Hops nutrient deficiency?

[Brizzo]

So I have been growing hops for about 10 years and have never had anything crazy go wrong with my plants. I planted a new crown which took off like crazy- when it was about 3 feat tall I fed it some diluted miracle grow fertilizer. In the past I have only grown organically without any issues. I left for 4 days and when I came back I found the leaves looking like thisView attachment ImageUploadedByHome Brew1494679420.226222.jpgView attachment ImageUploadedByHome Brew1494679445.247507.jpg

When I saw the leaves I thought it may be a magnesium or iron deficiency. So I gave it some ironite and some Epsom salts. It's been a week since that addition and the problem seem to be continuing to new growth.

Looking for some advice from anyone that's had similar issues. Thanks!!

 

[corkybstewart]

Min e go through a phase like that almost every year in June because of the heat, but usually in July the monsoons start and the new growth comes back healthy. Has your weather changed suddenly? How do your other plants look?

 

[BaylessBrewer]

Looks like nitrogen burn to me.

 

[Brizzo]

Looks like nitrogen burn to me.

That would explain why I never had this problem when i only used organic methods

Min e go through a phase like that almost every year in June because of the heat, but usually in July the monsoons start and the new growth comes back healthy. Has your weather changed suddenly? How do your other plants look?

It's been really cool 50s and 60s. My other ones look great. That side of my house does get more sun but we haven't had much sun yet either.

 

[Bullshivit-brew]

Did you put the miracle grow water on the plant it self? If you did like said above it could be nitrogen burn. It will do the same to tomatoes if it was mixed using to much miracle grow in your water.

 

[PapaBearJay]

You'll need to add picture of the new growth in order for the correct diagnosis. You can't change what has happened to this growth (it's toasted) but you can hopefully correct it in the future.

 

[Brizzo]

You'll need to add picture of the new growth in order for the correct diagnosis. You can't change what has happened to this growth (it's toasted) but you can hopefully correct it in the future.

View attachment ImageUploadedByHome Brew1494687421.159317.jpg. Is what the top of the bine is looking like

 

[crunch1224]

In my opinion it is Nitrogen burn. I am organic gardener as well and using chemicals isnt as forgiving as organic. I use Espoma Garden-Tone, Tomato-tone ect with great results.

 

[Sbe2]

I would guess nitrogen burn.

I did it to a couple of tomatoes a few years ago. I poured the mix on the plant directly, instead of on the base. The leaves browned in a couple of days and dried to a crisp.

 

[Brizzo]

Thanks everyone. Moving forward I will stick with what I know-organic gardening.

 

[NBBC13]

that's why I stopped using miracle grow, even on normal annuals.

 

[johnwhiatt]

Related, I have been adding well composted manure in mid December for the last 5 years. After plants are completely dormant in Colorado. Roughly 40 lb bag to a 6 foot row. This seems to be working great. No other additional nutrients.Have not experienced any burning

 

[ford2110]

Make sure your plants are well watered before feeding of any kind, especially if potted. Any fertilizer, organic or chemical, can burn due to high the higher concentration absorbed.

 

[Apimyces]

What dilution did you use?

Most bad rep synthethic fertilizers get are from people not following the label. Organic fertilizers can burn just as much, but most formulations for home gardening are basically 99% water so no further dilution is necessary.

 

[B-Hoppy]

...Organic fertilizers can burn just as much, ...

How can this be? Just thinking of where they fall relative to the salt index of different fertilizers.

 

[Apimyces]

How can this be? Just thinking of where they fall relative to the salt index of different fertilizers.

Well, it basically is, but not all organic fertilizers are the same. Apply pure guano right on your plants, and you'll likely burn them.

Organic fertilizers tend to have a lot of moisture (water) and organic matter (carbon), which dissolves or holds back some of the nutrients, at least for some time. But they aren't all 99.5% water fish emulsions XD Many kinds of fresh manure can cause nutrient burn under some circumstances. But home gardeners don't usually use fresh manure, the closest would be granulated chicken manure, which can cause burns. More often it's bags of composted manure or various low-nutrient solutions like fish and algae emulsions.

But if you take your 20-20-20 miracle grow, and dilute it as per instructions (*~1g/L for potted plants), you'll basically end up with a 0.02-0.02-0.02 solution. The risk of burn is then basically lower than most organic fertilizers.

I don't mean to offend anyone, but in my experience, people I've met that complained about nutrient burn with synthetics tended to use dark blue solutions (way over recommendations) and tended to apply them on small fragile plants on dry soil. Yes, that can cause burns. But no, that's not how you are supposed to use it. I use chicken manure now and then, but I mostly rely on synthetics. I don't like paying for water, which, imo, is pretty much what most organic solutions are.

 

[B-Hoppy]

My formal schooling was in turf and I guess your statement just kind of caught me off guard as what came to mind was a lawn on fire after a "new guy" (service tech) accidentally applied 46-0-0 at the 20-10-10 rate during the midst of a drought, haha! Now, compare that to the only other organic we ever used (some poultry based product) which could be dumped on a lawn in a pile with only a rank smell as the final outcome, you can see where I was coming from.

Another lesson learned at an early age was not to use any type of 'hot' manure, but to make sure it was well rotted and not to expect to see any immediate results as these types of products primarily provide more of a benefit in enhancing the soil environment as opposed to providing a quick feeding. I'm not familiar with products like the 'dark blue solution' you mentioned but do understand that reading and understanding the label instructions is were it all starts.

This article, while pretty old, does a good job of explaining how fertilizers burn and even though it's directed toward turf, it can be applied to any plant system. If anyone is interested: http://archive.lib.msu.edu/tic/wetrt/article/1976nov14.pdf

 

[Bullshivit-brew]

The dark blue I believe he is talking about is the miracle grow. It is blue and if to much is added to the water the water is dark blue. If mixed in proper concentration it should be a light sky blue.

 

[Apimyces]

Yes, the dark blue was Miracle Grow. Following the label gives a light blue solution, but I've seen people completely ignore the label and figure "the more the better", using a very dark (concentrated) solution and then cursing synthetics, switching to 0.5-0-0 organic emulsions...

Chicken manure can burn as well, thought I wouldn't expect it to burn an established lawn. It's all about dose and what it's being applied to. Dumping an inch of chicken manure on top of grass seeds will quite likely burn it, for example. An article about chicken manure burn: http://homeguides.sfgate.com/plant-corn-chicken-manure-burn-96568.html

Though "poultry based product" could be a number of other things as well, including feather, bone, or blood-based fertilizers.

Personally, I feel both synthetic fertilizers and manure have their roles in modern agriculture. Not a huge fan of anything with a combined N-P-K of less than 5, though. I mean, carbon amendments can be considered if they have little to no nutrient value, but I don't see the point in buying a 99% water solution that has barely any nutrients but costs a ton anyways.