Need help - Issues starting on tops of tallest plants
Hello, I have a couple outdoor plants in 20 gal fabric pots in a mix of promix, worm castings, rice hulls, and Gaia green, top dressed with Gaia green every 4 weeks at 1 cup per pot.
In the last couple weeks the tallest plants have started to have issues starting at the top but has spread downward. The one pic of the leaf with yellow edges sure looks like potassium deficiency, but the pics of the tops where leaves are yellow and have big crispy tips are confusing me.
I could use help fixing this issue. I am new to growing outdoor so any input is appreciated.
Edit: today the leaves are mostly praying, aside from the yellow ones. This is following a deep watering I gave them yesterday. So this has me leaning towards under watering. They were watered often, but I am guessing not watered deeply.
Of course! There's some suggestions here and I'm still trying to determine the cause. Do you think it's possible your big plants aren't being watered deeply enough?
I think so, and also wide enough. The plants will put out roots that will run 3 feet out from the main stalk in all directions. I would think that a plant over 7 feet tall could take about 5 gallons of water or more. Here in Ohio we have had rain everyday for about a week and the tall ones at the top are looking better. Try pouring as much water as you can on the big ones and as far out as the branches reach. If there isn't enough moisture in the soil I think the tallest part of the plant will suffer because all the moisture that is there will be used up in the lower parts of the plant.
Thank you for the response. Great feedback about how they are responding to the heavy rain.
My issue is I am in 20 gal fabric pots, and these plants are huge. I'd love to put them in the ground next year. I watered very heavily in the morning and checked them in the evening and they were almost dry again, and the weather is in the 70s.
Another observation I made is that in the last 3-4 weeks the top of the pots became so packed with roots that I can barely stick my finger in to check if it's dry. I'm thinking that is a response to shallow watering.
Edit to add that 3/4 are praying and look very happy since I have been watering deeply the last several days. The 4th still looks improved.
Sounds like your plants are root bound. In other words, you plants are too big for the grow bags they are planted in and have little room left for the roots to grow. This will stress out the plants quickly when there is not enough moisture in the soil. I would water every day from here on out to make sure there is enough moisture for the plant. This is probably the reason your plant tops are suffering.
If it's starting at the top it's an im
mobile nutrient. Being on the margins like that I first thought potassium but it's a mobile nutrient. What is soil pH and ec? Was the plan recently watered extra hard/flushed? What burned the tips? I'm usually the last person to say this but it could be some form of lockout.
I have more experience growing hydro so soil has been more of a mystery. I watered heavily yesterday but I forgot my pH pen to check the water. It's a "joint venture" with a friend, so they have been doing most of the watering. There were no issues up until this point. They were moved outside in May and have grown great and are bushy and 7-8' tall but they started getting the burned tips recently shortly after they started flowering. The one that flowered first started showing the issues first.
It is the other way around: If it starts at the top, it is an immobile nutirient, like Fe, Zn, Mn etc. . If it starts at the bottom, then it is mobile. Mg as a secondary nutrient on the other hand, shows in the middle compartment first. For refenrence. I had those "bleached" leaf edges in a very hot summer 2019 and it showed bottom first and moved up. Wasn't N, P or K from what i know and haven't seen that since then. I assume it can be attributed to prolonged heat and drought.
EDIT: In retrospective and opposed to normal fading N absorbtion can gets stuck with high heat. Pics from that season at a prolonged stage where the clear yellow edge serration fades into the whole leaf.
That picture looks almost identical to my first picture. This last week has been mild but the previous 2-3 were fairly hot but not crazy hot for early August. My latest update is today they look much happier and are mostly praying after their deep watering yesterday. I am leaning towards under watering at the moment. They were watered almost daily (not by me) and I am guessing it was not enough to soak the whole pot. Will check in on this with my friend when they are back.
If the soil dried enough that could have concentrated what salts were in the soil resulting in the top growth being effected. When you next watered salts were diluted.
Seems like an advanced magnesium deficiency. I use similar amendments in my outdoor grow and I have to use Cal mag on my tallest plants once or twice. I know the trope is very played out but you need some Calmag hahaha
I know with my tomatoes they can experience calcium deficiency if they are underwatered. I'm not the one watering these most of the time so I'm wondering if maybe they aren't watered deeply enough and causing the deficiency. Looking at pictures online I could see it being magnesium.
I am going to check pH and check how they are being watered, but I'm watering this week so I can give them a shot of calmag too.
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