Hows it going guys about 6 months ago i started jems under 400w super hps then around week 4 switched 7 female jems to 1000w super hps.i used airpots ND pROMIX HP but at the time i thought pro mix was soil,perlite,spaghnum peat moss etc, But come to find out i was having ph problems with my jems it was apparent they werent getting all the nutes they shouldve. i had 6.5 ph going in and 6.5 coming out so i was stumped why they werent absorbingt everything they should have. my 3 part of ADvanced nutrients was just a little over a year old and i still had alot left over so i call AN and they said they recoommend disposing after 3 years but they believe even after 3 years you should still b able to use it with proper storing. so i figured it wasnt ad nutes. i continued with what i was doing even though i knew something was wrong. the leaves were still discolored bud the budding was going good so whatever. Turns out Pro-mix hp is soilless so the whole time i had the ph at 6.5 it shouldve been 5.9! oh well no wonder y the leaves yellowed and some of the bud was fluffly. but i still got over 130g out of the 7 jems not included the popcorn nugs and trim ive been using for my bho runs. Just thought id let some newbs know the deal im not sure if the promix organic or the promix bx are soilless but the HP is! ya live and ya learn anyonne else make the same mistake as me??
Old Reviews Pro mix HP = soilless
- Thread starter beenjammin
- Start date
Muddy
Proud deplorable!
- Joined
- Jan 7, 2011
- Messages
- 8,673
- Reputation
- 10
- Reaction score
- 1,554
- Points
- 0
- Currently Smoking
- OG Kush, Deep Cheese, Key Lime
Pro Mix is all I use for all my growing. According to the manufacturer, Premier Horticulture, Pro Mix is considered semi soil less. Not a true soil less medium like coco, but not a soil medium either. In my experience, plants grown in Pro Mix do best with a pH of around 6.2 - 6.3. I've tried running as low as 5.8 but got better results with the slightly higher pH. Since Pro Mix only contains starter nutes, it's up to you to supply all the nutrients for the plants. I generally find that the starter nutes are exhausted within the first two weeks, so usually start mild, 1/4 strength feedings around day 12 - 15. I've got some seedlings right now that just popped and I'm planning on giving them nutes even earlier this grow, on their first watering which is usually around day 6 or 7. I want to see what difference, if any it makes.
Plants grown in Pro Mix also tend to show a cal/mag deficiency around week 5-6, and a P deficiency in mid to late flowering. It's not a bad idea to keep a bottle of cal/mag supplement and something like PK13.14 on hand should those deficiencies arise.
Also, since you are growing under HPS using air pots, I would suggest you switch from HP to BX. BX hold a bit more moisture than HP and seems to be better suited to the higher temps of HPS lighting. HP is best for LEDs, CFLs and T5s. I grow using LEDs for flowering but MH for veg. So I start my plants in BX, then use HP when I transplant.
Sometime in the near future I'm hoping to write a comprehensive tutorial on how to grow using Pro Mix. Stay tuned.
Plants grown in Pro Mix also tend to show a cal/mag deficiency around week 5-6, and a P deficiency in mid to late flowering. It's not a bad idea to keep a bottle of cal/mag supplement and something like PK13.14 on hand should those deficiencies arise.
Also, since you are growing under HPS using air pots, I would suggest you switch from HP to BX. BX hold a bit more moisture than HP and seems to be better suited to the higher temps of HPS lighting. HP is best for LEDs, CFLs and T5s. I grow using LEDs for flowering but MH for veg. So I start my plants in BX, then use HP when I transplant.
Sometime in the near future I'm hoping to write a comprehensive tutorial on how to grow using Pro Mix. Stay tuned.
It is my belief that the larger the pot the lower you should run your PH(within reason). I have to run at 5.8 or 5.9 because I grow in 5 gallon buckets, and my PH begins to swing upwards as the medium is drying out. The larger the pot, the less you water, so my PH(down) has to last until the medium is dry(a longer time than say, a 1 gallon). Wow that's confusing. Any thoughts muddy? Can't wait for a PROMIX guide, thats just good reading
The Squid
Spaced-out CephaloMOD
I think I will pretty much totally agree with Erock on that. I have noticed the same thing and worked accordingly to it and have had much better results. As it dries, it swings up towards 7, which is fine I think it works great swinging through the whole spectrum as long as you are used to how it works.
I would love to get in on the Promix Manual, Muddy, if you need someone.
I would love to get in on the Promix Manual, Muddy, if you need someone.
Muddy
Proud deplorable!
- Joined
- Jan 7, 2011
- Messages
- 8,673
- Reputation
- 10
- Reaction score
- 1,554
- Points
- 0
- Currently Smoking
- OG Kush, Deep Cheese, Key Lime
I've not seen that to be the case, but I don't grow indoors with anything larger than 3 gallon. My first thought is that your soil pH is actually higher and as the lower pH water is used up, the pH rises back to where the soil actually is. How are you checking your soil pH, run off?
Im not checking, just start noticing PH spotting on my plants when I don't water on time. I assumed it was because they had swayed upward back toward a neutral PH of 7. This is never a problem for me when in smaller pots, due to the frequency of watering.
Muddy
Proud deplorable!
- Joined
- Jan 7, 2011
- Messages
- 8,673
- Reputation
- 10
- Reaction score
- 1,554
- Points
- 0
- Currently Smoking
- OG Kush, Deep Cheese, Key Lime
Without testing your pH you'll never really know, just guessing. If your soil pH is 7, and you feed at 5.8, you will obviously be lowering the pH, but it's only temporary. It will climb back up as the water is used. Over time continued feeding at the lower pH will bring the soil pH down. For instance, Pro Mix is usually 6.9 - 7 right out of the bag. Feeding it with 5.8 will show run off around 6.4. As the water is used up, the pH will climb back up around 6.8, then 6.7, 6.6, etc. Continued feedings at 5.8 will keep lowering it, and eventually it will stabilize around 6.4. I've done expensive test on this using both a liquid pH tester to set the feed pH and check run off, as well as a soil probe to test the actual soil pH. There is always an initial drop from the low pH feed, and it always rises as the pots dry out. In your case, I would have to say that your soil pH is too high to start with and has nothing to do with the pot size.
do you use the same ph for hp and bx muddy?< lol to many acronyms there
The Squid
Spaced-out CephaloMOD
Yes, as far as I know. Really the only difference between the two mixes is that HP has more perlite and dries quicker than BX under HPS/MH.
That's why we recommend using the BX for HPS setups and the HP for T5,cfl and LED grows. I use BX with T5 and cfl, but I add plenty of extra PLAIN perlite to my mix, thus making it more like HP.
Similar threads
