nice journal, Ive also heard about the mh keeping the seedlings more compact, I chose to go cfl for veg as you know, but ive heard pretty good things about using hps from the start, especially if its the one with added blue spectrum. Im using a hortilux one. Ill subscribe to this one, good luck!
Hey thanks Mr. Noob. Mine doesn't have an added blue spectrum. When I started and had got 3 weeks into the first grow I found out I should have used an MH like it was a big deal, and rushed to get a bulb. Now there is much discussion about whether to actually use one!
Totally overlooked this question, sorry Squidge... What did you decide on? It won't confuse the plant, just cause it to not grow as many nodes. (stretch)
Basically what has been said: while they are on cfl it's 24/7. When I put the MH on at the weekend and add the first tentative nutes (hope that will be OK for the youngest seedling), the lights will go to 18/6. I'm still worrying about the watering every two hours with lights on...but if you say it's good it must be looking at your grow!!!
Because of the heat issue only, right? You have a different setup than me, but just to be safe you can cut back to every 4 hours if it would make you feel better about it. That would be more of a safe bet I'd imagine.
And I wouldn't worry about watering every two hours. Remember, hydrotron trains very fast. If you were using something else, you might have a problem, but not with hydrotron.
I got the cfl because I was told it was better for seedlings and that they grow freely with cfl for the first couple of weeks. When it finally arrived I turned the MH off...and suddenly marvelled at how easy it is to control temps. I also appreciate saving electric, if only for about ten days in the end. The electric bill from last time was a real horror, so I'm being a little more cautious this time. Thank you both for the watering comments...Help_Needed sealed the deal by talking about the hydroton...something that actually worried me early on....that it was too dry!!! It's staying on 2 hours per 15 min flood. It does not flood at all during the six hours off. (Yeah I know the light is on 24/7 right now but everything else (desktop fan, humidifier) is still on timer and I had the water pump set for the 18 hour period so I wasn't arsed to change it as I will be back to 18/6 at the weekend. SO.....Canna nutes at the weekend...I reckon one quarter strength...should be all right shouldn't it?
That's cool, just as long as it's for that reason 1/4 strength sounds fine too although I have no experience with it LOL
Some opt for one third strength (whatever nutrients) but because I have a young seedling (which seems well) I want to be ultra careful with nutes. Latest change: I've hung the damn fan from chains now to make it much easier to adjust! I will update tomorrow as I have plans: I have decided to change the water in the res. There are no nutes in it, but the pH has been adjusted almost daily and I want to start fresh with chlorine evapourated tap water. Then chuck the nutes in, then pH it. As I have seen in other journals, I think the rockwool has risen the pH as it washes out. Yes I did soak them in pH adjusted water for 24 hours, but for reference I would say to soak rockwool for a couple of days next time at least. And the MH comes back on tomorrow. I'm going to hang the CFL sideways next to the seedling to try and help it along a bit. I need to get some wire mesh to filter the air as it comes in from outside just to be on the safe side. (I'm worrying about nasties getting down the pipe and laying eggs for evil things like spider mites etc....oh and that bastard thing that lays "Cuckoo Spit" which has a little green bug in it that eats your leaves) A final thought for today is trying to decide whether to LST!! I don't think I will be able to resist it, but it would be interesting to just let them grow as they want. Well...seeya tomorrow...............
The most pressing issue first: Please look at the photos...I have some upward leaf curl. Some leaves are also a little faded...any ideas? This was evident before the water change and addition of nutes. OK..well I changed the res water. I washed out the tank and the top part because there was hydroton dust all over the place. (Yes I did wash the hydroton thoroughly before use). I left the pH at 5.4 thinking it was bound to rise and sure enough a few hours later it was 5.6. *runs off to check current pH It's on the flood cycle now as I tested, but it's reading 6 already. I'll wait till the end of the flood and put some more pH Down in I guess.... Hmm...what about a ppm reading then...... About 600. But as I said above I will now have to reduce pH. Went to the supplies shop today heading for some wire mesh to filter the air coming in from outside to stop insects. I wasn't happy with anything I saw. I explained what it was for to my other half and the genius suggested net curtains!! ("It's what they use in Africa to keep the insects off!") So I dug out some old fine net curtain and cut a bit out...voila, one air filter. Brilliant. Temp reaches 90 with the door closed....so the door is open for much of the time! It's around 80F as I write. Bored? Try this quiz: I have a 400W MH running with a 125W/6500K CFL. How many lumens does that make? And the LST is starting again. Note the use of string and tape. I found this was a better method on my last grow than pegs, and using hydroton it would be impractical to use pegs. I think that's about it. I appeal for ideas and helpful comments about the health of my plants. The leaf curl is a little worrying. (also discolouration) Thank you for reading! Photos................
have you tried foliar spraying epson salt in water?? i did this when i had similar problems and it worked wonders....
I'll be out for some epson tomorrow then! Thanks bud....what kind of amount per pint (or whatever) of water?
Got the epsom, sprayed on my plants straight away....I'm sure they liked it! Gonna dump a bit in the res too. Still adjusting pH daily.... Plants looking nice. And my f*****g EC truncheon broke! That'll teach me to go cheap...I got one for about £20. Now I've ordered a Bluelabs one like my pH truncheon..£50. Grrr
one important thing that I learned along with the tip about the epsom... dont leave it in the reserve for too long, as i understand it the epsom, is saline which will mess with the osmosis of the plants ability to take in water. if the water is too salty then it will draw the water out of the plants, I used the epsom untill my deficency was gon and then drained the water and fixed the ph so lockout wont be a problem. or dehydration, as with the saline water... hope this helps some
eek! Well our Mister Postman up there doesn't seem too worried, but I better be careful. I put a little over half the amount he said to put in.
this is what i read about osmosis... Osmosis Roots draw nutrient solution up by the process of osmosis. Osmosis is the tendency of fluids to pass through a semi-permeable membrane and mix with each other until the fluids are equally concentrated on both sides of the membrane. Semi-permeable membranes located in root hairs allow specific nutrients dissolved in water to enter the plant while other nutrients and impurities are excluded. Since salts and sugars are concentrated in roots, the EC inside roots is (almost) always higher than that outside the roots. Nutrient transport by osmosis works because it depends on relative concentrations of each individual nutrient on each side of the membrane; it does not depend on the total dissolved solids (TDS) or electrical conductivity (EC) of the solution. For nutrients to be drawn in by roots via osmosis, the strength of individual elements must be greater than that of the roots. But, the transport of water (instead of nutrients) across the semi-permeable membrane depends on EC. For example, if EC is greater outside roots than inside, the plant dehydrates as water is drawn out of the roots. In other words, salty water with a high EC can dehydrate plants.
ya seriously! its the second most important tool for making bomb nugs, behind a ph meter! I sprung for the hanna dual meter that seems to work good. are we going to see updated pics tonight>?