EC drop 3rd to 4th week of flower.

shawnery

shawnery

Well-Known Member
I've done a total of three grows including my current one and the learning curve is crazy.

I've tried different nutes for each grow, starting with GH then on to AN ph perfect and finslly ending with Masterblend/CalNit/Epsom/Silica.

During all three grows somewhere between the 3rd and 4th week my ec requirements drop drastically. During veg it increases all the way to the end of what I assume is the stretch. During stretch it goes all the way up to 1.9ec and could go higher. After the stretch I keep lowering and lowering my ec by .2 each time. Ec will begin to drop normally again for two days but then stagnate. Each time ec stabilizes or rises slightly ph drops ever so slighlty but not going below 5.7 yet.

I currently have my ec down to .9 now which is quite a big drop or isn't it. I had been doing some reading and found some say it's normal and others say they increase ec all the way to the end of flower. I had read that the system should start to require higher ec again nearing the end of flower but in each of my two grows and so far this one it seems to be untrue.

Are lower ec requirements normal after stretchand during early flower? Is it normal for ec requirements to go back up nearing the end of flowering? If either of my questions are true do you have a schedule for when you lower your ec and then raise it again or do you let your plant, ec and ph tell you when to take these steps.

Or is this not normal and shouldn't be happening?
 
ThaMagnificent

ThaMagnificent

Well-Known Member
Yes, the new train of thought is maxing EC in veg and walking down in flower. I'm kinda the same in that I max out in week 3 flower and walk down till chopping too. It's a natural decrease and means no need to flush either.
 
baaael

baaael

Active Member
ThaMagnificent said:
Yes, the new train of thought is maxing EC in veg and walking down in flower. I'm kinda the same in that I max out in week 3 flower and walk down till chopping too. It's a natural decrease and means no need to flush either.
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sorry but why would you drop EC back from week 3 when that is when the plant is starting to fully flower ?
 
shawnery

shawnery

Well-Known Member
I can't speak for him but for myself it's because that is what for all three, not many I know, grows the plants have been telling me to.
 
shawnery

shawnery

Well-Known Member
So let's say your entering the third week of flower and your ec starts to rise and you have minor burnt tips,

Your telling me your just going to keep pounding the shit out of them,

Or as I said listen to what your plants are telling you and drop your ec until these symptoms reverse themselves?
 
baaael

baaael

Active Member
shawnery said:
So let's say your entering the third week of flower and your ec starts to rise and you have minor burnt tips,

Your telling me your just going to keep pounding the shit out of them,

Or as I said listen to what your plants are telling you and drop your ec until these symptoms reverse themselves?
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i guess il deal with that if it happens.
i was referring to the dude that said the new train of thought is to max out in veg and walk it down in flower
 
baaael

baaael

Active Member
shawnery said:
So let's say your entering the third week of flower and your ec starts to rise and you have minor burnt tips,

Your telling me your just going to keep pounding the shit out of them,

Or as I said listen to what your plants are telling you and drop your ec until these symptoms reverse themselves?
Click to expand...
if my EC rises i just add more water to make it back to i want it,if its at a good level why would you want to make it less when in theory as they're getting older they,ll need more food or are you saying they wont need as much then
 
shawnery

shawnery

Well-Known Member
Your ec should NEVER go up even with water loss,it should at best stay level and at least go down. Your plant should be drinking and eating at the same rate so you shouldn't need to add water to get it back into place. When ever you add water in a perfect, never is perfect though, system you should be adding your dose of nutes as well.

At least that's what I have learned in the past two years and that doesn't mean I'm right either, it just means that I believe I am.
 
baaael

baaael

Active Member
shawnery said:
Your ec should NEVER go up even with water loss,it should at best stay level and at least go down. Your plant should be drinking and eating at the same rate so you shouldn't need to add water to get it back into place. When ever you add water in a perfect, never is perfect though, system you should be adding your dose of nutes as well.

At least that's what I have learned in the past two years and that doesn't mean I'm right either, it just means that I believe I am.
Click to expand...
ive never had to add water by its self as my EC is the same when the res level drops i was just saying if i needed to i would do that
 
baaael

baaael

Active Member
shawnery said:
Your ec should NEVER go up even with water loss,it should at best stay level and at least go down. Your plant should be drinking and eating at the same rate so you shouldn't need to add water to get it back into place. When ever you add water in a perfect, never is perfect though, system you should be adding your dose of nutes as well.

At least that's what I have learned in the past two years and that doesn't mean I'm right either, it just means that I believe I am.
Click to expand...
yeah i add more nutes whn i add water as well
 
shawnery

shawnery

Well-Known Member
rkymtnman said:
i'm amazed you can get up to 1.9 EC.
Click to expand...
I just listened to my plants and kept upping from .5ec up to 1.9 during the stretch. Once the stretch was over the ec started rising so then I started dropping my ec. Ive just started getting it stable around 1ec to .9ec but my ph is dropping. After doing more reading I'm wondering if a lowering ph during flowering is normal since the uptake of positive ions increases and the uptake of negative ions decreases?
 
dstroy

dstroy

Well-Known Member
shawnery said:
I've done a total of three grows including my current one and the learning curve is crazy.

I've tried different nutes for each grow, starting with GH then on to AN ph perfect and finslly ending with Masterblend/CalNit/Epsom/Silica.

During all three grows somewhere between the 3rd and 4th week my ec requirements drop drastically. During veg it increases all the way to the end of what I assume is the stretch. During stretch it goes all the way up to 1.9ec and could go higher. After the stretch I keep lowering and lowering my ec by .2 each time. Ec will begin to drop normally again for two days but then stagnate. Each time ec stabilizes or rises slightly ph drops ever so slighlty but not going below 5.7 yet.

I currently have my ec down to .9 now which is quite a big drop or isn't it. I had been doing some reading and found some say it's normal and others say they increase ec all the way to the end of flower. I had read that the system should start to require higher ec again nearing the end of flower but in each of my two grows and so far this one it seems to be untrue.

Are lower ec requirements normal after stretchand during early flower? Is it normal for ec requirements to go back up nearing the end of flowering? If either of my questions are true do you have a schedule for when you lower your ec and then raise it again or do you let your plant, ec and ph tell you when to take these steps.

Or is this not normal and shouldn't be happening?
Click to expand...

it is very easy to tell when to give more or less fertilizer, the plants tell you. You said it yourself.

You strike me as observant so I bet you record things daily, things like environmental details and maybe a quick assessment of a plant with even a sketch.

I would start correlating some of that data with observable plant conditions.

Then you’ll have your answer, which is that it depends on the method, environmental conditions, what part of the life cycle the plant is in, and strain. It’s very specific, and situational. Good thing you kept all those notes to help guide your decisions on fertilizer concentrations and such.
 
dstroy

dstroy

Well-Known Member
What I’m saying is that eventually I think you’ll become predictive rather than reactive with your actions regarding the garden, if you establish and maintain those good habits of observation and data collection.

I think you’re most of the way there anyway, it seems like you’re putting in the effort.
 
rkymtnman

rkymtnman

Well-Known Member
shawnery said:
I just listened to my plants and kept upping from .5ec up to 1.9 during the stretch. Once the stretch was over the ec started rising so then I started dropping my ec. Ive just started getting it stable around 1ec to .9ec but my ph is dropping. After doing more reading I'm wondering if a lowering ph during flowering is normal since the uptake of positive ions increases and the uptake of negative ions decreases?
Click to expand...
just to ask the obvious and i'm sure you've probably checked, roots look OK?
 
shawnery

shawnery

Well-Known Member
Perfect and white still. By this time on my other two rdwc grows they were tan by now. I'm a little worried my roots are clogging the system and causing something. I'm having to raise my water level to keep it moving.
 
5BY5LEC

5BY5LEC

Well-Known Member
Normal. A couple weeks after I flipped I dropped to around 600ppm and just tapered from there. Ended up around 200ppm when I chopped and 100ppm or so of that was tap shit.
 
shawnery

shawnery

Well-Known Member
Here is someone explaining in better detail and understanding then I was able to explain why ph can drop during flower and rise in veg normally.

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Something for you to consider mate, especially if your plants are looking healthy and no obvious signs of other problems.

The plant itself may be the largest contributor to pH changes in the nutrient solution.

The solution is made up of positively and negatively charged ions, called cations and anions. As the plant takes up these charged nutrient ions it gives off an H+ or OH- ion via the roots in order to keep the charge balanced between the solution and the plant tissue.

When a positively charged cation, like K+ is taken up, the plant puts out an H+ ion.

When a negatively charged anion, like NO3- is taken up, the plant puts out an OH- ion.

pH is a measure of the H+ concentration, so you can see how the plant can affect it depending on what nutrients it is most using at any given time in the grow.

For example, during the flowering period cannabis uses relatively more K+ than it did during vegetative growth. So the plant is putting out more H+ ions, which will cause the pH to drop.

Conversely, during vegetative growth the plant is using more N, which is in the form of NO3- mostly in hydro nutrients. So the plant is putting out alot of OH- ions, which will tend to increase the pH.
 
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