Did you know that your cannabis plants can have nutrient lockout? What is it and how to fix it?

Nutrient lockout is one of the most common problems weed growers face, and it’s far more problematic than a lack of nutrients that plants experience. Unfortunately, nutrient lockout is not always recognized for what it is by less experienced growers. Often enough you will find that they are doing the opposite of what is needed to solve the problem. In this article, you will learn how to recognize nutrient lockout and, more importantly, how to treat it and avoid it in the future.

WHAT IS NUTRIENT LOCKOUT AND HOW IT HAPPENS

Nutrient lockout occurs when nutrient elements like iron, magnesium, potassium, and zinc are available in the root zone but your plants cannot absorb them. It’s possible in any growing medium, but is more likely to occur in coco coir, soil, or rockwool.

Nutrient lockout can be caused by oversaturation of chemical fertilizers with a high salt content. Sometimes the overabundance of one element can cause the others to be locked out. This is a very common problem that many growers face. Another fairly common problem that can lead to nutrient lockout is improper pH in the growing medium. A strongly acidic or basic medium will result in nutrient lockout. Make sure your pH is very close to neutral, within 6.0-6.5.

As soon as you notice that your plants are in nutrient lockout, it would help if you acted quickly. Turning it over in time to release the nutrients is crucial. If left unattended, nutrient lockout will eventually lead to a lack of nutrients and eventually kill your plant. To protect them, you need to know how to fix and identify nutrient lockout. It’s perfect if you haven’t faced this problem before. But read on to learn how to avoid it later.

HOW TO IDENTIFY NUTRIENT LOCKOUT

Nutrient lockout can be difficult to spot. Your cannabis plants can simply appear to be suffering from malnutrition when the real problem is something else. pH fluctuations, over-fertilization, or other stressors affecting the plant’s root zone can be the cause.

Weed plants are quite delicate and require daily care to produce a positive yield. If you’re concerned about your plants and interested in their well-being, you’re already halfway through the battle of identifying a nutrient lockout.

This health issue makes plants appear and feel weak. There seems to be no growth and the leaves are beginning to turn yellow. Left untreated, the yellow leaves turn brown, curl, and appear burnt.

TREATMENT OF NUTRIENT LOCKDOWN

The first thing to check is that you’re getting your nutrients right. Then make sure you are applying the right combination of nutrients and in the appropriate amounts. This is more common with salt-based fertilizers, as salts tend to build up and change the pH of your medium. Therefore, it is not helpful to add additional nutrients after nutrient lockout has been established.

Once you’ve established an ideal nutrient mix, the next thing to check is that your pH levels are excellent as well. You do this by rinsing your growing medium. Take it one step further the day you flush, the day you reduce the humidity in your grow room to 49%. Flushing can damage roots because it overwaters your root zone. This should be done for one light on cycle and one light off cycle.

Flush your soil with fresh, pH-balanced water. In the case of a hydroponic system, simply running a fresh solution through your setup is sufficient. The extra water flowing through your medium will help break down the salt build-up and facilitate nutrient absorption. Once this process is complete, provide your plant with its rightful share of nutrients and water solution immediately.

However, make sure you let the soil dry out first. This is to allow the root to breathe and thus prevent root rot.

The pH-regulating solution is also worth trying.

These won’t wash away the salt buildup, but they are efficient in a nutrient lockout situation.

PREVENT REPEAT

If you encounter a problem with your cannabis plant, experience is the best teacher. Your ability to offer a solution or not, as well as your knowledge of how to avoid a future lockout, sets the boys apart from the male breeders.

To keep plants in perfect health, regular flushing is recommended. Once at the beginning of the flowering phase and another in the middle of the flowering cycle.

It is important to know that pruned plants require less nutrients. That’s reasonable, but not all breeders think about it. Pruned plants require less mass to be fed from the plant. Take this into account when feeding your trimmed cannabis plants.

If you intend to change your lighting and/or nutrient schedule, do so slowly. Never make sudden changes as this stresses the plant and you may end up causing more problems instead of fixing one. Weed plants need time to adapt to new environments. Sudden changes in nature are unlikely to occur. Transitioning to the veg and flowering phase should take at least a week. Do not change the nutrient levels when you go to the flower room, as this will slow down the growth of the plant at a critical time.

bottom line

Last but not least, it is important to note the importance of using quality supplements and organic fertilizers. As we should know by now, salt-based fertilizers encourage salt accumulation in the root zone. Similar to humans, salt dehydrates the plant and prevents it from properly absorbing the good stuff. Using organic fertilizers does not mean that nutrient lockout is impossible; it just makes it less likely.

Many novice cannabis growers fall victim to nutrient lockout, and experts are not left out either. Everyone wants their plant to get enough nutrition to grow big, healthy buds, but overfeeding is a bad idea. But now that you have the knowledge of how to identify, resolve, and prevent nutrient lockout, you have the opportunity to have a bountiful harvest and a successful grow.

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