Rust - Black leaf spot mold help!

[criom]

So far ive lost 2 plants to this problem and more on the way.

Ive been using serenade every 3-5 days with some success but it keeps coming back. Will i have to keep spraying the plants for their entire life cycle or will they eventually fight it off?

What else can i try to combat this problem?

i have a sulpher spray, and am considering trying the baking soda method if someone thinks that is a good idea.


im hoping someone experienced with serenade can chime in, it seems to work but only for so long before the rust starts back up.

are infected plants contagious to others around them?

can it be treated by doing soil drenches?

does neem oil help whatsoever?

any input would be greatly appreciated

criom Reviewed by criom on 06-12-2008. Rust - Black leaf spot mold help! So far ive lost 2 plants to this problem and more on the way. Ive been using serenade every 3-5 days with some success but it keeps coming back. Will i have to keep spraying the plants for their entire life cycle or will they eventually fight it off? What else can i try to combat this problem? i have a sulpher spray, and am considering trying the baking soda method if someone thinks that is a good idea. im hoping someone experienced with serenade can chime in, it seems to work Rating: 5

[stinkyattic]

That seedling is in too large a container to effectively use soil moisture. You may have problems stemming from THAT. I'm not 100% convinced it is actually fungal, either; if it is, I'd point a finger at a root zone problem. Yes, Serenade is safe a sa soil drench. Since it is just beneficial microbes, using it in the soil isn't dangerous for your plants.
However you can get spotting like that from other problems too- such as poor soil pH, inappropriate fertilizer levels (although I don't see tip burn normally associated with that), or overwatering.
Add drainage to your pot and adjust your watering schedule to allow soil to get rather dry between waterings.
Neem oil is effective against fungi that settle on the leaf surface. It probably won't do a thing for your problem, since yours looks like it is coming from within.

[criom]

thanks very much for your reply

about what dose should i give them for a serenade soil drench?

ive never had this problem before with seedlings in larger pots the only thing im doing different now is i added about 20% coco to the mix (light warrior/ocean forest) as reccomended by the hydro shop guys.


im thinking the coco is messing with the ph or moisture alot.


should i just squirt the entire top level of soil with serenade?

continue with bi-weekly soil drenches of neem oil as well as weekly sprays onto leafs?


is hydrogen peroxide useful at all in higher levels for fertilizing to kill anything in the soil?


neway thanks again :thumbsup:

[stinkyattic]

bingo, you have a calcium issue- coco scavenges it. light warrior needs no additional coco.
if you continue to use it, add calmag plus to your regime.

[criom]

besides calmag plus is there any cheaper alternative to get calcium back in the soil?

i am completely out of money for the month from buying fungicides/sprays.

one problem though....another plant was put directly into lightwarrior/ocean forest and suffered the worst rust/black spot of them all. i couldnt even get a picture of it because it died so fast. serenade and sulpher had no effect on it whatsoever, whereas the serenade works on the plants in coco.

so im not sure the coco is exactly the problem although im sure it isnt helping much from what you say.


so any ways to get calcium into the soil aside from calmag, and pouring milk on them?

[stinkyattic]

bone meal, but it's pretty 'hot' for seedlings.
Hm. Sounds like something ELSE in the light warrior/FFOF is locking out micros. FFOF is way too 'hot' for seedlings of many strains, and if your strain is already a light feeder, that's a culprit to look at. Light Warrior has a lot of coco in it too from what I understand.
I'd start seedlings in a seedling starter mix, or Happy Frog with some added perlite, or rapidrooters if you are very cautious. They have the same microorganism as Serenade added at the factory.

That is not actually Black Spot Fungus. That's a nasty disease that affects roses and other thorny cane plants in hot, wet weather.

[criom]

that sounds correct, first time using ocean forest. im used to light warrior and the regular FF potting mix, so i assumed it was just as good to use as ive heard great results from other people.

they were started in rapid rooters as i was trying to be as cautious as possible with a new strain.

what is the name of this "hot and nasty" disease that i have here then?

originally it looked like that in the picture, then the spots became alot darker. now it seems to have evolved into rust issues, or maybe its just one problem fighting off another.

about the serenade soil drench though, do i want to just lightly cover the top layer of soil and then water as normally?
or add serenade directly to the gallon of nute/water?


ive heard of someone using serenade directly into his hydro reservoir


also: while trying to macguyver something up today i noticed that a bag of regular FF potting soil (was on sale for 5$!) contains hydrated lime and oyster shells for balanced ph.
could i make a tea with small amounts of the soil added to try and get some calcium from that back into the soil of my problem plants? or would that be a trivial amount


thx very much for your continuing help

[stinkyattic]

No name, just a lockout.
Serenade can be added to your nute solution which has no nutes yet.. lol. But YOU DON'T HAVE FUNGUS. It's just the nutes. REally.
You're going to have a hard time making a tea of oyster shell or lime, even harder trying to get it right so as not to burn the plants.
Concentrate on watering at correct pH, to the point of runoff but allowing the soil to dry between waterings, and as soon as you see the 4th set of ADULT leaves unfolding, get on it with a WEAK dose of a COMPLETE fertilizer. 1/4 what teh bottle says, and work up as more leaves appear.
I don't know what else to tell you. The overly-complex soil mix hurt you; next time, keep it simple. You may have noticed that retail salespeople get paid to sell you stuff from their store. You don't always need it. The first time my local hydro shop guy said 'You don't need that' I was like DUUDE did he REALLY just say that? OMG! Word!

[criom]

alright i will try adding serenade to some distilled and keep the ph as best as possible

im usually not talked into buying things but i got the coco more from what forums said then what salesperson did




they usually tell me what not to buy like the odorsok...peroxide "liquid oxygen" stuff...co2 boost....lumateks....

[stinkyattic]

co2 boost= way overpriced
odorsok= I like mine! It's a great size for a hobby grow!

You know that distilled water will not help you? It has NO Ca IN IT!!! Unless you run calmag, do NOT use distilled or RO water; use tap. And Serenade won't help, because it's not a fungus... *sigh...