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New Growth Yellow and Wrinkled

ColdSmoke

Extreme Member
What's going on here. They are yellow Brain Strain. Last fertilized 10 days ago with the general organics line-up per their feeding recommendation. Potting mix: consists of approximately 55% fine dark fir, 30% Garden Mulch, and 5% each of pumice, sand and Mushroom Compost.
 
 
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temps range from 60-80 daytime and 43-55 at night.
 
haven't tested pH. I need to get a test kit. 
 
ColdSmoke said:
temps range from 60-80 daytime and 43-55 at night.
 
haven't tested pH. I need to get a test kit. 
 
Ah, my guess at this point would deffo be the cold then, and in which case, she should come good when it warms up a bit. :)
 
That's not to rule out pH or other issues, though.....
 
gasificada said:
 
Ah, my guess at this point would deffo be the cold then, and in which case, she should come good when it warms up a bit. :)
 
That's not to rule out pH or other issues, though.....
 
Actually now that I look...it's been a low of 50 at night. Almost never in the 40s. Still think weather?
 
ColdSmoke said:
Actually now that I look...it's been a low of 50 at night. Almost never in the 40s. Still think weather?
 
Ya, 50ºF is still pretty low. Not low enough to kill a capsicum plant (frost is the killer) but low enough to make it a little unhappy. Again, that's just my guess, though....
 
Especially for plants that young, over-watering is the greatest cause of yellowing. You say you're watering "when they need it" - how do you know? It's easiest to tell if the leaves droop just a tad. But if you're growing in pots, you can tell by the diminished weight of the pot if you lift it a tad. Not sure from your pics, but ground or pots?
 
seven gallon containers and no way they have been over watered. 
 
the thing is...if it were the climate than they would have been like this all along, but this is a new development over the last ten days or so. 
 
40-60 is just fine and shouldn't cause that... Looks more like nitrogen / nuts defficincy. If they have been there 4 weeks I would throw mutes at them..
 
Temperatures in the 40-60 range can most certainly cause such an issue, especially in the seedling stage, and especially if the seedling is being watered with cold water (e.g. cold rain?). Cold water causes shock to the plant (think jumping into a cold shower or pool) and affects nutrient uptake.
 
Those temps are typical of our winter here where I am and it's not unusual to see seedlings turning yellow during this time. Those I keep warm do well, those I am not so careful with always suffer a little. The ones that suffer generally turn good when temps improve (either as a result of season change or through my own efforts to improve conditions). Warmer weather starts I never see an identical issue with.
 
Again, not saying temps are the cause but it is certainly a possibility.
 
40-60 is just fine and shouldn't cause that... Looks more like nitrogen / nuts defficincy. If they have been there 4 weeks I would throw mutes at them..
Agreed. With all that fir bark it sounds like you've made a personalized version of the 5-1-1 mix. I'd try a low dose of nutes with your next watering. If things green up continue with the low dose regularly.

How is the water retention with all that compost/mulch in there? Do you get a perched water table in the bottom if you flood the pots completely? My bark mix seems to be impossible to overwater but it's a bit different from yours.

Sweet score on the fir bark.
 
AaronRiot said:
Agreed. With all that fir bark it sounds like you've made a personalized version of the 5-1-1 mix. I'd try a low dose of nutes with your next watering. If things green up continue with the low dose regularly. How is the water retention with all that compost/mulch in there? Do you get a perched water table in the bottom if you flood the pots completely? My bark mix seems to be impossible to overwater but it's a bit different from yours. Sweet score on the fir bark.
 
I have a tea brewing that will be ready for tomorrow so I'll see what that does.
 
Water retention is excellent. Although we haven't had any real hot weather to test it. Not sure I understand the perched water table question. 
 
Basically, if you were to really soak the pot, would the water drain out completely leaving only wet bark/mulch/compost, or would you find that the bottom few inches still full of water "perched" because the force of it sticking to the small particulate and itself is stronger than the force of gravity pulling it down? Just asking because you're using a lot of bark, which may mean very good drainage due to it's large particulate size (water can't hold or "perch" itself up with larger bits -- they get coated, soaked, and gravity pulls down the rest, consequently pulling air down and preventing wet feet). If this is the case, I doubt you could be over-watering it. However if it does hold a lot of water your plants could very easily be over-watered, which from my very limited experience is extremely easy to do.  
 
Looks like a magnesium deficiency, or maybe even nitrogen. Magnesium is essential for the green part of chlorophyll, as the very color in it requires an ion of magnesium to be green.  Some cheap epsom salts might correct this. I am also gauging the other leaves which seems a little yellow then they should be, even for its age. Also although others may disagree with me, I am not a fan of using bark or other types of wood chips, branches or similar in a soil mix. Reason being that they can drain the soil of nitrogen, because they take a long long time to break down and compost. Some pieces can take years to breakdown. This composting action requires nitrogen and can rob the plant. One good rule of thumb is to avoid any thick pieces of wood or branches because of this reason. I have had lots of failures growing with too much un-composted woody material. I avoid anything that takes a significant period of time to breakdown, and that generally speaking is pieces of wood. If its been composted already and breaks easily in your hand into fine particles, its okay. If it remains hard, throw it out.
 
AaronRiot said:
Basically, if you were to really soak the pot, would the water drain out completely leaving only wet bark/mulch/compost, or would you find that the bottom few inches still full of water "perched" because the force of it sticking to the small particulate and itself is stronger than the force of gravity pulling it down? Just asking because you're using a lot of bark, which may mean very good drainage due to it's large particulate size (water can't hold or "perch" itself up with larger bits -- they get coated, soaked, and gravity pulls down the rest, consequently pulling air down and preventing wet feet). If this is the case, I doubt you could be over-watering it. However if it does hold a lot of water your plants could very easily be over-watered, which from my very limited experience is extremely easy to do.  
 
Excellent explanation!
 
I really doubt there is perched water; most my containers are fabric. And, if anything I will have issues with them drying out too fast. It has been raining non-stop for a couple days but plants looked like this before this rain fall. 
 
 
AaronTT said:
Looks like a magnesium deficiency, or maybe even nitrogen. Magnesium is essential for the green part of chlorophyll, as the very color in it requires an ion of magnesium to be green.  Some cheap epsom salts might correct this. I am also gauging the other leaves which seems a little yellow then they should be, even for its age. Also although others may disagree with me, I am not a fan of using bark or other types of wood chips, branches or similar in a soil mix. Reason being that they can drain the soil of nitrogen, because they take a long long time to break down and compost. Some pieces can take years to breakdown. This composting action requires nitrogen and can rob the plant. One good rule of thumb is to avoid any thick pieces of wood or branches because of this reason. I have had lots of failures growing with too much un-composted woody material. I avoid anything that takes a significant period of time to breakdown, and that generally speaking is pieces of wood. If its been composted already and breaks easily in your hand into fine particles, its okay. If it remains hard, throw it out.
 
Great information here too!
 
It is a pretty fine mix. The place I got it from actually calls it "fine dark fir", but I will give it a shot of bio thrive just in case there is a nitrogen shortage. I also plan on using some epsom salt with my next watering. 
 
Thanks fellas!
 
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