Consistent Mg - getting enough, not getting enough

keysareme

Well-Known Member
Details;

(4) Silver Afghani cuttings (we're rooted in rockwool cubes, and planted into fox farm soil. Once I got them, I loosened the fox farm from around the roots and replanted into coco conniseur that I amended with decent worm castings and lots of mycorrhizae)

The coco conniseur is said to have been quadruple washed and ready to use for planting right out of the bag. I had not used this coco, it was right out of the bag, first run with it. (I'm also using it for some fruit and vegetable plants and am not having the Mg fluctuations that I am having with my cannabis plants)

The girls had purple stems and part of their main stalks were also purple when I got them. (Even before I replanted into the coco.)

They were in 4 in starter pots and their roots were most likely bound by that point. When I changed the soil from fox farm to coco conniseur, I fed a high dose of General Organics CaMg (I used General Organics CaMg because it's what I had left, the same bottle I picked up back in October when I started my first cultivation.)

I left the girls in the 4in pots with the new coco for about three weeks before I up potted, and this may of affected their condition as well, but the root mass had increased immensely and the purple stalks and stems turned green and became healthy by the time I transplanted.

Two weeks after transplant into larger containers the plants exploded in overall growth, but had lots of purple going on again.

So, I fed CaMg every other watering at a strong dose, and a half tsp on the waterings in between just to keep some going in.

The girls are now into flowering, and still have lots of purple showing in their stems and some areas of their stalks.

I am watering in at 6.4 with the water temperature at 68-70f, room/tent temperature at 67-70f and canopy temp 70-73f.

With lights off, which is during the day for me, temps sit anywhere from 65-70f in the tent.


I am not having the same Mg troubles with my fruit and vegetable plants, none at all, and the fruit and vegetable plants am referring to are in the exact same coco conniseur as my girls are. It's all from the same bag of coco.


The nutrients I am using are organic, bottled yea, but organic and sustainably sourced.

They recommend a pH of 5.8-6.2 for vegetative and 6.2-6.8 for flower/fruiting.

Possibly the 6.4 I was running for veg was a few points too high, but the coco conniseur should be buffering it to whatever the plant wants right?

All new growth shows up fresh and green, healthy and vibrant, but most of it still eventually shows purple stems. So it might be I was feeding at too high of a pH for vegetative, even though the nutrients recommend to pH to 6.4 (on the bottle) but recommend 5.8-6.2 for vegetative on the community feed chart.

So, now, into flower, the new growth is very nice and green, and we will see if the purpling continues. I'd rather not continue to "supplement" with a bottle of CaMg, cause I know there's abundance of it in the coco conniseur soil.

Hopefully now that they are flowering 6.4 will be more suitable and they will stay green.

It can't be purpleing cause of temperatures, I'm making sure they stay above 65 at lights out, and below 75 with lights on. Room humidity is 55-70% which is awesome.

Any thoughts are appreciated, thanks for reading this, I hope I put all the details in so that none were left out and that you can respond back with some good suggestions and input from your experiences. Thank you very much.

-keys

Ok, I can post pictures if wanted, but it is the common "purple stems of fan leaves" and some purple on the main stalks. Thank you again.
 
honestly it just sounds like genetics. i do realize that when a plant is pot bound or sick the stem can turn purp and back to green but you are getting that confused with normal purp stems and stalks. ive never herd of cal or mag causing that issue. if your using the general organics to there directions NPK calmg and trace then your fine. temps sound good and the ph is fine. dont get fussy or over think it ph should be slightly acidic. infact weed will grow OK out of range it just will flourish in soil around 6.5. as long as it is between 6 and 7 there will be no noticeable diff. so if your ph is off a few points no worries. now just a suggestion, the way you are growing is basically hydro. might want to look into a good soil recipe that has all your nutes in it to start like supersoil. bring the soil to life with compost tea( bennifical microbes) i think you will be suprised. anyways dont worry about your plants having purp stems i see that alot just be more intune with what your plant is telling you. A good book would be the garden saver by j c stitch. it explains in detail all the deficiencys ect
 
anyways i would say everyone on this site has a few strains that have purple striping or coloring in there stems as well as there buds. as long as the plant is healthy then great. with out seeing a pic i cant say that for 100 percent but that is what it sounds like.
 
another tip= if your plant is root bound give the roots a hair cut. maybe even cut the root ball right in half and then the plant in half. it will stimulate faster growth and get the plant back in action
 

keysareme

Well-Known Member
Thanks for taking the time to read my post and respond with some thoughtful input.

This is my third medical run, and I do agree about living super soil, as that is my ultimate goal. To build my own organic soil and continue to amend it each cycle.

I went with coco conniseur because it, to me, is close to being the best premixed blends I can obtain, aside from making my own.

I will be making my own super soil for the raised garden beds I am building on the back porch for fruits and vegetables, so I'll make sure to make enough for my next medical run as well.

Ok, so I will be less concerned about the purpling of stems and main stalks.

No I am not using General Organics Nutrients, just their CaMg.

The nutrients I am using are, Nectar For The Gods, and I am running their entire line aside from three components that are additional support and were not registered for sale yet at the time I visited monster gardens.

With a quick search, leafly lists silver afghani as having purple calyxes during flowering. So I might be ok.

Or, upon some furthur reading, and refreshing of what I already know, purple stems and stalks can be caused by lack of phosphorus. Phosphorus uptake can be inhibited by the temperatures being too cold.

I'll keep watching the girls, and I hope the purple stems and stalks are from genetics.
 

keysareme

Well-Known Member
Third set of photos.

For anyone who might be interested in having a look, I would appreciate it. Thank you

-keys
 

Attachments

~Dankster~420

Well-Known Member
cant go wrong with the GO LINE bro :)
Thanks for taking the time to read my post and respond with some thoughtful input.

This is my third medical run, and I do agree about living super soil, as that is my ultimate goal. To build my own organic soil and continue to amend it each cycle.

I went with coco conniseur because it, to me, is close to being the best premixed blends I can obtain, aside from making my own.

I will be making my own super soil for the raised garden beds I am building on the back porch for fruits and vegetables, so I'll make sure to make enough for my next medical run as well.

Ok, so I will be less concerned about the purpling of stems and main stalks.

No I am not using General Organics Nutrients, just their CaMg.

The nutrients I am using are, Nectar For The Gods, and I am running their entire line aside from three components that are additional support and were not registered for sale yet at the time I visited monster gardens.

With a quick search, leafly lists silver afghani as having purple calyxes during flowering. So I might be ok.

Or, upon some furthur reading, and refreshing of what I already know, purple stems and stalks can be caused by lack of phosphorus. Phosphorus uptake can be inhibited by the temperatures being too cold.

I'll keep watching the girls, and I hope the purple stems and stalks are from genetics.
 

keysareme

Well-Known Member
I like the in the 1st row of pics, bottom pic. :)
To clarify is that the picture of the up close stem that is pointing up and to the right slanted and showing red on its top?

As for the GO line, I am moving myself away from bottled nutrients, but what I have used from them, their CaMg and Biothrive or whatever its called their basic veg nutrient, have been fine.

See anything in those photos worth mentioning?

Thanks
-keys
 

~Dankster~420

Well-Known Member
https://www.rollitup.org/attachments/photo-2-6-jpg.3161634/ this 1.. ;)
To clarify is that the picture of the up close stem that is pointing up and to the right slanted and showing red on its top?

As for the GO line, I am moving myself away from bottled nutrients, but what I have used from them, their CaMg and Biothrive or whatever its called their basic veg nutrient, have been fine.

See anything in those photos worth mentioning?

Thanks
-keys
 

~Dankster~420

Well-Known Member
Like said that 1 in that picture.. lol Strain, sorry I I overlooked.
To clarify is that the picture of the up close stem that is pointing up and to the right slanted and showing red on its top?

As for the GO line, I am moving myself away from bottled nutrients, but what I have used from them, their CaMg and Biothrive or whatever its called their basic veg nutrient, have been fine.

See anything in those photos worth mentioning?

Thanks
-keys
 

Jozikins

Well-Known Member
Call your water company and ask about the levels of chloramine in your water, you may need a special filter.

As little as half a ppm can cause a perpetual Mg deficiency, and seriously effect yields.

This was my problem.


If this is your only strain showing this issue and you're using the same water supply, it could just be a Ca/Mg hungry plant as all Afghans are IMO. And I've been growing different Afghans for 5 years. I actually purged my garden of all Afghan strains for good the other day. They are incredible plants, but I'm tired of them.
 

keysareme

Well-Known Member
Call your water company and ask about the levels of chloramine in your water, you may need a special filter.

As little as half a ppm can cause a perpetual Mg deficiency, and seriously effect yields.

This was my problem.


If this is your only strain showing this issue and you're using the same water supply, it could just be a Ca/Mg hungry plant as all Afghans are IMO. And I've been growing different Afghans for 5 years. I actually purged my garden of all Afghan strains for good the other day. They are incredible plants, but I'm tired of them.
You hit it right on man. I've been using tap water "filtered" through a brita for these plants. I have used RO water for my first and most of second grows, this is the third grow. I use the same tap water, but let it sit outside for nearly 48 hours, in my fruit and vegetable garden. For sure we have high levels of chloramine in the water here, its not chlorine that's for sure. I have confirmed that it is chloramine. This is my first grow with an afghan strain lineage. I've encountered the flowers of this strain before, and have since always been excited about it, so when I saw the cuttings available I went for them.

My choices are;
- get a filter?
- Use RO water and see how the plants respond, but most likely need to supplement with Mg anyways due to it being RO water?

Mainly just looking to make it through this third grow, and then I will be using super soil that I will be making. So without running and picking up another bottle of CaMg, I might want to do what?

Check my runoff pH? Check my rootzone pH with a slurry test? Do a flushing with a with a 0-10-0 bone meal to melt any built up salts and bring the pH back in range so the available Mg can be accessed?

Or you may just be right, these plants may very well be super hungry for Mg, and I might need to bump the ratio in my feed mix to include more of the part that has the most available Mg. The nutrients I am using are all calcium sourced, so it's not calcium, it is for sure Mg if anything. So maybe I should just try drenching the soil of the plants showing those purple stems, with a heavy dose of the part of the nutrient line that has the most available Mg.

I fed them all this evening, just an overall early flowering feed mix at the full strength, so I will see how they respond over the next three days as that's about the amount of time these nutrients uptake in.

I am also foliar feeding with a bloom foliar feed, that is a phosophorus based boost. sprouting up nodes out of nodes, stuff is a catalyst for plant development, gets it functioning up to high capacity. I've used this foliar feed on my second grow (a skunk #1 plant from seed) and the entire lower half of the plant is stacked. The upper half is very nice, but I was out of the foliar feed for awhile until I picked more up before my third and current grow, so the upper half did not receive the same foliar feeding as the lower half, and you can see it. It's beautiful. So foliar feeding is great, I do it 4-5 times a night, and the plants love it.
 

Jozikins

Well-Known Member
Pick up a bottle of Magnum by Humboldt county's own. Great mg supplement, foliar feed is a quick fix with mg.

And I always recommend using a ro filter, although that alone will not remove all the chloramine.
 

keysareme

Well-Known Member
Pick up a bottle of Magnum by Humboldt county's own. Great mg supplement, foliar feed is a quick fix with mg.

And I always recommend using a ro filter, although that alone will not remove all the chloramine.
Thanks bro, I will run a Mg uptake on one of the girls and see how she responds then proceed from there. pH to 6.4 with temp for foliar feed water at 68? Sound about ok?
thanks
-keys
 

Jozikins

Well-Known Member
Yeah, anything close to hydro ph range is fine. Keep ppm under 250ppm @.5 tds conversion, unless foliar feeding instructions state otherwise.
 

keysareme

Well-Known Member
Yeah, anything close to hydro ph range is fine. Keep ppm under 250ppm @.5 tds conversion, unless foliar feeding instructions state otherwise.
Ok. Thank you for following up with me to ensure that I have all the appropriate info to make the best choice from here.

So when foliar feeding, since the food is going right into the plant through the leaves and veins, we want the pH to be around what the roots want the pH to be as well? And this is because the food is going right to the plant and not being filtered through the soil/medium? Am I close to being on with this? Thanks
-keys
 
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