nutrient def???

[allrollsin21]

Hello good peeps.

I am troubleshooting what i think is a calcium deficiency. I think the cause of this is because i have not been adding calmag to the girls. I am in soil in 4 G pots. I have well water that is at 120-130 ppm. I am running Botanicare pro bloom soil, Karma, and sweet. They are about 3 weeks into bloom and this is what i am finding. Starting from the lower branches Leaf edges have brown small spots along them. The tips also have turned rusty/brownish on the bottom half of the plants. Over the last week it has been creaping from the bottom towards the top. I am concerned. I think it is because there is not enough calcium in my tap.
I checked the PH of the soil by the run-off method described in Stinky's sticky. The only difference is i used nutes instead of plain PH water. The nutes were Ph'd at 7.0 and the runoff came out at 6.9. Also the same PPM readout of 1500 came out the bottom of the pots. So does anyone familiar with these nutrients think that i should be adding calmag to well water that has a ppm of 130???
I am going to step outside and snap a few shots which hopefully can help all you wizards and wizardesses (witches) give me some advice. Thanks for your helpness.
Also i am in FF ocean soil with 30% perlite. I have really just begun nutes in bloom. I am using all botanicare products, and at half strength. I have fried my plants previously using it at full strength. If ya'll think it is calcium should i use the calmag at full strength, and can i also foliar feed with it? It does not say on the bottle.

allrollsin21 Reviewed by allrollsin21 on 05-22-2008. nutrient def??? Hello good peeps. I am troubleshooting what i think is a calcium deficiency. I think the cause of this is because i have not been adding calmag to the girls. I am in soil in 4 G pots. I have well water that is at 120-130 ppm. I am running Botanicare pro bloom soil, Karma, and sweet. They are about 3 weeks into bloom and this is what i am finding. Starting from the lower branches Leaf edges have brown small spots along them. The tips also have turned rusty/brownish on the bottom half Rating: 5

[grey1223]

You can foliar spray with 1tsp of baking soda to a quart of water. If indeed that's your problem this will give a quick fix. I've used CalMag at full strength and half strength with same results. But I'm wondering why you have 1500ppm of runoff??? Sometimes this measurement is affected by any solids you've given, like compost teas. You can filter them out with a coffee filter. Otherwise it seems to me maybe a lockout as opposed to a def. I would ph my nutes at 6.5, it's the best ph for soil.

[allrollsin21]

Thanks grey. I had a problem last grow when i sprayed with Baking Soda. I probably used too much. I think 1 tbl a quart instead of 1 tsp. Any how my whole garden was white from the residue. Sad but in retrospect, funny.
The runoff ppms was 1500. What i poured into the plant to check the PH was nutrients at 1500 ppm. So the samer thing came out the bottom as what went in. Correct me if i am wrong, but i thought that meant that there is no buildup of salts in the soil, or else it would have come out higher than what i was pouring for the test. I hope that makes sense. I am relatively new at all this so my explanations may be senseless.

ps. I may be new but i have experienced...mites..mildew...hermaphrodites...see ds...lockout.... and the list goes on. Hows that for a lot of experience ina short amount of time...I wont bore ya'll with the rest.

[allrollsin21]

oh yeah by experience i mean painfully heartbreaking tear jerking stress building experience. That kind. Good thing i have had bud and a great batch of my own recipe, Ganja Gooballs, throughout it all.

So for all i am certain my diagnosis is likely off target one way or another. Anyone else care to take a stab at it. many thanks!!

[Weedhound]

I think you should be flushing.....ppm of 1500 in runoff is too much.....i don't even use 1500 ppm in my hydro setup.

[grey1223]

I was thinking the high runoff is because the plants aren't able to absorb the nutes because of lockout. A good flush and give them about 1000 ppm and you should see a diff in few days I believe.

[allrollsin21]

OK, flush sounds like the consensus. Thanks guys.
If i mix together a nutrient solution and pour it into a plant, the runoff that happens as i am feeding the 1500 solution, should be the same as what was poured into the plant? I am not sure but i think so. I know that 1500 is high and the reason i went with it was because i had only foliar fed for the few weeks before and they looked deficient, So i used EXACTly half strength of the back of the bottle recommendations for the Bloom, Karma, Calmag, and sweet. It is frustrating that half strength could be TOO MUCH.

[stinkyattic]

Those plants are potassium deficient- probably locked out.
Flush and make sure you are giving enough K and that the pH is around 6.7. There shouldn't be a problem if your soil pH is correct and you do not have excess ferts in there.
Don't do it by ppms; do it by plant appearance. They all feed at different rates.

[allrollsin21]

Thanks stinkster, your a real brass monkey. I was using ppms to try and prevent over fert. It seems that even at 1/2 strength,botanicare products, bloom, sweet, calmag, and karma, is reading at 1500 ppms. The feedback i am receiving from those kind enough to offer some guidance say that is too high.
Anyone doing Botanicare in Soil??

Would 1/4 strength be better? I was told add a 1/4 strength on watering cycle to help reduce salt buildup. Just when i think i have a clue, i find myself with pages of questions and much uncertainty.

Thanks all for attempting to help me do no harm to the ladies!

[PlantHeadJ]

FF ocean forrest is a pretty hot soil to begin with. If possible check the run off of the soil before use. In my exp botanicare needs cal mag. I just plan on using it. Also do what stinky said.