My PH says I'm fine????? So I think.......

[Rookieweeder]

I have been advised that my plant has a phosphorus deficiency. I have been checking my PH in the soil and water ( from dehumidifier) from the beginning and it is been consistent in both at 7. My plant is in a mixture of Kind soil and regular potting soil and was going like gangbusters till the brown spots showed up 5 days ago and has plummeted since. I have repotted it in a larger container with the recommended Kind soil and soil mixture, it was full of roots but not root bound by any measure. If I'm using super soil should I be adding additional nutrients? And if my PH is not changing in either the soil or water how can I correct it? Help, I'm so baffled where to turn next. PS I've louped for bugs and it's clean.

[alltatup]

Hi Weeder, Flush her for 48 hours. She may have nutrient lockout--not a deficiency, but an overload and shut down. Flush her in plain ph'd water. Then you may want to go a little lighter on the nutes for a while. I am usually at 1/3 or below recommended levels.

I'm a hydro grower, and I let the pH fluctuate during the week between 5.6 and 6.4. Maybe you should let it fluctuate a bit because different nutes are uptaken better at different pHs.

[Rookieweeder]

Stupid question here, how do I flush it when its planted in soil?

[Sheesh]

Hey Rookie, people use different methods to flush and you can also check the growweedeasy.com site for tutorials. Here is my basic method: In 5 gal containers, I slowly water about 1 gallon and let it sit for 15 minutes. Then I add another gallon, a little quicker and then vacuum or empty all the runoff. The idea is to soak the medium and roots for a few minutes to lossen up salt build-up. The second watering is faster and it will run through quickly and hopefully take all the bad stuff with it. I personally don't agree with the flush advice that says "3 times your container size". I refuse to dump 15 gallons of water on my plants. Too much risk for other issues, like root problems. Again, this is my opinion and method only. I'm sure there are many other different opinions.

[Aloner]

The problem with flushing in this case is that you're using Kind Soil, which specifically warns against watering to runoff, let along flushing.

When you say "a mixture of Kind soil and regular potting soil ", do you mean they are actually mixed together? Or are they layered with the Kind Soil on the bottom of the pot? And what kind of potting soil are you using?

Also, who advised you that it's a phosphorous deficiency? Can you post some pictures?

[Aloner]

7 is the high end of acceptable -- you really want to aim for 6.2-6.5.

[Rookieweeder]

Aloner - do I need to amend my soil to lower the PH or will lowering PH in water take care of that? Yes, I am a real Rookie at my weed haha.

[Aloner]

I would try just adjusting the water and hopefully the soil will follow. Try keeping the water pH really low (around 6.0-6.2) for the first couple waterings and see if that doesn't help bring the soil down a bit.

I am a rookie at growing anything but it's working out pretty good for me so far, thanks to GWE and the folks in this forum!

[D.A.A.S.69]

If your using KindSoil do not use nutrients. What is your mix of KindSoil an potting soil and what size pots are using now.

[Aloner]

Did you put the plant directly on top of the Kind Soil? I hope you put a layer of potting soil between it and the plant -- it's not clear from your response. Also, what kind of potting soil are you using?

[Rookieweeder]

I layered regular soil on top of kind. My spots started occurring 2 days before my third transplant. My soil is Earthgro potting soil and Kind soil.

[Aloner]

OK good, that helps cross off a few potential issues.

[D.A.A.S.69]

All that transplanting sure ain't doing no good, get em in the ground an leave them alone.

[Sheesh]

Just thought of one more thing to consider. You said you use your dehumidifier water. I read up on that in the past and generally it's not good for drinking, OK for plants but not vegetables. That water is known to have decent PH and low PPM but there are risks because there could be pathogens, spores etc. from the dehumidifier. Don't get me wrong, many of the threads I read growers said they had done it for years with no issues. But, it's something to keep in mind.