What to expect as we head into fall

[masshole61]

Have a question for the outdoor thread. As my outdoor plants continue to ripen and we head into fall, what changes can I expect as the plants transition to the end of their life cycle? Flowers are well on their way and the tops of my plants are lush, green and very healthy. But some fan leaves are dying off and when I see this it makes me think it may be a deficiency. Or is it the plants focusing all their energy on flowering at the end of their life cycle? Thanks again, Farm!

 

[Seamaiden]

They will do this naturally, and you can either push some N to keep them green, or just let it happen. They'll also begin to change their colors as the nights cool off. Buds should be thickening and stacking, and IF you're lucky (I never am, only with my indoor crops), then almost all fan leaves will be gone by choppy-chop. Since you've got those GIGANTO ladies stuffed into those itty-bitty 15gal containers, you may want to give a push of 'soft' nitrogen, a richer worm casting tea, for example, or something with a very low nitrogen content, but just a little, like 1%-3%.