Feeding and PH levels in PM supreme soil

[Guggsy 104]

Hello people. 

 

I have a question. I am growing this year 3x blue cheese autos and 3x Northern Lights autos, and 1x Royal Gorilla Auto. Which I started Apr 17th. They are all coming into flowering now. 

 

Started off with PM soil grow, and now moved onto PM Soil Bloom. giving 4ml per 7l of water and feeding each plant around 3 litres. Growing in my usual 11L pots with PM supreme soil.

 

I use regular tap water which has a PH of 7.6-7.7

 

I have heard that if you grow in soil I don't need to worry about PH levels. as the soil should bring PH levels down. is this true? If it isn't true what is the easiest way to bring down PH levels. Might be a little to late now though.

 

If it is then why are my fan leaves turning yellow and drying up. bottom upwards.

 

I am also feeding each time I water them, as the soil is very dry by the 3rd day. Someone mentioned and I have read to feed them each time I water them.

 

I haven't used any calmag this year as I have also read that, if you live in a hard water area which I do, then there is no need for calmag, as the water contains enough minerals in it already

 

[Shumroom 20,979]

No need to mess with the pH when growing in canna specific compost like PM or Biobizz etc. 

 

Compost mixes contain lime, 

which helps to buffer the pH. 

 

 

As for the leaves going yellow from the bottom, 

this is usually a sign of not getting enough of a mobile nutrient N P K Mg. 

 

So an increase in feed levels is probably required. 

 

 

Careful not to let the compost to dry out too much in between watering. 

 

 

Do you or don't you need Cal-Mag isn't as straightforward as soft water requires and hard water doesn't. 

 

It's more about the ratio of Ca to Mg, 

some hard water might not contain enough Magnesium. 

 

Try having a look at your water company's website to see if they provide this information, 

some are better at this than others. 

 

Ideally you want 3:1 Ca:Mg

 

 

Start a grow diary, 

you'll get plenty of help along the way. 

 

Plus it's a great way to improve things. 

 

Atb 

 

 

[MindSoup 21,679]

13 hours ago, Shumroom said:

It's more about the ratio of Ca to Mg, 

some hard water might not contain enough Magnesium

 

If the ratio is off then adding more of both won't balance things out. From what I gather with hard water you'll pretty much always have too much cal/not enough mag, so epsom salts or mono mag is the solution. 

[Guggsy 104]

@Shumroom @MindSoup I know as the plants start to flower the larger fan leaves start to die off as the plant is putting all it's energy in to the buds. The weird thing is only 1 of my northern lights has more leaves dying of than the others and is the shortest compared to the other 2 northern light plants. the leaves are starting to go on the others, but not as badly. I'll try and get some pictures on here later today. I have been treating all the plants exactly the same. same feed and feeding times. I did check Cambridge water website as @shumroom suggested to see cal/mag ratio but didn't really know how to interpret them. If I was to start dosing cal/mag and considering I am already feeding 4ml per 1L of PM soil bloom, and should I use it with each feeding. I am trying to keep it as simple as possible, and not trying at add to many different chemicals. 

 

Also the weird thing is I have taken other people suggestions and feed each time I water, but I don't know why but the soil is becoming very dry after 3 days. never seen soil dry out this quick before. usually 4-5 days 

[Shumroom 20,979]

If you can't find the information from your water suppliers, 

Growers Ark and @One Tree Horticulture both do water testing.

 

Another option would be to email the water company asking for an analysis of the local water "because you are looking at getting some expensive fish". 

So you'd like to know what the makeup is. 

 

Without knowing more about the levels of Ca and Mg etc it's a crap shoot. 

 

Atb 

 

 

[ukbudz 2,501]

38 minutes ago, Guggsy said:

I know as the plants start to flower the larger fan leaves start to die off as the plant is putting all it's energy in to the buds.

This definitely isn't the norm mate, a well grown plant should have it's large fans green and healthy till the flush. 

 

Also any advice offered will be complete guess work without any pics for people to help diagnose your problem. 

 

As for the soil drying out so quick it's either a) the plant has rooted its pot out which is what you want or b) there not getting a good enough soaking between feeds. 

[ratdog 110,307]

15 hours ago, Guggsy said:

giving 4ml per 7l

 

 

is that a typo?

[Guggsy 104]

@ratdog Yes it is 4ml per 1L i have a  7L watering can

[Shumroom 20,979]

This should help  

 

Atb

 

 

[Guggsy 104]

Last pic is royal gorilla and going backwards Northern Lights, Blue cheese, Northern lights, blue cheese, northern lights, blue cheese. Hope this helps. As I said these where planted from seed Apr 17th. Also after these pics where taken, I did give them a good soaking with normal tap water from a hose.

@Shumroom @ukbudz @mindsoup @ratdog

[ukbudz 2,501]

@Guggsy they just look thirsty and hungry to me mate. Yellowing from the bottom up is a sign of a lack of nitrogen as they rob old growth of it for new growth.

 

I'd Give them a one off feed of 3ml per litre of grow and then whack them onto 2ml per litre of bloom till the flush, they'll never be perfect now but they'll still produce some nice buds for you. 

 

Also get some saucers under them to catch the feed as if they're bone dry it'll just piss out the sides and not soak the compost completely. 

[se7en 7,073]

Second that. A bit of grow or fish mix. Also they seem to be thirsty. Water until run off let the run off stay in atrys for a bit. 

[ratdog 110,307]

they look like they have a way to go, i would add 1-2ml of grow every feed with your feeding schedule for now

Edited June 24, 2022 by ratdog

[Guggsy 104]

@ratdog @se7en @ukbudz I was feeding them grow as well, 1ml per litre and 3ml per Litre bloom, only my last feed was all bloom 4ml per Litre. I used to use saucers , but I didn't want them sitting in water, so I thought take away saucers and let the water just dissipate. I have given the soil a good soaking today, as I will feed again tomorrow. Last feed was Wednesday. After giving them a good soak they perked up. I also removed the crispy leaves, on the one that had the most. I was worried over watering them. I was just shocked how quickly the soil was growing dry. I'll see how long the soil remains damp now. usually it would be going dry by tomorrow. But I think that was down to not enough and also pissing out around the sides where the soil was coming away from pot

[ratdog 110,307]

9 minutes ago, Guggsy said:

and also pissing out around the sides where the soil was coming away from pot

 

 

yeah mate, use a tray and let them sit in it for 10 mins or so until they stop sucking up the feed, i would go for 2ml grow and 3ml bloom then see how they are after a week or so, if the tips start to burn ease back