Phosphorus deficiency? I can fix this!

[Alaskan1]

-- UVB is fine, outdoor plants get exposed full time, big time in the Sun, right?
... symptoms are pretty generic right now, hard to make a call based on those,... P defc. is a likely candidate though (red stems are not a the best indicator, too many plants have this as normal color expression).... might be some K, Mg defc.,... first thing to figure out is the in-pot pH. that will determine what to do next... if that's off, it needs correcting first, or matters will worsen, ditto for adding nutes into that situation,.. off pH can lock out certain nutes... if you're lucky, pH will be OK and it's a simple lack-of type defc,... bloom nutes should fix that,.... What you adjust to in solution has nothing to do with what happens once in-pot, too many other influencing factors in play then! Avoid using baking soda as a pH up, too much Na in there, which is toxic at low levels,...
A great tool for in-pot pH is the Accurate 8 soil pH probe-> hsoil:- long probe is the A8,... barring that, it comes down to doing the dubious run-off test; straight r-o is not an accurate measure of in-pot pH! there is an improved method and calculation here in the yellow sticky section above this one,... check it out!

Thanks for the input Waira!
I've done the run-off test in the past, but just got lazy this time around, since my ph always comes out low, and I always end up with a flush then feed anyway. So I just did that. We'll see how she responds. I went with 1/2 strength Tiger Bloom, which needed the vinegar, not the baking soda.
However, my tap water needs adjusted so have used baking soda to adjust my tap water, for straight watering.
I hadn't heard that baking soda can be toxic. What should I be using instead of baking soda?
So the soil probe you mentioned... That sounds super easy. However, I had read they were not accurate, and so should do the run-off test. Do you find the probe is accurate?
Thanks for clarifying if you get a chance.

 

[Waira]

...:smoking: the cheapo skinny probes are useless, the A8 is more robustly built and better made internals,... me and a host of others here will testify to that! It needs to be used properly, and I have some tips as well to get the best readings,....
What's the deal with your tap water needing to be pH'ed up? That is totally unnecessary,... low pH is indicative of softer, low mineral content water which is better by miles that the opposite, high pH/mineral content water,... as a pH up goes, Potassium carbonate will be fine, often found as a powdery mildew treatment,.......and the Bloom nutes needing pH down? Feeds are acidic I have to ask, not be a tool, but are you familiar with how the pH scale works,... these comments run literally the opposite of what would be expected,...
...get me a pH of your water,... are you using a well maintained, recently calibrated pH meter? I'd look into getting a TDS or EC meter too,....

 

[Alaskan1]

Okay...the reality is, when I get a chance to get on this site, I'm home drinking....drinking leads to smoking....and so it goes. Ha! Here's the breakdown. I probably gave incorrect info. Sorry. So my tap water is currently running about 7.42. So no, I don't raise that. But when I take one gallon of tap water, and add to that 1 1/2 t. of Tiger Bloom, plus 1 t. of cal mag, it's running 5.5. So then I add about 1 and 1/2 t. of baking soda to raise it to 6.5. So what shall I add instead of baking soda?
Normally I run FoxFarm Big Bloom, Grow Big, and CalMag during flower, which runs 6.56. But either I inadvertently starved the plant, or it's hungrier than most strains, so I went with Tiger Bloom, which is stronger, and had to adjust the ph up with baking soda.
What are your thoughts? I'm thinking about finishing up this gallon of feed, and going back to the Big Bloom and Grow Big. Thanks for your input. Sorry about the drunk/stoned posts. It's been a long week at work! And it's only freaking Wednesday!
Oh, I'll post another pic of the plant soon. It's looking nicely green and healthier than it was. Nice!
Oh, yes, my meter was just calibrated. See pics above in the thread. I also have a meter to check ppm, but have only used it to check my colloidal sliver when making feminized seeds. If I'm using it for my water/nute mixture, what shall I be looking for?
Hey, your chart above states that the best ph is 6-6.3. I always shoot for 6.5. Thoughts?
Thanks again for your time and input.

 

[Alaskan1]

...:smoking: the cheapo skinny probes are useless, the A8 is more robustly built and better made internals,... me and a host of others here will testify to that! It needs to be used properly, and I have some tips as well to get the best readings,....
What's the deal with your tap water needing to be pH'ed up? That is totally unnecessary,... low pH is indicative of softer, low mineral content water which is better by miles that the opposite, high pH/mineral content water,... as a pH up goes, Potassium carbonate will be fine, often found as a powdery mildew treatment,.......and the Bloom nutes needing pH down? Feeds are acidic I have to ask, not be a tool, but are you familiar with how the pH scale works,... these comments run literally the opposite of what would be expected,...
...get me a pH of your water,... are you using a well maintained, recently calibrated pH meter? I'd look into getting a TDS or EC meter too,....

View attachment 874734

How expensive are those probes? That's a lot easier than testing the runoff.

 

[Waira]

pardon the delay mate, been a freakin' Zoo in here lately!

....I'd look on Amazon under Control Wizard Accurate 8 soil pH and moisture meter,... usually about $50, but may be less expensive if you keep digging,.. see one now for $35!

haaa, business first, then you party down! .... Add Ca-Mg first always, and if you use it every time, cut to half strength since you're using tap water that has some hardness to it already,... it's the CaCO3 that's involved in pH buffering (carbonate only, actually),... then add the rest of the stuff,... Big Bloom is not a true fert' IMO, it's too weak,.. check the NPK#'s, all in the decimals,.. Tiger is the main bloom formula,...
You can use Potassium carbonate as a pH up instead, usually found as a powdery mildew treatment, or just by a pH up product,...
Premixing is okay for a couple days, but past that, it may foul out,... I don't know about the ppm's for the nutes, never played with stuff, and no real need in soil unless there's some sort of struggle with proper dosing,... usually I look at the NPK#'s and that tells me how concentrated the nutes are, and work dilution amounts from that and what the plants are telling me,... it's coco/hydro that EC/ppm is to sweat over,...
^.5 is fine, almost always the pH is going to go too acidic, not alkaline,... gotta be abusing the Ca-mg for that to happen, and/or have brutally hard water,...

 

[Alaskan1]

pardon the delay mate, been a freakin' Zoo in here lately!

....I'd look on Amazon under Control Wizard Accurate 8 soil pH and moisture meter,... usually about $50, but may be less expensive if you keep digging,.. see one now for $35!

haaa, business first, then you party down! .... Add Ca-Mg first always, and if you use it every time, cut to half strength since you're using tap water that has some hardness to it already,... it's the CaCO3 that's involved in pH buffering (carbonate only, actually),... then add the rest of the stuff,... Big Bloom is not a true fert' IMO, it's too weak,.. check the NPK#'s, all in the decimals,.. Tiger is the main bloom formula,...
You can use Potassium carbonate as a pH up instead, usually found as a powdery mildew treatment, or just by a pH up product,...
Premixing is okay for a couple days, but past that, it may foul out,... I don't know about the ppm's for the nutes, never played with stuff, and no real need in soil unless there's some sort of struggle with proper dosing,... usually I look at the NPK#'s and that tells me how concentrated the nutes are, and work dilution amounts from that and what the plants are telling me,... it's coco/hydro that EC/ppm is to sweat over,...
^.5 is fine, almost always the pH is going to go too acidic, not alkaline,... gotta be abusing the Ca-mg for that to happen, and/or have brutally hard water,...

Thanks for the reply! You've been a big help. I'll go grab one of those meters. Thanks!!