Living soil rookie needs help.

Mixing top-dressing with bottom-feeding creates a major issue with Electrical Conductivity (EC) and salt buildup. Bottom-wicking pulls water and minerals upward. As water evaporates at the surface, it leaves behind a crust of concentrated salts. Without regular runoff, unused nutrients accumulate in "dead zones" at the top. The moment you water from the top, you wash that massive wave of salt straight down into the roots, destroying the EC balance across the whole pot. Stick strictly to one delivery method, or plan a mixed approach from day one. If you must top-dress while bottom-feeding, you have to flush with top-watering periodically to manage the salt crust. However, avoiding this mix altogether is highly recommended. When EC is ruined, the osmotic potential in the root zone breaks down, stopping the movement of water. Without proper bulk water flow, the plant loses its photoprotection and ability to take up nutrients. The plant switches from aerobic respiration to anaerobic respiration. Energy production plummets from 38 ATP to just 2 ATP. Growth completely stunts. As water stops moving, the pH skews. The plant relies on evaporation rather than healthy transpiration. It begins pulling mobile nutrients from old growth to feed itself, creating a confusing mix of random deficiencies that look like classic "Cal-Mag" issues or lockouts. The issues here go beyond simple tip burn; the plant is experiencing severe hormonal and meristematic disruption driven by localized pockets of salt. This stress is actively disrupting the plant's phyllotaxis (its natural leaf and branch arrangement). Small, random orange necrotic ruptures under the leaf skin point directly to high salinity messing up the plant's internal waterworks. Organic living soil requires substantially more oxygen in the rhizosphere than synthetic setups. If the soil is too wet, too hot (over 22°C / 72°F), or "too alive," the rapid microbial activity creates excess heat and depletes oxygen. This causes a sharp drop into acidic pH zones, visible as orange burnt tips and yellowing. It is easy to see how much passion and hard work you have put into this plant. Navigating these root zone issues is tough, but getting that watering and salt balance sorted out will get her right back on track for a great harvest. Gluck.