Moshe

I'm a little freaked, all the undergrowth is turning yellow (the picture doesn't quite capture the yellow levels). There's slight purpling of the stems.

I've been watering every 3-4 days, the plants are 4-5" high and the pot is 0.5gallon.

I put my finger into the pot after 3 days, about 2.5" in and the dirt was slightly damp, so I'm not sure if this is chlorisis or possibly rootbound?

I haven't been using much nutes, nearly none at all.

penguin

Yes that is chlorosis.

Your plant is not rootbound, it just needs to be fed.


penguin

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Pegasus

Well I dont have the answer, but I have had this problem before. I was never able to figure it out. The plants lived but I never felt like I got a good yield. So I too would like to know what this might be.

Thanks!

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You have got to love growing plants that can take you on vacation any time of year

Fillabong

^kinda vague Penguin^

When I see leaves curl it usually indicates more than just normal hunger.

I think it's a Mg problem. It's interveinal not uniform.

Are you giving them tapwater?

Moshe

I am giving them Carbon-Filtered tap-water (what I drink myself and I seem healthy ).

I have no idea what the ground Ph is, trying to find a cheap way of figuring it out, but not quite there yet.

Penguin:
And yes... that's a big vague, what do you mean by "needs to be fed". Needs to be fed what? Nutes? How does the link to the chlorisis issue?

Fillabong

I think Penguin is off having a bowl so I'll jump in.

Chlorosis can be caused by many things. Overwatering, too little nitrogen and too little magnesium are the most common.

When the leaf fades from green to yellow equally all over we call that uniform chlorosis. When it fades but the veins stay green it's know as interveinal. Respectively it represents lack of N and Mg.

Carbon is pretty inert so it won't affect the Mg levels of your water. It must be pretty low. You haven't fed it at all? 2 litre vessle and watering 3-4/days? Find some organic fertilizer roughly 2:1:2 ration. More or less. Mix a 1/4 strength solution and try that. Any good organic fert will be a source of Mg. If it does not have Mg then mix 1/2 TSP epsom salts into 1 litre of water and spray your leaves. Magnesium is to chloraphyll as Iron is to hemoglobin. You can hit your plants with that saline spray every few weeks. It wont hurt.

Good growing

Moshe

Fillabong:
I have these slow-release nute-pellets...


I know they aren't organic, but is this something I could use and if so, how much?

Fillabong

Food is food. Some is just gourmet.

There should be a series of numbers on them. Something like 30-10-10 or 5-15-5.

Pellets are mixed into the soil before planting. I think you're outta luck now dude.

You need some more fertilizer.

Moshe

Ok, so I got more fertilizer!

I found one that is based on seaweed+NPK (7:3:7). That's the closest I could find to 2:1:2... And it's seaweed... so organic, so hopefully the good kind.

The label said 2 bottle cups for 5 litters. I used less than 1/2 a bottle cap on 1.5 litters and the plants took about 1.2 litters before water appered at the base of the pot.

The yellow leaves themselves are lost? Even those only slightly yellow?

Also, before I found the 7:3:7 seaweed fert, I was at a flower shop and they had this fert for flowers, I was told it's "the best", used to grow orchids (which are tempramental). The label says NPK, but doesn't list ratios. Is this something I should use in the flowering stage, or not at all?

Fillabong

7-3-7 will be great for vegging

Good mix.

Then NPK means for every hundred pound of product there are so many pound of each element within. Remember that the weight of elements isn't the ratio. That first has the same ratio as 21-9-21. To be most economical, buy the strongest fertilizer and cut the concentration All the same in the end so long as the ratio is the same.

So if that new fert is 7-3-7 then you'll have 7 pounds N, 3 pounds P and 7 pounds K for every 100 lbs of liquid. Yellowing? No worries. Seaweed is botanical so the extract will have plenty of Mg contained within; you have no need for the epsom salts.

Don't know much about orchid ferts for flowering but that long down the road. Merchants always sell the best. Anything you buy will be the best. Check with us first Wait... you just did. Right... discuss that down the road.

Remember to water your plant before applying any fertilizer. Using nuted water on dry roots can easily burn.

The yellow leave will regain their rich colour in a few days. It just needs time to metabolize and mobilize the elements.

Good growing