Newer leaves curling up, yellowing margins, burnt look?

[jcosmo]

I'm not sure what's going on, first noticed this on the Micro Tom and thought maybe it was too close to the lights... but now it's happening with the Mighty Minis, and they're also showing this on the newer leaves. (Leaves that are closer to the light are just fine.) Any idea what this might be? From what I'm reading, maybe an iron deficiency... but if the AG nutes didn't provide enough iron, I wouldn't be the only one having this issue:

Just guessing, but did you overfeed it?Did you give  it the same dose as the Classic6??!!Or add nutrients directly into the tank? Use nutrients other than AG with a wrong balance?
Put them in a draft? There are tons of causes.
If it were my project I would dump all the water , let it run for a day on plain water and then add 4ml only of AG nutrients , a very small amount of Mucha Stash additive and see what happens. The green leaves will not fade, but ones looking poorly will probably stay looking poorly, and I would try and clip off the worst ones.....IF lack of cal/mag is the problem.JMO

[jcosmo]

The Classic 6 has a flap over the front/center of the tank, so I'm always adding nutes directly to the tank when I feed that one. I didn't realize it could cause problems if I did that in other gardens but I will definitely go back to adding nutes to the Sprout's front compartment and the Bounty's corner! I've been giving the Classic 6 the standard 3 mL of Mooch for tomatoes each week, but I was only giving 2 mL to the Sprout. Should I go down to 1 mL for the Sprout and 2 mL for the Classic?

when I say add nutes, I mean UNDILUTED nutrients, not the premixed ones.Adding directly undiluted is not recommended. But it looks like it is not the crisping up of too many nutrients, but a deficiency of some kind.
But I would do a dump and refill .
You could pm Mike about the Mooch ..he is more knowledgeable than I am about that.

...I just read that you are having this happen suddenly with 2 gardens!
Could be your mix is off.

[Kate]

Feb 20, 2018 19:40:52 GMT -5 jcosmo said:

I'm not sure what's going on, first noticed this on the Micro Tom and thought maybe it was too close to the lights... but now it's happening with the Mighty Minis, and they're also showing this on the newer leaves. (Leaves that are closer to the light are just fine.) Any idea what this might be? From what I'm reading, maybe an iron deficiency... but if the AG nutes didn't provide enough iron, I wouldn't be the only one having this issue:

I did some reading, and it seems that burn shouldn't cause the leaf issues you're having. It would turn the edges brown, but with downward curling not the upward curling. Indoor hydroponics are quite different than outside, soil growing problems, assuming when it's warm you have screens on your windows and don't bring in outside plants.

This was very helpful: homeguides.sfgate.com/hydroponics-leaf-curl-35277.html

"Specific Problems

Look closely at the leaves to help determine which nutrients is off balance. When the leaves are dark green and curled downward, it's likely you're overfeeding them and they are trying to process too many nutrients. Cut back on the solution for a few days to see if that eliminates the problem. When leaves curl upward, they are missing a vital nutrient. With a potassium deficiency, it's the older leaves that curl and begin to turn yellow. When the solution is lacking sufficient calcium, the younger leaves start to curl and become stiff. Younger leaves are also affected by a lack of boron or zinc. When the leaves on a plant take on a blue hue around the edge and curl upward, check copper levels, which are likely too low.

Corrective Action

When you first notice leaf curl, spray the affected plant's leaves with an all-purpose plant fertilizer. This provides emergency nutrients for the plant. Examine the plants to see if others are showing signs of leaf curl; it could be centralized to one species or it could be affecting all of the plants. Change the mixture of nutrients in your solution to help correct the problem, adding new solution each week. Make sure you pulverize any nutrient crystals before mixing them with water to create your nutrient solution; it's possible you have the right nutrients but that they aren't dissolving adequately. Measure the pH of the new solution, as the plants can't absorb the nutrients well if the solution becomes too acidic or alkaline. Stick to a pH of around 6.5 for the best results."

I hope this helps.


 

[Kate]

Feb 20, 2018 19:40:52 GMT -5 jcosmo said:

I'm not sure what's going on, first noticed this on the Micro Tom and thought maybe it was too close to the lights... but now it's happening with the Mighty Minis, and they're also showing this on the newer leaves. (Leaves that are closer to the light are just fine.) Any idea what this might be? From what I'm reading, maybe an iron deficiency... but if the AG nutes didn't provide enough iron, I wouldn't be the only one having this issue:

I also wondered if you use distilled water, or tap, spring, etc.? Distilled is kind of a PITA, but really it's best to support nutrients without causing such wild PH swings. I've thought about getting a countertop distiller if I go berserk with this like I usually do with my "hobbies". I'm pretty sure I'm more than a little OCD about a lot of things 

[jcosmo]

Thanks, everyone! Yes, I've been using distilled water only. I don't pre-mix nutrients, but I had started adding them through an unused hole instead of through the side, thinking they'd be more evenly distributed that way. A month ago, I bought a set of meters for pH and conductivity (?), but haven't used them yet since the pH meter needs to be calibrated. Maybe I'll do that tonight, in case a wonky pH is making the nutrients unavailable.

[Shawn]

I never add nutes in the corners, I always add them in one of the center holes of the deck.  Should I not be doing that?

[jcosmo]

Yikes! The pH in the Sprout measured 3.87! The pH in the Classic 6 measured 4.44! I tested a cup of tap water to make sure I wasn't getting false lows and got 7.51. The Classic 6 is due for a R/R tomorrow, but the Sprout just got one on 2/13.

I had ordered a pH Control Kit (General Hydroponics) around the same time I had ordered the meters. I just opened it, and ironically enough, it has a vial and drops for testing pH, no calibration required! But I'll probably do a rinse/refill on both, anyway.

[mike]

Yes, far to acidic. I'd do a dump also. I never use more than 2 ml of the Mooch on Tomatoes. It does look like excessive nutes, but I'm not sure here.

[jcosmo]

OMFG. I figured out what happened... This morning, I went by Winn-Dixie before work to pick up a few jugs of Steam-Distilled Water. They were completely out of distilled water, so after work, I stopped by Publix to pick up some Purified Water. I had assumed that this was their version of distilled water, since they don't sell anything labeled Distilled Water, but the jugs of Purified Water say "Deionized and ozonated for distilled water uses."

BIG MISTAKE.

I pulled out my phone and Googled distilled vs. deionized. The pH properties of deionized water are explained on this site:

Deionized water is reactive, so its properties start to change as soon as it is exposed to air. Deionized water has a pH of 7 when it is delivered, but as soon as it comes into contact with carbon dioxide from the air, the dissolved CO2 reacts to produce H+ and HCO3-, driving the pH closer to 5.6.

So I have one expensive gallon of actual distilled water from a health food store nearby, and I'll be going on a quest for more of it tomorrow. In the meantime, I have no idea which of my gardens have gotten more Purified Water than Steam-Distilled Water, so I'll have to pH test all of them and try to correct the balance.

[Kate]

I wondered if it might be the water. Nothing you were doing should have caused distilled water to get so acidic unless the water itself was leaning acidic to begin with. I had wondered if maybe the water jug was mislabeled. They should recover once you get them out of that.

My parents gardened a full acre on our farm back in the 60's - early 70's, and I learned a lot. Since then, I've always grown fruits and veggies, everywhere I've lived. I even have hybrid fruit trees in my yard, in Fairbanks, Alaska! There was an old man here, Clair Lammers, who developed amazing arctic hardy fruit frees of many types and has massive orchards just outside town. I got my trees from him, many years ago. He passed away about 5 years ago, but his family still maintains the orchards. I miss him.

[mike]

If your water had a pH of 5.6 to start, adding the pH buffered  AG nutes could have knocked it down into the 3s. The water here in Grand Rapids is pretty decent. I just use tap water. It works fine.

[Shawn]

I do not ever test the water anymore.  I had two testers and both are broke.  I have no idea how but they are. 

[jcosmo]

When I tested them last night, the lowest tested at 4.36, but I was able to bring up all the ones that were acidic into the 5.5 to 6.5 range. I haven't tried using tap water because I live in Florida, and I had come across this support article on the AG site mentioning Florida water:

Hard water is the number one cause of growth problems in the AeroGarden. Water that contains a lot of dissolved minerals (well water, spring water, softened water, or hard water found in some mountain communities, parts of Florida and the desert southwest) is often far enough outside normal pH and EC levels that it interferes with the effectiveness of the nutrients/pH-buffer . This can prevent the uptake of nutrients by the plants, which can prevent germination or cause stunted growth and yellowing of leaves.

[Kate]

Feb 23, 2018 22:34:27 GMT -5 jcosmo said:

When I tested them last night, the lowest tested at 4.36, but I was able to bring up all the ones that were acidic into the 5.5 to 6.5 range. I haven't tried using tap water because I live in Florida, and I had come across this support article on the AG site mentioning Florida water:

Hard water is the number one cause of growth problems in the AeroGarden. Water that contains a lot of dissolved minerals (well water, spring water, softened water, or hard water found in some mountain communities, parts of Florida and the desert southwest) is often far enough outside normal pH and EC levels that it interferes with the effectiveness of the nutrients/pH-buffer . This can prevent the uptake of nutrients by the plants, which can prevent germination or cause stunted growth and yellowing of leaves.

Here in Fairbanks, we have REALLY hard water. It's great for aquarium fish and outside gardens, but apparently not so much for hydroponics.

[jcosmo]

ALL of my tomatoes are showing new signs of nutrient deficiency in the Sprout, Classic 6, and Bounty . I tested the water and found it too acidic again. I don't get it. The peppers and eggplant (in 2 Bounties and 1 Ultra) are getting the exact same water, but they're on the alkaline end of the expected range. I'm not sure if it's something the tomato plants are producing or what... The only difference between the peppers and tomatoes is that the peppers get 2 mL more of the Ca/Mg supplement, but I would be surprised if 2 mL had that much of an effect on pH.

[Shawn]

I never check the pH anymore.  I was going nutso at one time checking.  I was adding some vinegar to up the pH.  But as I said I have not checked it in well over a year. 

I can not tell you anything about CalMag as I have not used it.  I use the Mr. Mucha Stash (aka Mooch).



I was told at one time that leaf curl on pepper plants is usually associated with excessive nutrients. However yellowing of the leaves is usually a deficiency of nutrients.   I am not saying that either of these are the issue, it is just something that I have followed ...  until I asked again LOL

[MaryL]

These mysteries and inconsistencies can be so frustrating, I know.   I’ve been having weird problems with multiple herb gardens using the same water and nutes in each.  I dunno what it is.