Calcium Deficiency due to ph lockout?

gubblebum

Well-Known Member
Hello! I'm hoping someone can help me diagnose this slight spluttered yellowing? I'm guessing the pH was too low last water causing calcium lockout?
IMG_20220722_155644.jpg
 

gubblebum

Well-Known Member
500 ml 3 or 4 days apart in 3 gallon pots so fairly dry. My last water I added distilled vinegar to lower the pH. I'm wondering if this may have caused nute burn. It's a super soil mix and so far no problems.
 

gubblebum

Well-Known Member
No guesses? I'm still guessing calcium lockout, possibly nute burn but it's in supersoil with nothing new added but water since the start.
 

OldMedUser

Well-Known Member
500 ml 3 or 4 days apart in 3 gallon pots so fairly dry. My last water I added distilled vinegar to lower the pH. I'm wondering if this may have caused nute burn. It's a super soil mix and so far no problems.
Start watering properly and that might fix the problem. A 3gal pot should take around 3000ml/3L to water to saturation. Then let the pot get a lot lighter before watering again but try to do it when 2L will soak it so it doesn't dry right out. I've been letting mine dry too much too often and they're not happy so that could be your problem as well.

From dry to properly soaked is about 1/4 the pot volume. I'm using ProMix HP for my base with added organics like manures etc so yours may be a bit more or less than that.

Get some proper pH down too but you shouldn't need it unless you have hard water with a high pH to start with then aim for 6.5 in real dirt. What's the info on your water? pH and ppm at least.

One slight pH screwup isn't going to cause a lockout either. There's a lot of buffering in 3gal of dirt.

Good luck!

:peace:
 

gubblebum

Well-Known Member
Start watering properly and that might fix the problem. A 3gal pot should take around 3000ml/3L to water to saturation. Then let the pot get a lot lighter before watering again but try to do it when 2L will soak it so it doesn't dry right out. I've been letting mine dry too much too often and they're not happy so that could be your problem as well.

From dry to properly soaked is about 1/4 the pot volume. I'm using ProMix HP for my base with added organics like manures etc so yours may be a bit more or less than that.

Get some proper pH down too but you shouldn't need it unless you have hard water with a high pH to start with then aim for 6.5 in real dirt. What's the info on your water? pH and ppm at least.

One slight pH screwup isn't going to cause a lockout either. There's a lot of buffering in 3gal of dirt.

Good luck!

:peace:
Thanks for such a conscise answer!

My water was 7.2 and 200 ppm but I've been lowering to about 6-6.5 using vinegar last couple of waters. As I'm using paper test kits I'm wondering if I went slightly lower.

I just watered 500 ml and got run off, day 4 since last water. I feel like even 1 liter would absolutely soak them since it's already running off?
 

keep it real.

Well-Known Member
I don’t believe that’s ph related, your watering practices seem good. Have you tried not adjusting the ph? 7.2 isn’t that far off. What are you growing in? Are you in organics?
 

myke

Well-Known Member
I don’t believe that’s ph related, your watering practices seem good. Have you tried not adjusting the ph? 7.2 isn’t that far off. What are you growing in? Are you in organics?
Agreed 7.2 is my tap water and I grow just fine,promix has lime in it some more then others.A common issue can be too low pH with promix.
 

myke

Well-Known Member
Thanks for such a conscise answer!

My water was 7.2 and 200 ppm but I've been lowering to about 6-6.5 using vinegar last couple of waters. As I'm using paper test kits I'm wondering if I went slightly lower.

I just watered 500 ml and got run off, day 4 since last water. I feel like even 1 liter would absolutely soak them since it's already running off?
Your water is good,same as mine.No need to ph it.
What do you have for food?
 

gubblebum

Well-Known Member
Thanks guys! I'm growing in a store bought version of Subcools super soil mix. At least the ingredients match it. It's week 5 of growing with no issues so kinda strange if it was nute burn now with nothing else added? That's why I wonder if it's maybe an accidently concentrated pocket of distilled vinegar made it into that pot...
 

wakenbake91

Well-Known Member
yeah at 7.2 I wouldn't even touch pH. Only time i adjust mine is when I'm doing straight water. My pH is high, like 8-8.5, but when I add the nutes it evens out around 6.6-7. Soil has a tendency to keep itself where it needs to be without a lot of adjustments. Only if your consistently overfeeding or at a way off pH does it start to become a problem. In hydro/ coco its way more important.
 

twentyeight.threefive

Well-Known Member
Thanks guys! I'm growing in a store bought version of Subcools super soil mix. At least the ingredients match it. It's week 5 of growing with no issues so kinda strange if it was nute burn now with nothing else added? That's why I wonder if it's maybe an accidently concentrated pocket of distilled vinegar made it into that pot...
No need to pH your water in soil. It’s not calcium or nutrient burn.

Begin to saturate your pots when you water and then let them dry before repeating the process. Stop pHing your water. If anything it looks like a potassium deficiency but would be best to remedy your other issues first, such as adding vinegar and your watering practice.
 

myke

Well-Known Member
At 5 weeks in I’d top dress with some more of your soil and keep up with it weekly or bi weekly.
 

OldMedUser

Well-Known Member
Thanks for such a conscise answer!

My water was 7.2 and 200 ppm but I've been lowering to about 6-6.5 using vinegar last couple of waters. As I'm using paper test kits I'm wondering if I went slightly lower.

I just watered 500 ml and got run off, day 4 since last water. I feel like even 1 liter would absolutely soak them since it's already running off?
That's not really run off but pour-thru. I have some plants in 1L containers and when they are bone dry they take 500ml to soak to saturation so either your pot is already quite wet when you water or the water is just flowing thru cracks in the soil to run immediately out the bottom. I let mine sit in the water for a while to make sure the medium is thoroughly wet with no dry spots in it. 15 min or so is enough then remove the excess or just take them out of the tray and sit on the tent floor without a tray.

I go by the weight of the pots to determine how much water they will probably need to soak well and rarely have any runoff to remove. I also only use RO or distilled water so don't need runoff to remove excess salts that build up from hard water tho yours isn't bad. Our tap water comes from a dugout on the property and is 400+ppm and over pH 8 most of the time. Spring melt dilutes it but it's still crap water for using on indoor plants.

There is no way 500ml is going to water a dry 3gal pot enough and if it stays wet down below all the time that can lead to root rot.

:peace:
 

gubblebum

Well-Known Member
Thank you so much everyone! Ok so i'm going to make a worm castings and molasses tea first of all as some of my bigger plants are showing lower leaf yellowing also. I'll give it till tomorrow which is 2 days since the 500ml water and then up the watering amount along with the worm tea, give it a week and going to pot up my keeper plants into 7 gallon final pots before installing the scrog net. Watering is so difficult for me to learn, always get it wrong whether under or overwatering lol. Tried hard to not overwater this time!
 

myke

Well-Known Member
Thank you so much everyone! Ok so i'm going to make a worm castings and molasses tea first of all as some of my bigger plants are showing lower leaf yellowing also. I'll give it till tomorrow which is 2 days since the 500ml water and then up the watering amount along with the worm tea, give it a week and going to pot up my keeper plants into 7 gallon final pots before installing the scrog net. Watering is so difficult for me to learn, always get it wrong whether under or overwatering lol. Tried hard to not overwater this time!
Molasses tea will drop pH huge,stick with just ewc.
 

twentyeight.threefive

Well-Known Member
Watering is so difficult for me to learn, always get it wrong whether under or overwatering lol. Tried hard to not overwater this time!
People make this MUCH harder than it needs to be. Water the pot thoroughly. It’s entirety should be soaked. Get some runoff and you’re good to go. More runoff if you are feeding salts.

Then leave it alone until it’s almost dry. Overwatering is watering too often, it has nothing to do with the volume of water given. GL
 
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