# Nute lock due to heave Calcium in water?



## tcbud (Jul 29, 2008)

I thot i was just paranoid, lower leaves turning yellow and browning.  Lack of light....i thot.  Now four days later (since i noticed some yellowing), the large lower leaves are turning yellow, then browning and curling up and FREAKING me out.

i have hard water, i do get scale but not huge amounts.  a water distilation unit is not a real option for me as the plants need so much water.  

I have been reading that to much calcium will harm plants, interacting and causing nutrient lock out.  These plants look  like sulfer difficency as shown in the book i am reading.  Or possible nitrogen deficency, tho some were planted in a heavy mix of mushroom compost.  Those have been a nice dark green untill just these last few days.

i am feeding them fox farm grow big.  Recomended doses once a week.  The plants are in containers so are getting plenty of water.  Could i be washing my nutes out?

To top it all off, i have had smoke instead of sun for the last four weeks.  Massive smoke, the highest marks on the hazardous air charts.  i think i have seen four good sunny days in going on five weeks here.  Could this contribute to the yellowing, the browning, the FREAKING me out?  I wash the plants off every couple days, getting the ash off.

the picture on the left is from the plants that are in heavy mushroom compost.  Till now, been very very dark green. They are not browning yet as bad as the older plants.

the picture on the right, is from the largest and oldest of my plants.  two of them just started flowering.  And a week ago, there were no yellow leaves to speak of on these plants.

im a gonna bumpa this a few times tomarrow.

thanks for your thots or info.

Could it just be the smoke? the calcium water? to much watering and washing out the nutes..tho i have been doing nothing different in the watering department.  These leaves look real real sad.


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## MrPuffAlot (Jul 29, 2008)

Calcium isn't bad for the plants.

if im not mistaken its a immobile trace element.

NE ways..

Calcium buffers the water UP.   So if your water is high on calcium
your PH is probably high.  And is going to need alot of PH down to adjust it.

So your high ph is causing your nute lock, not the calcuim per se


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## Megatron (Jul 29, 2008)

Yeah I hear you on the smoke.. I'm near yah. Plants are being sent into flower cuz of the lack of light, and then being forced back out.  It's probably a mix everything. Flush them out with some clear x or floro clean, pluck off all the bad leaves, and re-nuit them. 
Your PH has got to be going crazy! I'm no outdoor expert  , but I do know when I planted grass (real grass..) I was told to check the PH on the ground and add either ash or limestone powder.. luckily I didn't need to do anything of the sort.


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## tcbud (Jul 29, 2008)

i have a well, i have grown pot before without this problem.  i have tested my water once, last fall, and it was fine, did it with some liquids and matched the color to a chart.
i just realized this last week, that i am not using the fish ferts i was using, they were adding nitrogen mostly.  So that may be it....the last dose of that was a little over a week ago.
thanks guys
and a hail Megatron to you!


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## Ettesun (Jul 29, 2008)

:holysheep:  I didn't realize the smoke is so bad there.  That SUCKS!
I'm keeping some pretty strange hours here the last month with all the girls being up all night.  :giggle: 
They always need my attention and are little brats at times...  :watchplant:

Yes, I can see why you are concerned.  I'm pretty sure the smoke is causing some problems and/or maybe lack of nitrogen.  I'm a firm believer of giving mature flowering girls a shot or two of nitrogen now and then.  Just enough to keep the fan leaves from yellowing.  I like my girls GREEN! 
I doubt if Calcium in your water is doing anything.  
I'd spray them top and bottom with plain old water to rinse off the soot so they can breathe.  I think they have clogged stomata... maybe... lol.
just guessing.  But that's what I would do.  
Good luck and keep in touch.  Ette/Humboldt Honey!  :giggle:


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## papabeach1 (Jul 29, 2008)

co2 can boost and make plant to breath better good air, good water with no chlorine  did you use mineral water?  did you flush it also?   I need know more about what you did to these plants? if its yellow spots, or white spots, check for bugs.. clean it out with baking soda/water mixed to make it neutral then leave it to new nurt., minerial water and clean light  check the lights for dusts. plants can not breath if there is too much dusts  always keep it clean for cleaner air to get plants to breath better


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## Growdude (Jul 29, 2008)

Ash also raises the PH so if it is falling out on the soil the PH of the soil could be way off.
I would do a PH test of the soil.


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## massproducer (Jul 29, 2008)

Your problem is not nitrogen, it is magnesium.  You can tell the difference because nitrogen def, start at the tip and work it way back, yellowing the whole leaf evenly.  Mg def show exactly as your leaves are yellowing edges with green vieans and yellowing starting from the back of the leaf as opposed to the tip.

Calcium prrobably is your culprit as it will lock out Mg in high concentrations.  You will need to get some type of hard water nutes, or a reverse osmosis system or something to treat your water.  For a band aid you can foliar feed a 1/4 tsp of epsom salt per gallon and add 1tsp per gallon to your root zone to make more mg availible, but this will not deal with the actual problem and will really only compound it in the future


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## Hick (Jul 29, 2008)

tcbud said:
			
		

> i have a well, i have grown pot before without this problem.  i have tested my water once, last fall, and it was fine, did it with some liquids and matched the color to a chart.
> i just realized this last week, that i am not using the fish ferts i was using, they were adding nitrogen mostly.  So that may be it....the last dose of that was a little over a week ago.
> thanks guys
> and a hail Megatron to you!


   I'm on a 'hard' well, too. Pretty rich in Ca. It most certainly _will_ lock out nutrients if in too excessive amount. Though I can't tell you exactly what that amount would be. 
  Your ph and ppm can also fluctuate with the water table level, source may change. The ash and smoke could certainly be playing a part, too. 
  It "does" appear to be a defficiency, but "why" maybe still undetermined. "I" would check the runoffs ph next, and go from there.


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## slowmo77 (Jul 29, 2008)

:yeahthat: here some info on mg.

this is from the Old overgrows nutrient disorder link in the resource section here. I DIDN"T WRITE THIS

Magnesium is a component of the chlorophyll molecule and serves as a cofactor in most enzymes. 

Magnesium (Mg) deficiency.

Magnesium deficiency will exhibit a yellowing (which may turn brown) and interveinal chlorosis beginning in the older leaves. The older leaves will be the first to develop interveinal chlorosis. Starting at leaf margin or tip and progressing inward between the veins. Notice how the veins remain somewhat green though as can be seen in figure 15.

Notice how in Figure 16 and 17 the leaves curl upwards like they're praying? They're praying for Mg! The tips may also twist.

This can be quickly resolved by watering with 1 tablespoon Epsom salts/gallon of water. Until you can correct nutrient lockout, try foliar feeding. That way the plants get all the nitrogen and Mg they need. The plants can be foliar feed at ½ teaspoon/quart of Epsom salts (first powdered and dissolved in some hot water). When mixing up soil, use 2 teaspoon dolomite lime per gallon of soil.

If the starting water is above 200 ppm, that is pretty hard water, that will lock out mg with all of the calcium in the water. Either add a 1/4 teaspoon per gallon of epsom salts or lime (both will effectively reduce the lockout or invest into a reverse osmosis water filter.

Mg can get locked-up by too much Ca, Cl or ammonium nitrogen. Don't overdo Mg or you'll lock up other nutrients.


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## tcbud (Jul 29, 2008)

thanks everyone for this helpfull information,
i also have a husband that like to "over water" them.
This is probably also an issue.

-i am gonna try arguing with him bout letting them go three days between watering, and feed every other watering. (temps have not been as high outside, because of he smoke, to dry out the soil as fast as normal)

-Will also try the epson salts, and spray the plants.

-the foliar feeding also sounds like a good thing to do, so i hit the hardware store and get one of those gismos.

-Have been washing the plants down every other day to get the ashes off.

Thanks again everyone.


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