# Sticky  The Diagnosis of Mineral Deficiencies in Plants by Visual Symptoms



## tallpines

http://www.luminet.net/~wenonah/min-def/tomatoes.htm

(thank-you, Moopups)


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## blue gecko

Very cool resource. Thank you!


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## Maura

Thank you.


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## windsng225

Great site! Thanks for the link.

Question for everyone, I am organic and need to know:
How do I get Iron into the soil, what can I use organically?

The same for Nitrogen, and phosphorus?

I use ground up egg shells for calcium, doesen't coffee grounds give tomatoe plants nitrogen? Because I do use used coffee grounds, but maybe they need another shot of it. 

Any information you can provide would be greatly appreciated. Thanks in advance.
joyce


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## jedsmom

Iron often is already present in your native soil. A basic soil test will help you determine this. It will also provide you with the pH of your soil. Fe (iron) becomes more available at lower pH values (more acidic soil). If your soil is too basic it may inhibit your plants from acquiring the Fe they need from the soil.

Basically, I am saying that by adjusting your soil's pH you may not need to add Iron. You can do this organically by applying lime. You can also utilize compost, cover crops or other organic materials to help 'buffer' your pH.

Be wary of photos of mineral deficiencies, since they can sometimes be misleading and vary between species, and always utilize a soil test to help determine what you need to apply before applying it. Without the soil test you can do more damage than good--even organically. Tests can usually be performed by your state's Extension service for a minimal fee.

Best of luck!
Jedsmom


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## willow_girl

Fabulous website -- thanks!


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## Forerunner

windsng225 said:


> Great site! Thanks for the link.
> 
> Question for everyone, I am organic and need to know:
> How do I get Iron into the soil, what can I use organically?
> 
> The same for Nitrogen, and phosphorus?
> 
> I use ground up egg shells for calcium, doesen't coffee grounds give tomatoe plants nitrogen? Because I do use used coffee grounds, but maybe they need another shot of it.
> 
> Any information you can provide would be greatly appreciated. Thanks in advance.
> joyce



As always, compost is your best bet.

Dried and powdered Stinging Nettle (urtica) is extremely high in iron, proteins and nitrogen. The stuff grows an lavish abundance in river valleys and low lying areas....at least in Illinois. It can be used as animal feed, hot or cold tea for human consumption, or excellent garden fertilizer. It also adds much to the action of the compost pile.
Bonemeal will cover a wide range of trace minerals as well, including nitrogen. Planting buckwheat and plowing it under releases an acid that makes the already existing phosphorous much more available.


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## JJ Grandits

I generally treat iron deficiency with rusty water. Some old bolts or nails tied in a sock and placed in a 5 gal. pail of water for a few days or so.


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## dixiecaveman

windsng225 said:


> Great site! Thanks for the link.
> 
> Question for everyone, I am organic and need to know:
> How do I get Iron into the soil, what can I use organically?
> 
> The same for Nitrogen, and phosphorus?
> 
> I use ground up egg shells for calcium, doesen't coffee grounds give tomatoe plants nitrogen? Because I do use used coffee grounds, but maybe they need another shot of it.
> 
> Any information you can provide would be greatly appreciated. Thanks in advance.
> joyce


I can't really help you much with the question on iron,but I have seen some of the older folks do the above trick with the rusty nails and bolts and as far as I know it works.Now as far as nitrogen,the best and quickest way to build up nitrogen is with poultry manure.But be very careful with useing it because it is so high in nitrogen it can burn up small plants.It works better if it has been dried for a while but not where it can get bleached out by rain or weather.It also works real good for building up sandy soil.


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## ChristieAcres

Bunny Manure Tea (you can use FRESH manure), Fish Emulsion, and Comfrey leaves. Comfrey is recommended as a mulch (Nitrogen), planted with potatoes to prevent scab, and is a compost "activator" breaking down quickly. You can add Bunny Manure in the garden without aging it (the only manure you can do this with) and it won't burn anything. Poultry manure must be aged well, before even making a tea with it. It is then a great choice.


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## sally

TallPines, thank you so much for the link. Looks like a great resource. In fact, I registered in this forum to express my thanks. So I'm no longer a lurker. :lonergr:


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## frankva

This is a good one too.
http://vegetablemdonline.ppath.cornell.edu/DiagnosticKeys/TomLeaf/TomLeafKey.html

I think someone has posted this site before.


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## motdaugrnds

Nice site. I was able to find "fruit tree" symptoms in the first one above. Thank you


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## oldasrocks

Tomatoes are doing well due to addition of Epsom Salts. Peppers are getting bad spots on them though. Any ideas?


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## motdaugrnds

Is there a good site that shows pics representative of "diseases" on fruit trees, tomatoes and other edibles? [The above 2 sites are good; but I could not find the symptoms that I saw on my asian pear trees. (Posted pics in another thread.)]


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## margoC

I've been reading about rock dust and azomite. It's my impressin that they do not alter ph so you don't have to worry about too much.

Anyhoo, I thought I would try it. I probably won't be able to appreciate the differance until my summer garden. My yard is shaded in the winter from the trees around the yard so my winter crop of greens struggle as it is. I did add some though, and I'm adding it periodically to my compost heap.


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## Blackbear

awesome link


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## justincase

A BIG HUGE thank you saves this site to faves now i know what has been wrong with my plants


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## LittleRedHen

This link no longer exists


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## DarleneJ

Don't know if this is the same information as before but you can try this:

Symptoms of Deficiency in Essential Minerals: 
http://5e.plantphys.net/article.php?ch=t&id=289

There are photos and descriptions as you scroll down the page.


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## bjgarlich

Thanks DarleneJ - this looks like a great resource!!


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## treefrog

zinc deficiency? drop a galvanized nail in a bottle of club soda (carbonated water), and screw the cap back on. quickly and tight. in a day or two, the carbonated water (carbonic acid) will dissolve the zinc coating and also some of the nail. you will end up with a solution of zinc carbonate and iron carbonate. hot dipped galvanized has more zinc than electroplated. not truly organic, but it works - no toxins, easily available ingredients. the same trick works with copper. use a bit of copper wire. this works slower than zinc or iron. copper is less active.


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## Wintergrower_OH

I was going to post a question . But i'll ask it here . I want to be able to get away from store bought trace mineral or at least get it locally. Can you get trace mineral locally or worm casting if not can you produce your own ? How often do you have to apply trace mineral or worm casting ?


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## treefrog

the best, wide spectrum way to get your own trace minerals is to take the truck to the beach after a storm and fill it with seaweed. take it home, hose it down to remove surface salt, and add this to your compost pile. seaweed has a little bit of everything that has leached out of the land over the last brazillion years. unfortunately, if you live in, say, kansas, it's a looooong way to the beach. some solutions that aren't always strictly organic:

zinc, copper, iron (see above post) dissolve some galvanized hardware or copper wire in club soda. 
boron. a pinch of twenty mule team borax from the detergent aisle.
phosphorus - match heads.
magnesium and sulfur - epsom salts is magnesium sulfate.
manganese dioxide is used as the cathode (electron acceptor) material in zinc-carbon and alkaline batteries.
wood ashes have potassium, phosphorus, and a little of a lot of other things

a good strategy is to make your compost as diverse as possible. leaves, wood chips, kitchen trimmings, manure and such are the basics. add dryer lint, hair clippings, oyster shells, the dust from your vacuum cleaner, incinerator ash... keep your eyes open for anything that once lived, and throw it in the compost pile. the more diverse the waste you recycle, the better chance you have of getting just a little bit of just what you need ...even if you didn't know you needed it. cobalt? germanium?


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## NRA_guy

I'm new to this forum, but not new to gardening---or to the world in general. 

I love this site and just registered.

Looks like the web site linked in the first post is no longer active. Even the basic domain shows a "No find":

http://www.luminet.net/


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## gwest

Yep, there's nothing there, why is this still on the forums. It's misleading to a lot of people


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## gwest

gwest said:


> Yep, there's nothing there, why is this still on the forums. It's misleading to a lot of people


Now I know why the link doesn't work any longer. The original person that posted it has been banned so I guess the link went with them.


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