TERMINATED: Ground Cherry "Aunt Molly's"

[pfunnyjoy]

2024-03-04: Day 61
Even though I raised nutrients, the plants have not shown any improvement. They continue to look nutrient deficient. Either two plants are too many, or two plants need a LOT more nutrients. Try, try again.

Nutrients (per gallon):
6.0ml of CALiMAGic
12.0ml of Flora Micro
12.0ml of Flora Gro
14.0ml of Flora Bloom
5.0ml of 3% hydrogen peroxide

Nutrient mix pH: 6.0
Nutrient mix EC: 3.5

I do think I see a few lanterns forming, but they are tiny, so it's hard to be sure.

Here's some pictures of the garden. It's still hard to get photos in the basement, but perhaps a little better now that I have a Bounty lit across the room. The new leaves look a bit yellow, with dark green veins. For sure the plants aren't happy.

[lynnee]

pfunnyjoy, Here's a link that says your plants may lack iron or nitrogen:

www.birdsandblooms.com/gardening/gardening-basics/yellow-leaves-and-green-veins-iron-deficiency/

FWIW, CalMag+ has chelated iron.

I see why you're ready to throw in the towel. I did save a plant that had leaves like that once, with CalMag+, but there are no guarantees. I think that I removed the most damaged leaves--the dried out leaves-- when I started the supplement.

[pfunnyjoy]

Yes, I had looked up the leaf condition, re: yellowing, dark green veins, and it was about iron. However, I shouldn't think there'd be an iron shortage with GH nutrients, except if I just wasn't giving enough nutrients overall. And there shouldn't be a nitrogen shortage, unless I'm short on nutrients in general. Which could easily be the case! 

I did up the CAL/MAG, I'm not sure if enough. I don't generally see many people using much more than 5ml per gallon, so I'm going cautiously there.

Other than the horrid look, the plant has all kinds of branches and flowers going on. My thinking is that if the additional nutrients make any kind of difference in the next few days, that it may yet be possible to save the plants as the roots still look good. If I see improvement, I'll start pruning off the problem areas.

I checked the AG Experiments guy video, he was growing THREE of these in a Bounty! Yikes! The other gal had tried to start two, but actually only ended up with one. I think she was giving normal AG nutes, with no supplementation. But with my soft water, supplementation is definitely necessary.

[scarfguy]

The leaves will also look like that with a magnesium deficiency. 

I had good luck recently by putting a quarter teaspoon of epsom salts in the bowl.  

Epsom salts is pure magnesium.  

This will provide more magnesium than cal-mag without adding too much calcium.

[pfunnyjoy]

Mar 5, 2024 6:29:30 GMT -5 scarfguy said:

The leaves will also look like that with a magnesium deficiency. 

I had good luck recently by putting a quarter teaspoon of epsom salts in the bowl.  

Epsom salts is pure magnesium.  

This will provide more magnesium than cal-mag without adding too much calcium.

I will try that! I have Epsom salts!

So far, have seen no improvement, and actually, saw a small return of leaf edema after changing the nutrients. 

[pfunnyjoy]

scarfguy I've added 1/4 teaspoon Epsom salts as of just now and we'll see how it goes. Do you normally just add the salts, or do you dissolve in water first? I decided to err on dissolving them first, but then I had to take a wild guess as to how much pH Down to add to just 2 cups of water, LOL! Fortunately, I guessed right the first time.

How often should I add?

Anyway, the plant leaves still look very problematic, but I swear the plants have grown upwards a bit AND I'm finding LANTERNS! So maybe there's hope of rescue, I don't know. 

But I'm concerned about the appearance of new leaf edema. I may try running the fan all night as well as all day. 

[scarfguy]

At first I added the epsom salts right into the bowl.  Since it dissolved slowly, I didn't have a good feel for how much the EC and pH changed until the next day.  I started dissolving it in a small beaker of water and then adding that to the bowl.  The EC and pH then stabilized in an hour or two. No difference in effect just easier to control.

I had a tomato plant last year that was showing the yellow leave / green vein symptom.  Cal-Mag wasn't helping so I tried the epsom salts.  Within a day or two, the plant improved and a few days later it was good as new.  I think I used the epsom salts twice more about a week apart but then I discontinued using it cause I didn't need it any more.

Since then, I gave two other plants a dose of epsom salts and they both seemed to green up and look better.

====

DISCLAIMER:  If you don't have good results trying anything I suggest, don't listen to me.  What the hell do I know? I have no idea what I'm doing. I get all of my information from the internet. Just cause something worked for me, doesn't mean it will work for you.

[lynnee]

Lanterns,yay!

I really hope you can salvage the plants, pfunnyjoy!

[pfunnyjoy]

Mar 6, 2024 22:23:48 GMT -5 lynnee said:

Lanterns,yay!

I really hope you can salvage the plants, pfunnyjoy !

I hope. They are pretty wretched looking. Which I can live with if they actually produce fruit! Otherwise, not so much. 

scarfguy Don't worry, if the Epsom salts cause a huge catastrophe (like these plants aren't already there), I won't blame you! I suspect half my trouble is trying to grow two of them, rather than just one. And being too cautious with the nutrients. And maybe just having cooler conditions than this plant likes.

[pfunnyjoy]

2024-03-11: Day 68
The plants are growing and looking better than they were. However, they continue to look somewhat “off” to my eye. There are leaves curling like cigars, some leaves that don’t look quite right. I’m bumping the Flora nutrients and cutting the cal/mag back a notch. Have trimmed quite a few leaves and cleared access to the water hatch.

Existing lanterns are larger, and more small ones can be seen.

Nutrients (per gallon):
5.0ml of CALiMAGic
15.0ml of GH Flora Micro
15.0ml of GH Flora Gro
18.0ml of GH Flora Bloom
5.0ml of 3% hydrogen peroxide

Nutrient mix pH: 6.0
Nutrient mix EC: 4.6

[pfunnyjoy]

2024-03-18: Day 75
The plants are looking about as good as they have, less stressed with better looking leaves, but there’s still signs of it not being 100% happy, including small amounts of leaf edema. I’m proceeding with the grow as there are LOTS of lanterns, and the lanterns are getting bigger, though none have dropped yet.

I have done another pruning, as the plant is a rambunctious one! I also lifted the deck and cut roots impeding the pump away. And cleared the water level sensor, which had stopped working. I have changed the pump to 60 minutes on, 0 minutes off. And as the EC was reading 2.6, I think the plants could possibly go 10 days instead of 7 before the next batch of nutrients is necessary, so I changed that setting.

Nutrients (per gallon):
5.0ml of CALiMAGic
15.0ml of GH Flora Micro
15.0ml of GH Flora Gro
18.0ml of GH Flora Bloom
5.0ml of 3% hydrogen peroxide

Nutrient mix pH: 6.0
Nutrient mix EC: 4.4

[pfunnyjoy]

And stupidity strikes! After unplugging everything to lift the plant out and rinse the bowl, I FORGOT TO PLUG THE PUMP BACK IN!

5 days without the pump.

The plants weren't looking good, and not drinking much, and I was seeing more leaf edema, so I thought that was why the leaves were developing brown spots, but this morning, when I went to shake the plant for pollination, the stems felt much less rigid and more flexible. At which point I knew what I must've done, checked, and sure enough. I plugged the pump back in, gave the garden a shot of hydrogen peroxide and now I'm hoping it can recover.

I don't know if it will, since it's been challenged from the get go.

[lynnee]

We've all done that, pfunnyjoy! Five days shouldn't be too long to be without a pump. Fingers crossed for your ground cherry!

[pfunnyjoy]

Mar 24, 2024 1:07:58 GMT -5 lynnee said:

We've all done that, pfunnyjoy ! Five days shouldn't be too long to be without a pump. Fingers crossed for your ground cherry!

I hate to admit it, but I managed to do it to the kale the week before this. They went a whole WEEK without the pump, but other than just not growing, didn't seem badly affected, and are back to doing their crazy kale thing and need harvesting yet again, LOL!

The ground cherry though, the pump has been back on all day and the plant does NOT look improved tonight. So I don't know. I'll give it a couple days, but if the stems don't firm up again....

[pfunnyjoy]

The ground cherries did not recover from my big boo-boo with the pump. I've terminated them, but still need to clean and sanitize the garden, though I did take the plants out for trash day on Thursday.

I'm not sure what to put in next. NOT ground cherries. I may retry at some point, but I'm not in the mood to do it now. I do hope to try and start some seeds in the near future to put outdoors.

Might buy some pepper seeds.

[lynnee]

Too bad about the ground cherries. Live and learn. Unfortunately, with the pump thing, experience doesn't protect against leaving the pump unplugged from time to time, if my own experience is at all typical.

[pfunnyjoy]

Mar 30, 2024 10:10:13 GMT -5 lynnee said:

Too bad about the ground cherries. Live and learn. Unfortunately, with the pump thing, experience doesn't protect against leaving the pump unplugged from time to time, if my own experience is at all typical.

Yes, I was hoping to at least get a taste of the fruit, but they were ill-fated. I don't think the plant liked the cooler basement environment AT ALL, but I did not want a large and messy grow in my crowded office. And I had no idea what I was doing, trying for two plants was a definite mistake.

I cleaned out the water and roots today, wadded the roots up in my hands and had a softball! A lot of roots! And they had infiltrated the pump somewhat! All cleaned out now.

I still need to sanitize the garden, but we are low on vinegar and Safeway was out. I might just do a lettuce grow next. I've not had a lot of time for the gardens lately, so something not too demanding would be nice.

The kale is still going absolutely crazy and not remotely phased by the death of its neighbor garden. It's totally happy in the basement!