thanks for your thought on ppm, will research it more. on the same note, to answer britewire ppm is an expression derived from TDS (Total Disolved Solids) or EC. here is a pic of my meters.
TO ALL, THANKS FOR YOUR CONSIDERATION OF MY QUANDRY.
i believe i have solved the problem. HALLELUJAH! my water is high in calcite as i mentioned. this combines with the P nute to form calcium phosphate thus making the P immobile. lack of P causes exactly what i described: curling and contorting with dark splotches. here is where i found the info to base my theory on. sources are important, as i do not know where the over-watering advice came from. the following excerpt is from:
http://soil.scijournals.org/cgi/content/full/63/5/1167
The chemical speciation data showed that the P solutions' concentrations in different treatments were saturated with respect to Caâ??phosphate minerals. Calcium was predicted to complex the most P in the CaCO3 and clayâ??CaCO3 samples. This shows that formation of calcium phosphate is the main mechanism immobilizing the soluble P in calcareous systems. In the pure CaCO3 sample, in a 24-h sorption period the solution P is largely depleted by formation of Caâ??phosphate precipitates. SOILCHEM predicted that only 2% of the total P would remain available as a soluble complex of K, Na, and H (Sposito and Coves, 1995), while 80% of Ca would remain in solution as free ions.
this info really hits the problem on the head. i even found the signs of reddening of stems as a P deficiency indicator. at the risk of arrogance, may i suggest further reading of my moto below, seems to hit it on the head also.
