water How to correct overwatering/overfertilizing?

[FiveStar]

Hello plant gurus! I've got a quick question to ask. I've got some starts going, as some may have seen in my un-updated grow log. I had some leafspots show up on a few early on, and isolated those plants, after plucking the symptomatic leaves. The rest I continued to care for lovingly, watering once a week with 1 tablespoon per gallon of neptune's harvest fish emulsion, alternated with the same dosage of neptune's harvest seweed.

Long story short, those plants that I continued to water and care for regularly are now yellowing, some showing purplish or brown spots, and others with purple veins (this is not from light, this is definitely different!)

The plants I neglected and only watered when they started to wilt look BEAUTIFUL. They've not had one dose of fertilizer since they were seedlings, and are lush and green, with nice big leaves.

I pulled a few of the yellowing plants out of their pots to look at the roots, and they were slightly brown/tan in color. Looks like wet feet/root rot.

Any suggestions as to how to rectify this problem? I have one of each variety that still look good, so if they don't make it, I will be fine for the season. I startedway too many plants, and kept them to give away to friends.

Any help will be greatly appreciated!

Cheers,

FiveStar

 

[RichardK]

Hello plant gurus! I've got a quick question to ask. I've got some starts going, as some may have seen in my un-updated grow log. I had some leafspots show up on a few early on, and isolated those plants, after plucking the symptomatic leaves. The rest I continued to care for lovingly, watering once a week with 1 tablespoon per gallon of neptune's harvest fish emulsion, alternated with the same dosage of neptune's harvest seweed.

Long story short, those plants that I continued to water and care for regularly are now yellowing, some showing purplish or brown spots, and others with purple veins (this is not from light, this is definitely different!)

The plants I neglected and only watered when they started to wilt look BEAUTIFUL. They've not had one dose of fertilizer since they were seedlings, and are lush and green, with nice big leaves.

I pulled a few of the yellowing plants out of their pots to look at the roots, and they were slightly brown/tan in color. Looks like wet feet/root rot.

Any suggestions as to how to rectify this problem? I have one of each variety that still look good, so if they don't make it, I will be fine for the season. I startedway too many plants, and kept them to give away to friends.

Any help will be greatly appreciated!

Cheers,

FiveStar

Over fertilizing can be corrected by flushing the pots a few times with water, so that the water drains out the bottom. Once you flush the pots, DO NOT water them again untill they begin to wilt.

If you have root-rot from over watering, you can take a Tablespoon of normal hydrogen peroxide per gallon of water to supply oxygen to the roots, this wont reverse the damage but should stop or at least slow the problem.

Hope that helps!

 

[Pepperfreak]

You can always try flushing the plant. This will sound weird and maybe even frightful, but it works.

Take the infected plant and water it until water begins pouring out of the bottom holes. Do this until water is escaping as fast as it is going in. Then set the pot somewhere where it will continue to drain. You do not want it to sit in the draining water, you want it to drain all out. Once it has stopped draining, you are done, you have just flushed the plant.

The first time I was recommended to try this I freaked, but it worked.

Best of luck to ya.

Seems as RichardK beat me to the punch...

 

[bigt]

Let them dry out and they should recover. I use the Neptunes Harvest fish as well and only apply a small amount - 1/4 to 1/2 strength every two weeks. I think less is more with all ferts.

 

[FiveStar]

Let them dry out and they should recover. I use the Neptunes Harvest fish as well and only apply a small amount - 1/4 to 1/2 strength every two weeks. I think less is more with all ferts.

T, how much are you using per gallon while still indoors and in pots?


Thanks for the input everyone. I will give them a good flush with H2O2 laced water this evening, and hopefully this will do the trick.

 

[FiveStar]

Alright, so last night my plants started to droop a little, so I took the opportunity to check out the roots of a few and assess the situation. I only checked a few plants with varying symptoms, but the roots all looked nice and white. So rather than root rot, I believe I overfertilized. I gave them all a drench from the top (had been bottom watering with fish emul and seaweed before). We shall see how that works out.

Question... Would it be wise to try and foliar feed with some epsom salts to try and green them back up? or should I let nature take its course and give them time to rest from the shock?

Thanks again...

 

[bigt]

T, how much are you using per gallon while still indoors and in pots?


Thanks for the input everyone. I will give them a good flush with H2O2 laced water this evening, and hopefully this will do the trick.

On the Neptunes fish, I just take out maybe one inch (fast food straw) w a straw for my 64oz water bottle. I also add a few drops of some Sea Magic(seaweed) solution I had leftover from last year. But I don't water the plants thoroughly with that bottle - just give them a little and then finish off with water. So it's fairly diluted, but the plants are now doing great. I think you should always err on the side of less ferts unless you have an obvious nute problem in a bigger plant. I'm not worried about getting huge plants in cups, I just want strong seedlings for when they go outside.

 

[RichardK]

Alright, so last night my plants started to droop a little, so I took the opportunity to check out the roots of a few and assess the situation. I only checked a few plants with varying symptoms, but the roots all looked nice and white. So rather than root rot, I believe I overfertilized. I gave them all a drench from the top (had been bottom watering with fish emul and seaweed before). We shall see how that works out.

Question... Would it be wise to try and foliar feed with some epsom salts to try and green them back up? or should I let nature take its course and give them time to rest from the shock?

Thanks again...

If they are wilting and the soil is wet, I would NOT foliar feed them at all!

 

[FiveStar]

If they are wilting and the soil is wet, I would NOT foliar feed them at all!

No, I let them wilt before watering. Then I flushed the pots. If overwatering was my problem, I wanted to stop that. If overfertilizing were the issue, I was attempting to flush excess nutrients.

The plants are now flushed, happily watered, but obviously still in their not-so-happy condition. They're a light lime green, with some plants showing brownish-purple spots that look to me like burn from too much fertilizer?

Just wondering if theres anything else I can do to help them recover. I'm a very visual guy. I wanna see green ASAP, but this may not be a reality.

 

[RichardK]

No, I let them wilt before watering. Then I flushed the pots. If overwatering was my problem, I wanted to stop that. If overfertilizing were the issue, I was attempting to flush excess nutrients.

The plants are now flushed, happily watered, but obviously still in their not-so-happy condition. They're a light lime green, with some plants showing brownish-purple spots that look to me like burn from too much fertilizer?

Just wondering if theres anything else I can do to help them recover. I'm a very visual guy. I wanna see green ASAP, but this may not be a reality.

All I'm saying is, if they are still wilted or droopy, hold off on any feeding. It's better to not feed than to over feed.

Once the leaves are crisp, and new growth is not dark green, go ahead and give them some epsom salt, either in soil, or on leaves, or both (which is what I do).

 

[FiveStar]

Much appreciated RichardK. Didn't mean to sound short with my reply, just worried about my plants. They are nice and crisp now, so I may give them some foliar epsom and a bit in their water next go-round. It's my first season from seed, so I still have lots to learn

Thanks!

 

[Next in line]

My opinion...

BigT is givin ya good advice...

Forget the epsom salt. Salt of any kind is not good for plants.

 

[RichardK]

Salt of any kind is not good for plants.

Incorrect, Table Salt is bad for plants, but that doesnt mean every salt is. Table salt has Sodium which isnt usefull at all, and chlorine which is only usefull in very very small quantities.

Epsom salt is Magnesium Sulfate, Magnesium is used in chlorophyll, and other areas.

 

[splitcane]

On the Neptunes fish, I just take out maybe one inch (fast food straw) w a straw for my 64oz water bottle. I also add a few drops of some Sea Magic(seaweed) solution I had leftover from last year. But I don't water the plants thoroughly with that bottle - just give them a little and then finish off with water. So it's fairly diluted, but the plants are now doing great. I think you should always err on the side of less ferts unless you have an obvious nute problem in a bigger plant. I'm not worried about getting huge plants in cups, I just want strong seedlings for when they go outside.

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