Cal/Mag

[Boybelue]

im wondering now if maybe they got a little to dry...i did go a little to long on a couple waterings. ive read that this can cause the plant to look like it has nute deficiency when its just a symptom of being underwatered.

after researching all night to me the deficiency looks exactly like a calcium deficiency and they say all the leafs closer to the light or in direct light will show signs 1st which is happening. and with it showing up days after being switch to the cobs its starting to look like what it is. with the cfl not being as intense so the plant is using less. again just another theory.

Im going to take things easy use cal/mag on the next couple feedings making sure to keep an eye on my ph. I dont want the calmag dropping my ph to low.

when i use the calmag with vegbloom the acid buffers in vb keep the ph stable so i dont have to worry about it as much.

I think you just figured it out, when I started using LEDs I had terrible calcium deficiencies, hell I still do! Lol, the LEDs ramp up the plant but don’t let it transpire like other light sources which makes calcium less mobile, I’ve been upping my calmag a few hundred ppms and also raising my ambient temps up in the lower 80s and that seems to work.

 

[Artisan_tek]

I think you just figured it out, when I started using LEDs I had terrible calcium deficiencies, hell I still do! Lol, the LEDs ramp up the plant but don’t let it transpire like other light sources which makes calcium less mobile, I’ve been upping my calmag a few hundred ppms and also raising my ambient temps up in the lower 80s and that seems to work.

Thanks for the reply!

i usually keep my temps around 70-72. Little on the cooler side. Maybe ill try to bump that up to at least 75 or so and see what happens. I feel confident thats what happened. my water starting out ppms are 150ppm and w/ calmag usually 250 or 260ppm. Not sure if i should try more per feeding or just feed them the calmag more often.

 

[H.A.F.]

Thanks for the reply!

i usually keep my temps around 70-72. Little on the cooler side. Maybe ill try to bump that up to at least 75 or so and see what happens. I feel confident thats what happened. my water starting out ppms are 150ppm and w/ calmag usually 250 or 260ppm. Not sure if i should try more per feeding or just feed them the calmag more often.

Don't look at calmag as feeding. You are adding ppm for sure, but it is more of a supplement that helps them eat other stuff better. What has worked for me is finding the right dosage, then sticking to it throughout the grow. If I feed the plant there is calmag. If I just water it there is calmag. It might be coincidental/anecdotal, but when I started doing this I started harvesting healthy plants. I am under HLG QB's for the most part.

 

[Artisan_tek]

Don't look at calmag as feeding. You are adding ppm for sure, but it is more of a supplement that helps them eat other stuff better. What has worked for me is finding the right dosage, then sticking to it throughout the grow. If I feed the plant there is calmag. If I just water it there is calmag. It might be coincidental/anecdotal, but when I started doing this I started harvesting healthy plants. I am under HLG QB's for the most part.

Great info man. Thank you!

Do you find adding the calmag every watering drops your ph at all?

 

[H.A.F.]

Great info man. Thank you!

Do you find adding the calmag every watering drops your ph at all?

I control the pH. I don't get what you are asking.

Here's what I add, using an RO water ~0-5ppm

5ml/gal calmag.
2.5ml/gal botanicare Silica Blast.
I also add some form of amino acids at a 1/4 to 1/2 recommended dose at least every feeding, if not every watering.

If I am feeding, the liquid additives I use are at 25% of the recommended, and I don't really pay much attention to the ppm. I have checked a few times and at the 'heaviest' part of the schedule the ppm is only in the 500 range with everything included. Most of my NPK and stuff comes from top-dressing.

Anywho, after I mix up whatever I mix up I adjust the pH. Everything going into my plants is at 6.5

 

[Artisan_tek]

I control the pH. I don't get what you are asking.

Here's what I add, using an RO water ~0-5ppm

5ml/gal calmag.
2.5ml/gal botanicare Silica Blast.
I also add some form of amino acids at a 1/4 to 1/2 recommended dose at least every feeding, if not every watering.

If I am feeding, the liquid additives I use are at 25% of the recommended, and I don't really pay much attention to the ppm. I have checked a few times and at the 'heaviest' part of the schedule the ppm is only in the 500 range with everything included. Most of my NPK and stuff comes from top-dressing.

Anywho, after I mix up whatever I mix up I adjust the pH. Everything going into my plants is at 6.5

all im saying is when i add calmag every single watering, the ph of my soil starts to drift. When i add calmag with vegbloom that doesnt seem to happen the ph stays stable at 6.2 or so. ive never had to use ph up or down. its always stayed perfect until i start using calmag every watering. i cant use vb every watering so i was only using calmag whenever i fed with vb...1 a week or as their ppms dropped. Obviously that isnt enough for these kobes. Looks like their gonna need it, just as you said, everytime i water.

im gonna water today and whenever i add the calmag ill ph it before and after to see if the calmag is dropping the ph of the water before it hits the soil.

 

[H.A.F.]

all im saying is when i add calmag every single watering, the ph of my soil starts to drift. When i add calmag with vegbloom that doesnt seem to happen the ph stays stable at 6.2 or so. ive never had to use ph up or down. its always stayed perfect until i start using calmag every watering. i cant use vb every watering so i was only using calmag whenever i fed with vb...1 a week or as their ppms dropped. Obviously that isnt enough for these kobes. Looks like their gonna need it, just as you said, everytime i water.

im gonna water today and whenever i add the calmag ill ph it before and after to see if the calmag is dropping the ph of the water before it hits the soil.

I get that different nutes have different amounts of Ca, Mg, Fe etc. That is why I mentioned finding the right dosage to go with what you are using. I think consistency might be the trick.

Maybe pull a few clones, and try a few different dosages with each?

 

[H.A.F.]

I am using almost all organic stuff though, so that might make a difference as well.

I never flush, and I don't really worry about a lot of run-off. I build up the good amoebas and shit in the soil, then try to keep that environment going.

 

[H.A.F.]

good amoebas and shit

*amoebas*
random word describing itty-bitty live stuff in the soil. Actually referring to beneficial bacteria & mycho's

 

[Artisan_tek]

I get that different nutes have different amounts of Ca, Mg, Fe etc. That is why I mentioned finding the right dosage to go with what you are using. I think consistency might be the trick.

Maybe pull a few clones, and try a few different dosages with each?

Was just gonna say that...i think i need a more consistent regimen. At this point there all looking better..i think i caught it in time.

Another thing i noticed was optic has changed their height recommendations for the light im using. It was 18-24in or something like that for veg...and now their saying 30-36in for veg. huge difference. They seem to like being further away from the light. even with this problem starting they have all shown great growth over this past week. i topped/fimmed them and all of them have 2 and 3 new branches growing already.

i have my flower regimen down pat but i guess veg still needs some work. makes sense tho, in flower im using calmag/vb/shine almost every single time i water so the ph stays stable. Seems like its everytime i use calmag by itself my ph starts to drop.

thats why i didnt no if maybe i should try another brand of calmag to see if it was more stable

 

[Artisan_tek]

I am using almost all organic stuff though, so that might make a difference as well.

I never flush, and I don't really worry about a lot of run-off. I build up the good amoebas and shit in the soil, then try to keep that environment going.

Thanks again for all the advice!

 

[Opie1]

What does the deficiency look like?

 

[H.A.F.]

Thanks again for all the advice!

No worries - I am new-ish to this as well. Anything I have learned is still fresh in my memory

I started out scared to repot, and would go right from a solo-cup to a 5gal. Created more hassles than it was worth. Yesterday I repotted two 3' tall plants that are in mid-late flower from 3gal's to 5gal's

The best advice I can give is to find what works for you, then dial it in. There is way too much to that goes into a grow to do too much experimenting at once - you have to make sure you know what worked and what didn't. And always experiment with a goal in mind.

I did the last UGC testing out 4 different nute lines, and the final decision was to ditch all of them and go 'organic'. I actually have no clue whether it was nute-salts that were an issue, but they could have been and there are other options. Decision made, move on.

@Big Perm and @J.James talked me through a few grows over on trollitup. JJ gave me some seeds to learn with, basic steps for how to do what I decided to do, stuff like that. I bug the shit out of Perm because I dig for knowledge I would ask something, but if the answer wasn't exactly to the question I asked, I would re-phrase and ask again. I learned stuff from both answers - he thought I wasn't paying attention

JJ gave me some basics germination stuff that he does, and I figured "his seeds, his method" - if I kill them he can't get mad LOL. But it works. He also told me another tidbit about grow schedules produced by nute companies - and this ties into the calmag/light discussion - Fox Farms and all the others probably base their nute schedules off of plants grown under 1000w of light just for easy math. Not talking about intensity/height/etc. but just how much the plants want to eat. I have plants under ~250w. I use 25% of the feed schedule. It works.

I also bought a $19.99 light meter that JJ recommended. I am making sure not to blast the plants based on "manufacturers recommended distance". Could I get plumper buds doing more of this or that? maybe. But my stoner ass just figured out my grow style - Bar-b-que buds! Low and slow LOL

 

[Big Perm]

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lol. you threw me there for a sec Opie. I thought he was asking the OP for pics of his plants. That is a great pic of the cal def though!

 

[Artisan_tek]

That plant in that pic Looks a a lot like it except mine have more brown spots. Same lime green look but more small brownish spots.

Everything looks better since the transplant and I’ll be sticking to a more strict regimen when it comes to feeding. The leds sucked my girls dry

Edit. You can see a pic of 1 of the plants in my journal. I detailed the transplant. Not sure if you’ll be able to see it or not. Roots looked great tho

 

[Boybelue]

Thanks for the reply!

i usually keep my temps around 70-72. Little on the cooler side. Maybe ill try to bump that up to at least 75 or so and see what happens. I feel confident thats what happened. my water starting out ppms are 150ppm and w/ calmag usually 250 or 260ppm. Not sure if i should try more per feeding or just feed them the calmag more often.

I highly recommend 80-82, I had previously kept mine at 72-75 but when I first started experiencing the LED calcium issue I went and ask the guys I consider more knowledgeable with LED growing on the other forum, guys like rocket fuel, Supra and all those guys said right off the bat 80-82 and I was like you “that’s to high” plants like what we like! And I always ran hydro and those cool ambient temps kept my solution in check, but the more research I done i seen the transpiration issue and I heard GG and Gromau talk about it also so I went to coco and bumped mine up, coco needs more calcium but I’m not fighting solution temp issues and even with the coco needing more calcium I’ve noticed the higher temps have helped. LEDs don’t have no infrared and other things that gas burning lamps have that heats the plants internals that trigger the stomata to open allowing it to transpire. Calcium is mobile so the more water the plant takes in through the roots and transpires through those stomatas the more calcium it gets. Being the LEDs don’t heat the plant up enough to transpire we have to raise ambient temps enough to achieve this.

 

[Artisan_tek]

I highly recommend 80-82, I had previously kept mine at 72-75 but when I first started experiencing the LED calcium issue I went and ask the guys I consider more knowledgeable with LED growing on the other forum, guys like rocket fuel, Supra and all those guys said right off the bat 80-82 and I was like you “that’s to high” plants like what we like! And I always ran hydro and those cool ambient temps kept my solution in check, but the more research I done i seen the transpiration issue and I heard GG and Gromau talk about it also so I went to coco and bumped mine up, coco needs more calcium but I’m not fighting solution temp issues and even with the coco needing more calcium I’ve noticed the higher temps have helped. LEDs don’t have no infrared and other things that gas burning lamps have that heats the plants internals that trigger the stomata to open allowing it to transpire. Calcium is mobile so the more water the plant takes in through the roots and transpires through those stomatas the more calcium it gets. Being the LEDs don’t heat the plant up enough to transpire we have to raise ambient temps enough to achieve this.

Great explanation. Good info man. Thanks!!

 

[Artisan_tek]

@H.A.F. Got them looking much better now man. Thanks again for the advice!



Their actually a lot darker than the picture lets on to. Can’t upload the better overhead pics but everyone who commented on the thread helped out. Thanks!

 

[H.A.F.]

Their actually a lot darker than the picture lets on to

Just remember, bad leaves won't get better and may get a little worse. The new growth will tell you how you're doing.

 

[Artisan_tek]

New growth is nice and green. Plants are standing tall.

Prolly gonna starts adding calmag every watering like you suggested. Just gotta keep my eye on the ph.