Indoor Leaves yellowing at margins. Tips dying. LOS organics

[JS550Fan]

I am experiencing my first major problem with my organically grown plants.

This is a NY Diesel Auto that was a freebie from Seedsman.com growing in a 7G fabric bag with my own mix of LOS. She is the first plant I've grown in my mix, but I've run a couple of other, fully organic autos with some success.

She's been slow to progress, but a vigorous grower. After I topped my previous two organic autos and (I think) stunted them, I said I wouldn't top this one.
She's in day 63 now, she started flowering on day 44. She's the tallest auto I've grown so far, I've got my light height just about maxed out, and did end up needing to top the Diesel very late in her veg, and have since also applied more LST.

Very recently, she's stated to have tip burn and yellowing at the margins, with some leaves progressing to fall off. I'm also seeing some grainy, small brown spots that may be calcium deficiency.

With my soil + amendments, it may possibly be running too hot. Or it could be salt buildup. I'm using well water with ppms around 225 (EC 0.3). I've used 100% tap water for a few other fully organic plants with few issues, it they were all smaller and faster than this girl.

Or, am I looking at a P def., with flowering being in the second week and bud production ramping up? This is definitely the largest, most stacked auto I've grown yet, and it's my first in this mix of my soil, so maybe the soil just doesn't have the legs needed to get this one to finish.

I've top dressed with EWC, neem, alfalfa, and water occasionally with fish hydrolysate or molasses. I've also, as of the last watering, added CalMag and gave a CalMag foliar feeding last night.

I think next maybe I should flush with some RO water.

She's got a way to go yet, and if she doesn't crash, she's going to give me a lot of joy!

 

[JS550Fan]

Problem: Lower to mid sets of leaves yellowing/dying brown tops, yellowing at margins, leaves eventually dying and falling off (lower leaves)
Medium/grow method: Custom Living Organic Soil. Reused soil, added perlite, gypsum, Dolomite Lime, rock phosphate, azomite, kelp, alfalfa, neem, oyster shells, crab and lobster shell meal... What did I forget?
Feed: organic top dressings / organic tomato fertilizer recently
water source: Well water EC 0.3
Strain/age: NY Diesel Auto from Seedsman on day 63
light used: 2x HLG QBv1 @150-220 watts, typically
Climate: 70-85 deg F, 45-65% RH

 

[Arthur]

What does your soil pH at?

 

[Arthur]

It looks like P to me, but is it a deficiency? Or an issue with ph being out of range in your soil?

What did you originally make the soil to pH out at?

 

[JS550Fan]

Thank you for the responses. To be honest, I never tested the pH of the soil, runoff, or even my water source! I took everything for granted, and things just worked.

I think I'm seeing a potassium (K) deficiency, but of course it could be locked out! I saw a description of K def. that said the girl may be too tall, and this girl sure is! I'm going to learn more about K today.

I will be conducting pH testing today. Unfortunately, I couldn't source any distilled water yesterday. Living in the boonies makes it difficult sometimes.

I did test my water source (well water) yesterday and say a pH of 6.25 and an EC of 0.3 - so that should be adequate, if not preferable.

I will flush today, as best as I can, and test runoff pH, and soil slurry pH. I'll also prepare pH balanced wood ashes/banana peel mix for tipping off the watering after leaching some stuff out.

It feels odd to be flushing these soils, as usually that's avoided when growing with organics! Still, I think I may have overdone it with the top dressings lately, and I need to eliminate that as a possibility.

I need to help this girl grow those buds!

 

[Arthur]

The medium pH is as, if not more important than what your watering with... if your soil is at lets say 4. And you water at 6.5, in the root zone your somewhere to the lower side of 5.

All the amendments you use change the pH of the mix, the final step before planting is to pH and adjust the soil.

Am betting you've got a wild pH going on.


Mediums need to be pHd prior to grows. Homemade or store bought.

 

[JS550Fan]

I had a soil culture that I took a couple of days ago and I checked it out. Seeing good activity of bacteria, amoeba, ciliates, and some nematodes. Also seeing some good fungal hyphae. So I know the life is in there. Now to check my soil.

 

[JS550Fan]

The medium pH is as, if not more important than what your watering with... if your soil is at lets say 4. And you water at 6.5, in the root zone your somewhere to the lower side of 5.

All the amendments you use change the pH of the mix, the final step before planting is to pH and adjust the soil.

Am betting you've got a wild pH going on.


Mediums need to be pHd prior to grows. Homemade or store bought.

For sure, my friend. I am remiss in not checking it. I followed a soil recipe, more or less, and had too much confidence as a result.
Shortly, I'm going to check that pH, and we will see where I am at!

Edit - I do have another plant in my soil mix that is doing well. It's a clone of a Sky Dweller which I outside and doing well. But that hasn't been growing quite as long, and is just beginning to flower.

In fact, I'm sure I've used it elsewhere too, I'll have to check my notes. In any case, we should have an idea soon...

 

[Arthur]

I tested a bag of OF (the last bag of theirs I bought) it was 5.6 in the sack... after the run ins I've experienced with poor medium quality, everything gets tested. Sometimes with a second meter.

What soil recipe? (Curiosity)

 

[JS550Fan]

The recipe is an amalgamation of several recipes, though I've tried to balance acidic and basic inputs, by type and volume. Here it is in its entirety :

Base is recycled/washed OF+some Coast Of Maine Stonington Blend, COM Lobster Compost (my pile is just now getting going), perlite and EWC
With the following additions:
1.5c Kelp Meal
1c Neem meal
1c Bone Meal
1/2c Blood Meal
1c Alfalfa meal
1c Crushed Oyster shells
1c Azomite
1c Rock Phosphate
1c Crab and Lobster Shell Plant Food
1c Dolomite Lime
1c Gypsum

These are total additions. I feel like I may have actually been a bit light on some of those amounts, not to mention that I often cut the mix with some HF at planting. Obviously, I'm still getting this all worked out.

Thanks again for the feedback, I'll be back around with more info.