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Multiple cycle living soil issue.

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Multiple cycle living soil issue.

Moonwater Sep 2, 2025 64 Replies 4,007 Views
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Moonwater

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#21
ktram said:
Your zebra-striped leaves are a textbook indicator of magnesium deficiency in cannabis. Magnesium sits at the center of the chlorophyll molecule and when the plant doesn't have the requisite amount it will pull Mg out of older leaves to support new growth. One teaspoon of plain Epsom salt in one quart of R/O water sprayed on the underside of the leaves will halt the progression and new growth will return to normal appearance in 24-48 hours. Often Mg deficiencies are the result of nutrient lockout rather than a lack of Mg. I would also flush your dirt base with SLF-100 enzymes in R/O water as that cures nearly all lockout issues. If the issue persists water in some Cal/Mag.
Click to expand...
I think you may have hit the nail on the Head. But for the flushing part. This is a zero run off kind of thing. How would I flush a 100gallon living soil pot? Or do you mean a heavy saturation with the slf? This is a calcium based soil the calcium should be off the charts lol. What other causes of mag lockout are there besides ph? Does calcium interfere with the uptake of mag when cal is in excess? Thank you for your input my friend
 
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Moonwater

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#22
Mikedin said:
That would be OP’s choice (you mighta mistaken me as the original poster)

But yeah, I would start a new bag just to get it righted again, (I’d keep working at this one too at the same time see how I’d correct it) but I run 6 tents not sure how many he has at his disposal I’m just a nut

I have 3 30 gals between a 4x8 and 4x4 I just got in my new 60 gallon bag for my new 4x8 lol
Click to expand...
I'm just running 2 3x3 tents inside and a 10x7 greenhouse outside. I have a 4x8 3 600watt hps setup retired in my storage shed lol. Use to love the 4x8
 
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Moonwater

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#23
Mikedin said:
Hmm, right off the bat it dosent seem like a mag issue to me, i wouldn’t expect such even coverage of the leaf coloration, iron came to mind as well, I believe it starts at the top newer growth, it is a possibility

Another option would be PH, being as many cycles in as you are it’s possible, plus using the well water with the higher PH it could be that the soil is slowly beginning to become too alkaline and beginning to affect nitrogen uptake

Interesting issue, I’ll keep looking at it for sure

Dr earths I’ve never used before but a lot of people do

Have you always used the dr earths in the bed?

What else do you add on a normal basis? I know you said a banana peel for the worms here and there, I just made homemade FFJ from bananas and mangos not too long ago and have been testing it outdoors and in my 4x4 bed they seem to love it at 4ml/gal

Any other additions you do on a normal basis? It’s also possible you’re running hungrier strains and the 2-2-2- isint keeping up

I run the build a soil craft blend but I also add the big 6 macro, kashi, earthworm castings (each bag was started with approx 60-70 worms split between European nightcrawlers and red wigglers, I use a bit of Alaska fish fert here and there but prefer the advanced nutrients Organics line big mikes OG tea, nice liquid neut, also organics alive FPF and the FFJ I made,

The reds prefer the top end and the nightcrawlers prefer the bottom

I did notice something similar to this in one bag I wasent getting the water as deep in, bottom of the bag was over drying, I run ecowitts in all 3 of the 30’s shallow a shallow and deep in each one, once I got the moisture levels corrected the plant recovered nicely

Do you monitor moisture levels? Oversaturarion could also affect the uptake and resemble a nitrogen deficiency

I also use the horticultural aloe, it helps assists with photosynthesis and nutrient absorption I did notice a small difference in the plants overall leaf health and appearance once I started using it I water only I never spray the plants unless I need to neem them or something but prefer clean grow spaces (yours looks great)

Is this your only tent?

Feel free to stop by the grow topic I set it up as a living soil discussion so everyone is free to throw out ideas and opinions on living soil growing! There’s not a ton of us so I wanted a nice space for us all to play my living soil 30 gals are only on their 2nd cycle but I’ve been running organics for awhile

Mikedin’s living soil adventure and discussion topic
Click to expand...
I don't monitor the moisture level per say lol. I water according to if the vibe is to water
 
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Moonwater

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#24
Mikedin said:
Hmm, right off the bat it dosent seem like a mag issue to me, i wouldn’t expect such even coverage of the leaf coloration, iron came to mind as well, I believe it starts at the top newer growth, it is a possibility

Another option would be PH, being as many cycles in as you are it’s possible, plus using the well water with the higher PH it could be that the soil is slowly beginning to become too alkaline and beginning to affect nitrogen uptake

Interesting issue, I’ll keep looking at it for sure

Dr earths I’ve never used before but a lot of people do

Have you always used the dr earths in the bed?

What else do you add on a normal basis? I know you said a banana peel for the worms here and there, I just made homemade FFJ from bananas and mangos not too long ago and have been testing it outdoors and in my 4x4 bed they seem to love it at 4ml/gal

Any other additions you do on a normal basis? It’s also possible you’re running hungrier strains and the 2-2-2- isint keeping up

I run the build a soil craft blend but I also add the big 6 macro, kashi, earthworm castings (each bag was started with approx 60-70 worms split between European nightcrawlers and red wigglers, I use a bit of Alaska fish fert here and there but prefer the advanced nutrients Organics line big mikes OG tea, nice liquid neut, also organics alive FPF and the FFJ I made,

The reds prefer the top end and the nightcrawlers prefer the bottom

I did notice something similar to this in one bag I wasent getting the water as deep in, bottom of the bag was over drying, I run ecowitts in all 3 of the 30’s shallow a shallow and deep in each one, once I got the moisture levels corrected the plant recovered nicely

Do you monitor moisture levels? Oversaturarion could also affect the uptake and resemble a nitrogen deficiency

I also use the horticultural aloe, it helps assists with photosynthesis and nutrient absorption I did notice a small difference in the plants overall leaf health and appearance once I started using it I water only I never spray the plants unless I need to neem them or something but prefer clean grow spaces (yours looks great)

Is this your only tent?

Feel free to stop by the grow topic I set it up as a living soil discussion so everyone is free to throw out ideas and opinions on living soil growing! There’s not a ton of us so I wanted a nice space for us all to play my living soil 30 gals are only on their 2nd cycle but I’ve been running organics for awhile

Mikedin’s living soil adventure and discussion topic
Click to expand...
That's cool you use the build a soil stuff. I love his YouTube channel and he is the reason I use a Chapin sprayer in the greenhouse lol
 
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Natep

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#25
defective said:
Maybe a soil analysis to skip some of the guesswork? I know I’ve seen some people on here talk about that, but I’ve got this memory problem when I get high and can’t remember who
Click to expand...
Build a soil does a consultation when you do a test through Logan labs. Might be a smart place to start. Pull a big handful of your soil out. I’ve had a batch of soil turn to pretty much all worm castings. You will be able to tell real fast
 
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Moonwater

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#26
Natep said:
Build a soil does a consultation when you do a test through Logan labs. Might be a smart place to start. Pull a big handful of your soil out. I’ve had a batch of soil turn to pretty much all worm castings. You will be able to tell real fast
Click to expand...
What did you do for the soil that was basically pure worm casting?
 
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ktram

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#27
Moonwater said:
I think you may have hit the nail on the Head. But for the flushing part. This is a zero run off kind of thing. How would I flush a 100gallon living soil pot? Or do you mean a heavy saturation with the slf? This is a calcium based soil the calcium should be off the charts lol. What other causes of mag lockout are there besides ph? Does calcium interfere with the uptake of mag when cal is in excess? Thank you for your input my friend
Click to expand...
My bad, I didn't mean flush in the traditional sense. Just a good watering with the SLF so that you know that the enzymes are making it deep into the soil structure. Under normal circumstances excess calcium still won't interfere with magnesium, save for mixing them into water with an 11.5 pH or something. Calcium is like your 4-lane nutrient super-highway. At the molecular level calcium has four possible ionic bonding sites available. That means one site bonds with a water molecule that is taken up into the xylem and phloem via the roots. The other three ionic bonds will carry various macro/micronutrients into the plant tissues as well. Nitrate-based fertilizers have only one available bonding site and therefore can only carry themselves and water into the plant. Bottled nutrients grow big plants that turn to smoldering chunks of blackened shit that simply won't convert to ash at the bottom of your bowl every time you smoke it.
 
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Moonwater

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#28
ktram said:
My bad, I didn't mean flush in the traditional sense. Just a good watering with the SLF so that you know that the enzymes are making it deep into the soil structure. Under normal circumstances excess calcium still won't interfere with magnesium, save for mixing them into water with an 11.5 pH or something. Calcium is like your 4-lane nutrient super-highway. At the molecular level calcium has four possible ionic bonding sites available. That means one site bonds with a water molecule that is taken up into the xylem and phloem via the roots. The other three ionic bonds will carry various macro/micronutrients into the plant tissues as well. Nitrate-based fertilizers have only one available bonding site and therefore can only carry themselves and water into the plant. Bottled nutrients grow big plants that turn to smoldering chunks of blackened shit that simply won't convert to ash at the bottom of your bowl every time you smoke it.
Click to expand...
Thank you for clarifying that. Very good stuff you're very knowledgeable. This has been the fastest and most helpful responses I have gotten from a forum in a long time
 
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LoveGrowingIt

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#29
Moonwater said:
Does calcium interfere with the uptake of mag when cal is in excess?
Click to expand...
According to Mulder's Chart, Mg and Ca are antagonistic, so the answer probably is yes, it does or it can.

 
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Moonwater

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#30
Made a foliar of Epsom salt, fulvic acid and a saponin wetting agent. If it's mag we will know soon. Thank you everyone for your valuable replies
 
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Moonwater

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#31
I know this Foliar will not address the root problem but it will at least get me closer to narrowing down what is going on. This soil does have a ton of worms and has been going for a long time considering it's only 100gal so I may have ultimately just reached the point of needing to dilute the soil with fresh base soil and get another 5yrs out of it
 
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Week4Bytch

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#32
Get a complete nutrient and pH analysis of your soil with customized recommendations to grow the healthiest plants possible. It's a popular product! https://a.co/d/4OP9lkO
 
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Moonwater

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#33
Week4Bytch said:
Get a complete nutrient and pH analysis of your soil with customized recommendations to grow the healthiest plants possible. It's a popular product! https://a.co/d/4OP9lkO
Click to expand...
I like the knowledge of soil analysis and the tech. But in my personal grows I do not have any desire to go that route. Im old-school and I like to keep a lot of old practices lingering around. If I went the full self research route because all the knowledge is out there and sending my soil to labs and all that then I wouldn't need you wonderful people. Also if everyones soil is within these few lab recommendations then before you know it everyones herb looks the same taste the same. It's our individual situations that create the quality that is unique to our personal grows
 
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Week4Bytch

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#34
Moonwater said:
I like the knowledge of soil analysis and the tech. But in my personal grows I do not have any desire to go that route. Im old-school and I like to keep a lot of old practices lingering around. If I went the full self research route because all the knowledge is out there and sending my soil to labs and all that then I wouldn't need you wonderful people. Also if everyones soil is within these few lab recommendations then before you know it everyones herb looks the same taste the same. It's our individual situations that create the quality that is unique to our personal grows
Click to expand...
But don't you want to know? Like...really really know? You did post a thread asking.

But I get it, KISS method is good too.
 
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RoadKillSkunkHunt

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#35
I've scanned most of the posts. It looks and sounds pH related to me. I saw the suggestion of adding lime. I wouldn't add just any lime since it's not all the same. Fast acting or garden lime will usually push your soil too far alkaline if you're not careful. To be specific, dolomite is what might help you sort this out. It will buffer to about 6.5 naturally and it has lots of magnesium and calcium in it already.
 
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Moonwater

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#36
RoadKillSkunkHunt said:
I've scanned most of the posts. It looks and sounds pH related to me. I saw the suggestion of adding lime. I wouldn't add just any lime since it's not all the same. Fast acting or garden lime will usually push your soil too far alkaline if you're not careful. To be specific, dolomite is what might help you sort this out. It will buffer to about 6.5 naturally and it has lots of magnesium and calcium in it already.
Click to expand...
Nice. Great advice thank you
 
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LoveGrowingIt

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#37
Moonwater said:
Im old-school
Click to expand...
Even old school farmers try to figure out what's best for their plants.
 
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Mikedin

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#38
Moonwater said:
Thank you for clarifying that. Very good stuff you're very knowledgeable. This has been the fastest and most helpful responses I have gotten from a forum in a long time
Click to expand...
This is a great place, tons of great growers, lots of opinions, we’ve always had great members willing to help others in need wether it be seeds, advice, sometimes people just need that back and forth to let it make sense in their head I know I do sometimes lol
 
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Week4Bytch

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#39
Lets all pitch in and send this guy a soil test kit, Start a Go Fund ME
 
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Moonwater

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#40
Week4Bytch said:
Lets all pitch in and send this guy a soil test kit, Start a Go Fund ME
Click to expand...
Lol. Funds are not an issue. Y'all don't be getting the wrong idea
 
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