Why do you add lime?

[Rosebud]

Thanks Hush. you rock.

 

[The Hemp Goddess]

I have never seen or heard that adding lime to soil is/can be a problem. Bwana, what kind of problem did you have using lime and how do you know it was the lime? Gardeners and farmers have been using lime forever to help stabilize pH.

 

[Dman1234]

I would not mind doing a thread on this subject, but the key to what Bwanabud is saying is that every individual grow is unique because of environmental and human variables. It is easy for any of us who are more seasoned growers to look at a particular problem that is put up on the board for advice, and we end up looking at the OP's problem through the perspective of our own grows.

Not to say that it is wrong for us to do that but if you take 5 of the most experienced growers here and have them address a certain issue, or how they go about handling a grow, you will get 5 different answers and 5 different methods. No single method is wrong, but the problem is, (and I am guilty of making this mistake), the solutions need to be custom fitted to the individuals' own set of circumstances and unique variables. I have had many new growers ask for my individualized help because they couldn't figure out which person's advice to follow.

I try to tell new or less experienced growers that my method is just one of many solid methods on here, and it is up to the individual to learn as much as they can about MJ growing so that they can sort out the 5 different answers to a single question, and apply the one that best serves their unique situation. This is no one's fault nor is it necessarily "bad advice". It is more the pitfalls of open opinions being read by someone who is lacking in the level of knowledge needed to discern which information (best) applies to the individual with the question.

This is why whenever a grower asks a question about a particular problem or concern, we ask for as much information as possible so that we can give you the most accurate diagnosis. But even then, there can be multiple diagnoses with multiple solutions that will accurately apply to a given unique situation. It is up to the OP to "vet" the information as much as possible to be certain that the solution chosen actually fits that individual's problem or situation.

For example; we have seen repeatedly the question of flushing come up and be debated quite passionately. To the inexperienced grower, these debates often leave them as confused as they were when they asked the question. That is because, there are people here who have their grows so dialed in that they can sleep walk their way through a maintenance session. These people see absolutely no need to ever flush. I see fflushing as a very valuable tool for keeping issues from occurring for new growers who are using synthetic nutes. It is not a tool that should be used by every grower for every situation.

If I stop here, there will most certainly be many people who are growing organically (but not fully understand that they are fully organic) and they could easily think that fflushing is a good tool ffor them when it is absolutely the wrong tool for them as organic growers. We as experienced and knowledgeable advice givers have to be diligent to be sure we are giving advice that truly applies to the OP's specific situation and not just throw out generalized methods or solutions. But it is also the responsibility of the OP (new or inexperienced grower) to do the necessary homework so that you understand the advice that is given to you.

As always, if you are confused about advice laid out in a thread, please don't be afraid to ask. If you have to, go to any off the experienced growers individually to get more specific advice as there is NO one solution that fits all problems. Even the most accurate advice may need to be tailored to ffit your unique situation. I hope this helps

Gotcha, but what was the issue and solution?

 

[pcduck]

I have never seen or heard that adding lime to soil is/can be a problem. Bwana, what kind of problem did you have using lime and how do you know it was the lime? Gardeners and farmers have been using lime forever to help stabilize pH.

To much lime can cause lockout of many elements, especially K

 

[Rosebud]

THG, i had my soil tested outdoor soil...dirt and we can't use lime here as it is too alkaline to start with. This is not the case when growing indoors with a home made soil or even ffof.. I don't add lime to that as it is already done.

 

[The Hemp Goddess]

Well too much of anything is bad. What if you use the right amount? What is the downside?

It is my understanding from everything I have read that lime does not make soil more alkaline. If anything it makes it more acidic, but its major job is simply to buffer the soil. Is this incorrect?

 

[pcduck]

Well too much of anything is bad. What if you use the right amount? What is the downside?

It is my understanding from everything I have read that lime does not make soil more alkaline. If anything it makes it more acidic, but its major job is simply to buffer the soil. Is this incorrect?

What is the right amount? I have read members recommend from a tbs. to handfulls.

 

[Locked]

To much lime can cause lockout of many elements, especially K

:yeahthat:


That being said I will still use Dolomite lime every grow. Just don't over do it.

 

[Locked]

What is the right amount? I have read members recommend from a tbs. to handfulls.

I mix my soil in a 5 gallon bucket and always add 2 handfuls of sweet lime per bucket.

 

[Dman1234]

I mix my soil in a 5 gallon bucket and always add 2 handfuls of sweet lime per bucket.

Same, a big fistful to 3 gallons, not saying thats perfect, just what i have always done.

 

[Wetdog]

To much lime can cause lockout of many elements, especially K

True. But that amount is also very close to turning your mix into cement. Like using 4-5x more than recc. Ground up rock is ground up rock.

I add a good bit of Ca, but from other sources, not increasing my lime. I keep that @1cup/cf and add gypsum for the extra Ca, also @1cup. The gypsum actually lightens soil or the mix.

Wet

 

[pcduck]

I use roughly a tsp/cf if that much..
Most of my cal comes from gypsum, oyster shell, and zebra mussel shells.
I reuse my soil. If were to use such a large amount my soil would be cement after a couple of grows.

 

[Hushpuppy]

The above statements are proof that each of these growers has done it long enough that they have dialed in their grows to their unique set of conditions, and are now staying with the methods and patterns that are giving the best results for them. It is proof that every grow is unique enough (when added to the individual personalities and personal preferences) that different things will work or not work for different people.

Bwanabud's problem was multi layered. It started with him having a high level of calcium in his water that he didn't realize was there. Also, he was combining organics and synthetics in a way that just wasn't compatible with each other. He tried to combine the advice off several people on here. While each set of advice and methods worked ideally for those individuals, Bwana's combining the different methods created their own problems due to incompatibility, which became compounded by several factors that I can't go into ffor his privacy. Suffice it to say that he is having to find the best methods that work the best ffor him, and the old adage of keep it simple is one that applies well in growing MJ.

 

[lyfespan]

View attachment image.jpg

Here's my one plant issue, if it wasn't a feminized nevilles chem, I wouldn't care, but she's one of only 6 that I have, would like to see her make it but. I'm not gonna waste space either

 

[lyfespan]

She is in vermifire/vermiworm 50/50, #4perlite, greensand, oyster shell,Mexican bat guano,and a lil great white,5 gallon smart pot.

Feeding with the GH line up, in the last week of veg, on their mix chart for drain to waste.

Temp 74-78, humidity 35-50%

 

[bwanabud]

She is in vermifire/vermiworm 50/50, #4perlite, greensand, oyster shell,Mexican bat guano,and a lil great white,5 gallon smart pot.

Feeding with the GH line up, in the last week of veg, on their mix chart for drain to waste.

Temp 74-78, humidity 35-50%

What is your water PH ?

 

[lyfespan]

What is your water PH ?

Water ph is always 6.4. Checked with a meter.

 

[Hushpuppy]

You say you are feeding with the GH line up? are you using GH Fflora 3part which is synthetic nutes? if so then that is a problem. Any time you make up soil with raw materials like greensand, guano, worm castings, those things are raw materials for organics. They need to have a healthy microbe herd to break those raw materials down into elements that can be absorbed by the plants. The microbes form a symbiotic relationship with the plants. But if you then introduce synthetic nutrients to the mix, very often you kill the microbes off before they can break down everything. Then the raw materials are no longer able to break down and just sit in the soil.

All of these materials are dissolving chemicals into the soil that can directly conflict with the synthetic nutrients which are just pre-chelated chemicals. The conflict of chemicals can cause you to have radical pH drift or it can lock up certain nutrients where the plants are unable to take them in.

The issue on that plant looks to be severe magnesium deficiency. It would seem unlikely that such a problem could occur with just one plant iff they are all in the same medium and getting the same nutes, but chemistry and biochemistry is full of variables that are often hidden, and it is these variables that can cause this to occur.

You can verify the problem by making a mild solution of Epsom salt and lightly spray the plant (away from the others) every other day for 6 days. By day 10 you should see significant improvement. If so then it is mag deficiency. Iff it doesn't change then the problem is a different deficiency like potassium.

I recommend that you quit using the synthetic nutes (if that is what you are using) and get some nutrient teas to feed with along with more microbes in the soil and a little molasses tea to help the microbes get going again. You may actually have to do a light fflush to remove the GH stuff If a lot has been put in.

 

[lyfespan]

Guess the pic never made it up here she isView attachment image.jpg you can see the rest of the plants are just fine. The rest of the nevilles chems are cloche to 2' tall this ones barely a foot tall.

Now it is easy to just yank the plant and toss it, but that offers no lesson, but loss. So I will try to fix the lil girl to use her as a learning tool.

 

[Hushpuppy]

If that is the same plant as the rest then I would say that there is definitely a lack of both calcium and magnesium. The reason is that calcium deficiency usually lends to a plant not growing very big, and magnesium deficiency typically shows with the light green to yellow margins on the leaf fronds.

Now if all of the plants are in the same medium and same food, water, light, temps, then I would be very inclined to think that you have a genetic anomaly (if these all came from seeds and not clones). If this is the case then you will not be able to do much to save it. The reason is that genetic anomalies that lead to these kinds of problems are usually not able to overcome because it is similar to cancer or MS that will eventually kill the plant.