How to tell if problem is deficiency or Toxicity

[JimmyBee]

Hi all im a new member on here today and im impressed of all info to take in ! Especially having help of other growers.

im a first time grower and My plant is about 3ft tall and been doing fine (i`ll try to add pics soon). Im using Formulex nute sol but only weekly ! i have a 250w hps bulb on a drain away system in a 3 by 5ft bedroom closet. It looks healthy enough apart from the rust spots devoloping !!!! At first it was just one or two leaves but now is starting to cover most of plant . I understand it is probably a magnesiun fault but unsure whether its : toxicity or deficiency : ???? "how do i tell"?.

Any help would be greatly appreciated .

Also when is good time to force flowering ??

Edited July 12, 2009 by JimmyBee

[nitram]

Hi JimmyBee & welcome to OS

 

At first it was just one or two leaves but now is starting to cover most of plant . I understand it is probably a magnesiun fault but unsure whether its : toxicity or deficiency : ???? "how do i tell"?.

Any help would be greatly appreciated .

 

A picture if you can. 1 picture speaks 1,000 words.

 

look at links in my sig

Nitty.

[Radic]

greetnz JimmyBee

dat is a complex question

requiring a complex answer

but strangely nuff

you dont really need to know the answer to fix it

 

cause you hydroponic nutrients you payed your hard earned $$$$$$$ for

is a complete ballanced feeding plan that will deliver high yields for most plants

comlpete

seen

so

flush

and start again

crucial

 

check your water for PH and EC before you

flush

 

if your EC shows something in the water and you dont know what it is

than filter the water first

RO rulez

 

you only need to correct the ph if below 6ph or above 7.6ph

dont fix it

if is not broke

in most cases you should be fine to just go with what you got.

irey

meanwhile

when the flush is running

clean out all the pumps and pipes and the nutrient sollution holding tank

same way

flush with pure water

irey

if there is someting that is not clear

just ask

seen

the whole perpose of a flush

is to clean any toxic nutrient salt build up,

 

out of your pots

seen

flush

exactly like diss

 

start flush

 

pore pure water into the top of the pot

fast nuff to completely cover the top of the pot

but too fast

do not let the water over flow the top edges of the pot

seen

let all the flushed water from the bottom of the pot---> drain to waste

which

at first the water draining from the bottom of the pots will be dark colored

this is the salts comming out

seen

now continue

keep poring the water into the top of the pot

untill

the water that runs out of the bottom of the pot is--->100%clear <---

irey

when the water that runs out of the bottom of the pot is--->100%clear <---

then stop

 

the flush is now finished, over

completed correctly

seen

it may take 30min

or 3hrz

to complete each flush for each pot

seen

 

next

 

start with a fresh made sollution made at 1/2 your usual strength for the first feed after the flush all day

then the next day mix a fresh nutrient sollution to usual strength for their age and stage of growth

 

they should be right with that sollution

till next week

well

most plans recomend that you flush every week

check your nutrient bottle lable for your flush timetable

but even then remember

that is just a guide for most plants

yet

every plant is different

 

if you see signs of nutrient burn at 800ppm

and yet your plant is growing fine at 500ppm

irey

that is cool

that is why most plans give a max ppm and a min ppm to aim for when mixing the fresh sollution

the min is the best one to aim for

fine tune to run your system as lean as possible

that is

to get the max growth rates at the min ppm nutrient sollution

seen

 

irey guidance

[JimmyBee]

Nice one Informative and Descriptive very help full Thanks.

This flushing is new to me as it is my first attempt indoors but i will get on that straight away !!!

ive read that epsom salts might help or should i just stick to flushing process ??

The nutes im using... i have only just purchased ! so she has only had 2 weeks of it i was hoping it`d clear up !

Also the newer stems at the top of plant are turning red/purple is this to do with sulphur I read it can be confused with nitrogen deficiancy So is the red stem a problem ??

I`ll add pics as soon as i get a decent cam

Thanks for advice

I`ll let ya know how it gets on

[JimmyBee]

Thanks fot the links Nitram They did a world of good Ill post pics soon

[flatcat_auz]

Check for bugs............particularly under the leaves and on the unaffected leaves. Pests such as mites do damage and move on, so often the affected leaf is bug free.

[JimmyBee]

Thanx FlatCat ! i did a scan and im bug free "thank god"(you had me worried) what question was you referin to ?? by answerin with bugs !! im sure its a magnesium deficiency. the rust spots are my main prob !! i looked over all of plant and cant find any bugs , but thanks for heads up , i didnt really know that bugs would be a problem indoors !!

[Radic]

irey flatcat is right

ckeck for insect attack pon the underside of the dammaged leaf

take some pix

she has only had 2 weeks of it

read the directions

it should recomend a regular flush---> every week or 2

for a hydroponic system

you need to follow the directions to the letter to get results

my guess is it should have been done last wk

flush is a must

i like to flush once every wk

 

imho

flush asap

dowit now

 

stress like diss can make a plant use up all the available K

so suplement whlie you flush

use a K spray

like liquid kelp or eco carb

crucial

never spray while the lights are on

never

seen

strictly spray before the lights come on or after the lights go off

 

check the new growth

the allready dammaged leaf will not recover

the best we can hope for is to stop the rusty bitts from spreading or getting bigger

it the new growth that we need to keep a keen eye pon

 

irey guidance

[JimmyBee]

Hi All

thanks for info so far ... its been very helpfull.

The flushing tech is for hydro im not exactly doin hydro as you can see from pics But the drain away element is just the same (is`nt it ??).. On that topic "how much and how often should i water her" ??.

I flushed it through a few times with spring water as you suggested and have added the stated dose of nutes this weekend.

I read earlier that the plant can double in size when flowering "is this true ??" if so she`ll be about 7ft !!

Also i want to clone "When is the latest time i can take cuttings" ?? (During flowering) !

LMAO the reason i started this post is to say i have added pics of my problem and the new growth do show signs of ill health in one of pics you can see faint white spots appearing !!

Im gonna post this anyway but have just realised that each pic must be less than 1mb and all my ones are over 2 So im Fooked

i have found a few that ive taken with another cam

Hope they help

Thnx

jimmyBee

Edited July 15, 2009 by JimmyBee

[Radic]

The flushing tech is for hydro im not exactly doin hydro as you can see from pics But the drain away element is just the same (is`nt it ??)..

yes

On that topic "how much and how often should i water her" ??.

let the roots get some air

by letting the pots dry out a bit

not too much offcourse

if the plant shows and sign of wilt thats too long

water sooner

the actual time is totally dependant pon your drainage

if you use a sandy soil it will be good and fast

if you use a loamy black soil it will be bad and slow

the faster the drainage the less time between wateringz

I flushed it through a few times with spring water as you suggested and have added the stated dose of nutes this weekend.

irey

I read earlier that the plant can double in size when flowering "is this true ??"

no

once she is in flower she will grow only about 500mm up in hight

she will put on lotsa wieght true

she will grow out more than up

Also i want to clone "When is the latest time i can take cuttings" ?? (During flowering) !

no

the best time to clone is now

during vegatative growth

before bloom

 

irey guidance