Having problems in my grow. Help PLZ

Good morning. I should have made this post a while back when the problems started or even as they progressed. I thought I could handle it however it isn't getting better(worst if anything). A little background. 8 light grow. Plants are in 20 gal fabrics. I did one run here and for the most part all went well. I used BAS soil. Stuck to their feed chart and their products. Harvest was Ok. Quality was great.

In between harvest I went on vaca and wasn't able to water the used soil as much as I should have and also didn't reammend with the exception of some top dressings. And I didn't do a soil test to see where my soil was at. I put clones into the soil and some did OK. Some havnt moved in almost a month.

I have tried to give them teas, regular feed, top dressed, nutrient foliar, dialed in environment, and my watering using a tensiometer. Some bounced back and the rest stayed the same. Now I'm seeing issues with the ones that were looking good. Water is 250ppm. Triple filtered(not RO). Temp in 79-82. Humidity 65ish%. C02 1000pm
Leaf Surface temps 78-81. PPFD at canopy is 540-620. IPM is good and I scope weekly. No bugs.

I believe I seeing multiply deficiencies. However I don't know what they are or what to do about them. Some plants are doing ok while some others haven't grown in weeks and seem to have major deficiencies. I will attach pics. Thank you very much in advance. (Feel free to ask an questions as I'm sure I didn't present this the best way). Happy Growing.

Explain your daily watering practices.
volume per container
Ph adjustments?
And method. ( dump, watering can, irrigation?)

9/10 with living soil the problem is how water is applied and how your thinking about soil health second to plant health.

You have your work cut out for you in fabrics. From the pic I don’t see much going on with your mulch layer. Looks dry and wispy. Straw mulch should be moist snd breaking down rapidly. Sometimes a daily spray down or the straw is needed.

Also are you doing no till? it’s difficult to notil in smaller containers. It can be done but really takes Honed skills.

the straw isn’t doing anything for you at this point. I would pull it up snd instead go with a moisture locking toodress. Like 1/2 inch of highest quality castings. If your already top dressed something for food I wouldn’t add any more.

also do you get runoff? And can you describe how the runoff happens if you get it. ( instant flow, or lingering puddle, snd does runoff get wicked back into containers quickly or hang for hours or longer)???

green_machine_two9er said:

9/10 with living soil the problem is how water is applied and how your thinking about soil health second to plant health.

You have your work cut out for you in fabrics. From the pic I don’t see much going on with your mulch layer. Looks dry and wispy. Straw mulch should be moist snd breaking down rapidly. Sometimes a daily spray down or the straw is needed.

Also are you doing no till? it’s difficult to notil in smaller containers. It can be done but really takes Honed skills.

the straw isn’t doing anything for you at this point. I would pull it up snd instead go with a moisture locking toodress. Like 1/2 inch of highest quality castings. If your already top dressed something for food I wouldn’t add any more.

also do you get runoff? And can you describe how the runoff happens if you get it. ( instant flow, or lingering puddle, snd does runoff get wicked back into containers quickly or hang for hours or longer)???

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I water using a chapin sprayer at .5 gal per min. I do not PH as I have not for much of my time in organics with no problem. I do want to start because I want the data and I have def considered that being the culprit or at least a part of the problem. I do not water til run off. I use a tensiometer to determine how much to water. Under the straw it is moist and it does break down. I think the LEDs makes the mulch look drier then it is in pics. I do top dress with a high quality vermi compost. However I don't like bare soil uncovered. Top layer of soil is optimally moist with worms throughout it. 20 gals containers I know aren't ideal but I don't think that or being in fabric is causing these problems.

So .5 Gallon per plant per day?

green_machine_two9er said:

So .5 Gallon per plant per day?

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Oh no. That's the rate it comes out of the sprayer. I would say anywhere from 36oz-96oz depending on what the meter tells me. I water on MWF.

I just spoke with a buddy and he thinks I have been over doing it with my additives and amendments(he called it garden tweaking). Said soil PH is off from all that I have done. Water only til I get a soil test done is his recommendation. Should have done the test in between runs but I tried to cut corners and rush. Won't make that mistake ever again

I can’t speak to meters cause I’ve never used them. But I can tell you 100% you would benefit from daily water.

your microbe life depends on the consistency of moisture levels. It’s not like “traditional”growing methods which kinda of like a dry out between water/feedings. Your nutritional train depends on the microbes. Focus on them. They had drought in any form.

Beneficials will cyst and go dormant and then your train engine is stalling when there isn’t enough moisture.

take it or leave it but I would increase your water exponentially. Healthy soil can be expected to need up to 5 % water / pot size/ PER day. So 20 gallon container can handle up to a gallon of water.

now your work up to that point. Might start with a qrt a day now and get the soil chugging again and eventually be near a gallon a day once your into flower.
I would be spraying the top of your containers and dumping water around the edges of the pots at the same time. Daily. Try to get less swing and your will be benefited.

the whole game of organics is 99% watering PRACTICE. It takes years to practice before one can be considered even an amateur. And even then you never stop practice because it can always be improved.

water is life

FamMan said:

Oh no. That's the rate it comes out of the sprayer. I would say anywhere from 36oz-96oz depending on what the meter tells me. I water on MWF.

I just spoke with a buddy and he thinks I have been over doing it with my additives and amendments(he called it garden tweaking). Said soil PH is off from all that I have done. Water only til I get a soil test done is his recommendation. Should have done the test in between runs but I tried to cut corners and rush. Won't make that mistake ever again

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My thought was probably too much stuff added too. Too much Ca can cause all kinds of issues too. There's quite a bit of Ca in Craft Blend, and your water is already 250ppm. Not saying that it's for sure Ca, but I'd try it. I'd give plain water for a bit. Maybe add a little citric acid to it too. You barely need any.

I wanna say it's definitely a bunch of micro nutes you're deficient in. Used soil with just a top dressing only. Yeah ur short on copper, iron, manganese, zinc, molybdenum, etc.
Now go look on the label of what you top dressed with...you wont see those micros listed. They're sort of in there but not enough.

mudballs said:

I wanna say it's definitely a bunch of micro nutes you're deficient in. Used soil with just a top dressing only. Yeah ur short on copper, iron, manganese, zinc, molybdenum, etc.
Now go look on the label of what you top dressed with...you wont see those micros listed. They're sort of in there but not enough.

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Not a bad thought either. BAS I said known to be high in iron, but low in others. This would be a good idea if he's not already using it. I started using it awhile ago.

PadawanWarrior said:

Not a bad thought either. BAS I said known to be high in iron, but low in others. This would be a good idea if he's not already using it. I started using it awhile ago.

BuildASoil BIG 6 Micronutrients & Humic Acid Blend

Revitalize your soil with BuildASoil's BIG 6, a crucial blend of six micronutrients fortified with Humic Acid. Our extensive soil tests have revealed a unique formula that's rich in Boron, Cobalt, Copper, Manganese, Molybdenum, and Zinc, designed to correct imbalances and promote vigorous plant...

buildasoil.com

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I do use Big 6. I'm sending soil out for testing at Logan Labs tom. Water only til then. I appreciate you chiming in.

mudballs said:

I wanna say it's definitely a bunch of micro nutes you're deficient in. Used soil with just a top dressing only. Yeah ur short on copper, iron, manganese, zinc, molybdenum, etc.
Now go look on the label of what you top dressed with...you wont see those micros listed. They're sort of in there but not enough.

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Sending out soil for testing tomorrow. I agree on def showing deficiencies. I would like to know if the PH is off as well. Hopefully test will get me a better picture of all that. I plan to have it looked over by soil analyst and get recommendations. Thanx for your advice.

Why the triple water filter? 250ppm water sounds perfect.

myke said:

Why the triple water filter? 250ppm water sounds perfect.

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1 Sediment and 2 carbon. Not sure why they put two. Doesn't reduce PPM just removes sediment and harmful chemicals.

FamMan said:

Sending out soil for testing tomorrow. I agree on def showing deficiencies. I would like to know if the PH is off as well. Hopefully test will get me a better picture of all that. I plan to have it looked over by soil analyst and get recommendations. Thanx for your advice.

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You should get your water tested too.

A great many soil issues can be directly attributed to the quality of the irrigation water being used. But you need to know the entire chemical makeup of the water. Knowing "ppm's" isn't enough. You need to know how much of what dissolved minerals are present.

FamMan said:

Sending out soil for testing tomorrow. I agree on def showing deficiencies. I would like to know if the PH is off as well. Hopefully test will get me a better picture of all that. I plan to have it looked over by soil analyst and get recommendations. Thanx for your advice.

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What kind of test are you getting from Logan Labs?

I'd consider holding off a bit before sending in a sample for testing. There are better alternatives for testing compost based soilless container mixes.

waktoo said:

You should get your water tested too.

A great many soil issues can be directly attributed to the quality of the irrigation water being used. But you need to know the entire chemical makeup of the water. Knowing "ppm's" isn't enough. You need to know how much of what dissolved minerals are present.

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That's funny u mention that. I was just listening to a podcast with the soil doctor and he mentioned to send in water with test. I was considering testing the water next. At this point because I dialed in everything else I figure it's either soil or water. I will do some research on how to get it tested. Thank you.

waktoo said:

What kind of test are you getting from Logan Labs?

I'd consider holding off a bit before sending in a sample for testing. There are better alternatives for testing compost based soilless container mixes.

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I was doing the standard, saturated paste, and a some extras. My biggest concern was turn around time and im pretty sure if I overnight it today it will be there by Mon. I would then have results back by Thursday. What other options u thinking? Thank you for your advice.

I got a bag of their “light mix” and it was very dense so I added a bunch of vermiculite for aeration probably about 30-40% and it produced a very healthy looking plant that I fed very little and it ended up great clean flavor

FamMan said:

I was doing the standard, saturated paste, and a some extras. My biggest concern was turn around time and im pretty sure if I overnight it today it will be there by Mon. I would then have results back by Thursday. What other options u thinking? Thank you for your advice.

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Are you able to wait a day or two?

This is going to take some explaining, and some digging through my library for literature that supports the explanation.

I have to leave the house soon, and will be gone most of the day.