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Rust spots + taco leaves after adding PK bloom nutes ?

HappySl4ppy
HappySl4ppystarted grow question 1d ago
Growing in coco, fertilizing @6PH 1000ppm to 20% run-off every time. Run off is 5.8PH and 800ppm. Started adding a PK bloom nute, first half dose, and after I increased it to full dose I started noticing these rust spots on the leaves. Does this look like calcium lockout stress?
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Organoman
Organomananswered grow question 9h ago
Calcium and magnesium deficiencies.
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00110001001001111O
00110001001001111Oanswered grow question 19h ago
More is not better with fertilzier. The 'right' amount is what you need... The whole idea of PK bosters and blasting the plant with tons of 'anything' at a particular point in time is a bunch of unproven hypotheses and bro-science. Studies show anything more than 190ppm of K,for example, doesn't increase inflourescent yield and doesn't impact potency. Somewhere aroudn 40-60ppm of P is all that is ever needed either. These 2 molecules don't enter the roots through diffusion. 60-70% enters through active transport for these particualr nutrients molecules. this means there is some sort of feedback loop in the plant that controls the intake. You merely have to make sure it is 'available' and not impeded by the concentrations of other molecules, i.e. balance in the feed. if not providing 100+ ppm of calcium, you need to increase that. your local tap water may cause some variance but won't be a huge difference. Might need 20-30ppm more than someone with hard water, for example. If you provide roughly that already, it's a sign something else is too high and inhibiting Ca. there's 'enouigh' Ca, but something is cock-blocking it. In vege i'd recommend something similar to this as a starting point and minimal adjustments based on observing and reacting to plant growth to fine-tune it... N 120-130 P 40-60 K 190ish Ca 100+ Mg 75ish S 100+ And i bloom reduce N to 80-100 by the first week or so. This will take a little trial and error on timing based on what you see 5-6 weeks later in flower phase.. are the leaves getting dark and glossy? reduce sooner next time. This is a fairly low concentration for soiless/hydro context. If you have a pale plant while using this in vege, increase across the board 10% and re-assess. Always easier to add than take away as the plant has no excretion system. You are just as likely inhibiting Ca as not providing enough of it.. so being more informed about the exact details will help you choose the right path. You'd have to consult "Mulder's chart" but i believe both P and K have an antagonistic relationship with Ca, meaning they can inhibit Ca uptake if P and K are needlessly boosted. these are relationships you cannot easily see just observing a plant. This is generational knowledge you should take advantage of and trust over anecdotal nonsense, aka "bro-science." A bunch of uneducated, faux-experts have inundated this hobby with a bunch of science-y nonsesne, while not able to appreciate the fruits of the scientific method if it slapped them in the face with their own cocks. Repeat nonsense enough and it becomes "truth." lol. Start taking more of a bottom-up approach. It's much safer to ramp-up than deal with ramping down. Since there is no excretion system, anything overfed takes time to use up. Tehre's no 'flushing it out of the plant" ... you can only reduce rate of provision and wait for the plant to use up excess.. which does not preclude damage in the meantime. On the other hand, reacting to a slight udnerfeed is a simple fix and in soilless/hydro the impact is immediate. you can stick to 10% runoff, but erring on high side is fine too. a 6.0pH might help with Ca availability too. No reason to push down to 5.8 as it just makes calcium less available. If it drifts any lower, you will definitely lock it out, so there is more room for error at 6.0. I doubt you will be able to see any difference in yield or growth with this adjustment, so why not make it easier on yourself?
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Ninjabuds
Ninjabudsanswered grow question 21h ago
To much p and k to early either burns from that or some type of lockout from to minor them I’d just flush the soil with a few gallons of two water next time you water and go back to reg seedling after that time You might see it get worse for a day or so after you water again just cause it might mix up all that stuff again but should wash out a decent amount I have had similar problems when I used Fox farms cultivation nations bloom bottle
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TruTraTri
TruTraTrianswered grow question 1d ago
Yes, this looks like a calcium uptake issue triggered by the PK bloom nutes. High phosphorus can interfere with calcium availability in coco, especially when pH dips below 6.0 in runoff. Your input pH is fine, but that 5.8 runoff suggests a downward drift. Taco leaves also suggest mild heat or VPD stress stacking on top. Dial the PK back slightly, raise your pH closer to 6.2–6.3 for a few feeds, and consider adding CalMag separately to rebalance.
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