Backyard Aquaponics
A place to discuss aquaponics

I would agree with potassium deficiency. Comfrey tea, compost tea, or seaweed meal would help, but go cautiously.

Good...I just learnt something also Dan...haven't had those symptoms as yet

Thanks Janet. I just could not believe that the cucumbers are doing so well with an abundance of fruiting activity but the bean showing those signs of deficiency. Just the difference in individual plant requirements perhaps? Does the bean need more K to flower than the cuke?

Dan, I think it's the fact that the cuke is sucking that much potassium to flower that is probably starving the beans....

In reality if the beans are in fact growing, and I'm picking they are... what's actually showing up is that you're on or slightly below the overall plant requirements for potassium...

If in fact the beans haven't as yet set any flower or pods then you're under your plants requirements by a fair bit

You've got two heavy potassium users at flowering (cukes) and fruiting (beans) stages.... the leaves are reflecting the fact that the system has sucked all the available potassium into the flowers/fruits....

Yep.... a good top up dose of Potassium is needed now to enable the cukes and beans to fruit out/on properly.... the leaves themselves don't really matter one iota.... just look sickly and will die off.... obviously if too many become like this then your plants vitality is compromised.

You'd get the same problem showing up, probably twice as badly, if you tried to grow cukes and tomatos together at the same time/stages of growth.....

Thanks Rupe. I have some muriate of potash...unsure of the amount to use as yet. instructions say 1/2 lb per 100 sqft and not to let any of it touch root leaves or stem of plant. Yikes how to proceed. I just added another growbed and it is unplanted at the moment. Thinking of dosing it with a tiny amount of this potash say a half teaspoon or even less than that. Hopefully it will be a little less "hot" before reaching the plants in the other beds.

we've got the same problem with our beans and the busy tomatoes. I dosed up a few spots with Min Plus this afternoon

Don;t know that I'd be willing to try putting it in your system DRD, here's one small thing that I found on it..

I'd be a little cautious as well.. muriate of potash is Potassium Chloride....

Potassium Nitrate, Potassium Sulphate or Potassium Magnesium Sulfate (sulfate of potash-magnesia) might be better choices.

Although Potassium Nitrate might be hard to get these days or attract the attention of Homeland Security

Was trying to think what I had read regarding muriate of potash and possible harmful effects....

From my notes :

Effect of Chlorine in Soils and Plants suggests that ...



Safety Fact Sheet suggests ...



PSDS suggests ....



And this one is a good all round guide to fertilisers and their use in general .....

Soil Management and Fertilizer Use

I found that my plants wanted more iron. The beans and the cukes both showed disctinct iron deficiency, and the cabbage/broccoli were pitiful. I had to cut back on the fruiting plants because my fish food just doesn't pack the nutrients that I'd like. Tilapia eat low protein food, and I think it just doesn't have the extra nutrients in the higher protein stuff.

thanks EB and rupe. I been saved once again from being foolish.
I looked at the submission of metal content on the product to the State of Washington and thought I would be ok using it.
http://agr.wa.gov/PestFert/Fertilizers/ ... pname=1875
After your notice I check the website of the company and yes it is definately potassium chloride.
http://www.v-p-g.com/MSDS/HiYield/Ferti ... 20MSDS.pdf
Thanks for all the help guys ~ and for those links Rupert very helpful

Janet- I think I am in the same boat.
These here fishies need a better balanced diet than what they presently get. It is past time to work on that aspect of things I guess.

I am sure that there is a better thread than this to discuss this, however, is there or has there been any discussion as to what would be the best types of feed that we can grow, ie: worms, duckweed, maggots/larve, etc. that would give us what we are looking for?

If not, it sure seems to me it would be a worthy subject, if not here, then somewhere.

Mathew

Check out fish food discussions

http://backyardaquaponics.com/forum/viewforum.php?f=26

Wow,
There are only 73 pages worth there. I guess I was hoping for something a bit more like EllKayBee's Auto Siphon page, ...

Thanks, I guess I will start reading........