First off I have been looking for a more accurate way to monitor my pH, both in my nutrient solution & soil.I've decided I'll get a pH pen & also a soil meter. Now my first question is Can i use the pen for monitoring the soil as well, by means of testing flush water? And also if your not growing using a hydroponic method, is a PPM. Meter needed? I've been using a standard pH test kit , but my last grow was unsatisfactory potentcy wise so I'm trying to get a better feeding strategy, together w accurately monitoring & maintaing proper ph, in soil & nutes. Im buiding to my main q?Also for example. I've read a plant needs 16 oz of water a week give or take, so when I feed it I'll water one day 8 oz for 3 1/2 gal grow bag) , next day I'll feed it ( 3-5 oz of nutes) & so on.. Raising nutes or water amounts when needed as time goes on. But I feel like I might be overfeeding. So are those amounts off. Can someone kind of give me an example of the schedule you use? I follow the general guideline to use 1/2 strength of what is said to use for nutes & I haven't noticed any big indicators of a major problem that I can spot, other than the diminished potency So any help would be great. Sorry if I was unclear. Thanks gc
you can use the pen for both soil and hydro use it on the runoff on you soil plants. in soil dont go by predetermined waterings water them on a, once they have used up half their water weight water again only in flowering. in vegg i let the leaves droop a lil before watering. the tips of the leaves will pretty much tell you if they want more food or not. hope this helped alil bit
Ok thanks man. I do the same in veg, but what's the best way of determining it's lost 1/2 it's water weight ? The touch test? Where if the top 2 inches feel dry? I cant pick em up to judge cuz theyre under a scrog About the ppm pen. Do I want my nute solution at a certain ppm ? So should I buy one of those also? Or is that only for hydro. That's what I was also asking. Thanks again man. Really appreciate it.
cannabis is a fast growing, heavy feeding plant. with a good soil that is store bought u will typically get 3 months of healthy growth before u need to fertilize/ feed. when growing in soil the beneficial microbes do all the work, and feed the plant. this is what people mean when they say feed the soil not the plant. because organic fertilizers are not usable plant food yet, the primary nutrients are not available right away, they still need bacteria and fungi to convert them into ionic mineral salts. inorganic or chemical plant food, are usable ionic mineral salts, and ready for the plant to absorb but have not been purified for hydroponic use. as well as organic derived nutrients, after plant food is used up in the soil u can fertilize, or feed with liquid nutrients. u have more control with liquid foods. when u buy a nutrient line for soil, ask if they have a feed schedule, or go online to find one for that company's food, u may have to tweak it, and add or take away depending on what ur plant is telling u (read up on deficiencies, and over feeding, as well as toxic salt build up). also u can feed, before the nutrients in soil are used up. check ppm of ur nutrient solution before u feed, and keep logs of how much u feed, what u feed and when, also log the pH of solution this way if u do have a deficiency or burns u know how much u were feeding, so u can raise, or lower it to proper lvls. make sure ur pH is 6.0-7.0 i keep it at 6.3! most people like 6.5. cannabis likes acidic mediums. check run off at least once a week make sure ur ppm is not climbing, people like to feed once every 1-4 watering to make sure mineral salts (ppm) do not build up in the soil pH imbalance will cause lock-outs, causing deficiencies and salt build ups. look into teas to replenish beneficial microbes and nutrients. so... buy pH and ppm/tds/EC meter, and soil sucks up alot of water, soak until 10% run off. if soil is still moist u will water less, but u may have water the same gallon amount as ur pot (5 gal pot 5 gal of water) good luck hope this helps, any more questions ask
yeah water when top of soil is dry, 1/2-1 inch down. the plant will tell u when its thirsty also... but DO NOT wait till it has whited a little droop is good, plants love there dry cycle, it promotes root growth.
Thanks man , Ya. I'm gonna reread everything ive read & researched & try to get a better understanding of nutes & how they work & also definitely get a ph pen and ppm meter to better keep track of feeding. I was already doing this but not accurately enough to solve my problems. Thanks appreciate it.
as u get better at reading the plant, u will learn correct lvls for ppm. lets say ur feed schedule ask for 5ml per gal. and that brings ur food to 150ppm, and u know ur plant can handle 300ppm, add more to get that high, also additive may raise ur ppm. dont be afraid to add water to lower ppm. how tall are ur plants?
Hey sorry I didn't sound so enthused yesterday. I went through hell flushing my scrog grow last night. My plants. I have 3 chambers (2' x 2' x 6' ) set up. all with 2 plnts. The ones I'm asking about are my Violator Kush plants 3 weeks in to flower . First off, I use folded down 10 gal grow bags for a shallow, wide area of medium Along w/ topping & fimming , so there bushy as he'll w 4 true tops a piece & stand 3-4 feet. And they're done stretching now. I don't have any nute issues during veg , cuz like u said u don't need to feed the 1st month or more I guess ( u said 3?) Thanks though I'm ordering a ppm/pH meter today & I think that'll get me back on track. Thanks
Thanks bud, I have read this stuff it's just sciency technical stuff takes me a bit to fully grasp. Also it sounds like I may have been under watering. You say their should be some runoff? Thanks man, I'm just so hit, I forget this stuff after a while Ps my VKs don't look bad at all , only a few leafs show signs, I'm just a perfectionist I guess. Thanks for taking the time..
Hey sorry , I noticed you mentioned an EC meter & tds ( total dissolved solubules ?) , I remember reading about ec levels & stuff but I thought it was for hydro, but I'll buy those and if I have questions about using them properly can I ask u? Thanks a lot man. I've been rely stressed , so tired of dealing w dealers when a plant doesn't turn out. Also for the most part I only grow Kush strains, ( I only grow for a head stash & kush is my fav ) I've heard there are kush specific nutes, Is that something I should consider using. I figured a better way to dial in a feeding strategy for an individual strain is to keep detailed records like you mentioned and work from there. Thanks again bud. Decent of you to help
i say EC/TDS/PPM because these are all interchangeable, like the truncheon meter will have EC and Ppm. but u are right EC is a way to measure how much food or water ur plant is using from the rez, but can also be used to measure the ppm with the right math. stay away from advanced nutrients. its a joke, ive used a few of there lines, i wanted to see what the hype was, there food has inconsistencies, u buy one bottle and use it, the next bottle will not be the same concentration, and will take more or less to get the same ppm lvl. also, i do not no y this is, but there is no happy middle ground, u use to much and burn, u cut that down, deficiency. and the pH swings are crazy, not a very stable product. i have heard that they fixed a lot of problems but im over it... a good food will cater to all cannabis kush, or pure-mostly indica strains, are much more forgiving to grow. i like sativas, or sativa dominate, for the high, and that amazing smell a pure sativa has.
Thanks for the tip, I didn't have any intentions on buying AdvNutes. I read good things in HT about the botanicare lines i'm now using. Liquid Kharma, pro Bloom , Calmag & Sweet for flwr. For veg Pro grow soil from Botanicare & Cal Mag along w Humboldt Roots. Ya I love kushes & diesel strains , I just got some G13 haze & it's the best pure saliva I've smoked, a great day smoke. Doesn't make me useless like this sour d vie been smoking on for the past few weeks . The reason vie stuck to indic a dominant plants like kush is because height issues. But now that I've progressed in training my plants , I'm going to look for a good diesel & a good saliva like the 13 ( maybe Tangerine dream? 13 x Nevilles I havent smoked any yet though) Barney's has done well for me w the VK. Hey I've just been looking into the pens, do they make a pen that checks both ppm & pH? Here's a link to some I was looking at. I've only checked w a cpl places I shopped at last, not that site though, but they have the pens ) could you look at some of these & tell me which one to get. First I need a PH & PPM then I'll get the EC TDS. Actually they have a TDS for $15 so.. http://www.ecogrow.com/index.cfm/product/233/mid/24/nid/87/home.html Let me know... I'm wracking my brain on what to get for decent price cuz I still need a new 400 lumatek / hortilux eye hps setup & a 6" blower , vortex or max fan 3 SPD. What's ur opinion about those fans by the way. One better, my others are Vortex but I like the idea of having the free speed control on the maxfan. K. Sorry for yapping. Thanks man. Really helps a lot.
liquid karma is a great product. they do make units that check pH, ppm, and temp but there like $300. hanna makes good products, a good pH meter is gonna be $30-70 the the cheapest tds/ppm meters are cheap $20 or so, u can pay more for a better one, like a truncheon, doesnt need to be calibrated, and it runs for about $120. vortex and max can-fans are good (more money too) max have higher CFM's i no longer buy name brand bulbs, there just to much money, $120 for a 1000watt? when u can buy off brand for $75. do not buy digital ballast or bulbs, there not compatible with each other, and wast to much energy. look into the duel-arc bulb i dont know if they make anything other then a 1000w, my next grow is gonna be with one of those. i use Xtrasun ballast and hoods, they havnt done me wrong yet
Well I only bought a little sample kit of the new nutes I mentioned so if I don't like em I'll look at another line. What is a good line you'd recommend for soil? It sucks about the dig ballast compatabilty prob. I just read that article in a recent or new HT. But it was too late. I had bought myself that 400 /eyehort setup, just hope the bulb lasts a few grows at least. I'll look into the one u mentioned though now I know. Ok so I think I'll just get the Hanna ph pen & I'll look for a truncheon or something w both TDS & PPM. But if I can't I'll get the Hanna ppm pen too w that tds meter for 15 so all together 135 + shipping tops Well thanks a ton, I was stressed out. Appreciate the help!
Looks like most of your questions have been covered. I'd just like to add that there's a lot of people out there who speak out against AN based on little more than just bias and prejudice. Use whatever you want, don't just listen to how other people say you should or shouldn't feel about something. I've used AN for years and it's been great for me. But don't listen to me any more than anyone else.