Calcium, Magnesium or potassium? Please help ❤

polishpollack

Well-Known Member
Too late to top dress with lime. It has to be in the soil and broken down to be effective. Top dressing it won't work.
 

TreeFarmerCharlie

Well-Known Member
Too late to top dress with lime. It has to be in the soil and broken down to be effective. Top dressing it won't work.
Do you have a source for this? From what I understand, the water running through it will leach it into the rest of the soil. I've been mixing it into my soil before transplant, then top dress when I flip to flower, and I haven't had any issues since I started doing this.
 

polishpollack

Well-Known Member
Do you have a source for this? From what I understand, the water running through it will leach it into the rest of the soil. I've been mixing it into my soil before transplant, then top dress when I flip to flower, and I haven't had any issues since I started doing this.
I didn't say it would cause problems. I said if won't be effective. Unless it dissolves to a molecular level that plants can absorb once it makes contact with water, top dressing with lime won't do any good. Usually, it takes bacteria time to break down the large molecules to a level that roots can take up. Top dressing is fine, but people should be aware that it won't give the results they want right away. It will take time.
 

TreeFarmerCharlie

Well-Known Member
I didn't say it would cause problems. I said if won't be effective. Unless it dissolves to a molecular level that plants can absorb once it makes contact with water, top dressing with lime won't do any good. Usually, it takes bacteria time to break down the large molecules to a level that roots can take up. Top dressing is fine, but people should be aware that it won't give the results they want right away. It will take time.
That makes more sense to me. I don't top dress with it as a daily or weekly thing. I only do it at the start of flower to help replace the what gets used up during vegetation. I honestly don't know how much gets depleated by the time I flip, it's just something I was taught awhile back, and I've stuck with it since.
 
Well you have the correct pen. Remember to measure the medium you poke the hole with the probe cover, then insert the probe. Always store the probe with the KCL solution.

I simply use an offset feed, you get instant results as the pH swings thru the Goldilocks zone. So if the medium tests at 5.0 and you are aiming for 6.5 (-1.5) then I mix a feed at +1.5 or 8.0. It could be plain tap water "feed" you will get a lot of calcium precipitate if you have a feed but I do anyway.

The pH will swing down between the corrective feed and the next, ending up a little low but not nearly as low as it was to begin with. Then you can do a smaller corrective feed.

Once you get the swing down to a reasonable level say 0.5 then I like to feed a little high and let it swing thru the goldilocks zone each feed. So say feed at 6.8 and end up at 6.3.

I did a little write up on correction

Im not able to read exactly what the water runoffs are. & my tool to measure my feed pH is broken. Thankfully my soil tester still works & i recalibrated it. I don't have the right tool for runoff but all of my pHs have been steady 6's to the max of 6.8.
 

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Should I break down the Garden Lite & dissolve it into the water so the roots can absorb it? Or should I just feed with water + CaMg since i fed nutrients last feed.
 

Renfro

Well-Known Member
Im not able to read exactly what the water runoffs are. & my tool to measure my feed pH is broken. Thankfully my soil tester still works & i recalibrated it. I don't have the right tool for runoff but all of my pHs have been steady 6's to the max of 6.8.
That bluelab pen can measure liquids just fine, simply insert the bottom inch of the probe in a sample of liquid being measured. Don't worry about runoff pH, measure the rootzone and the feed.
 
That bluelab pen can measure liquids just fine, simply insert the bottom inch of the probe in a sample of liquid being measured. Don't worry about runoff pH, measure the rootzone and the feed.
My root zones are all roughly in the 6 range with 1 plant @ 6.8. I fed nutes last feed, so I was just going to water this time with some CaMg possibly to give it what they're asking for. What do you recommend this time?
 

Renfro

Well-Known Member
When the pH is a little low they will have issues getting magnesium even if it is provided. For example I had magnesium uptake issues displayed with a pH of 6.2 at the root zone and I knew they were getting plenty of magnesium in the feed so I simply raised the pH by feeding at 6.9 and problem solved. So if you are at 6.0 and we want 6.5 I would feed them at 7.0. Simply adding more magnesium without fixing the pH will not help, it could make things worse by locking out other nutrients.

You could use my feed calculator to determine what your elemental PPM's are. The thread is linked in my signature.
 

CannaCountry

Well-Known Member
If you're growing in a predominately coco based medium "I use all organic nutrients & coco soils" and you're trying to manage it like a soil grow, what you're experiencing is the end result. I'm not saying it can't be done, but IMO, it can't be done as well. Coco likes a certain pH range and it likes to be handled a bit differently than a soil / peat grow; knowing those differences will catapult you forward. Good luck friend.
 
When the pH is a little low they will have issues getting magnesium even if it is provided. For example I had magnesium uptake issues displayed with a pH of 6.2 at the root zone and I knew they were getting plenty of magnesium in the feed so I simply raised the pH by feeding at 6.9 and problem solved. So if you are at 6.0 and we want 6.5 I would feed them at 7.0. Simply adding more magnesium without fixing the pH will not help, it could make things worse by locking out other nutrients.

You could use my feed calculator to determine what your elemental PPM's are. The thread is linked in my signature.
My pHs are all currently between 6.4 & 6.7. This is whats currently going on atm. I boosted the calmag just a tad & it seems to reduce the spots on the rest of the leafs. Its been roughly two weeks and today I just noticed this. Can anyone give any feedback? Just one of my plants seem to be having this problem.
 

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Renfro

Well-Known Member
Check the two images posted prior to my last comments. You'll see the redish on the nodes
I did look and I don't see it. I see some purple/reddish petioles on some of the fan leaves. A node is the spots where your buds come out of the stem in flowering. If you top your plant in veg, the "nodes" below will branch out.
 
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