well i need some advice guys

hey pretty newb here, of course legal lol. trying to get into it this time around. been using culligan RO water from wal mart. 37 cents a gallon. fox farm grow big veg nutes and roots organic hpk flower nutes. no idea about ppm or anthying yet. workin my way on learning and getting a ppm/ph/ec meter for my hopefully soon dwc. i have pics but im not really into posting them until i have significant problems, just kinda not into getting into all that right now, to lazy lol. got a 1000w in a 5 by 6 room with everything in it, including the mothers. its just bagseed btw lol...and also i know this is random but im tired, bear with me. workin on a veg light for a little closet veg room. also got some seeds germ right now which i will def post once they get going if i get some responses on here. SUPER LEMON HAZE!!!! so stoked for that one and ak 48. also only harvested on plant in ever a few months back and im very interested in growing and this site since im legal now. so def give me a response and let me know if you interested in seeing some pics and sharing USEFUL info and have a actual conversation.

anyways, back to my original reason for posting, i have heard and read that plants should be needing water everday. and i am wondering if i have been over watering them.

i have the little two prong soil moisture/ph meter.not sure what kind it doesnt say. i have been wating til the meter gets to where its almost in the red and says dry for 3 to 4 inches down. its really dry up above that, but below that it gets wet, like all the way on the meter.
what im sayin is, that i havent watered in three days and there inst much of a change in the moisture level, there is on the top but not anything below it. so could that be from the heat from the light drying the soil on top and i have been watering to much watering almost everyday?so everything below it just gets soaked?? and should i just spray the top real lightly until the bottom dries out or what?

also if the whole light dryin the top soil thing is the case and i need to sray it lightly consistently, is soil temp a prob? my room temp flux between 73 and 83, but when it gets to 83 i turn the ac on. for the most part its right at 77-80. what water temp is safe for me to cool the soil down with but not shock the ladys?

and if anyone has a good deal on a elctronic ph ec ppm meter, let me know. thanks guys! hope to get some responses by tom night and ill post some pics

Are you watering all the way through and letting it run out the bottom?? How big is the pot that you have them in?? how old are they?? gotta have specifics to answer...............

You should NOT water every day. Like BongKong said, water until the water runs out of the bottom of the pot.What size are your pots?
need more info.

...learn the "lift" method. Those moister meters and totally unreliable, you have to stab your soil in several different spots destroy'n roots like a som'ma'ma'gun!
...take a pot of equal size and fill it up with dry soil....lift it, or weigh it if ya have to...that's your "dry weight"...cannabis is pretty drought tolerant , so, wait until your soil is around it's dry weight before you rewater. They love it arid.

your pot should be to a ratio of about 3 gallons to every foot of growthish.

and cdn bud is right you shouldnt be watering every day as the plants need air in the ground as well to survive. (unless of course your using a sysem that requires constant watering and usually the water has air being bubbled through it)

a good way to tell if the pot is nearly empty is feel its weight dry and pick it up every now and then if its still considerably heavier tjeres water and moisture in the soil... just lightly water the top layer if it looking dry is what is getting to you.

also stick your finger an inch into the soil this will give you an idea if its still damp.

theres a whole lot more i can say but ill leave it at that as my neck is killing me lol.

peace out
j88

watts131313 said:

and if anyone has a good deal on a elctronic ph ec ppm meter, let me know. thanks guys! hope to get some responses by tom night and ill post some pics

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...as far as ec/tds/ppm, I suggest the Bluelab's Truncheon nutrient meter...never needs calibrated and comes preset, I love it.

...pH, on the other hand, if you absolutely must get an electronic meter, I'd also go with the Bluelab's Truncheon pH meter...BUT, all pH meter's need constant calibration, which means you'll need calibration solutions & probe cleaners....a TOTAL pain in the ass, imo. What I've found to be the best and most reliable, without a doubt, is the General Hydroponics liquid pH test kit....it's bullet proof, cheap, and you'll need it anyhow to assure yourself that your electronic meter is correct...LOL

...electronic pH meters are overrated, most ec/tds/ppm meters are reliable. Good luck!

Jester88 said:

your pot should be to a ratio of about 3 gallons to every foot of growthish.
j88

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....I've always heard 1 gallon of soil for every 1 foot of vertical growth.

...your pot would be 12 gallons for a 4 foot plant.

...one more thing, if your going to continue using RO water, your going to be needing some cal./mag. shortly...might want to pick some up....or, you could simply give your plants tap water. MJ is a cal./mag. hog....so, you might want to give them tap and stand by with a bottle of cal./mag. both.

this is for maximum space and ensurance that the roots always have somewhere to go.. naturally after a certain size the plant will be able to support itself sufficiently but this is a way to make sure the root mass never suffers thus making the plant have a happier life and grow bigger. sespecially if the pots are in a place they may get hot, the heat can stunt the growth too. i actually find around 5 gallons to be plenty a lot of the time but the roots can suffer again causing the plant to suffer.. but as long as the root systems big and efficient enough to support itseld it should be fine so i find around 5 gallons to be good.

i personally use the ground or pots as big or small as i have to deal with at the time.. but hey ya wont grow a monster with a small pot in a hurry.

magnesium is just epsom salts bro. and calcium is easy enough to find.

....actually, I've seen people grow 6 foot plants in 1 gallon pots...what it boils down to is, the smaller the pot, the more watering/fertilizing you'll need to do. Have a look at the pic below (this is not my plant, I believe it was grown by FDD )

...epson salts are mag, and dolomite lime would be a good idea for cal.

...which brings another informative fact to mind. You'll never be able to dial your soil's pH in completely while growing in soil. You soil's pH raises as it dries, and lowers with moister.
...since this is your first grow, you may want to look into organic teas....they are simple to make, and you'll get superior results...it's hard to overfertilize organically.

well i have a few diff sized pots actually. im workin on getting them all in 3 gallons by the time they are done flowering. the mothers are in 5 gal buckets with holes drilled. i have a few different assorted sizes between 1-3 gallons that i use when i need to. I'm just working my way there on a stiff budget because im the only billpayer here. so i get what i need mostly and what i want when i can.

i have heard about the CAL/MAG, this is a supp and the grow shop you can get? i know that epsom salts are also mag but isnt there other things in it as well? personally, id rather use something that is manufactured for plant growing. but then agian, what do i know lol.

cpl more pics. also, with the pots that i am using, a few of em have the trays to catch water right underneath of them so i cant really tell if they are running out the bottom when i am watering. and ya i do let it come out the bottom of the ones with holes. but when i do that to my mothers it takes like 2 and half gal to do that. and then its good for at least 3 days, prob 4 if wanted. is that norm????

also never heard of organic teas trichlone, what are they and how do you make them? what do they consist of?

And im not worrie aboujt my soils PH that much, it is consistenly between 6 and 7. right at about 6.5 most times. but the temp of it concerns me and i am wonderin how cold can your water be and still be safe for plants.

trichlone fiend said:

....actually, I've seen people grow 6 foot plants in 1 gallon pots...what it boils down to is, the smaller the pot, the more watering/fertilizing you'll need to do. Have a look at the pic below (this is not my plant, I believe it was grown by FDD )

...epson salts are mag, and dolomite lime would be a good idea for cal.

...which brings another informative fact to mind. You'll never be able to dial your soil's pH in completely while growing in soil. You soil's pH raises as it dries, and lowers with moister.
...since this is your first grow, you may want to look into organic teas....they are simple to make, and you'll get superior results...it's hard to overfertilize organically.

View attachment 785356

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thats what i said... i normally use 5 gallonish as i like myroots to be able to grow and theres less work involved thus giving me the impression it has a more natural feel.

again this is the specs for maqimum resuts i didnt say the most efficient for all set ups did i...

if hes a noob he would benefit from starting in bigger pots that dont have to be watered all the time.. as you get the feel for the plant you can use smaller results and strt making awsome results as you are learning how to cater for the plants needs.

the organic advice was well put... its always good to see people helpin others out. this is for you .

watts131313 said:

well i have a few diff sized pots actually. im workin on getting them all in 3 gallons by the time they are done flowering. the mothers are in 5 gal buckets with holes drilled. i have a few different assorted sizes between 1-3 gallons that i use when i need to. I'm just working my way there on a stiff budget because im the only billpayer here. so i get what i need mostly and what i want when i can.

i have heard about the CAL/MAG, this is a supp and the grow shop you can get? i know that epsom salts are also mag but isnt there other things in it as well? personally, id rather use something that is manufactured for plant growing. but then agian, what do i know lol.

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epsome salts are magnesium sulphate....

there are products that will do the job better possibly.. do a little research on chelation.. basically better fertilizers are made with better ingredients. that is the plant can uptake and use them a lot faster...

i find epsom salts to be fine but you dont need much... lime is a good source of calcium too and again there are many sources for this just look around. ive used roadside lime before and that did what i wanted it to do..... yeah it was a ghetto gro lol.

its up to you though i find them to suffice. just dont use to much.... if you look in my grow guide im fairly sure its listed the correct ph as if this goes out you can get asalt buildups and the plant wont be uptaking the mg and that as good as it should

watts131313 said:

cpl more pics. also, with the pots that i am using, a few of em have the trays to catch water right underneath of them so i cant really tell if they are running out the bottom when i am watering. and ya i do let it come out the bottom of the ones with holes. but when i do that to my mothers it takes like 2 and half gal to do that. and then its good for at least 3 days, prob 4 if wanted. is that norm????

also never heard of organic teas trichlone, what are they and how do you make them? what do they consist of?

And im not worrie aboujt my soils PH that much, it is consistenly between 6 and 7. right at about 6.5 most times. but the temp of it concerns me and i am wonderin how cold can your water be and still be safe for plants.

Click to expand...

organic teas are made by using things such as poop, mushrooms etc and making them into a tea in some water.. for this there are a few methods and recipies.

there are some great recipies on this forum and i suggest looking on youtube for organic tea and things like that you will get some good videos to watch i can guarantee it as ive watched sme myself.

btw your ph seems fairly good, might help to alter it a little though as the plants lacking possibly nute lock if the mag and ca are in the ferts you use. if you got to my grow guide it will help ya identify for yourself so you can be sure inyour decision.. it has some of the best identifying stuff from this forum..

and the cold water would be ok.. its not really good for the roots but it will warm up soon enough.. there a hearty plant and the ground outdoors can get fucking cold and they cope fine dont they... (the answers yes well normally anyway naturally too cold and constantl is gonna stunt and possibly kill them)

thanks jester, your right about the cold. the water outside isnt allways " at room temp" lol. that should help out i think, im slowly getting the watering thing down. i just think i was watering to much and had to much salt build up the first time which cause root rot. hence why i sweitched to the RO water, i think my tap has some nasty shit in it but i wont know til i can get that meter. the tea thing sounds like a good idea, ill check into that. i have been switching to bigger pots as well. it does seem to be easier to control. just as refrences, ABOUT how long you guys go in between waterings?? for mid sizes, mothers little clones ect. just rough estimates i know because every plant is different and requires certain attention.

tbth it can vary but with my pots i water like once a week once the plants established. . every now and then lightly weting the surface untill my pot feels relaively light then i water them again (the top wet is usually when their smaller and more just for my happiness i too like to see my soil ooking ok not like a fuckinf desert.)

i really think that yu just kept the soil void of too much air thus suffocating the roots and yes causing some root rot more than likely..

as for the house water it should be fine..... though some plants are sensative to the fluride and chloride in the water to help with this put the water in another container outside and agitate it every now and then do this a day before watering for best results. though im impatient and find half a day is normally plenty with enough agitating. go a day though

...j88 knows his business, +rep.
...although there's many ways to compose this tea, I've had very great results with this tea make up below in the past.

What you'll need:
Seabird guano, bat guano, earth worm castings, kelp meal (or liquid seaweed), molessas, a bubble stone and bubble pump, a paint strainer. 5 gallon bucket.
What to do:
Get a couple of gallons of water from tap....let set on bubbles over night to dechlorinize it, then pH balance the water to 6.5....take a couple tablespoons of each (worm castings, seabird, bat, kelp, molessas) and put inside paint strainer and tie shut...hang the mix over the bubble stone to make movement/activity in the water....let set for 24-48 hours....put 2 cups of this per gallon to new dechlorinized pH balanced water, then water in once weekly.

...you'll want to back up off of the earthworm castings and the seabird guano in mid flower to eliminate nitrogen avalibility.

mushroos are great for a source of phosphorous