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elgatoloco

How to get rid of too much Nitrogen

elgatoloco
17 years ago

Ladies and Gents,

I have some pitiful looking chocolate bells. After investingating the problem, I have come to the conclusion that the potting soil I used has too much nitrogen. I haven't tested the soil but I think thats the problem. Maybe I should test it so I could have a definitive answer. Anyway, if the plants were nitrogen shocked, how could I go about depleting the potting soil of the nitrogen? I should mention the plants are in pots.

Thanks for any comments.

Your friend ElGatoLoco

Comments (5)

  • John__ShowMe__USA
    17 years ago

    Water. Lots of it. Flood the pots and let drain. Then redo it several hours later.

    Really curious about the brand of potting soil you are using?

    Several years back I think was "Sam's Choice" or some other brand sold at Wally World had something in it that was deadly to tomato plants. Maybe was "Miracle Gro"? Sorry about my bad rememory.

    Anyways, lots of water can purge out what is causing problem if actually in the mix.

  • organic_nut
    17 years ago

    you want very soft water. because soft water will dissolve chemicals better. rain water is what i use. You want the water at warm temp. say 85 is good. not too hot but not real cold either. warmer water dissolves chemicals better.

    now run as much water as you can down through the soil and throw away the water that comes out. you can throw it on the lawn or use it diluted for the garden. it will be diluted but not back onto the same plants as they are in shock and the roots need to heal.

    the sooner you do this the better. the longer the more the roots are damaged. the drier the soil the higher the chemicals are concentrated in the less water.

    Try to use at least 4 times the volume of soil. so if you have a 1 gallon pot, run a good 4 to 5 gallons through the pot.

    I also like to run it and then leave the soil to dissolve more and run it a 2nd time after a rest.

    chemical ferts are salts. you need to dissolve the salts and wash them out. actually as the plant uses up some chemicals as fertilizer they leave salts behind that build up and cause problems.

    growing in pots some people recommend that you water with a little extra water so some runs out the bottom. this is to run some salts out.

    good luck.

    O Nut

  • elgatoloco
    Original Author
    17 years ago

    I used Scotts. I had really good luck with it the last two years. I actually re-used some soil from last year and the plants in the re-used soil are doing great. Kinda strange. Anyway, I've thought of a better solution. The plants are still small so I think I'll transplant them into a better soil. I think they will be back to normal in a few weeks.

  • naturalstuff
    17 years ago

    Pack it and send to me. :)

  • trakehner_26
    14 years ago

    Great question, I always wondered the same thing. Someone mentioned that soft water should be used-would distilled count? If so, that would be really expensive to use! I live in Ky, and we have lots of hard water, so I'd most likely have to use distilled! Thank you for the replies. ~Karen

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