Hollatchaboy
Well-Known Member
Also, mulch the top of your soil. It helps keep moisture in.
Nute burn...with no nutes..or what
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Hollatchaboy
Well-Known Member
Hollatchaboy
Well-Known Member
Yes, that's a case of progressed nute burn.
blgdlkbandit
Member
Im with Holla, cuz it gets us all, I use 1/2 strength calmag and full strength kelp in a gallon of water in veg,, mix then ph to 6.3... im 75% ffof, 25% ffhf and amended with perlite and jobe's 3-3-3 w\mycos in one bag.. the other is 25% strawberry fields, 25% ffhf and 50% ffof with 35% perlite cuz the drainage on strawberry fields is not good....... 3.5 weeks in no signs of burn... other than 1 brown spot on each of the first 2 pilot leafs....they adjust. Keep the ph of the water good. Soil does the rest. I never water to run off with organic soil... i found 200-300ml of water. around the plant, not against the stalk every 3 days has been working for me.. then steadilly add more... the last grow i did 400ml at 3 weeks and she drooped and went mega yellow and attracted gnats..and i got locked out....goodluck.
I just ordered a meter so I have no idea the ppm or ec....honestly until about 2 weeks ago I had no idea what ec was.....and really still don’t.
i understand the PPM a little, but not really how to apply it.
FYI, my only grow experience was 25yrs ago in college. A friend gave me 5 or 6 established clones because I had some land nearby. Knowing absolutely nothing, I dug some holes and planted them. I got very lucky and they took root and grew...and grew and kept on growing.
In the end, all but 2 got eaten by the deer and other critters. But the 2 that survived were taller than me, I’m 6’1”, and the main stem, or should I say trunk, was as thick as my wrist. . We harvested and I did get some help drying and curing. It was northern lights and the best smoke I had ever tried. We never weighed it but I know we had nearly 2lbs.
That spring and summer I bagged my classes and saw 14 or 15 Dead shows.....and needless to say I was a very popular guy.....but I digress.
Back to the EC.....I guess I need to learn all about it and how to apply. My memory isn’t what it used to be...but I can’t blame it on smoking because I haven’t smoked in over 10yrs. I told myself if it ever became legal I would try to start again, but only if I could grow my own.....so here I am.
I really appreciate all the help and need it badly. Keep it coming. Sorry to ramble....but I tend to.
Hollatchaboy
Well-Known Member
Ec= the electrical conductivity of your water/ solution. Water itself isn't a very good conductor of electricity, but dissolved solids, i.e. nutrient salts (which are the different elements you grow with, npk, c, mg, etc......), help to pass electrical current. So what a ec/ppm(they're both the same just a different conversion factor) meter does is pass a small electrical current through the water, and takes a reading of the current. I believe the stronger the current, the more dissolved solids are in water.
It's really not that important in living soil, unless you have crazy high ec tap water like I do. In hydro, or soilless, it's very important to know the ec/ppm.
What medium and style are you going for?
I’m not sure what style really means. I’m fine growing in soil, and I realize I’ll eventually have to add nutrients, but haven’t thought about any specific style. When I bought my light and other supplies at a local hydroponics store, I did pick up the fox farm “trio” of Grow Big, Big Bloom, and Tiger Bloom. I also bought some Cha-Ching and Beastie Bloomz.
I chose the FFOF mainly b/c it required very little knowledge starting out.
And the LED light, which is a HLG 320XL, is what the store owner suggested for my smallish 2x6 space.
So whatever style all of the above constitutes, I guess that’s me.
Clearly there is a lot more to it than I initially thought.....but I’ve made the investment.....also have a dozen or so more seeds....all super skunk auto. So I’ll learn more as I go....thanks to friendly folks like you and the others who have been overly generous with their time and experience.
looks like they need water this evening. Should I use tap this time (with the 8.3ph)....or wait on my meter test it’s EC and/or PPM?
Im pretty thick sometimes, but I’m guessing i will want to test the Ph/EC/PPM of the solution before it goes through and again as runoff?? What will that tell me?....whether the plants are absorbing the nutes or not?
Im pretty thick sometimes, but I’m guessing i will want to test the Ph/EC/PPM of the solution before it goes through and again as runoff?? What will that tell me?....whether the plants are absorbing the nutes or not?
Hollatchaboy
Well-Known Member
Ok.... to start off, it was a LOT more than I thought initially too. Lol
If you wanna use your tap water, then I would suggest finding out what the ec is. I grow in living soil, but I use reverse osmosis water, because I add all the inputs myself, at least thru dry amendments, ewc/compost. Also I grow in hydro as well, so I r.o. water anyways. It's expensive but it takes everything out of the water.
Also, make sure to leave your water sit out for 24 hours to dechlorinate.
I feel stupid, but what is “living soil”?? The Ocean Forest is not living??
If I added something like Fish Sh!t, would it be considered living at that point ?
Also, I want to use the most suitable water, whether it’s tap or distilled or RO.....I guess I’m struggling to understand which is best for my current setup.
If I added something like Fish Sh!t, would it be considered living at that point ?
Also, I want to use the most suitable water, whether it’s tap or distilled or RO.....I guess I’m struggling to understand which is best for my current setup.
Hollatchaboy
Well-Known Member
"Living organic soil"... think of nature. How do plants grow outside? Nobody is watering in any nutes right?
So what happens in living soil, microbes (i.e. bacteria and fungus) break down organic matter (i.e. leaves, other plants, bugs, bug shit, animals, animal shit... you get the idea im sure). What those microbes shit out, more or less feed the plants. So think of it this way, keep the bacterial and fungal life thriving and fed, in the soil, they'll feed the plant for you. That's living soil, basically.
You can water in organic bottled nutes as well. That's a different way, but sounds like the route you've chosen. You'll need an ec and ph meter for that method.
ThisBudIsForYou
Member
Water with the distilled water and then measure your EC/PPM of the runoff water. Yes, you should get a snapshot of where your EC/PPM level is now, then you know if and how much nutes you'll need to add.
Also, I tested my tap water and the EC was .3. The ppm was 133 or 191 depending on the scale.
I then went ahead and watered with distilled as the soil was extremely dry. Also, I added a tiny dose of fish sh!t....I just couldn’t help myself.
I watered to a decent runoff and tested for Ph.
There was quite a bit of small soil specs and other matter in the runoff....and I actually have 3 plants....the 2 in the pics and another that was started 2 weeks behind once i realized I had room for 3. Anyway, the two older plants tested 6.2 and only 5.3. The younger one was 6.1.
Im not sure what all that means but there you have it.
Keep the advice and info coming....I’ll owe u big time. And thanks
I then went ahead and watered with distilled as the soil was extremely dry. Also, I added a tiny dose of fish sh!t....I just couldn’t help myself.
I watered to a decent runoff and tested for Ph.
There was quite a bit of small soil specs and other matter in the runoff....and I actually have 3 plants....the 2 in the pics and another that was started 2 weeks behind once i realized I had room for 3. Anyway, the two older plants tested 6.2 and only 5.3. The younger one was 6.1.
Im not sure what all that means but there you have it.
Keep the advice and info coming....I’ll owe u big time. And thanks
Oh when I tried to measure the ppm it was crazy high....like 2700. Is that possible??
Hollatchaboy
Well-Known Member
Ok, so .3 ec tap water isn't bad. It'll work for what your doing.
I don't water to runoff, so the most I can tell you about that method, is to water to 20% runoff. You'll need bottled nutes for that. That's when you need to start metering what your input water is.
myke
Well-Known Member
Thats the food in the soil is my guess,dont water to runoff.Let it dry right back before watering again.5-10%
ComfortCreator
Well-Known Member
Yes. That is actually low in my organic soil. Ppm in organic growing is not a measure of available nutrients like ec and ppm in hydro. Your soil could actually have deficiencies even with 2700ppm.
Thanks for the feedback. Since I’m using 100% FFOF could I use the ppm readings as an indicator of when the amendments are being depleted and a guide to when I should start adding nutes?
Also, what do you mean by 5-10% in your watering suggestion??
Honestly, the plants look relatively healthy. The biggest issue that I see is the slow growth and the fact that they are so short and bushy. I have a feeling that I’ve yet to find the sweet spot with my light’s intensity level and distance from the plants. I started out with the light cranked to 100% and 22” from the tops. I’ve since moved them to around 30” and lowered the intensity to roughly 80%.
I see so many autos being grown that look just like mine....decent looking plants overall but 5 or 6 inches tall after 4-5 weeks.
I would love to hear what everyone thinks.