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Nutrient Lockup

Nutrient lock up is typically caused by over fertilizing and usually associated with hydroponics growing.
Plants take up all the nutrients they need rather quickly. When one over feeds the plant, it's natural reaction is to "lock up" preventing the plant from absorbing any further nutes. The solution is to flush with pH neutral water and then gradually reintroduce the nutrients.
Lock up is less likely in soil grows as the soil often acts as a buffer. Hope this helps!
 
I know this is an old thread but there must be a missing piece of information to this nutrient lockout thing. Everywhere you look, you read that it is important not to overdo it with fertilizer. It makes sense. If you double up the miracle grow or whatever, you will damage or even kill your pepper plants. But somehow if you flood a pepper plant with hydroponic nutrient solution every day in a hydroponic system it will grow like crazy. No nutrient lockout, no problem. It gets way more nutrients than it needs and doesn't necessarily lockout. Usually doesn't. 
 
I started some peppers in an old aerogarden this spring and transplanted them out and into small pots as needed but one fatalii got left behind and it is much stronger and larger than all of the plants I got out of there. Clearly it would take over the aerogarden and its roots would shut the thing down in no time. It is a monster plant and it makes it clear that the rest of the fatalii plants were not in optimal conditions in soil under better lights.
 
So, here's my question: If somebody watered their peppers with a regular hydroponic solution (like the aerogarden stuff - nothing fancy) instead of water, would the peppers grow like crazy or lockup because of the nutrients already in the soil? 
 
Isn't there already more than enough nutrients in a hydroponic solution and there's no locking out? Run it through dirt and there's a problem?
 
KitKat745 said:
So, here's my question: If somebody watered their peppers with a regular hydroponic solution (like the aerogarden stuff - nothing fancy) instead of water, would the peppers grow like crazy or lockup because of the nutrients already in the soil? 
 
Isn't there already more than enough nutrients in a hydroponic solution and there's no locking out? Run it through dirt and there's a problem?
Click to expand...
Hdyro you start with a clean slate, you know there is nothing in the water so you have to add everything the plant needs. Hydro nutes / fertilizer is complete in its assortment of macro and micro nutrients.
Top soil usually has nutrients from stuff breaking down, etc. Usually we find though it doesnt have enough which is why we add fertilizer.

If you added complete hdyro nutes to soil it would be wasteful because your soil already probably has lots of the stuff, but it wouldn't be bad...

1. Lockout is from having your ph in not optional range, the plants roots can't absorb nutrients as efficiently. Hydro and Soil growers have to make sure their medium (water,soil) is in a good range for their plants (5-6.5 usually).
 
2. Nutrient levels can effect plants if they don't have enough, or have too much. In Hydro you watch your ppm(parts per million) which is your concentration of nutes to water. In soil you have to get a soil test to see whats going on with your soil.
 
Nutrient deficiency happens when the plant doesn't have enough nutes available to it. Your medium(soil,soiless,water) is missing something the plant requires. You fix this by diagnosing which nute your plant neeeds and adding nutes.
Nutrient abundance(fertilizer burn) happens when you overload the plant with nutes. Flush the medium and start change your nute solution accordingly.
 
ex. Jimmy has a pepper that looks like it has nutrient deficiencies. He adds more nutes. A week later the pepper doesn't look much better so he adds more nutes. A week later he adds more nutes. The plant starts showing more signs of distress that look like over fertizing(burned edges etc)... Now hes confused. OKGrowin says to check his ph so he does and finds it is as 8. He flushes the medium (removing the too much nutes), and reduces the ph down to 6.5. Now he adds some fertilizer and the plant starts growing well yay. problem was ph.
 
conclusion:
You need to add what is right for your solution. Know your medium(soil,soiless,hydro). Know your Ph(5-6.5). Know your nutes(micro, macro, trace). Know the concentration for those nutes.
 
OKGrowin said:
Hdyro you start with a clean slate, you know there is nothing in the water so you have to add everything the plant needs. Hydro nutes / fertilizer is complete in its assortment of macro and micro nutrients.
Top soil usually has nutrients from stuff breaking down, etc. Usually we find though it doesnt have enough which is why we add fertilizer.

If you added complete hdyro nutes to soil it would be wasteful because your soil already probably has lots of the stuff, but it wouldn't be bad...

1. Lockout is from having your ph in not optional range, the plants roots can't absorb nutrients as efficiently. Hydro and Soil growers have to make sure their medium (water,soil) is in a good range for their plants (5-6.5 usually).
 
2. Nutrient levels can effect plants if they don't have enough, or have too much. In Hydro you watch your ppm(parts per million) which is your concentration of nutes to water. In soil you have to get a soil test to see whats going on with your soil.
 
Nutrient deficiency happens when the plant doesn't have enough nutes available to it. Your medium(soil,soiless,water) is missing something the plant requires. You fix this by diagnosing which nute your plant neeeds and adding nutes.
Nutrient abundance(fertilizer burn) happens when you overload the plant with nutes. Flush the medium and start change your nute solution accordingly.
 
ex. Jimmy has a pepper that looks like it has nutrient deficiencies. He adds more nutes. A week later the pepper doesn't look much better so he adds more nutes. A week later he adds more nutes. The plant starts showing more signs of distress that look like over fertizing(burned edges etc)... Now hes confused. OKGrowin says to check his ph so he does and finds it is as 8. He flushes the medium (removing the too much nutes), and reduces the ph down to 6.5. Now he adds some fertilizer and the plant starts growing well yay. problem was ph.
 
conclusion:
You need to add what is right for your solution. Know your medium(soil,soiless,hydro). Know your Ph(5-6.5). Know your nutes(micro, macro, trace). Know the concentration for those nutes.
Click to expand...
 
Thanks for the response. How does the aerogarden work considering that every two weeks a person squirts in some concentrated solution and adds water, never testing for anything? I ran that thing for over a year just adding the solution and adding water every two weeks. The only flaw was that the plants outgrew it so fast that the roots jammed everything inside and the plants fought for the light. There was never an issue with growing or thriving. How does that make sense with the need to monitor ph and nutrient requirements?
 
I get that it is a really basic setup but it leads me back to my thought that if I used up all of these bottles of aerogarden nutrient solution as a fertilizer I might have the kind of luck in the community garden that my megaton monster fatalii is having in the basement...
 
ColdSmoke said:
Other way around...it's more common in a hydroponic environment. 
Click to expand...
 
 
 
 lol
 
Youd be supprised! Why do you think we see so many Cal-Mag posts? Lots of people use synthetic fertilizers that are made from salts, like Miracle Grow.
 
Then they experience some sort of lock up weather its Nitrogen Potash Phosphorus  or Calcium & Manganese. I see it on here all day.
 
 
Another type of Lock up is when the soil diversity dies off and the soil is not making npk and not breaking down the Cal... Also caused by Salty Ferts like Miracle Grow.
 
Cayennemist said:
 
 
 
 lol
 
Youd be supprised! Why do you think we se so many Cal-Mag posts? Lots of people use synthetic fertilizers that are made from salts, like Miracle Grow.
 
Then they experience some sort of lock up weather its Nitrogen Potash Phosphorus  or Calcium & Manganese. I see it on here all day.
 
 
Another type of Lock up is when the soil diversity dies off and the soil is not making npk and not breaking down the Cal... Also caused by Salty Ferts like Miracle Grow.
Click to expand...
 
I was assuming organic ferts and experienced gardeners. I understand unexplicibly people go overboard with nutes...
 
ColdSmoke said:
 
I was assuming organic ferts and experienced gardeners. I understand unexplicibly people go overboard with nutes...
Click to expand...
 
 
You are right there, but don't you see it on here all the time. The top 2 nonstickied posts were about cal deficiency a few minutes ago.
 
KitKat745 said:
 
Thanks for the response. How does the aerogarden work considering that every two weeks a person squirts in some concentrated solution and adds water, never testing for anything? I ran that thing for over a year just adding the solution and adding water every two weeks. The only flaw was that the plants outgrew it so fast that the roots jammed everything inside and the plants fought for the light. There was never an issue with growing or thriving. How does that make sense with the need to monitor ph and nutrient requirements?
 
I get that it is a really basic setup but it leads me back to my thought that if I used up all of these bottles of aerogarden nutrient solution as a fertilizer I might have the kind of luck in the community garden that my megaton monster fatalii is having in the basement...
Click to expand...
 
Dunno what's in the aerogarden nute solution but it's probably a complete nutrient solution and they assume the water ph is close to nuetral(don't the recommend you use distilled water?) so it is acidic to bring the medium down. They try to do this all without the end user thinking about it, probably doesn't work perfectly for everyone. The plants could still grow if the ph wasn't in the sweetest spot.
 
The aerogarden provides more oxygen to the roots than a traditional soil growing medium that's one factor why they grow better, not just the nutes. I think the aerogarden nutes are overpriced, if you wanted a complete nutrient solution i would recommend dynagro foliage  pro or general hydroponics flora series or some other complete hydro solution. It wouldn't hurt it to add it to the soil, and you may see some benefits to something you were missing/low on. Just be careful you don't overdo it  :P
 
 
Cayennemist said:
 
 
 
 lol
 
Youd be supprised! Why do you think we se so many Cal-Mag posts? Lots of people use synthetic fertilizers that are made from salts, like Miracle Grow.
 
Then they experience some sort of lock up weather its Nitrogen Potash Phosphorus  or Calcium & Manganese. I see it on here all day.
 
 
Another type of Lock up is when the soil diversity dies off and the soil is not making npk and not breaking down the Cal... Also caused by Salty Ferts like Miracle Grow.
Click to expand...
Hopefully one day they will see the light and go organic. :whistle:

ColdSmoke said:
Still quite new here, but yes this place is like an advertisement for CalMag
Click to expand...
Isn't that the truth! :rofl:
 
KitKat745 said:
I know this is an old thread but there must be a missing piece of information to this nutrient lockout thing. Everywhere you look, you read that it is important not to overdo it with fertilizer. It makes sense. If you double up the miracle grow or whatever, you will damage or even kill your pepper plants. But somehow if you flood a pepper plant with hydroponic nutrient solution every day in a hydroponic system it will grow like crazy. No nutrient lockout, no problem. It gets way more nutrients than it needs and doesn't necessarily lockout. Usually doesn't. 
 
I started some peppers in an old aerogarden this spring and transplanted them out and into small pots as needed but one fatalii got left behind and it is much stronger and larger than all of the plants I got out of there. Clearly it would take over the aerogarden and its roots would shut the thing down in no time. It is a monster plant and it makes it clear that the rest of the fatalii plants were not in optimal conditions in soil under better lights.
 
So, here's my question: If somebody watered their peppers with a regular hydroponic solution (like the aerogarden stuff - nothing fancy) instead of water, would the peppers grow like crazy or lockup because of the nutrients already in the soil? 
 
Isn't there already more than enough nutrients in a hydroponic solution and there's no locking out? Run it through dirt and there's a problem?
Click to expand...
Works fine.
I do mine hydro-in-dirt when root bound. Even the little ones for plant out when soil is basically gone.
Usually every 2nd or 3rd watering.
You can also lock up nutes by over using or incorrectly mixing.
Chemicals will react with each other, forming different elements not readily available to plants, which is why some multi part mixes require you to mix one part with water first before adding the others.
Salts of various kinds are one example, a mixture of a metal and non metal element to form a new chemical.
 
Even in hydro, running too long without a flush will allow nutes not used up to reach concentrations that lockup the availability of the plants to use them.
 
hogleg said:
Plain and simple a properly balanced living organic soil. will not lock up.
 
Cheers, PMD
Click to expand...
 
Soil contaminated with toxic waste has been detoxified with mycelium fungi (Mycoremediation)
... So to be honest, lol, it doesn't even need to be well balanced if you care for it and add life every now and then.
 
So like Guru's sig says, "Feed the soil"
 
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