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Trouble with my Aerogarden tomatoes

8 years ago

For the first 4 weeks my aerogarden tomatoes really took off. This past week I've noticed the leaves are curling downwards at the tips feel brittle and some brown around the edges.
I have two mega cherry tomato plants and one bell pepper plant in this machine, and the bell pepper shows no signs of distress... its leaves are as lush and flexible as they could be.
Wondering if it was a water problem, I tested ph 3 days ago with my hot tub test strips and found the ph to be off the charts above 8.0 (where as tomatoes want 5.0-6.0). Not having any hydroponics ph down, i looked up the spa ph down chemicals and found that while its not recommended for hydroponics, for a quick fix people thought it was okay. It has lowered the ph down to around 6 (my spa test strips don't go any lower than that), the bell peppers are still doing fine, but the two tomatoes aren't showing a sign of improvement 2 days later.
Since I've been using tap water I'm switching to an RO system this week to provide water. I've also got a ph meter and a phosphoric acid ph-down chemical on its way for hydroponics.
Any ideas? Have I identified the correct problem? if I did, will these plants recover? Should I be doing a complete drain and refill?

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Comments (2)

chuckwagon009
8 years ago
I would do a complete drain and refill. Alot of products are good for adjusting PH in small doses but if it was over 8 im sure you had to use a bunch. Reccommended reservoir changes every 2 weeks are imparItive to keep the level of each nutrient balanced.

Hope they recover quickly, untill you get your RO water ready use a few gallons of purified water from the grocery to help dilute impurities.
M K15010
8 years ago
Sounds like a nutrient deficiency problem. Tomatoes are heavy feeders they need calcium and magnesium (calmag is a good product) you will need the calmag especially if ur using RO water
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