Some Questions About Mgso4

[royfree2grow]

I'll just get to it guys;

1. Does it (Epsom or English salt/magnesium sulfate) work as a mold preventive substance? how effective it is?
2. In which scenarios other than Mg deficiency should it be used?
3. Should and how will it intervene with my flower feed in terms of (N)PK uptake?
3. Application wise; my brother insist on spreading it as a top dresser, just covering the rootball diameter for longer/slower release targeted on fighting mold and rot. We saw similar applications on tomatoes but never on ganja. Just to make sure, we first tested it on a smaller pot/plant and also applied it the same way on some beefsteak tomato plants -no harm done. what do you think?

my ladies are looking super healthy right now (except one that is showing mild interveinal chlorosis), so at this stage i don't want to play with their diet too much if it means having to deal with damage control afterwards.

Thank you fellas!

 

[royfree2grow]

too newbie?

 

[roach]

I have never used it to prevent mold, didnt even know if could be used for that lol, but if you have problems with mold in your soil something is very wrong and you should try and fix that instead of just treating the symptoms.

I only use it if there is a Mg dificiency, and then I disolve it in water, I use about 1 teaspoon pr 10 liter of water, I am sure it can be used in higher concentrations, but I´d rather give several waterings with a low percentage than one big where you might give too much.
Using it as a top dressing might make it harder to dose properly, if you give too much you might lock out other nutrients and create even more problems, also if you see signs of Mg dificiency test your PH, actualy if you see signs of any kind of dificiency test your PH, the wrong PH can prevent the plants from absorbing certain nutrients (cant remember which, I just always test as a general rule before I try to change anything)

 

[royfree2grow]

@roach thanks for your input buddy.

Mold prevention is the main reason i want to use it, if i new it doesn't posses this quality i wouldn't be using it except for treating Mg deficiencies.

i do have recurring mold issues and you are right about treating the symptoms instead of an making overall adjustments to my grow setup- its a VERY small space packed with pretty big plants, so i know for a fact that we have air flow and humidity issues.

unfortunately at this stage i can only treat the symptoms until we have a bigger grow space.

Locking out other essential nutrients, or even damaging their uptake is my main concern...

EDIT: @Seamaiden i trust you're familiar with this..;) i'd appreciate your opinion.

 

[roach]

@royfree2grow I too grow in a small space atm, got 8 large bushy plants in a 3 x 3 feet grow tent, its heavily overcrowded, but I use a oversized extraction fan to keep a high airflow through the tent, and also a large circulation fan on low speed that covers all the plants making sure there is no areas where the air stands still, I added extra perlite to my soil to make it more airy, and then I let the soil dry out every now and then, but if its a question of saving a grow I would also use every method available.

How about a small fan at the base of the plants to keep the air around the pots and over the soil moving?

 

[Seamaiden]

I'll just get to it guys;

1. Does it (Epsom or English salt/magnesium sulfate) work as a mold preventive substance? how effective it is?
2. In which scenarios other than Mg deficiency should it be used?
3. Should and how will it intervene with my flower feed in terms of (N)PK uptake?
3. Application wise; my brother insist on spreading it as a top dresser, just covering the rootball diameter for longer/slower release targeted on fighting mold and rot. We saw similar applications on tomatoes but never on ganja. Just to make sure, we first tested it on a smaller pot/plant and also applied it the same way on some beefsteak tomato plants -no harm done. what do you think?

my ladies are looking super healthy right now (except one that is showing mild interveinal chlorosis), so at this stage i don't want to play with their diet too much if it means having to deal with damage control afterwards.

Thank you fellas!

MgSO4 provides *more* S than Mg. I've never used it for treating or preventing any kinds of molds. I would *not* use it as a top-dressing, as a salt it I believe it would desiccate or damage any roots it comes into direct contact with, and as it's *so* easily dissolved in water, I see no reason to use it any other way (dissolved in water). You also have much less control of how much is going into the soil at a time when doing it that way, all around it just seems like a practice that's bound to fail at one point or another to me. I feel the same way about sea salts, and I use them fairly often.

Do you have H2O2 on hand? If not, you should. Also, isopropyl alcohol. Both products can be used directly on fruiting bodies with no harm to the plant (don't put on roots). Milk applied as a foliar at a 10% dilution is also known to knock out some species of powdery mildew (you don't say what mold you're working against here).

And as far as locking out other minerals, yes, you can if you use too much. This is where foliar application can come in handy.

 

[royfree2grow]

@royfree2grow I too grow in a small space atm, got 8 large bushy plants in a 3 x 3 feet grow tent, its heavily overcrowded, but I use a oversized extraction fan to keep a high airflow through the tent, and also a large circulation fan on low speed that covers all the plants making sure there is no areas where the air stands still, I added extra perlite to my soil to make it more airy, and then I let the soil dry out every now and then, but if its a question of saving a grow I would also use every method available.

How about a small fan at the base of the plants to keep the air around the pots and over the soil moving?

i do use fans and currently revising my air circulation "system". not sure if its applicable but ill be sure to try it out, it's a good idea. Thank you brotha!

as i said the airflow problem is known to me and it's being treated right now, i want to use extra prevention tools that will give me some edge- that's why i'm looking into MgSO4 as a potential tool against mold.

MgSO4 provides *more* S than Mg. I've never used it for treating or preventing any kinds of molds. I would *not* use it as a top-dressing, as a salt it I believe it would desiccate or damage any roots it comes into direct contact with, and as it's *so* easily dissolved in water, I see no reason to use it any other way (dissolved in water). You also have much less control of how much is going into the soil at a time when doing it that way, all around it just seems like a practice that's bound to fail at one point or another to me. I feel the same way about sea salts, and I use them fairly often.

Do you have H2O2 on hand? If not, you should. Also, isopropyl alcohol. Both products can be used directly on fruiting bodies with no harm to the plant (don't put on roots). Milk applied as a foliar at a 10% dilution is also known to knock out some species of powdery mildew (you don't say what mold you're working against here).

And as far as locking out other minerals, yes, you can if you use too much. This is where foliar application can come in handy.

Got ya @Seamaiden. i am using iso but not for mold prevention, no H2O2 but ill look into getting me some...

the mold im dealing with every year is in the form of bud rot that always attack me at the last 2-4 weeks of my grow. it happens due to (everything mentioned above in combination with) the thickness/bud buildup at the end of the grow.

Thanks for that professional, on the point answer Seam!

 

[roach]

I can see I misunderstood you, I thought you wanted to use it as a top dressing because it was your soil that had mold problems :)

 

[Seamaiden]

I believe the product you're going to want for bud mold here is Serenade. Look through ncga's posts.

 

[Albatross]

with mold Ive had great success with foliar teas stacked with different bacillus strains (serenade is B.Subtilis, there are a couple others) and Actinovate, if you are using foliar anyway its an easy addition. They can also be watered in

 

[Albatross]

late season outdoor the temp/humidy flux resulting in condensation, along with reduced heat and daylight to dry it out create standing humidity on the interior of the flower, no way Im aware of to eliminate the possibility of mold outdoors but the earlier you start with biology the more effective they appear to be since you want them in close to the stem where the humidity remains high, not on the outside of the flower.

 

[royfree2grow]

I believe the product you're going to want for bud mold here is Serenade. Look through ncga's posts.

Yeah... i remember ncga already suggested i should use Serenade back in 2013 when i was struggling with bud rot.

with mold Ive had great success with foliar teas stacked with different bacillus strains (serenade is B.Subtilis, there are a couple others) and Actinovate, if you are using foliar anyway its an easy addition. They can also be watered in

Bacillus Subtilis is definitely going into my arsenal. Cease is also based on B.Sublitis of the same strain as Serenade (QST713) but has almost double the amount of active ingredients; 1.34%. unfortunately i have to go with local products. i think Actinovate is pretty much equivalent to Mycostop but a little weaker... no chance of getting a similar product over here.

Anyways, about the MgSO4, we decided to dissolve it in water 0.05g per liter for now, everything looks great.

Thanks guys!!