New Grower Extremely low-budget grow | 40W | Delahaze |

[ThaGreenBandit]

maybe you can answer a question for me. many led growers have problems with cal/mag deficiencies.you are growing under very low light conditions. have you encountered this problem in your grow?

AFN Live Staff Help Thread would be a great place to pose that question, and the responses are usually very fast and informative

 

[mauricem00]

AFN Live Staff Help Thread would be a great place to pose that question, and the responses are usually very fast and informative

this is true but I was interested in his growing experience. I have read that adding a little citric acid to your water will help break down dolomite lime releasing cal/mag more quickly so will be trying this with my first led grow

 

[ThaGreenBandit]

Never heard that before, but will definitely look into it! Thanks for the tidbit of info. If you go to the LED light section, you might find some threads in there where the calmag issue has been addressed

 

[mauricem00]

Never heard that before, but will definitely look into it! Thanks for the tidbit of info. If you go to the LED light section, you might find some threads in there where the calmag issue has been addressed

thanks. I have been searching many forums to learn about this issue. but would like to stick to to totally organic living soil approach if I can.my photos really like it.I will have to switch from veg to flower after 6 weeks because they are growing too fast LMAO "feed the soil not the plant" my girls love it great chance to try out my new led grow light.will add more dolomite to the soil and start adding 1/2 teaspoon of citric acid per gallon to my water to see if this avoids the problem

 

[ThaGreenBandit]

Cool. Keep me posted, if you don't mind. If that works,I'm sure there are many members on here that would be interested in trying that out

 

[mauricem00]

Cool. Keep me posted, if you don't mind. If that works,I'm sure there are many members on here that would be interested in trying that out

as you know I use a soil that contains a lot of non soluble phosphorous and citric acid helps release that as well. I am trying to compete a photo grow without adding any fertilizer. just the nutrients in a rich organic soil the citric acid should increase the amount of available phosphorous and cal/mag during flowering.this worked well on my tomatoes and peppers this summer so I want to see how it works with cannabis. best tasting tomatoes I ever grew. love organics

 

[Wienerwoods]

The dimensions of that panel would indeed make for a bit awkward setup. And besides it would be a pita to get it through the customs. Thanks, though. I might invest in the 50 watt LEDs for the next grow.

As for the cal-mag problems, I think I had some probs with ca uptake in the beginning. My soil pH was too high and I didn't know the Delahaze had such an appetite so I hadn't fed it. Not necessarily a LED related incident, but it's entirely possible.

The citrus stuff sounds interesting but it could potentially backfire causing pH probs...

 

[mauricem00]

The dimensions of that panel would indeed make for a bit awkward setup. And besides it would be a pita to get it through the customs. Thanks, though. I might invest in the 50 watt LEDs next.

As for the cal-mag problems, I think I had some probs with ca uptake in the beginning. My soil pH was too high and I didn't know the Delahaze had such an appetite so I hadn't fed it. Not necessarily a LED related incident, but it's entirely possible.

The citrus stuff sounds interesting but it could potentially backfire causing pH probs...

citric acid is very mild and does not chance you PH that much. my tap water has a PH of 7 and when I added a teaspoon full to a 12 ounce glass it dropped the PH to 6.8 so half that much in a gallon of water may not have a measurable effect. plants produce citric acid and release it into the soil to liberate non soluble minerals and nutrients.I don't think it is strong enough to cause a ph problem unless you use way to much and if you have a rich organic soil nute burn may be possible as well. I have grown with 2G11 CFLs for some time but this is my first attempt at growing with leds some other growers here grow organically and do not feed there plants at all during their grows. mandala(seed breeder) recommends 1 light feeding during flowering so it is possible to address this problem without chemical additives

 

[Wienerwoods]

47 days from sprout

WTH is going on in my soil?

I watered & fed the Delahaze today. I had measured beforehand the overall pH of the surface of the soil where I mixed some wood ash a few days ago. It was about 8.5, very alkaline. It looked promising and all so I ditched the nutrient solution I had prepared using ashes. The pH of the nutrient was perfect, around 6.5 but no matter which order I put the ash in there it caused chemical reactions with the GH nutrients and formed white precipitate which I can only guess is bad for the plant.

I made a new solution with just the nutes and epsom. It turned out crystal clear as it's supposed to, but the pH was 5. I didn't wanna mess with ash any more so I just went with it, thinking it might get buffered by the alkaline layer of soil.

This is where my confusion kinda originates. Firstly, I didn't get a single drop of run-off from 0.5 liters, which I always do. Even when the pot was lighter than cardboard. I poured in more water till some came out. I then checked the pH.

4

I emptied the tray of all the run-off, waited a moment and dug the soil some 2 inches till I got to the root zone. Took a slurry - 6.5.

Any educated or non-educated guesses on what's happening in there? The most mysterious bucket of dirt I've ever seen...

Here are a couple of pics to make this update a little more exciting. :Cheers:

I counted 9 colas total. I honestly don't know if the stretch is only beginning or if it's already over. Either way is fine for me.

 

[ljufmennid]

Looking great !