New To Organics Having Some Issues

weedstoner420 said:
How much of those Dr Earth fertilizers have you been using? And how big of pots are they in? You might have just overdid it with the fertilizers

Everything happens kinda slow with organics, good and bad. I think you'll still get a decent harvest. I would go with the above suggestion to just add water and nothing else for a bit. And unless your tap water is really really bad there is no need for RO
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I was using 2 Tbl per gal. I have 5 gallon pots.
 
King_Kush86 said:
As the title says I’m new to organic growing but not new to growing. I’m having issues with my plants and I don’t know if it’s a nutrient deficiency or if I’m getting nutrient lockout due to ph.

At first I thought I was having a phosphorus deficiency. So I added some seabird guano (0-12-0) and some Down to Earth kelp meal. I thought that it could be cal-mag too so I got an organic cal-mag product from Foxfarm and have been adding that to my water now once a week.

I tested my run off last night for the first time. I hadn’t been checking my ph because everything I have read says if you’re doing organic you don’t need to check ph. So I wasn’t. It tested at 7.0 ph and 1400 ppm. I’m thinking of trying to get my run off ph down between 6.0 and 6.5.

Any advice would be appreciated. I will post pictures if you guys would like.
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Have you looked into nectar for the gods
 
King_Kush86 said:
In the beginning I did about 20 Tbs for 3 cubic ft of soil. Then every time I top dressed I was doing 10 Tbs total per 5 gallon pot. So last top dress I did 7 Tbs of Bloom and 3 Tbs of the vegetable fertilizer.
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That doesn't sound too crazy but I guess it depends on how often you're top-dressing. For plants/containers that size, I'd think like once in early flower and once in mid/late flower...

If you check out the "Official Gaia Green" thread on here, that's a pretty good reference for the grow style you're using. Different brand but same method and similar NPK values.

Fwiw, I've had decent results with about 2 cups (32 TBS) dry amendments per cubic foot in the original mix, then top-dressing about 1 TBS per gallon every month or so. That's using KiS organics and Espoma brand fertilizers, but again I feel like they're all similar enough...
 
weedstoner420 said:
That doesn't sound too crazy but I guess it depends on how often you're top-dressing. For plants/containers that size, I'd think like once in early flower and once in mid/late flower...

If you check out the "Official Gaia Green" thread on here, that's a pretty good reference for the grow style you're using. Different brand but same method and similar NPK values.

Fwiw, I've had decent results with about 2 cups (32 TBS) dry amendments per cubic foot in the original mix, then top-dressing about 1 TBS per gallon every month or so. That's using KiS organics and Espoma brand fertilizers, but again I feel like they're all similar enough...
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Im going to check out that thread.
 
I use DR earth. I wait till my soil is depleted then I add 2 tablespoons of fertilizer every two weeks in 5 gallon container. I like the 4-4-4 for veg and the flower girl for flower. I also add a dash of worm castings every time I add fertilizer. I add a few other things here and there but none the less I use way less.
 
King_Kush86 said:
I was adding worm castings as well. I forgot to mention that. How much are you adding per 5 gallon pot?
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I will usually take my dry ferts and mix them up with a few handfuls of worm castings, then work that mixture into the soil as my top dress.

Worm castings and compost aren't super nutrient dense, they're more for adding to the soil biology, so the amount you use is not critical
 
It seems like the consensus is that I went overboard on my feeding regimen. It's a learning experience and to be honest I kind of expected some hiccups when going from DWC to living soil. From now on when I feed I'm going to do 3 to 4 Tbs per 5 gallon pot mixed with the worm castings. I'll see how that turns out for me. Thanks for everyone's input so far! If anyone has anything else to add please feel free to do so.
 
It would be a good time for some microbes to get it going. Even if it gets stunned from the over fert, microbes will soothe it out defo.
Keep in mind autos need less ferts anyway.

One thing that took me a while to get right was when to apply the phos/pot (if your soil is packed from the beginning). I found its best after the small flowers form. About week 4-5. Good luck!!
 
It's been 13 days since my original post and the plants are looking less dark green than before. However, I still have lower leaves that are turning yellow and eventually dying. Is this still from the nitrogen toxicity or is there some other deficiency going on? Since my original post I have ONLY been giving the plants water only.

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King_Kush86 said:
It's been 13 days since my original post and the plants are looking less dark green than before. However, I still have lower leaves that are turning yellow and eventually dying. Is this still from the nitrogen toxicity or is there some other deficiency going on? Since my original post I have ONLY been giving the plants water only.

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I’d still recommend oyster shell flour and a decent top dress of worm castings. I don’t think it ever was toxicity, I have had the same problem and thought it was N tox as well.
 
King_Kush86 said:
its hot during the day so I add water about everyday
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I ask because of the curling. N-tox leaves will curl down at the tip. Yours are curling down on the sides as well. You may have been experiencing more than one problem at once.

With the N toxicity under control, the leaf droop remains. In this case, I think next it's a watering issue - but I can't be sure. If I were you (only knowing what I know about your grow), I would alter those watering habits (probably with a longer dryback period). Watering too frequently with RO water could cause what we are seeing.

What is the temp and RH of your grow space? Did you happen to remove any topdressings?

I would keep going with this plant. If nothing else, you are getting further exposure to the process!
 
GenericEnigma said:
I ask because of the curling. N-tox leaves will curl down at the tip. Yours are curling down on the sides as well. You may have been experiencing more than one problem at once.

With the N toxicity under control, the leaf droop remains. In this case, I think next it's a watering issue - but I can't be sure. If I were you (only knowing what I know about your grow), I would alter those watering habits (probably with a longer dryback period). Watering too frequently with RO water could cause what we are seeing.

What is the temp and RH of your grow space? Did you happen to remove any topdressings?

I would keep going with this plant. If nothing else, you are getting further exposure to the process!
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I didn’t remove any top dressing I left what had already put in there thinking it would be enough to get me to the end of the grow since it looked like I was over doing the fertilizer.

during night it’s around 77-80 degrees and 40% to 50% RH. During the day it’s in the 90’s with RH around 35.
 
King_Kush86 said:
I didn’t remove any top dressing I left what had already put in there thinking it would be enough to get me to the end of the grow since it looked like I was over doing the fertilizer.

during night it’s around 77-80 degrees and 40% to 50% RH. During the day it’s in the 90’s with RH around 35.
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Using LEDs? Do you get runoff when you water? How warm is your water upon application?

Those high daytime temps might be playing a part. It's possible your root zone is too warm as well.

If unable to lower the temps or water less frequently, I would go back to using that tea, but less frequently (one day on, one day off) and maybe not as strong a brew. (As typical, avoid runoff with living soil.)
 
GenericEnigma said:
Using LEDs? Do you get runoff when you water? How warm is your water upon application?

Those high daytime temps might be playing a part. It's possible your root zone is too warm as well.

If unable to lower the temps or water less frequently, I would go back to using that tea, but less frequently (one day on, one day off) and maybe not as strong a brew. (As typical, avoid runoff with living soil.)
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yes I am using LEDs. There is some run off when I’m doing my watering. Why is it bad to have runoff in living soil?

Im going to topdress with 3tbs of the bloom fertilizer and add work castings as well. I’m going to start doing the compost tea again too.

I agree with you that this grow is going to be a learning experience. It doesn’t look like it’s going to be big in terms of yield but it will yield some critical knowledge for sure.
 
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