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Growit
 Supporting Member
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| | Posted on Friday, February 29, 2008 - 01:59 pm EST : |   |
New growth that is completely yellow is caused by sulphur deficiency. You need to correct this asap or you will have problems with fruit set.
This tells you why plants need it!
[Sulphur is necessary for proteins, vitamins and the synthesis of some plant hormones. It is essential for the production of healthy, green leafy material. Without adequate sulphur, chlorophyll is not stable and plants suffer from chlorosis (lack of chlorophyll). Like calcium, sulphur is not mobile within plant tissues, so a continuous supply is needed for growing plants.
Deficiency symptoms:
Young leaves are pale green or light yellow without spots]
Growit
- Hants UK,
Zone "8/9"
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Growit
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| | Posted on Friday, February 29, 2008 - 02:06 pm EST : | |
It is not mosaic virus. This causes mottling of the leaves and not the complete lack of colour that you have. Chances are that there are a few aphids on your plant but if the ladybird is there they won't be there for long. You are growing a plant in completely articial conditions and this will lead to an imbalance of nutrients. You have a plant that is growing very fast you just need to keep up with it. A bit like feeding a teenager lol!!
Growit
- Hants UK,
Zone "8/9"
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Pumpkinbond
| | Posted on Friday, February 29, 2008 - 04:08 pm EST : | |
okdok. I need to find some sulphur, can I get that at the garden shop? I already cut the baby leaves because I thought that it was CMV but new ones will grow soon. I know this must be stressing the hell out of the plant but I'm just trying to help. Where can I find sulphur?
Pumpkinbond
- north carolina,
Zone "?"
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Pumpkinbond
| | Posted on Wednesday, March 05, 2008 - 08:46 pm EST : | |
I think I may have solved the mystery, Noting that growit said that it may be sulphur deficiency I researched suphur deficiencies and found that one of the main things that aggravates sulphur deficiencies is over watering the plants. I had dismissed the fact that it could be overwatering because the leaves were not drooping bad on the whole. I was curious however and began to monitor the daily moisture levels in each successive level of the soil from top to bottom, I have not watered the plant in 8 days, since I reported on the 26th and all of the levels except for the top still register the soil as being a 10 out of 10 on the scale. I had previously been watering the plant every 4 days which means I was giving them way too much. Also to consider is the fact that giving them iron may have helped things a great deal as well. The new leaves look good and healthy. The other thing it could be is the light. Perhaps the light was freaking them out due to the fact that the big light was going on and off in intervals during the day(I have since switched to it being on the entire time. Whatever it is it appears to have worked for the time being. I will post new pictures once I'm sure it is out of the woods. Thank you all for your suggestions. It may be true that everyone had a hand in solving this one or maybe just one, who knows, but things have improved. Thanks all,
Bond
Pumpkinbond
- north carolina,
Zone "?"
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Loretta
Supporting Member
| | Posted on Wednesday, March 05, 2008 - 10:15 pm EST : | |
Glad things are back to normal! Did you add sulphur?
Loretta
- NJ,
Zone "6"
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Growit
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| | Posted on Thursday, March 06, 2008 - 03:40 am EST : | |
I am so glad it is still alive! Glad I was of some assistance although strictly speaking it was not lacking sulphur it just couldn't use it because of waterlogging. Most of the time the nutrients are there in the soil and it is a physiological disorder rather than a nutrient disorder.
Keep posting pictures as it grows. Your experiment is quite fascinating.
Growit
- Hants UK,
Zone "8/9"
|
Pumpkinbond
| | Posted on Thursday, March 06, 2008 - 04:35 pm EST : | |
no I did not add the sulphur, I figured if they were doing well then I shouldn't also the moisture was still way too high and you have to add the sulphur through the water. I wish I had my camera so I could show you whats going on with the middle right now. Since I pruned the bad leaves the middle where the base stem is has started just blasting out leaves I count ten new ones of varying size ALL coming out of the middle. I may have to trim some of them back to make room for the others. It is going to need some serious vertical growth in order to make room for all of these leaves I have no idea if a vine is going to grow out of there or what, thats my hope anyway, if not then there is a serious problem. Ill post some more pictures as soon as I get my camera back, thanks again all,
bond
Pumpkinbond
- north carolina,
Zone "?"
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Loretta
Supporting Member
| | Posted on Friday, March 07, 2008 - 09:33 am EST : | |
Your new profile pic befits you perfectly!
That is why drainage is so important in a large container like that, especially a plastic one. The top of the soil seems dry but it can be very soggy below. The plastic won't allow for evaporation. With the lights and fan going, the top dries out fast. Meanwhile, the roots sit in water, they can't get oxygen, etc from the soil and problems start. Fortunately for you, a pumpkin is a vigorous root grower but another plant might take a long time to recover from something like that or not recover at all.
At the same time, having a large container works to your benefit as it has more soil to cope with the water. If you haven't figured it out already, one way you might be able to tell the overall dryness of the container is by the weight. If you lift up a corner and it is on the light side, it is dry, the moister the soil is, the heavier the container obviously.
You know, this pumpkin is really showing you a lot, isn't it? You are going to have some garden some day.
Loretta
- NJ,
Zone "6"
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Pumpkinbond
| | Posted on Friday, March 07, 2008 - 04:04 pm EST : | |
Thanks so much Loretta, Growit. Well an interesting think has been happening, the leaves that are farther away from the center have been growing neon yet the ones that have grown close to the center are coming out a fantastic green color. I still think you may be right about the sulphur growit, My question is- Since the bin is not ready for more watering yet I was wondering if I could get some sulphur to the new leaves using a foliar spray and just spritzing the leave with a light solution. Would this be an effective way of getting the sulfur to the leaf?
Pumpkinbond
- north carolina,
Zone "?"
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Loretta
Supporting Member
| | Posted on Friday, March 07, 2008 - 04:46 pm EST : | |
I've never tried it but seems it could work. The main thing is not to spray something not meant for indoors that you and your friends will be breathing in.
Loretta
- NJ,
Zone "6"
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Pumpkinbond
| | Posted on Friday, March 07, 2008 - 06:52 pm EST : | |
Thats a good point. The Sulphur that I purchased is for outdoor use and I'm not sure of its effects on people in an enclosed area indoors, I guess I wont use it. I think I'm just going to let what happens happen then. Its so weird that the water levels have not gone down at all in a 9 day period, one would think it would have dried out at least a little bit. oh well, I guess its back to the waiting game.
Bond
Pumpkinbond
- north carolina,
Zone "?"
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Pumpkinbond
| | Posted on Friday, March 07, 2008 - 11:48 pm EST : | |
Couldnt wait, had to atleast try to figure out whats going on here, I mixed a spray bottle with .1 tbsp of sulphur I sprayed thoroughly on only 1 leaf, that way if I was wrong or got the concentration messed up then atleast I will only scorch 1 leaf. I suppose the question is- if it is sulphur deficiency then would you see a change in the new leaf? or is a doomed leaf a doomed leaf, is it capable of repairing its damaged parts? I gave the inside leaves a closer inspection and found that most of the leaves are similar to the outer ones, simply more developed which is disappointing, there is however a ray of hope in that one of the leaves looks completely healthy and green. I will keep trying things as usual but its not lookin good, :( . On each of the leaves there is 1. chlorosis in one spot or another.It appears as tiny dots in between the leaves 2. deformation, the leaves are not symmetrical and grow in weird shapes some are weirder than others. 3. Necrosis on one of the leaves already in the form of tiny little dots that you can see through. This was also the eventual fate of the leaves that I chopped off before.
This batch of leaves has looked much better on the whole than the last batch, Ill post back with experiment sulphur results soon
Pumpkinbond
- north carolina,
Zone "?"
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Pumpkinbond
| | Posted on Saturday, March 08, 2008 - 03:39 pm EST : | |
Not sure if it is from the sulphur spritzing or not but last night provided a good deal of growth in the plants. This may be caused by the sulphur or it may just be the plant getting back into full swing after the water surplus. the top three inches are dry I have noticed so I gave them a spray bottle watering to saturate the top, the water contains sulphur, I hope to see some kind of improvement in the next few days, the growth overnight was pretty amazing but the leaves are not looking too fabulous, post back in a few bond
Pumpkinbond
- north carolina,
Zone "?"
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Growit
Supporting Member
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| | Posted on Monday, March 10, 2008 - 01:45 pm EST : | |
Hya. Back again. Sorry I was away for the weekend.
Rather than messing with it anymore I would be patient and let the plant try and sort itself out. Adding one chemical after another may just cause other problems and you will be forever chasing your tail trying to work out what to 'fix' next. Is the soil any drier at the bottom? Can you stick your hand/arm in and feel that far down? Can you turn the soil over to encourage it to dry out lower down? Overwatering is one of the main reasons plants die. Most people overlove their plants. Few die fast from neglect.
Growit
- Hants UK,
Zone "8/9"
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Pumpkinbond
| | Posted on Wednesday, March 12, 2008 - 03:22 am EST : | |
Thats a good addage to live by it has now been 12 days since I watered a far cry from the every 4 days I was doing. The readings on the moisture meter are starting to peter down to the average range and dry range closer to the sides of the bin while the middle still remains wet. I am preparing a new bin for them to grow into tomorrow because they will have moved out of there by then. I need to be more gentle when moving the vine this time, they are not as malleable as I had though, I finally got my camera back yesterday and am happy that I can finally take some pictures to post, Though there have been some splotchy leaves most of them are trying hard to be healthy which is great. Ill post more pictures tomorrow after I get the new bin set up. I went around soliciting farmers the other day trying to get a patch to grow in during the spring but so far people don't seem to want to be bothered, one man actually shot his gun in the air as I ran away from his house. I wasn't even being rude! Maybe just too enthusiastic? In any event Im rambling check back tomorrow for some sexy pumpkin pics!
Pumpkinbond
- north carolina,
Zone "?"
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Growit
Supporting Member
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| | Posted on Thursday, March 13, 2008 - 02:05 pm EST : | |
Checking.....?
Growit
- Hants UK,
Zone "8/9"
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Pumpkinbond
| | Posted on Friday, March 14, 2008 - 05:06 pm EST : | |
hey all sorry I haven't been posting enough pictures lately. shouldn't have triple majored! Gaaaah, ok so heres whats gone down. 1 the plant is looking very healthy with good leaves even on the new vines which is fantastic 2. they have grown so much that I have had to make them a new tub, I stuck to the same recipe of soil as the last time with a few changes. noting that the soil got incredibly poor drainage I added perlite into the mix, I also poked many many more holes in the bottom of the bin so that the water is able to leak out, I also poked holes in the side to that the water can evaporate from there as well if it so desires. 3. Ive trained the vine into the next tub, here lies the rub, I am conflicted as to whether I should root all three vines or let one of them climb. Aesthetically I think it would look way cool to have a vine crawling up a chain or some netting or something but I also want to make sure that the plant gets all of the nutrients it needs, then again I dont want the plant to get root bound because it has too many vines growing in the same general area. As of right now though they are growing incredibly fast, in the past 3 days the vines have grown over a foot and a half from where they originally were, I did a photo time lapse on them today with my computer and the growth is just astounding, I think we should take a vote on the climbing thing, who thinks I should let one climb and who thinks I should bury them all? Anyway as usual thanks for the help, tell me what you see and tell me if there is possibly something I should be improving on, oh by the way picture 4 I think it is, is a male flower growing off one of the secondary vines, the flower is inside all of those protective barb looking thingys you see there, hope everyones doing well,
Bond+++ jpeg +++ 111149724 +++ Plant Forum +++
+++ jpeg +++ 111149725 +++ Plant Forum +++
+++ jpeg +++ 111149726 +++ Plant Forum +++
+++ jpeg +++ 111149727 +++ Plant Forum +++
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Pumpkinbond
- north carolina,
Zone "?"
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Pumpkinbond
| | Posted on Friday, March 14, 2008 - 05:10 pm EST : | |
those images didnt come out here they are again
Pumpkinbond
- north carolina,
Zone "?"
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Heirloomgardens
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| | Posted on Friday, March 14, 2008 - 05:25 pm EST : | |
As far as climbing versus sprawling goes, I think it depends on what your goal is, especially since I don't know what size pumpkins your vines are apt to grow. If you go with climbing, you need something (a hammock) that will support your pumpkin fruits, unless you intend to let the vines back down when the pumpkins get large. If you go with sprawling, you won't know how cool it would have been to have a climbing vine, nor would you know what not to do with a climbing vine next time if you decide to try this again. LOL. Personally, I would want some of each, but it depends on if you can supply enough light to the vines that climb.
Heirloomgardens
- Massachusetts,
Zone "5b"
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Pumpkinbond
| | Posted on Saturday, March 15, 2008 - 01:41 pm EST : | |
Well I've decided set two of them to climbing and two of them to rooting so we will just have to wait and see what happens here, I watered them with two gallons yesterday for the first time in 15 days, they are a bit on the droopy side, to be sure but I think that they will bounce back as soon as it dries out a bit, I'm gonna poke some more holes in the sides of the bin to allow water to evaporate from the soil, Ill post back in a few days with some more pictures,
Bond
Pumpkinbond
- north carolina,
Zone "?"
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