little bound not to bad though. I'll put in larger pots tomorrow. Bad thing is I have to use the Organic MG again. Anything I can do to add to this soil besides perlite? Lime?

[daihashi]

Just go through your normal watering routine. Same type of water you normally use but water until you're able to get about 2oz or so out of the bottom of the pot (that's what I use as measurement) and stick a ph pen in there.

I would just add a decent amount of perlite to your soil (20-30%) makes flushing your soil easier when you have to. Also means you get to use less MG soil :thumbsup:

let us know your soil runoff ph.

[cheapsunglasses]

Well I put them in 12X12 pots. gave them plain RO to start. If I wanted to give them a little more CalMag down the road, like others suggested what route should I take? Lime? I will do a water run off test next watering.

[Mr. Clandestine]

Well I put them in 12X12 pots. gave them plain RO to start. If I wanted to give them a little more CalMag down the road, like others suggested what route should I take? Lime? I will do a water run off test next watering.

There's a product called Calmag Plus, and I've heard a lot of people say they really like the Botanicare line... though you can probably find one from another manufacturer that's practically the same product. If you've mentioned it before I apologize, but is there any reason you can't use your tap water? Tap water generally contains enough usable calcium and magnesium where you wouldn't need the extra supplements.

I wouldn't add lime unless you're needing to adjust pH. I don't know much about Miracle Grow soil, but I imagine lime may already be a part of the mix to act as a pH buffer.