shiny leaves

[oldfogey8]

i see a lot of folks with plants where the leaves are nice and shiny. is that a product of genetics, lighting, nutes or all of the above? my leaves look healthy enough but i kinda like that shiny look...

 

[P Jammers]

Typically plants will have that shine when they are perfectly happy. The perfect balance of magnesium to calcium is very important.

 

[oldfogey8]

i use a cal-mag nute. how do i know if i need more calcium or more magnesium? i am grwoing in roots organic green lite soil. the following is what is in it:

NGREDIENTS
Coco Fiber, Coarse Peat Moss, Perlite, Pumice, Composted Virgin Forest Material, Worm Castings, Bat Guano, Greensand, Fish Meal, Crab Meal, Fish Bone Meal, Non GMO Soybean Meal, Alfalfa Meal, Feather Meal, Humic Ore, Kelp Meal, Calcareous Lime, Dolomitic Lime, Rock Dust and Mycorrhizae

 

[P Jammers]

While I have never used that growing medium, it would appear that it "should be" good in both mag and calcium.

That said I'd venture to guess 90 or so percent of people that experience issues of either normally suffer from a lack of mag. I may have had 2 or three strains in 35 years that have showed a sign of calcium that had the PH in check.

Because you are organic PH is thrown right out the window, and along with that also comes lack of control. Unfortunately you are at the mercy of the mix and not a ton you can do other than foliage feed.

I would say stop using any and all calmag. It's un necessary.

i use a cal-mag nute. how do i know if i need more calcium or more magnesium? i am grwoing in roots organic green lite soil. the following is what is in it:

NGREDIENTS
Coco Fiber, Coarse Peat Moss, Perlite, Pumice, Composted Virgin Forest Material, Worm Castings, Bat Guano, Greensand, Fish Meal, Crab Meal, Fish Bone Meal, Non GMO Soybean Meal, Alfalfa Meal, Feather Meal, Humic Ore, Kelp Meal, Calcareous Lime, Dolomitic Lime, Rock Dust and Mycorrhizae

 

[zem]

when the plants are healthy, they look like waxy green leaves, they become more resistant to everything too.

 

[oldfogey8]

thanks pj. i have not used compost teas before but have been reading about them over the last couple of days. would a compost tea be good for foliage feeding? my buckeye purple plant seems to like a foliar spray that is light in a nute mix(approx 1/6 the recommended nute dosage for regular feeding). i am using general hydroponics biothrive, bioroot, bioweed, etc. contemplating upping the dosage of foliar feed to 1/4 the recommended or is that going to burn the little bugger? thanks again...

 

[pcduck]

If they are in veg you can spray with a tea.

 

[oldfogey8]

yes, duck. the plants i am growing are still in veg. i am out of the country until tomorrow night. i plan on flipping my super buckeyes when i get home but will continue to veg the purple until it is a more decent size. i have not had to foliar feed the supers. just the purple is being difficult for me. none of them have that shiny happy look though.

 

[Hushpuppy]

I am not a big organics person. I am hardcore synthetic/hydro, but from everything that I have read and gleaned from the organic growers here, the total key to growing organic is building, feeding, and maintaining a healthy microbe herd. From beginning to end, if you want the most out of organics, read up on how to maintain soil with a healthy microbe herd. That will be the key to keeping your plants healthy.

 

[oldfogey8]

thanks pup. i have been battling what i think is a temperature dependent ph nute lockout. i think the soil temps effect the micorherd as well. i am hoping that the spring will bring with it more normal temps in my tent and by extension, more normal plants...

 

[Hushpuppy]

If you think soil temps are an issue, get a meat thermometer and leave it stuck into the soil of a plant that is easy to get too and see if it goes below 60f. Ideally, MJ like soil temps (water temps for hydro) between 65-70f as this is a good operating temp for all involved(roots, microbes, elements) in the soil. If the temps are dropping below 60f then that will cause issues as it goes lower. I would keep my water aerated and warmed to 70f if the soil temps are just at or below 60f. If the soil is dropping close to 50f, then I would warm the water to 75f and see about getting some kind of insulation to go around the pots.

And get them off any concrete or uninsulated floor that has cold air beneath it. If nothing else, get some of the hard insulation sheets that are made of polystyrene and lay down a sheet for the plants to set on so that the floor isn't drawing the warmth out of the soil through the bottom of the pots.

 

[oldfogey8]

Thx hush puppy. I have them up off the concrete but maybe not enough. It has been a beast of a winter here with temps consistently colder than I have seen. I hope that with the temps staying above 10 deg F, I should be back in the swing of spring.

 

[pandabacon]

you can insulate pots with bubblewrap and burlap sacks helped me out this winter

 

[oldfogey8]

good idea, bacon. may have to try that next winter. i was an idiot. i have sheets of that polystyrean insulation that i should have put down under the plants. in hind sight, that seems like a no-brainer. on the bright side, my buckeye purple is looking happier now that it is in a warm spot vegging by itself. the new growth is actually looking nicely darker green. this is a lesson i will keep in my back pocket...