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Australia [email protected]

Henry it will be interesting to see the results by the stunted look o the tips low calcium does that even though you're levels are high you do not have enough boron there to pick it up also porkchop said you have amended the nitrogen but they look nitregon deficient when you yo have a low cec low organic matter its a recipe for nitrogen deficiency without constant applications none of this matters unless you drop your ph at 7 zinc becomes unavailable boron uptake reduces manganese availability drops as does iron lack of zinc even though you have plenty of it will look similar to lack of calcium hopefully you get to the bottom of this its disappointing when you have done a lot of work to get this far

5/26/2026 6:12:09 PM

Bethlehem CT

I think a lot of the issue was probably related to soil temp. I had my wood stove going on Sunday!! In cold soil a lot of nutrients get locked up and it creates issues.

5/26/2026 6:54:59 PM

Bethlehem CT

Low soil temperatures usually cause nutrient deficiencies because plant roots and soil biology become sluggish, hindering uptake. However, certain nutrients can appear overly concentrated or even reach toxic levels due to reduced mobility, altered chemical balances, or poor soil drainage.Nutrients Affected by Cold SoilsIron (Fe): In cold, poorly drained, or waterlogged soils, conditions become anaerobic (lacking oxygen). This chemical shift increases the solubility of iron, sometimes pushing it to toxic levels, which can also trigger a secondary Manganese deficiency.Potassium (K): Potassium uptake is significantly reduced in cold root environments. Even if soil tests show high Potassium, cool roots struggle to absorb it, which can cause an unhealthy nutrient imbalance compared to other minerals.Nitrogen (N): Unlike Potassium, Nitrogen uptake remains mostly steady even in cooler weather. This can skew your plant's internal ratio, resulting in too much Nitrogen uptake relative to elements like Potassium or Phosphorus.

5/26/2026 6:55:15 PM

Bethlehem CT

The above was cut and pasted from google AI

5/26/2026 6:56:09 PM

Grittyville, WA

AI can be full of nonsense but the part about iron causing a manganese deficiency is interesting, also potassium being affected by cold weather.

I'll have to research that 2nd claim... AI creates images containing specific flaws but an overall realism. I think it does the same with written words. What it writes may contain flaws but other parts may be true. It's good to see if it has cited reputable sources before trusting it fully. I find it worthwhile to double check its answers.

[Last edit: 05/26/26 8:21:05 PM]

5/26/2026 8:17:55 PM

Grittyville, WA

@bigmoon, high temps and high soil moisture might cause a sulfer deficiency because the overactive bacteria use it up? Ammonium sulfate should overcome all three issues of low sulfer, low nitrogen, and high ph?

I totally agree there could be other issues and I hope you'll him help sort them out.

5/26/2026 8:34:32 PM

Australia [email protected]

Agree john if the soil is cold they don't like it I would address the issues with the soil test as well it will be interesting to look at tissue test to see how it correlates with the soil test

5/26/2026 11:56:14 PM

Sunny Okanagan

Henry, could you please share more pictures of the leaves or growing tips? In the one picture it looked as though the leaf had holes in it. Are the leaves partially translucent?

5/27/2026 2:14:40 AM

Topsfield, MA

Hey guys. My soil temp has been warm. Mid-upper 70s and staying around 70 in the hoop houses at night. Soil temp never drops below 75. During the day I try to keep them in the 80s. If high temps can cause a sulfur deficiency, then maybe we are onto something. Interesting stuff. Gardeneer, Those holes on the butternut were actually from aphids when the plants were still on the pots. I sprayed with some seven and they died pretty quick.

5/27/2026 11:04:03 AM

Topsfield, MA

There are some holes on the pumpkin plant too. That is from the rain a few days ago. We got some torrential rain and I wanted to give the plants some fresh rain. I actually have had that happen in the past where it rains so hard that the dirt and rock pebbles bounce up and put some small holes in the leaves

5/27/2026 11:05:35 AM

Topsfield, MA

I also checked all my plants for any aphids on them and the butternut plants were the only ones with a few of them

5/27/2026 11:06:51 AM

Central NY

You using the same shovel that you mix the amendments with to collect the soil sample?

5/27/2026 11:09:30 AM

Topsfield, MA

I am not!

5/27/2026 5:01:28 PM

Torrance, Ca.

Looking forward to hearing what Harry says. If you talk to the guys at western make sure you speak with Harry. Harry is much better at figuring out this type of situation and not as long winded.

Looking forward to the outcome Henry!

5/28/2026 9:05:48 AM