rusty spots and patches on leaves (pic)

hey guys, i have several young seedlings, about 1 month since germ and around 7". they are from a reputable source and have grown beyone expectation untill the last week or 2. small spots started to grow on the leaves which adventualy grew into more that take over the leaf. they are planted in fresh generic potting soil with some nutes pre added. currently about 6 of 10 seedlings have these spots, some have nearly taken over the plant while others have few spots. i have noticed similar spots on other plants of mine, they seem to infest the plant for about a month and then slowly go away. there are no visible signs of mites. i am wattering with plain city tap watter but i let it sit for 24 hrs. still saving for the ph tester. any ideas would be greatly appreciated thanks.

 

Looks to me like a calcium deficiency... you plants are hungry... from the look of the leaves I think you could be giving them more nitrogen as well, but they really want calcium right now...

Buy a cheap pH kit asap and test the runoff of your soil... calcium is harder for the plant to absorb in acidic soils... Foliar feed with 1 tablespoon of dolomite lime per qt of water... should be a quick fix... and try to get that pH meter along with some real nutes.....

Good luck... peace bruddah...

 

your not feeding them any nutrients? there's not enough in your potting soil to feed them properly.

If $$$ is a factor, you can get by with Miracle Gro, just use it at 1/2 dosage. Make sure to flush the soil really really well every couple of weeks.

 

hey guys, iv got some new updates. Yesterday i decided to invest in a 70$ ph tester and so far iv got some interesting results. iv measured the run off of all the seedlings that have needed watter and they have all read around 4 I have also picked up some lime pellets and watered with them. how often should i watter and folar spray with the lime? Only 1 plant remains looking spot free and healthy but it has the same ph as all the rest. The ph of our tap water is around 7-7.2. I dont understaind how these plants could be so unhealthy after sush a short amount of time.

 

Make sure youre feeding with DOLOMITE LIME.... they're unhealthy because the pH is off so they cant eat anything.... what is your soil comprised of?

 

i got the lime from a large plant store its called horticultural lime and it looks like small brown, round pellets about a bit bigger than seeds. the soil i picked up is called sunshine potting mix. this is the first time we have tried a cheaper alternative to mirical gro mix. i put some of the fresh soil into a cup with holes and measured the run off which was 4.8 so im guessing it could be bad soil for my plants. would it be a good idea to break off some of the soil and transplant into mirical gro soil? it looks as though several of these plants wont survive at all
Sunshine soil contains. sphagnum peat moss, forest products, perlite, dolomite lime, controlled release fertilizer.

 

PELLETIZED dolomite lime is worthless. Go to a big retailer you want pulverized / powdered dolomite lime. You don't need a lot like a tablespoon per gallon of soil.. i just throw a nice handful in usually. Dolomite will buffer the ph to approx 6.5 which is just right.