Nutrients 1Sky jumps into AutoPots with Biotabs

[Only1Sky]

I have two PlatinumLED P300s in the tent pulling 360 watts at the wall in bloom mode.

As for AD nutrients in the reservoir, it works great. Just don't use anything that has a biological in it like Voodoo as it can start to grow in the reservoir. I used the basic Sensi lineup on a couple of my grows. I do suggest with an nutrients in the reservoir that you take the time every couple weeks to pull apart and clean your autovalves to keep them from getting gunk built up in there.

Your sweet tooth looks like it could benefit from some defoliation, getting pretty dense in there. I'm still not sure how well this is going to work for me, but two weeks after the first one, I'm ready to do it again.

Wow, thanks a bunch for the tip regarding Voodoo in the Rezy Hoodoo. I had no idea. I may have to find a substitute for that when try the modified (from A-Train) AN nute program through the AutoPots. He's got a lot of other things in the program as well, so I'll have to check them all carefully for "biologicals."

 

[Only1Sky]

Well, @HemiSync. I said I couldn't wait to try out that Bud-Based Defoliation Technique. So I did. Here's the poor girl, 58 day old Barney's Farm Sweet Tooth, in her before and after views.

FRONT - BEFORE and AFTER:

And REAR - BEFORE and AFTER:

What fun ! Now I "wait and see" what happens.

 

[HemiSync]

Wow, thanks a bunch for the tip regarding Voodoo in the Rezy Hoodoo. I had no idea. I may have to find a substitute for that when try the modified (from A-Train) AN nute program through the AutoPots. He's got a lot of other things in the program as well, so I'll have to check them all carefully for "biologicals."

You can still use biologicals just hand water them in from the top.

Well, @HemiSync. I said I couldn't wait to try out that Bud-Based Defoliation Technique. So I did. Here's the poor girl, 58 day old Barney's Farm Sweet Tooth, in her before and after views.

FRONT - BEFORE and AFTER:
View attachment 774936 View attachment 774937

And REAR - BEFORE and AFTER:

View attachment 774939 View attachment 774940

What fun ! Now I "wait and see" what happens.

Yea, you defoliated it alright. Scary as hell while you do it but still a fun thing to try. I'm sitting down with the girls tomorrow and see if I can do it again to the ladies.

 

[Only1Sky]

Oh yeh, right. @HemiSync I forgot. Sure, just water from the top for any of the biologics.

But as I look over some of the other supplements in "my" @A-Train enhanced AN nute program -- which besides Voodoo includes things like ReCharge, Mammouth-P, Dense, and several more --- I"m thinking I might be hand-watering from the top some or all of a day's feed for maybe 70+% of the grow cycle. Seems like that might kinda defeat most of the convenience of using AutoPots. Gotta think this one through. I'm loving that program so far in fabric pots (see my Grow Journal on Mephistos, below), but maybe its just not well suited for an AutoPot grow.

 

[HemiSync]

Oh yeh, right. @HemiSync I forgot. Sure, just water from the top for any of the biologics.

But as I look over some of the other supplements in "my" @A-Train enhanced AN nute program -- which besides Voodoo includes things like ReCharge, Mammouth-P, Dense, and several more --- I"m thinking I might be hand-watering from the top some or all of a day's feed for maybe 70+% of the grow cycle. Seems like that might kinda defeat most of the convenience of using AutoPots. Gotta think this one through. I'm loving that program so far in fabric pots (see my Grow Journal on Mephistos, below), but maybe its just not well suited for an AutoPot grow.

I don't use a bunch of bacterial additives and what I use, I rotate. Since I went organic I have been top feeding once maybe twice a week. I usually add no more than 500ml to any autopot and I don't consider it a feeding. It's just a additive for your roots.

You can put Voodoo in the reservoir, you just need to keep an eye on your valves and tubing. I used the entire AN Sensi line up plus Voodoo and a couple other additives in the reservoir with little problem. Like several growers when I was home I only kept enough in the reservoir for a week or two and when I changed it, I would wash everything including the autovalves and lines. Although, I have left for up to three weeks and all worked well but when it goes that long you will find buildup in the valves and lines and the risk for a failure increases. I would never use Recharge in there or anything with a molasses base.

I'm just enjoying the freedom, right now, of using clean water in my rez and not having that worry with BioTabs. Next grow I'm want to try a scrog of four 8.5 liter autopots using feminized photos, probably RQS Pineapple Kush and BioTabs.

 

[Only1Sky]

Ok, calibrated the Blue Lab pen today using 4 & 7 solutions. Getting the same identical readings on the tap water = 8.2. But the RO dropped down a few notches, from 8.4 to 7.7. It's a pretty high quality RO system -- we use it for home drinking water as well, and it gives PPM = 0. So I tend to believe the pH numbers. But maybe tomorrow I'll re-calibrate again, using the 7 & 10 solutions and then re-check my water.

@jingo OK, did another calibration today, this time using 7 & 10 solutions. Got identical readings on the Tap water = 8.2. The RO reading jumped around a bit a first, then settled around 7.1.

So, here's the summary. 3 days of testing pH on my Tap water and my RO water, with the BluePen uncalibrated, and then calibrated two different ways. Absolutely identical readings all three days on the Tap water. And slight variations all three days on the RO water. This is a bit of a head-scratcher -- I don't know what to make of it, if anything. Seems like one variable is how long a let the RO water sit before taking the reading, and how long I leave the pen in the water while taking the reading.

At the moment, I'm inclined to continue my current approach of adjusting pH to target 6.0, regardless of whatever I'm putting in a reservoir, or whatever I'm mixing up and top feeding. ????

 

[Biotabs F69]

Help please folks. This is NOT what a BioTabs / AutoPot grow should look like. Here is my GSC at day 55:

View attachment 773518 View attachment 773521
View attachment 773520 View attachment 773522

She seemed healthy for the first 5 weeks, although extremely leggy with very long internodal gaps. With topping & LST I was able to pull her back in line with other plants in the tent. By day 38 I thought I was seeing some early signs of leaf deficiency or stress, and a few burnt tips. Then by day 48 she starting showing definite leaf coloration issues: Here's some day 48 pics:

View attachment 773523 View attachment 773524 View attachment 773525 View attachment 773526

She's been on a standard BioTabs regime, with occasional Boom-Boom spray in the pre-flower days. The water is RO pH'd to 6.0. The light is the notorious kick-ass Amare SE450 with both mono and COBs engaged --- but up at a fairly respectable height, 28". AutoPot was engaged on day 26. The only deviations from the standard BioTab program have been:

• a tiny dribble of diluted Mammouth-P on day 14 & 18
• 1 liter of ReCharge and tiny Mammouth-P on day 30
• 1 liter of RhinoSkin on day 39 ('cause her stalk was so weak & leggy that I needed a coat hanger to keep her up)

@Slowmo @Duggy @HemiSync @Biotabs F69 -- any ideas or suggestions? Duggy, I thought I saw on your thread some similar issues not too long ago, How does one handle cal-mag deficiency in a BT-AP grow environment when the high-intensity COBS (and coco medium) begin to stress out maturing plants ???

@Sensi Jay has suggested that this might be a lock-out (maybe from the additional non-BioTab supplements), and he recommended that I flush. I did this 5 days ago on a second GSC plant that was showing similar issues. I think it may have helped, but despite defoliation of all affected leaves, I can still see some of the same leaf stress starting to creep back into her.

Thanks in advance for any help you all can provide.

Hey man.

Soo sorry for the late response.

But here in the office nobody has seen a diffceny like this.
The only thing we can think of is the cool led light that produces UVB radiation that is the same radiation, that makes your skin turn brown... be careful.

What kind of soil are you using? (Soil Mix)
Als what is recharge and Rhino skin? Is this truly organic?
If you can, please stick to the Biotabs...
Al other nutrients are way to concentrated

Biotabs is developed to keep it simple, rather not add other things.

Normaly if you just stick to the Biotabs strategy, there should be nothing wrong.

Cal/mag problems can be fixed easy with mixing Dolomite lime 30/ 40 grams per 10 liters of soil.
Then all these cal/mag products are not necessary any more.

I am sorry to see your plant are not green

 

[Only1Sky]

Hi @Biotabs F69. I was hoping you would respond, and now I am so happy to hear from you.

Since adding a nitrogen-rich Cal-Mag supplement to my AutoPot/BioTab plants, I seem to have stopped further leaf yellowing. I am growing in coco/perlite (70/30) and under high-intensity COB lights. I have NOT used the UVB bulb, so that is not an issue I have seen Grow Journals here on AFN showing many people getting similar leaf problems when using the COB lights. So I was suspecting a cal-mag deficiency.

I appreciate your recommendation of mixing Dolomite lime 30/ 40 grams per 10 liters of soil. A question please: would you do this once when doing the initial soil preparation (Startrex, Mycotrex, etc). Or would you mix this in water and top-feed it later in the grow-cycle when a deficiency starts to appear?

You asked about the other supplements I used. Besides a little Mammouth-P a couple of times, I used only once: Rhino Skin, from Advanced Nutrients, is Potassium Silicate. It provides silica to strengthen the plant’s stems, leaves and floral structures. And I used only once: Recharge, an Organic Superpack that uses colonies of living soil bacteria and fungi to increase plant available nutrition. It includes mycorrhizae, trichoderma, bacillus, molasses, humic, fulvic, and amino acids.

I agree that these non-Biotab supplements may have contributed to the problem, and I will not use them next time. I also think that perhaps this particular plant seed may have been defective in some way, because another seed of the same strain & seed company is not showing as much problems.

I have already started another grow cycle -- this time with Biotabs in 15 ltr fiber pots (still coco/perlite). I will keep it strictly "native" -- nothing except BioTab supplements & dolomite. And in September I will do another cycle with AutoPots and Biotabs. I really want to give the Biotabs a fair chance to show what they can do. I just have to be able to handle the COB lights.

 

[Only1Sky]

Been a while since I've posted anything. With the AutoPots and BioTabs, there just ain't much to do, hence the feeling that there isn't much to report on. Plus, moving AutoPots around to get pictures isn't that easy. Here's a family shot at day 73. I'll get some individual closer photos tomorrow.

 

[Only1Sky]

Ok, day 74 for two FB Girl Scout Cookies and one Barney's Farm Sweet Tooth, and day 49 for a late-dropped 2nd Sweet Tooth.

This has been a rough grow. I've had some deficiency and lock-issues that I believe were mostly cal-mag related due to the coco medium under high-intensity COBs. One of my GSC took it especially hard; she's stabilized and maturing on the buds, but never really recovered enough to do anything impressive. Here she is from side and top:

The other GSC has fairly better, and is participating over in the Fastbuds Growth Contest. Here's a look, front and back:

The two Sweet Tooths from Barney's Farm are another matter. The 74 day old also had cal-mag issues, which I eventually solved, but then she got heavily defoliated about 16 days ago, and it really slowed her down. She's recovered (slowly), but has been far surpassed in height & width by the her sister who is 26 days younger. Here's the older girl:

The younger Sweet Tooth, who is now 49 days old, was always bushy and robust. Lately, however, she is showing a lot of fading on the lower leaves. I'm thinking she is having a bit of trouble (maybe sulfur or nitrogen deficiency - not sure), but I don't know what to do, if anything at this point. Here she is:

That's it for now. Happy growing everyone.