Dialing In MEGA CROP for Auto's

[4d-Rock]

Yes that is true. It misses the point about balanced nutrients though . In order for nitrogen to be useful to the plant in hydroponics it must be presented in high enough concentration for the IONs to be picked up by the roots at a given PH. It is a complex process that I have read and don't care to again. There is a minimum and maximum PPM that is useful. The minimum is ~100 and the Maximum is ~240. Nitrogen is a luxury nutrient and the plant will use it if it is there even beyond what it needs. This actually uses energy the plant could be using elsewhere. Anyhow if the solution is below ~100 PPM the plant is at risk of not getting enough. As far as I know this work has not been done on Autos. It is from tomatoes and lettuce etc. I have done some experimenting and the number that seems to work best is 110 - 115 PPM for N. Each element has it's own numbers.

So balance with the plant's use range and the other elements at the proper PH all need to be in place for balanced nutrients.

Does that make sense?

Now we add media to the mix - pun intended . The plant still needs the same nutrient amounts and ratios but and this is a big but different media will have different element holding characteristics and many have persistent additions like dolomite lime. The root biome can become very robust, providing nutrients to the plant. So there is a lot going on in a pot!

The Pro-mix HP is peat based with lots of good microbes in the beginning but if all you feed is MC they will become a minor factor. If you are careful with how you fertigate you don't need run-off. Most peeps will need to do a 10% run-off to prevent a salt build up. Peat holds nutrients better than coco but not as high as compost soils. That is why a Fertigate ,water, water, repeat is a good place to start. Fertigate at the balanced level of 3.5gMC .5g Epsom salt so you know they are going into the pot at the correct ratios, then by having just water days you in essence are diluting it by not adding any more to the pot.

Feeding salt fertilizer to media that is not inert is complicated. This is where the skill in growing comes in. You need to know by looking at the plants if they are hungry or overfed.

Thanks @Mañ'O'Green , it definitely is a complicated thing and I need better plant reading skills. But I think I get the overall concepts, each element needs to be within it's own range, but they also need to be in the proper ratios in relation with the other elements, all while needing to be within the proper pH for the plant to fully utilize them.

But does this mean that you shouldn't be feeding a reduced strength feed for younger plants? Because in Greenleaf's schedule they recommend 2g/gal as a starting point, and I know alot of people here start lower when plants are young and then scale up as they need more. However, by what you've said above, it wouldn't meet the minimum requirements of Nitrogen as 2g/gal would only be 53 elemental ppm N. Or do the individual ranges of elements scale as well between the stages of the plants?

Also on the microbes part, I see a number of people on the forums using recharge or other microbial supplements with MC and Pro-mix. Correct me if I'm wrong, but if the microbe numbers decline in this type of grow, it reduces the effectiveness of the plants ability to uptake nutrients, and makes it far easier to overfeed or have an imbalance of nutrients. Trying to nail down the proper amount of nutrients to give is definitely the goal, but would adding a microbial supplement then give a bit more of a "safety net".

I might have to go back to the drawing board now to plan out my next grows. It's also tempting to want to use the other supplements like Sweet Candy and Bud Explosion but according to what you've shown in the charts, the additions of these will only further throw off the overall balance of nutrients.

 

[420Forever]

@420Forever can you verify @Anasazi and get him into levels please and thank you!

done & done ppp

 

[jdm61]

Biobizz Light

No the dirrections on the bag do not work for autos. What are you growing in?




No you cannot scale down the MC it must be at about 3.5g to have a balance of N-P-K. You see how N and Ca are out of balance at 2g.


View attachment 1322082

Mix it at 3.5g to .5g and then dilute it with water to get the PPM you want. This will keep it in balance.


People I need to know what you are growing in and which version of MC you are using! State it each time you have a question. It is just too hard to try to hunt that stuff down.

 

[Mañ'O'Green]

Thanks @Mañ'O'Green , it definitely is a complicated thing and I need better plant reading skills. But I think I get the overall concepts, each element needs to be within it's own range, but they also need to be in the proper ratios in relation with the other elements, all while needing to be within the proper pH for the plant to fully utilize them.

But does this mean that you shouldn't be feeding a reduced strength feed for younger plants? Because in Greenleaf's schedule they recommend 2g/gal as a starting point, and I know alot of people here start lower when plants are young and then scale up as they need more. However, by what you've said above, it wouldn't meet the minimum requirements of Nitrogen as 2g/gal would only be 53 elemental ppm N. Or do the individual ranges of elements scale as well between the stages of the plants?

Also on the microbes part, I see a number of people on the forums using recharge or other microbial supplements with MC and Pro-mix. Correct me if I'm wrong, but if the microbe numbers decline in this type of grow, it reduces the effectiveness of the plants ability to uptake nutrients, and makes it far easier to overfeed or have an imbalance of nutrients. Trying to nail down the proper amount of nutrients to give is definitely the goal, but would adding a microbial supplement then give a bit more of a "safety net".

I might have to go back to the drawing board now to plan out my next grows. It's also tempting to want to use the other supplements like Sweet Candy and Bud Explosion but according to what you've shown in the charts, the additions of these will only further throw off the overall balance of nutrients.

You need to start plants at a reduced strength. I germinate @150 PPM; I mix a gallon of spring water with 1.25g part a 1g part b and a pinch of kelp then dilute with spring water to 150 PPM. I also water with the 150 PPM 5.8PH until the first true leaves. go read my current thread for the whole story.

This is the schedule I am following for the 2 Part MC. You cannot make the adjustments with a one part.

When you feed salt fertilizer it is already in the form the plant can uptake no microbe action is needed. You also are not feeding the soil microbes although the plant actually does so there is always some microbe produced nutrients but it becomes a minor input unless you feed the microbes. That is what Recharge and carbohydrates do. They feed and support the microbes as well as provide kelp etc. for the plant. This is the foundation for my statement that if you are going to grow in soil you might as well go TLS and forget the salts!

There are some carbohydrates that I would consider besides the molasses I use in the last 2 weeks. What happens in the last ~2 weeks the plant stops sending carbohydrates to the root biome to sent that energy to the buds. This produces the characteristic die-off look of the finishing plant as it sucks the life out of the leaves. By feeding the soil microbes they keep prducing the nutrients for the plant and ripening slows to give more time for fatter buds. AN Bud Candy has sugars for both the microbes and direct assimilation by the plant.

 

[4d-Rock]

Thanks @Mañ'O'Green i appreciate the detailed explanation.

I have a mostly full 2.5kg bag of the v2 1-part to figure out what the hell I’m doing. And even if I don’t, I get some pretty damned good Bud, even if the plant isn’t pretty by the end :smoking:

If I don’t figure it out by the end of the bag, well I guess it’s probably time to move on and try something new.

 

[Kyote]

Thanks @Mañ'O'Green i appreciate the detailed explanation.

I have a mostly full 2.5kg bag of the v2 1-part to figure out what the hell I’m doing. And even if I don’t, I get some pretty damned good Bud, even if the plant isn’t pretty by the end :smoking:
View attachment 1322606

If I don’t figure it out by the end of the bag, well I guess it’s probably time to move on and try something new.

I wouldn't kick those outta my tent

 

[Mañ'O'Green]

Thanks @Mañ'O'Green i appreciate the detailed explanation.

I have a mostly full 2.5kg bag of the v2 1-part to figure out what the hell I’m doing. And even if I don’t, I get some pretty damned good Bud, even if the plant isn’t pretty by the end :smoking:
View attachment 1322606

If I don’t figure it out by the end of the bag, well I guess it’s probably time to move on and try something new.

I have grown plants that looked pretty bad by harvest and the bud was outstanding but the perfectionist in me wants them to look pristine other than a normal autumn decline when they get the chop.

 

[Mañ'O'Green]

I am seeing some out of balance in a couple of the plants and I think I was not getting enough run-off so a little salt build up may have happened. I did a nutrient flush with the end of the week res at about 450 PPM. I upped the run time on the drippers to 1 hour total so each plant is getting 1 gallon a day right now.

 

[Mañ'O'Green]

Here it is at last, not completed but far enough along to be used with confidence.

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The file you are looking for does not exist.

jmp.sh

You must use a gram scale to utilize this to make a formula match the spreadsheet.

Start by adding the batch size in gallons then the PPM of your starting water. This calculates the Ca content of your starting water at 27.5%. If you know your Ca content is higher you can change the formula for I11 =SUM((F11+F18+F24+F32+F38)/B3) + (B5*0.275) here.

Now you just insert the grams of each product to see how it effects the balance in the mix. This will allow you to have more N in veg and less in flower and anywhere in between. Just play around with it to see how things change.

The idea is to keep everything in the circle in the green!

Don't forget you still need to add the Bio-stimulants. This spreadsheet is designed primarily for hydroponics but the balance carries through to soil depending on the hard elements used in the soil or peat. The biggest concern here would be Dolomite Lime, Lime or other Ca sources used in the soil/peat mix. In this case just let the Ca go low in the spreadsheet. All of the rules for soil or peat fertilizing still apply. Fertilize soil once a week and peat 2 or three times. Just PHed water other times.

Ps. I will be getting a Phosphorus meter soon so this spreadsheet is subject to change if the tested numbers are different than the mathematical. Also important is this is based on the Mega Crop batch I have. So don't work to close to the minimums and maximums to allow for some variations in batches.

 

[Mañ'O'Green]

Ps. I will be getting a Phosphorus meter soon so this spreadsheet is subject to change if the tested numbers are different than the mathematical. Also important is this is based on the Mega Crop batch I have. So don't work to close to the minimums and maximums to allow for some variations in batches.