Define overfertilizing?

dustonj2008

dustonj2008

I did my first round of fertilizing this morning to my adolescent peppers (most of which have between 2-4 true sets of leaves). I believe I may have read the measurements wrong on the nute package and gave them a full strength dose instead of half strength. How concerned should I be about one of over application? Is there anything I can do to compensate? What symptoms should I look for when it comes to overfertilizing? Any advice would be appreciated. Thanks!
 
-Josh
 
I agree - flush them with plain water. In addition to brown, curled leaf edges (even looking burned), the "palm" of the leaf may warp.
 
Personally, I think if you mixed the fertilizer to the full strength concentration recommended on the label, then your plants should not be in danger, as long as they are not seedlings (and as long as your fertilizer isnt "super overly potent" to begin with.  They may have more nutrient solution than they can really put to good use, but its not such a high concentration that it will reverse the ion flow through the diffusion gradients in the plants' cells.  (which is what causes nutrient burn).  As others have mentioned, if your find that a plant has been over-fed, you should run fresh water through the soil and over the plant's foliage for a several hours, and take it out from stress like being under the under lights, in the wind, or heat or cold.
 
THE symptom to watcvh out for in extreme over-fertilization will be wilting... the plant will wilt as though the soil had dried out..  (which is actually what is happening, as the water inside the plant is being leached out , while ions are being sucked in because of the process of diffusion.
 
dustonj2008 said:
I did my first round of fertilizing this morning to my adolescent peppers (most of which have between 2-4 true sets of leaves). I believe I may have read the measurements wrong on the nute package and gave them a full strength dose instead of half strength. How concerned should I be about one of over application? Is there anything I can do to compensate? What symptoms should I look for when it comes to overfertilizing? Any advice would be appreciated. Thanks!
 
-Josh
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Don't wait for the symptoms, Flush with lots of water.T
This is where a good ppm meter comes in handy. You can save the flushed water to use later if you want. Waste not,
 
Josh, what did you use, and how much?  :eek:   ;)
 
Well, I suppose the practical definition is "Enough to cause overt problems."  ;)
 
Here's what too much steer poo and 'slow release' ferts in the mix will do...
 
Obvious burned leaves.  I gave this plant a long, slow rinse a while back, running 2+ gallons through the pot.  This seemed to help.  I'll repeat this treatment at the next watering opportunity.
The new leaves are still a bit distressed, but do look better.  I'm pretty sure the plant will 'grow out of it' just fine.
 
Burn1.jpg

 
Burn2.jpg

 
 
A less severe case that is causing curled leaves. (The Baccatums seem more tolerant of this abuse than my Chinense strains.)
(At least they're nice and green!  :D)
 
Burn3.jpg
 
Geonerd, I used my hydro nutes, FloraMicro - FloraGro - FloraBloom, at the "general purpose - mild vegetative" dosage. Which amounts to 1 tsp per gallon from each of the three parts. There is a recommended dosage for seedlings which is 1/4 tsp of each. I only hit the peppers with at least 2-4 sets of true leaves with this nute solution. I am currently in the process of flushing them as we speak.

The possible victims are in 18 oz solo cups. I just finished flushing them pretty good. I have about 2/3 gallon of run off from the flushing. I'm not showing any obvious new signs of stress.
 
Heck, that stuff isn't all that potent.  So long as you don't mix up your teaspoons and tablespoons, I think (always dangerous!) you'd be fine with that dose.
FWIW, my 'standard' fertigation mix is 1 tsp per 2 gal of the dreaded 24-8-16 MG blue crystals. My small plants don't seem to have a problem with this potion which, I think, comes out to be a little stronger than your 3x mix.  
 
That makes me feel a little better then lol. Regardless, they have been flushed so hopefully no harm has been done. Lesson learned though, do not fertilize before coffee...
 
Thanks willard3. I just got my calibration solution for my new meter yesterday. I'll get her calibrated and check the run off tonight. The ladies don't look to be showing any signs of stress as of this morning. Hopefully it stays that way. Thanks everyone for the advise! 
 
-Josh
 
My recommendation is not to fertilize plants until it shows signs of needing it.  People think you must fertilize your plants at a certain stage, i.e. 2-4 sets of true leaves which I believe is bullshit, depending on growing medium.  
 
I'm with the rest tho,  flush em if your not sure.
 
Jamison said:
My recommendation is not to fertilize plants until it shows signs of needing it.  People think you must fertilize your plants at a certain stage, i.e. 2-4 sets of true leaves which I believe is bullshit, depending on growing medium.  
 
I'm with the rest tho,  flush em if your not sure.
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Yep! Growing medium plays an important role on when and how often to feed them.

Neil
 
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