Dialing In MEGA CROP for Auto's

[Mañ'O'Green]

So in attempt to dial in my v2 MegaCrop I’ve been working on an experiment with 3 Fantasmo Express from Mephisto Genetics.

All had a weak pre-charge to start in 2gallon pots filled with Pro-mix HP, weekly Foliar feeds with weak kelp solution and only plain water the first week
Starting week 2:
Far right has been getting fed every watering with 0.5g/gal SC and 1g/gal MC.
Left has only had ph water
Middle is following the recommended guidelines and had feeds with 0.4g/gal kelp, 0.5g/gal SC, and 2g/gal MC and upped to 4g/gal in week 3. But has plain ph water in between feeds.

All were topped at day 17

Here they are at day 29
View attachment 1218317
This is what confuses me and makes me second guess how to read the plants.
The water only plant on the left looks great, only the cotyledons have just yellowed. But overall good growth and colour, and weirdly some minor clawing on some leaves that look like N toxicity (maybe a pheno trait?) but some straighten out.
The MegaCrop recommended guidelines in the center has the best growth, but not much more compared to the water only, similar N toxicity clawing on a few leaves, and just recently after the 4g/gal feed is showing some signs of minor tip burn.
The low consistent feed one was about 2 days behind when they popped initially and has been slower overall. A different structure with less side branch growth and were quite rigid. It also has very deep green fan leaves too.

Its still early days in this experiment, and I think stuff may hit the fan once flowering starts. But I have a plan and will keep to it. Will I have any answers by the end? Probably not, but interesting nonetheless. I think the differences will end up being more the result of phenotypes and individuality of the plants rather than nutrient regiment, but I may be surprised too.

Feel free to speculate and tell me what I’m doing wrong haha

You are not doing anything wrong. You can and are controlling the inputs in a structured, documented manner. You will learn something have fun.

I find that the genetics is my Achilles heel in most of my attempts at comparison grows. I don't have the space to do cloning so it is seeds for me. The genetic variation even in high quality seed is so large that it renders all of the other variables null. I have taken to an averaging approach and then I just hit a dab .

 

[pop22]

Tony 21 has been doing this for a couple years. He uses coco, in fact he reuses his for years lol! He floods the tray with enough solution to last 2-3 days, then lets the tray stay dry for a day or so, then repeat. I do it with soil and I can let them dry for 2-3 days. I'm doing this in a small cab right now with 14 plants in .75L pots. works like a charm! And if you want to automate, you can use a res and a Aqua valve from Auto pots to fill the tray! That's my plan when I drop a 30 gallon fabric pot into the tray in my 4x4. Should be doing that soon.

I never even considered that
Thanks @pop22
I need to do some research on that approach.
Sounds like a solution for my wife feeding my tent when I'm away too
I can certainly see the merits in this using coco in a tent.

 

[GeorgeCloney]

Tony 21 has been doing this for a couple years. He uses coco, in fact he reuses his for years lol! He floods the tray with enough solution to last 2-3 days, then lets the tray stay dry for a day or so, then repeat. I do it with soil and I can let them dry for 2-3 days. I'm doing this in a small cab right now with 14 plants in .75L pots. works like a charm! And if you want to automate, you can use a res and a Aqua valve from Auto pots to fill the tray! That's my plan when I drop a 30 gallon fabric pot into the tray in my 4x4. Should be doing that soon.

So in staying with the thread....
I'm setting up a 2x4 tray for flood and drain.
I had the tray and bought the fill and drain fittings today.
I'm going to use a 165GPH pump to flood.
Doing some tests today, 2 minutes and 45 seconds to fill the tray (4 inches high).
Buddy at the hydro store didn't have a clue about the best ppm for my setup.
And I really want to keep using MC.
@pop22. Recommendations?

 

[Mizzo81]

So in staying with the thread....
I'm setting up a 2x4 tray for flood and drain.
I had the tray and bought the fill and drain fittings today.
I'm going to use a 165GPH pump to flood.
Doing some tests today, 2 minutes and 45 seconds to fill the tray (4 inches high).
Buddy at the hydro store didn't have a clue about the best ppm for my setup.
And I really want to keep using MC.
@pop22. Recommendations?

400-600 seems to keep just about everything happy. That’s on the 500 scale

 

[4d-Rock]

I have trays in my 2.75x2.75" and my 4x4 tents. I'm going to put one in my other 4x4. Instead of using it to catch runoff, why not bottom feed? I had 12, 2 gallon pots in the 4x4. I'd pour in 5 gallons and they'd absorb it in 2-3 days. Just like a big auto pot! My friend Tony21 grows monsters that way. He inspired me to go to trays.
I'll have to dig through my old pics, but I have oe of him with a plant in that tent that was way over his head! here's a pic of part of his 10x10x9 tent

That's really interesting, It may be something that I give a try. I've looked into Autopots a bit and the draw for me is that it seems good in reducing the amount of caretaking labour that hand feeding requires. This tray-feeding method would also do this, but might be a bit more messy and require enough extra cleanup that it is really just substituting one type of work for another? Also, Do you find that insects and mold are more of an issue?

You are not doing anything wrong. You can and are controlling the inputs in a structured, documented manner. You will learn something have fun.

I find that the genetics is my Achilles heel in most of my attempts at comparison grows. I don't have the space to do cloning so it is seeds for me. The genetic variation even in high quality seed is so large that it renders all of the other variables null. I have taken to an averaging approach and then I just hit a dab View attachment 1219930.

Thanks @Mañ'O'Green . I'm sure I'll learn something and it is fun to see how they are progressing in comparison. It's a test of my will power to stick to these different regiments then starting to tweak mid-grow as I see things change.

The genetic variation does look like it has a large impact, noticeable even in my limited growing experience. I don't think I want to get into the practice of cloning so I think it's just something that I have to be aware of, accept, and make the required changes as needed.

I also have to remember that I do this for fun and for personal use, and I'm not a producer with quotas to meet that needs the perfect formula.

 

[pop22]

I've not had any problems with insects or mold. I actually think that's a benefit of recycled soil.

That's really interesting, It may be something that I give a try. I've looked into Autopots a bit and the draw for me is that it seems good in reducing the amount of caretaking labour that hand feeding requires. This tray-feeding method would also do this, but might be a bit more messy and require enough extra cleanup that it is really just substituting one type of work for another? Also, Do you find that insects and mold are more of an issue?



Thanks @Mañ'O'Green . I'm sure I'll learn something and it is fun to see how they are progressing in comparison. It's a test of my will power to stick to these different regiments then starting to tweak mid-grow as I see things change.

The genetic variation does look like it has a large impact, noticeable even in my limited growing experience. I don't think I want to get into the practice of cloning so I think it's just something that I have to be aware of, accept, and make the required changes as needed.

I also have to remember that I do this for fun and for personal use, and I'm not a producer with quotas to meet that needs the perfect formula.

 

[WITC]

I’m going to jump on the MC wagon! Do I need to order the 2 part a&b plus the bud explosion? Or just the original MC? I will be growing in soil and sometimes coco.

 

[pop22]

You can use either. Personally, I like the original MC, it's simple and effective.

I’m going to jump on the MC wagon! Do I need to order the 2 part a&b plus the bud explosion? Or just the original MC? I will be growing in soil and sometimes coco.

 

[Mizzo81]

I’m going to jump on the MC wagon! Do I need to order the 2 part a&b plus the bud explosion? Or just the original MC? I will be growing in soil and sometimes coco.

Super simple kinda guy one part. Simple kinda guy two part. I’m running the new two part but may grab a small bag of the new one part and try a run with that.

 

[xyberg]

Super simple kinda guy one part. Simple kinda guy two part. I’m running the new two part but may grab a small bag of the new one part and try a run with that.

If you do that, please make sure to tag me in it . It would definitely be worth it's own thread and I would love to see a comparison done by you. I doubt I will change from the 2 part no matter what since I love being able to dial in the npk depending on cycle.