feeding plants

[slo-han]

Hey folks - I've been feeding my girls nothing but tiger bloom and have noticed they are not real green - they seem to be needing nitrogen. I have some in the ground and some in buckets and all are a pale green. Got any suggestions?

[Anthony C]

I use ammonium nitrate for general nitrogen to the roots, and I use urea if I am foliar feeding (urea can be used in the soil too, though). You can usually find urea at some garden-supply centers, and the ammonium nitrate is next to impossible to buy for the average grower, but for small amounts (like we need), those "instant cold packs" from almost any pharmacy section of any store are made of ammonium nitrate and water. I usually find them for a dollar or two at dollar stores. Walgreens and such are good too. Or sports-supply stores are another place.

You just cut them open, and the pellets are the ammonium nitrate (the other pack inside is water). I don't think I've ever weighed it, but I would guess there is an ounce or two of ammonium nitrate in each cold pack. I think they sell some that are a different ammonium salt (ammonium sulfate or something), so just check the label... they usually say what is in it. Ammonium nitrate are the ones you want.

I would try the ammonium nitrate to the roots first. 1 gram of ammonium nitrate in 1 gallon of water will give you about a 90ppm solution of nitrogen. I would start with that, and give about 1 cup/8oz of this solution per gallon of media. For the ones in the ground I would give maybe a quart. It's hard to give exact amounts without any kind of testing or anything. This is a pretty mild solution though, so it shouldn't give you any problems with too much nitrogen. I would give this and wait a few days to see how it works. I would probably wait about a week before giving any more if it looks like they still need it... but this really depends on how much water they get (especially the outdoor ones with rain).

As a note, only buy one or two at a time or people will think you are manufacturing methamphetamine. Just a heads up.

I wish I could be more specific, but I hope this helps.

[slo-han]

Thanks Anthony, been years for me so I'm catching up here. I have ample amounts of nitrogen but have never seen this color of green. All are in flower mode and I understand that the plant will eat the energy from the leaves. I've always been under the impression that you don't feed nitrogen while flowering but..............pale green speaks of it so.............I have some petersons and will do a weak dose and see what happens. Nitrogen sulfate is a controlled substance and I don't want to go there - we used to blow stumps out of the ground with it so.............. slo

[Anthony C]

Yeah, to be honest I haven't grown much in the last year or so too, so I am catching back up too. I grow other plants all year long, but haven't had much time for the fun stuff lately. I decided it was time to make time.

I always hear about not feeding nitrogen during flower too, but I'm like you: If it needs it, it needs it. And if you don't feed it to her, she will let you now she isn't happy about it.

I don't know the exact classification of AN, but I know ever since it was used in the ANFO that was used for the Oklahoma City bombing it has been hard to get. It is an excellent nitrogen-source, and I can get it in cold packs, so I use it. I'm sure there is some regulation concerning "any use other than as intended", but where I live I am more concerned about the plant than the fertilizer.

I hope you get your plants figured out. It's kind of weird that you say you have plenty, but still have deficiency symptoms. There are so many things that happen to chemicals in soil. And then each thing that happens causes other things to happen... it makes it almost impossible to know exactly what is going on down there. I actually met a guy with a PhD in soil chemistry. It blew my mind that an entire PhD could be based on just soil chemistry.

[pitviper]

Hey folks - I've been feeding my girls nothing but tiger bloom and have noticed they are not real green - they seem to be needing nitrogen. I have some in the ground and some in buckets and all are a pale green. Got any suggestions?

have you added any magnesium or a cal-mag to the feed? Adding nitrogen now in bloom will stall the flower cycle and possibly diminish the yield potential.

[slo-han]

Well, I already fed them - a weak dose - had all the neuts sorted out I thought, but soil does leach so will have to see what up. I was under the impression that tiger bloom had what was needed? Gave them a flush last night and noticed just a few that look weak/pale in color. Will try some pit and see......slo

[Anthony C]

Have you grown these plants before? Maybe this is a normal color for them?

I don't mean any disrespect to you, pitviper, but we can sit here all day giving you ideas for what your plants need, and still not be right. I think the best thing is to either flush and re-fertilize (assuming pH is in correct range) or (in the case of in-the-ground plants), give the most obvious nutrients first. And giving a weak dose is, I think, the best idea since they are in flower and you don't need any additional problems. This is obvious not the ideal solution, but soil growing causes so many more possibilities for nutrient interactions than hydroponics (because of soil microbes and lack of environmental control... at least outdoors) that it is hard to pinpoint the cause of problems a lot of the time.

Good luck with your plants.

[pitviper]

Well, I already fed them - a weak dose - had all the neuts sorted out I thought, but soil does leach so will have to see what up. I was under the impression that tiger bloom had what was needed? Gave them a flush last night and noticed just a few that look weak/pale in color. Will try some pit and see......slo

look this article over Slo,this is more in the form of a solution than an "Idea"

Fixing Magnesium Deficiency in Plants: How Magnesium Affects Plant Growth

By Susan Patterson, Master Gardener
Technically, magnesium is a metallic chemical element which is vital for human and plant life. Magnesium is one of thirteen mineral nutrients that come from soil and when dissolved in water, is absorbed through the plant’s roots. Sometimes there are not enough mineral nutrients in soil, and it is necessary to fertilize in order to replenish these elements and provide additional magnesium for plants.
How Do Plants Use Magnesium?
Magnesium is the powerhouse behind photosynthesis in plants ^[1]. Without magnesium, chlorophyll cannot capture sun energy that is needed for photosynthesis to occur. In short, magnesium is required to give leaves their green color. Magnesium in plants is located in the enzymes, in the heart of the chlorophyll molecule. Magnesium is also used by plants for the metabolism of carbohydrates and in the cell membrane stabilization.

Magnesium Deficiency in Plants
The role of magnesium is vital to plant growth and health. Magnesium deficiency in plants is common where soil is not rich in organic matter or is very light.
Heavy rains can cause a deficiency to occur by leaching magnesium out of sandy or acidic soil. In addition, if soil contains high amounts of potassium ^[2], plants may absorb this instead of magnesium, leading to a deficiency.
Plants that are suffering from a lack of magnesium will display identifiable characteristics. Magnesium deficiency appears on older leaves first as they become yellow between the veins and around the edges. Purple, red or brown may also appear on the leaves. Eventually, if left unchecked, the leaf and the plant will die.

Providing Magnesium for Plants
Providing magnesium for plants begins with annual applications of rich, organic compost. Compost ^[3] conserves moisture and helps keep nutrients form leaching out during heavy rainfall. Organic compost is also rich in magnesium and will provide an abundant source for plants.
Chemical leaf sprays are also used as a temporary solution to provide magnesium.
Some people have also found success with using Epsom salts ^[4] in the garden to help plants take up nutrients easier and improve magnesium deficient soil.

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Article printed from Gardening Know How: http://www.gardeningknowhow.com
URL to article: http://www.gardeningknowhow.com/gard...deficiency.htm

[slo-han]

Thanks for the read pit, and thanks Anthony for your thoughts as well. What I did was get some sea weed and added tiger bloom, I also added a bit of back strap molasses. I watered and then checked ph, some were 6.8 and some were 6.9. adding this to the plant has changed the color of most to a deeper green but some are hanging out in the lite green kind of color. I'm growing different strains and each seems to hold it's color? Things are a lot different since the days of chicken shit dolomite sawdust and dirt - things were easier when I went to school up hill both ways - slo

[pitviper]

Blackstrap is a good source of secondary micro nutrient,it can be used through the entire growing cycle,and it contains everything plants need to finish.
"Nutrients,minerals,elements found in Blackstrap Molasses"
(It contains iron, calcium, copper, manganes, magnesium, selenium and B6.)
glad knowing you're getting it sorted out.
happy harvest.

[dc420]

Jack's citrus feed is 20-10-20 and you can use it the whole grow. its not expensive. You will have excellent results using that. Also add some gysum sulfur to the soil mix. i also add egg shells into the soil mix. THen i use molasses every 2 weeks after week 4 of veg then every week in flower.