High Folks! I am wondering if water softeners leave salt in the water, do they? The water here is very hard, so all of it goes through the softener first... I am on my third crop and it's been about a month flowering and once again I am seeing too much yellowing leaves I water with PH 6.6 (sometimes a tad less) when they need it Vegged with 1/2 strength MG tomato food for 2.5 months (up til flower) Vegging in another closet (they seem to be doing great during veg!) Fed w/Shultz Bloom at 1/4 (every third watering) They are living in a pretty large closet (almost 7x7 8 ft tall) under a 400 watt hps, 75degress, 60%RH and I leave the door open for ventilation m-f
here's a pic... Thanks for the 420 411 chimera! I know its kinda gangly looking, but I only had the HPS for the end of the last flowering cycle so I was unsure how close I could get it, it was way too high so I got them roller up and down thingy's and lowered it after some of these stretched really far... (still in the learning mode over here)
how big are the pots? and what kind of soil. but it's normal for the lower leaves they will yellow and fall off.so don't worry about that but you can go a long time with the flowering to get some nice buds. Good luck
heavy salt buildup from the softener could very likely be the case ,nutrient lockout, especally if u dont check the carbon filter and dont back flush the filter. check the TDS (total dizzolved solids ) with a tds meter or take sample to ur local water store I suggest u use distilled water, even though it cost 40- 70 cents a gallon its well worth it(its the best)
the TDS should read <40- 70ppm with carbon filter. 60ppm - 100ppm without for softeners > <40- 80ppm for (carbon filter )> <30-60ppm for R/O (reverse osmosis)> <100-200ppm+ for tap & river> <30- 60ppm for spring water> <0.1- 0.7ppm> for distilled> ppm (parts per million)
i checked into getting a softener once. i was told that you can't drink it. if that's the case, neither can your plants. i'd buy a cheap r/o system on e-bay. peace
Hi guys. I am late to the party as usual. I do have something to add here. I have well water up here in the country. We siphon it through a water softener. We have to fill that sucker up with salt about every three months but, boy it keeps the water soft for showers etc. Everything I have ever read on growing weed says water softened water is the worst water to use for watering weed. I have been watering my plants like this for years and no problems. The pH is a bit high at 7.3 or so and the ppm's are over 300 but, still no issues and I now adjust the water's pH before giving it to them. I also never notice salt buildup on my plants because when I water I water so plenty runs out the bottom. Oh and by the way, the water is absolutley delicious to drink.