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Is this a nutrient issue?

Doc's plants. 
 
First, the Big Sun Hab.  The flash makes the chlorosis more pronounced.  Note the purple streaks on the leaf veins.  This pic is representative of most of my plants.
 
nGJDNtV.jpg

 
His Butch T.  Again, the flash accentuates the contrast.  Note the purple streaks. 
 
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Another view of the Butch T for scale. 
 
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Wanna know about your water?
 
I've been doing some research on just what is in this tap water since I learned how alkaline it is here.  I found my best information in a place that you might not expect, though it makes perfect sense - the local Home Brewers!

http://www.homebrewtalk.com/



For instance, this posted a year ago:
I received a water analysis report from the city of Dallas. Three different taps were tested. The average for home water supply should be used (as per the provider's instructions). The mean values (pH non-arithmetic mean) are below

pH 8.53

Ca 2+ 43
Mg 2+ 7
Na+ 33
Cl- 38
SO4 2+ 83
Total Hardnes (CaCO3) 135
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Heckle said:
pretty much everyone but you has been right about your plants

we still get lectured every time on why you dont think so
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Dear Heckle,
 
Blow it out your ass.  You seem to think that providing reasons for holding an opinion or position is insulting to you.  Well, go be insulted somewhere else while the grown-ups carry on a conversation.
 
Even though I don't like Heckle, I can agree with him and he has made some great points.
 
You come on here ready to argue. If you don't like the answer given, ignore. You only liked answers that revolved around you. You even chose your own answer as the best one. So I will use your same words...
 
 
 
Blow it out your ass
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Blister said:
I found this when searching for city of Dallas water quality. Seems as though you have pretty decent water quality there.
 
http://dallascityhall.com/departments/waterutilities/DCH%20Documents/2014_WQ_ReportMar30.pdf
  
Neil
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I guess. It doesn't suck, but it does taste funny after Georgia.  Note well what the homebrewers tell you about dissolved minerals that the self-stroking Dallas report doesn't.  It is only concerned about "dangerous contaminates", after all.
 
Central Texas was an ancient sea and much of the underground formations here contain calcium carbonate. (Not as bad as Florida, which is about 100% CaCO3, but still...)  On the eastern seaboard, the mountain states, and I would imagine BC, the underground formations are primarily igneous rock, such as granite.  Much different taste, dissolved minerals, and (I suspect) pH.
 
 
Thus is exhausted my entire body of knowledge of aquifer chemistry, unless you want empirical observation (i.e. tall tales).
 
 

 
ThePepperTrent said:
Even though I don't like Heckle, I can agree with him and he has made some great points.
 
You come on here ready to argue. If you don't like the answer given, ignore. You only liked answers that revolved around you. You even chose your own answer as the best one. So I will use your same words...
 
Click to expand...
 
I came here ready to discuss, and was met by some rather offensive peopls with instant solutions that did not bear on the problem. 
 
Yes, Heckle did provide some good suggestions, and I would thank him for it.  But as soon as I posted why I thought the "iron" diagnosis didn't fit, he got all pissy.  Beyond that, he told me not to reply!  In other words, he isn't interested in a conversation.
 
I took nearly a week to think about his last post, and even though part of me wants to let it go, his "lecturing" comment cannot stand.  He (and apparerently many of the people here) wouldn't know an actual exchange of ideas if it bit them on the ass.  This does not serve THP or the community of pepper growers. 
 
And, btw, I didn't choose my own answer, I chose Doc's.  He doesn't post here (God knows why <= yes, that is snark).  So I could only choose the post that reported his answer. 
 
A slurry test would confirm your math on the pour through pH testing, though I would wait a watering before mixing anything up.
 
If you're interested,
 
1:1 or 1:2 mixture of soil to distilled/RO water by weight or volume. Mix frequently over a 30 minute period, calibrate pH meter and test solution.
 
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First I've heard of a slurry test, and I can see how would be more accurate that the pour-through test.   Thanks for the info.
 
But.  I don't doubt that your diagnosis of low pH restricting nutrient uptake is wrong.  I'm more focused now on how to deal. 
  • Move to larger pots with a larger mass of acidic soil.  Doc will up-pot his.  I really don't have room for more large pots.  This solution does not solve, but rather masks the problem anyway.  I'd like to use the little plants for experiments in how to deal with this alkaline problem in the future. 
  • Acidify the mix.  Basically a solution for next year.
  • Acidify the water.  At the moment I'm adding white vinegar to the water, but I don't see this as a good solution.   White venegar is cheap, but I'd rather a longer-term solution.
  • Apply a soil acidifier.  There are pelletized products that can be used for top dressing.  Haven't really researched them, but it looks like the best fix for this year.
  • Apply the missing nutes.  There's already Fe in the MG AP; just need to acidify.  Doc was out of CalMag.  Or I could use home brew Ca(C2H3O2)2 [whoa!] (Calcium Acetate). 
I'm interested in your suggestions for remediation.
 
Thanks again,
Dennis
 
Personally I just buy a lot of ph down and use normal tap water. I have been thinking though there is a creek not far from me and grabbing a few 5gal buckets might make sense. But I'm pretty lazy so ph down for now it is
 
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This is helpful. It's what I use for my containers...soil less
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vYv9iu2NI3M
 
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Baseman said:
Personally I just buy a lot of ph down and use normal tap water. I have been thinking though there is a creek not far from me and grabbing a few 5gal buckets might make sense. But I'm pretty lazy so ph down for now it is
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The cost for ph Down isn't bad either.  But it is really intended for hydro applications.   It is pretty powerful stuff yett the only way to know the resulting pH of a mix is to buy their kit (which really isn't designed for constant use) or a pH meter ($$).  It is an option, but I'd like to find something better.  [Edit: opinion changed. Bought kit, works good.]
 
Thanks for the suggestion, though.


 
ColdSmoke, that was very interesting, including the second vid how the MG and other urea-base nitrogen ferts aren't suited to hydro.  ('Course, I'm in pots but it is something to consider.)  The only thing missing is a cost comparison which shouldn't be too hard.
 
Still, another vote for pH Down.  Maybe I can do a static measurement for this tap water and get a base dosage.  Hmmm..  Off to talk to Doc.
 
Okay, I made a command decision.  2:1 odds that it was the right one.  :pray:
 
Picked up a pH Down/Up kit to treat the daily waterings.  According to our titrration it should be a little over a tablespoon per 2 gal can to bring it to 6.5.  [Edit: WRONG! Bad memory]  Also got some CalMag that I will start applying weekly.  
 
And I checked the price on some better dirt.  It wasn't as expensive as I'd thought.  I'll try that too once I get low on this MGMC.
 
Thanks, all.  Send your best wishes to my pepper plants, please.
 
DMF said:
  I rented this place because it has a southern exposure above the trees.  But I rented when the sun was low and didn't realize that at the solstice the balcony is in full shade.  (And only my balcony.  Most of the others on this side of the building get good sun.)  Now that the solstice has passed the big pots along the railing get up to 3 hours of sun, which time will improve as the year goes on. 
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Your electric bill is loving the shade! :dance:
 
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When it's 106oF outside air temp :hot: it's hard to tell.  Even though I keep it 85oF in here the A/C runs a lot.
 
But yeah, at least I'm not getting sun reflected off the balcony floor.  Still, I would rather pay a few more $$ and have some food for the children.
 
Just to follow up, here are the results.  I bought the pHDown/Up kit with the tester.  Data from the static titration was wrong (probably due to my poor memory).  3-4 ml will bring 2 gal of this water within range.  I have do it up to three times a day in this heat, but no big deal.  No need to check the pH unless I'm fertilizing or using CalMag (which itself has an affect on pH). 
 
But the RESULT is that the plants are back to normal.  The larger Butch Ts and Big Suns that showed the worst symptoms still have the striped leaves, but all the new growth is back to a nice deep green.
 
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