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I have a quick question regarding a small grow that I started a couple weeks ago. I had a couple seeds lying around so I decided to throw them on some buckets on soil and let them be outdoors. They get about 12hours of sunlight per day with the more direct sunlight being from 6am-noon. They're about 5 weeks old now and this week I noticed the first leaves have started to yellow on some of the plants.
Did a quick search and it seems this could be overwatering or maybe N deficiency. Can some anyone confirm? I also read that it may be normal for those first leaves to die off. So far i've spent nothing on these plants and kind of doing the grow for fun and learning, any comments welcome.
What kind of soil are you using? It looks pretty dense and hard. May just need some nutrients but I'm not sure cause it looks like there is some burnt tips on the upper leaves. I'm thinking a soil problem.
It was just some soil i bought in a plant shop, don't really know any details although i see what you mean with it being compact. It did feel like a bit tight so i tried to loosen it a bit around the plants, I guess we'll see how it goes.
You are experiencing phosphorous burn as you can tell by the yellow tips at the end of the green leaves. Don't give them any fertilizer whatever dirt you have them in is likely hot.
The dirt will likely be okay assuming it was some sort of all purpose potting mix at the store, but you will probably want to add some microbes to the mix. organic Black strap molasses 1 tablespoon per gallon is a great way to add bacterial microbes in to the mix. If you can find kelp meal you can either brew it and make a tea (1/4 cup per gallon) or top dress it on the dirt (2 teaspoons per gallon of dirt) and water it in. Kelp is great for fungal life.
Really though just make sure the dirt doesnt dry out, keep the root ball in tact (stop trying to break up the dirt if you aren't going to pull the plant out and remix it there is no point because it will just compact back down).
Honestly Id suggest the molasses and some kelp, just give it water and it'll be fine for a long while at least, as there is plenty of phosphorous and seems to be an all purpose mix.
in the future if you decide to use a dirt like that its a good idea to water it in and keep it moist for a couple weeks (ideally with molasses and kelp) so that way when you put plants in it the microbes will already be well established and nutrient uptake will be a smoother process.