help diagnosing please.

thanks ofr all the imput, i will read up on CEC. And no, humidity is the only thing that i dont have control over/wasnt planning to control on my first grow. I had to pay a pretty obsurd amount for a private clinic for my medical license and with the other grow supplies am a bit tight right now. Ive been using 5 drops of lemon juice in a 2 litre bottle of water to drop my ph from ~8 to 6.5, would be really beneficial to invest in ph down?

jael07 said:

When is it good to do your first pinching, do only flowers benefit from the thicker stalks, or will the plant grow better if i pinched the main stem at some point.
l

Click to expand...

Pinching the top out, or topping, (same thing) doesn't benefit the plant or give thicker stalks. It is a way to keep the plant shorter and bushier and control height. You will end up with more terminal buds/colas. If you do it right you can get a little more weight/plant, but overall expect more buds of an average size, not one giant cola.

Topping/training is just a way to keep the canopy even and get as much light as possible on as much leaf as possible.

AimAim said:

Pinching the top out, or topping, (same thing) doesn't benefit the plant or give thicker stalks. It is a way to keep the plant shorter and bushier and control height. You will end up with more terminal buds/colas. If you do it right you can get a little more weight/plant, but overall expect more buds of an average size, not one giant cola.

Topping/training is just a way to keep the canopy even and get as much light as possible on as much leaf as possible.

Click to expand...

ok yeah, i just udnerstood that as topping. But like Supercropping without bending to give thicker stocks, (idk what to call it without calling it pinching) is that something?

crispypb840 said:

when you start to flower I wouldn't let the pot dry out too much. Read up on ( CEC ) exchange and you will understand why. Also pH fluctuates in your soil is too wet or too dry. More so when it dries. When your plants fill out the pot and can actually use the H20 and Nutrients, over watering is less of a concern. CEC is Cation Exchange Capacity. Its more for soil grows.

Click to expand...

What does the soil drying out have to do with CEC?

How does pH fluctuate in a soil as it becomes wet or dry?

CEC more for soil grows? Ya Think?

You got some 'splainin to do Lucy. Let's hear it.

cation exchange capacity simplified it will explain it better than I can. www.soilminerals.com

You know cec but you don't know how the pH fluctuates in soil when there are less H molecules. maybe research for yourself and you'll get the answer. I even sent a link for ya. it might be over your head tho

AimAim said:

What does the soil drying out have to do with CEC?

How does pH fluctuate in a soil as it becomes wet or dry?

CEC more for soil grows? Ya Think?

You got some 'splainin to do Lucy. Let's hear it.

Click to expand...

crispypb840 said:

You know cec but you don't know how the pH fluctuates in soil when there are less H molecules. maybe research for yourself and you'll get the answer. I even sent a link for ya. it might be over your head tho

Click to expand...

everyone stay happy. you are all hear to help the noob . So Is there any benefit to pinching the stems without moving them, just to give bigger stalks? Like i said i hear these things like that, or that any cannabis stem will shoot roots if buried in soil, while other people say they dont. Is there a real benefit to using ph up and ph down over lemon juice/ baking soda?

I heard lemon juice isn't stable. Im not sure about baking soda though. I use Fox Farm soil witch has oyster shells and crab shells witch acts as a buffer to adjust pH. I also add Hydrated Lime to work as a buffer also. This way if your water or feed solution's pH is off the soil will adjust it and it takes the same pH.

crispypb840 said:

I heard lemon juice isn't stable. Im not sure about baking soda though. I use Fox Farm soil witch has oyster shells and crab shells witch acts as a buffer to adjust pH. I also add Hydrated Lime to work as a buffer also. This way if your water or feed solution's pH is off the soil will adjust it and it takes the same pH.

Click to expand...

my potting mix has horticultural lime in it, but i dont really trust that to balance my ph for me on its own. heh. i feel like i still need to make sure my water/feeding solution is at a good ph or i will mess it up.

I collect rain water. pH is 6.6 and 7 ppm's. I use is it in between feedings. I use my tap water to mix my solution b/c the pH is high 8.0 and ppm's are 170. I use this with feed so the pH corrects itself. I try not to add pH adjusters since they add unnecessary salts. Also adding pH adjuster's over and over will ultimately alter the pH of your soil. You can also use R/O water out of the machine at the grocery store witch is usually between 6-7 and low ppm's for watering. water that has lower ppm's will more easily be buffered by the soil or pH adjuster's. Tap water with high ppm's will take more adjuster to alter the pH. Hope this helps.

my water is hard like ~115 ppm, and like ~ph of 8 when it comes out the tap. I should prob think of collecting rain water huh.

ive had successful grows using just my tap water and adjusting pH. This is my first time actually using RW the whole grow but it seems to make a difference IMO. Just make sure you don't get acid rain in your area first. If the pH is low then you will know.

Are you using molasses when you feed. It helps feed the soil microbes and gives your plant a boost of natural sugars. They love it.-Unsulfered Molasses 1TBSP per gal. once a week for 3-4 weeks is sufficient. Work on making a superior soil mix b4 you plant next time and it will make things go a lot better. If you still need to transplant I suggest doing it then. Fox Farm Ocean Forest is a good mix to use. Just don't feed nutes for 3-4weeks until the plants use some of the nutrients.

natural sugars are great to add i use breher rabbit unsulphered mollases in a ten gallon res i use one and ahalf to two tablespoons every third watering adds cal and mag naturally

im all organic and grow in fox farm ocean forest halide for veg. and mh@400 watts and a 1000 watt hps

nice. Im going organic this round also. Using ffof with general organics nutes. 600 mag. digilux for vegg and hortilux in bloom. babies are almost done.

jael07 said:

my water is hard like ~115 ppm, and like ~ph of 8 when it comes out the tap. I should prob think of collecting rain water huh.

Click to expand...

pH of 8 is way too high, you really need to lower that to about 6.5 (for soil)
Dr. Jekyll

Certain nutes can drastically change the pH, so you should always check your pH after you mix up your nutes
Mr. Hyde

Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde said:

pH of 8 is way too high, you really need to lower that to about 6.5 (for soil)
Dr. Jekyll

Certain nutes can drastically change the pH, so you should always check your pH after you mix up your nutes
Mr. Hyde

Click to expand...

yeah.. im a bit tight for cash right now, so i bought a cheap aquarium ph kit, but my nuts(especially hummecca which is like black) are colored

distilled white vinager and baking soda cheap and all natural baking soda to raise and vinager to lower

thanks, ill try vinegar instead of the lemon juice. i guess ill have to buy a digital ph tester, cuz the changing color method doesnt work with my colored nutes.