New Grower First Grow, Short Rider, 400W
- Thread starter Slow2Gro
- Start date
Will Do.
I do have a question though about watering.
When watering I have been using 1 gallon for each plant and I get ALOT of run off with that. Is that ok to do? I figured it was like a mini flush, but wasn't sure if I was actually clearing out the nutes in the soil by doing that.
I do that also because it seem I barely have to put any water in my medium before it come pouring out through the holes and I figured there's no way that little bit of water has saturated my medium.
Also like I said I plan on giving them 1 more dose of nutes and I normally do 1/4 strength, but this last time I was going to do half.
I'm also going to add some Epsom to the feeding, but am not totally sure how much to add. Would 1 tbs per gallon be ok? I've looked around, but most people talk about litres and not gallons.
I do have a question though about watering.
When watering I have been using 1 gallon for each plant and I get ALOT of run off with that. Is that ok to do? I figured it was like a mini flush, but wasn't sure if I was actually clearing out the nutes in the soil by doing that.
I do that also because it seem I barely have to put any water in my medium before it come pouring out through the holes and I figured there's no way that little bit of water has saturated my medium.
Also like I said I plan on giving them 1 more dose of nutes and I normally do 1/4 strength, but this last time I was going to do half.
I'm also going to add some Epsom to the feeding, but am not totally sure how much to add. Would 1 tbs per gallon be ok? I've looked around, but most people talk about litres and not gallons.
Muddy
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I usually feed about 2/3 of a gallon to a 3 gallon pot. That's enough to give me a little run off, but not so much that I'm leaching out the soil. A by product of nutrient break down are salts. The run off from feeding also helps to wash away those salts. I always check my pots when a grow is finished, looking for salt build up on the inside of the pot. There is almost always a small amount and that's pretty normal. If I see a heavy build up then I know I'm not putting enough water through the soil. An excess build up of salts can cause pH issues.
As the soil dries out it tends to shrink and pull away from the sides of the pots. Before I feed I always run my hand around the surface of the soil and make sure it's not compacted and that it's all the way out to the sides of the pots. If there is a space there when you feed the solution will tend to run down the inside of the pots and out the bottom very fast. I suspect that's what's happening to you.
1 tablespoon of epsom salts per gallon is good for the occasional feedings. If you do it regularly, I'd go with 1/2 tablespoon. A gallon is about 3.8 liters so close enough that anything listed for one is okay for the other.
As the soil dries out it tends to shrink and pull away from the sides of the pots. Before I feed I always run my hand around the surface of the soil and make sure it's not compacted and that it's all the way out to the sides of the pots. If there is a space there when you feed the solution will tend to run down the inside of the pots and out the bottom very fast. I suspect that's what's happening to you.
1 tablespoon of epsom salts per gallon is good for the occasional feedings. If you do it regularly, I'd go with 1/2 tablespoon. A gallon is about 3.8 liters so close enough that anything listed for one is okay for the other.
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Cool, thank you much Muddy.
I'll make sure and check the pot/bag when this grow is finished for salt build up (never knew about that). I'll also make sure there is no open space between soil and bag. I think you're right about that's whats happening to me. Yeah I've only given them Epsom Salts once maybe twice before, but it was a couple weeks ago.
Thank you much again Muddy, some great information there and advice I didn't know about. It's much appreciated.
I'll make sure and check the pot/bag when this grow is finished for salt build up (never knew about that). I'll also make sure there is no open space between soil and bag. I think you're right about that's whats happening to me. Yeah I've only given them Epsom Salts once maybe twice before, but it was a couple weeks ago.
Thank you much again Muddy, some great information there and advice I didn't know about. It's much appreciated.
Ok another question.
I mixed in my Nutes (1/2 strength Lucas formula) and Epsom salt into a gallon of Distilled water.
The water is pretty dark with that. Now will that color of the water affect the color of the water I test with drops?
Cause I thought Distilled water measures at about 6 for pH (I didn't test water before I mixed) and After adding nutes it measured at 4 or below.
I then added 5 drops into water and measured and it was between 4-5. I then added 5 or six more drops and the water still looks like it's between 4-5.
So I'm getting worried I'm upping the pH too much, but can't tell because the water has Nutes in it which changed the color of the water.
I mixed in my Nutes (1/2 strength Lucas formula) and Epsom salt into a gallon of Distilled water.
The water is pretty dark with that. Now will that color of the water affect the color of the water I test with drops?
Cause I thought Distilled water measures at about 6 for pH (I didn't test water before I mixed) and After adding nutes it measured at 4 or below.
I then added 5 drops into water and measured and it was between 4-5. I then added 5 or six more drops and the water still looks like it's between 4-5.
So I'm getting worried I'm upping the pH too much, but can't tell because the water has Nutes in it which changed the color of the water.
Cool thanks for offer Dr.Evil, but I already have it hung up. I have Pictures Here if you want to check them out. I ended up just using bungee cords and Eye hooks.
BUT I really need help from anyone that can help with my problem with the Water with Nutes, from post above.
I need to water my plants tomorrow and I need to know by then if I need to go buy more water and start again.
Maybe I should make a new post about it so people that use the drops will see it.
BUT I really need help from anyone that can help with my problem with the Water with Nutes, from post above.
I need to water my plants tomorrow and I need to know by then if I need to go buy more water and start again.
Maybe I should make a new post about it so people that use the drops will see it.
Hey Slow. Sorry dude, but it sounds like you're only hope is a pH pen or something like that. Even if it's just a cheap one, it's gonna be better than not being able to get any reading at all. Also, distilled water does not always have the same pH in every bottle/jug. At least the ones I have don't. It's a pain in the butt, every bottle slightly different. That's why I'm considering using tap water when my last 10 ltrs of DW are gone. That has a constant 7.4 and I know what I have to work with. Plus there are lots of minerals in the tap water that are missing in distilled.
Day 51
Well Day 52.
Not sure how the last dose of Nutes went. I'm still searching around for a pH pen locally.
Well I can chaulk this grow up as a learning experience. Better to learn off of 2 plants than 20 (not that I'll be doing that many).
I think I'll still get some decent smoke though. Hell anything is better than nothing and nothing is what I've had the past 6 months, then before that I only had mexican swag.
I'm really debating about picking off a bud or 2 next weekend (Xmas eve probably) and drying them out so I have some smoke for New Years. I don't have a good magnifier to be able to tell when the trichs are turning colors. So I'm trying to see what other alternatives I have to know when to harvest.
I'm also having problems figuring out where I'm going to dry them out at. I have a good size box (one my Light system came in) I'm thinking of drying in, but I'm not sure where to put the box. I was thinking of putting it up in garage, but it gets below freezing here and wasn't sure if that would affect the drying process.
Well here are some updated pics.
Well Day 52.
Not sure how the last dose of Nutes went. I'm still searching around for a pH pen locally.
Well I can chaulk this grow up as a learning experience. Better to learn off of 2 plants than 20 (not that I'll be doing that many).
I think I'll still get some decent smoke though. Hell anything is better than nothing and nothing is what I've had the past 6 months, then before that I only had mexican swag.
I'm really debating about picking off a bud or 2 next weekend (Xmas eve probably) and drying them out so I have some smoke for New Years. I don't have a good magnifier to be able to tell when the trichs are turning colors. So I'm trying to see what other alternatives I have to know when to harvest.
I'm also having problems figuring out where I'm going to dry them out at. I have a good size box (one my Light system came in) I'm thinking of drying in, but I'm not sure where to put the box. I was thinking of putting it up in garage, but it gets below freezing here and wasn't sure if that would affect the drying process.
Well here are some updated pics.
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