A classic example of...........???

[FullMoonparty]

Regarding "The very light dose of grow dots I used did not produce any salts on the surface," keep in mind that with water generally flowing through the soil from the bottom feeding to the top surface, salts are surely there in top layers, even if you don't see it. [How did you determine that bottom feeding "did not produce any salts on the surface?"].

Removing top layer soil and adding fresh top dressing (adding more nutes?) is a radical move, and I presume you will likely have to continue to remove top soil periodically. Doing this, the top layer is of no use for growing roots. I think occasional good drain-to-waste from the top is preferable. But check with actual AutoPot experts!

Day 66 they don't have too long to go. I'm not going to worry about the last 20-25 days or so. Not being a soil scientist or even a chemist I have no way of knowing exactly what happened to the nutrient levels by under/over watering. At this stage of life it's a waste of time. Let's just say that the plants are on the DNR list. Just keep them happy and watered. They will probably refuse to take their meds, get grouchy and die.

 

[FullMoonparty]

But by top feeding you are adding risk (likelihood?) that dried salts deposited in surface soil (here where most soil water evaporation naturally occurs from the mostly bottom feeding) will redissolve and cause excesses, imbalances, lockouts, etc.

Look into and get comments from AutoPot users about how they handle this issue. You may well need to do some frequent flushing (top feeding drain-to-waste).

Water never makes it to the top of the soil to push anything up. Dry bones. That is the inherent problem with bottom watering any tall pot.

 

[FullMoonparty]

A Classic Case of Bad Watering practices.
Hey guys. It's been a while and I thought I should let you know that I figured out what was going wrong with my grow. Yes, the plant needed calcium and magnesium and nitrogen and sulfur and........ The problem was My watering skills and the soil I was using.
Watering. Watering. Watering. A basic skill that is so tricky to master.
My soil had plenty of food for the plant. Too much peat or woody "forest materials" in the soil made it very hard to soak up water. A few weeks into flower the plants would show signs of bad nutrition. By that time the soil was bone dry in the center yet wet and even soggy on the bottom. To make matters worse I would try feeding them big doses of you name it. Thats part of what caused the leaf in the picture.

So, how did I fix it? First of all I changed my soil mix to make it drain better and contain less peat. It drains better and doesn't shrink up like a sponge when It gets dry on top. A wetting agent mixed with the soil and added to waterings is helping a lot. I purchased a decent moisture meter that measures the moisture of the soil a few inches down. It's a big help to me at this point. When I become a Master Gardener, I will pass it on to a newbie. In the past, water was not making it to the center of the root ball. In fact, there were very little roots where the tap root should be. With the help of the meter I am keeping the moisture in the right range.

This forum is great as I've always said. I can't expect anyone to know what is going on in my tent based on a picture. It's like taking a picture of my cars engine and giving it to a mechanic and expecting him to fix it. I thank everyone for their input. It's only best guesses based on the information I provided. I may have left out the fact that the rainwater I had been collecting from the roof had been contaminated by unburned diesel fuel from a malfunctioning furnace. So I decided to figure this shit out on my own.

 

[hecno]

Good on ya mate , but never not ask for advise if needed . We are all here to help