New Grower Healthy roots

[Hugo]

What do you mean by dead space?

Perlite is a must in my grows!

Perlite is a form of volcanic glass that is mined all over the world. Horticultural perlite is made by exposing perlite to heat, which causes the trace water contained in the perlite to expand, "popping" the perlite like popcorn. The result is a very lightweight, white stone-like substance. Perlite is prized for its moisture retention and aeration properties. It is naturally sterile and has a neutral pH. Horticultural perlite is used as a component in soilless growing mixes, a growing medium for rooting cuttings, or as a hydroponic growing media.

 

[agito]

The roots can not penetrate it (acording to Cervantes) so if you had 10l pot and 20% perlite you would loose 2l of media root space so you only have 8l pot and would have to use a bigger pot to compensate.
So if you have a media that hold air and water (example coir) but the roots can also use the space it makes better sence as you have more root space.

Perlite holds very little water IMO but aids in drainage but so would coir

 

[Killijin]

There are several factors. You need a controlled environment. Proper, temperatures, humidity and ventilation with odor control by using a carbon filter on your exhaust fan. Temps need to stay around high 70s, low 80s lights on and low to mid 70s for lights off. Humidity around 40-65% for vegging and less at around 35-50% fro flowering. Lights off or when it is nighttime it is perfectly acceptable AND preferable for temperatures to drop to the mid 60's. 78 is the magic daytime number and 68 is the magic nighttime number.

You need to start those germinated beans in a good mix for starting seeds in(obviously) Something with very little to no nutes at all. Such as Promix, Sunshine mix, FoxFarms Light Warrior or Jiffy seed starter mix. After the first couple weeks(12-20 days roughly) you can transplant into your bigger container and with a nuted mix if you prefer. Autos do not like nutrients early, you will stunt and or kill your plants. You can start in the final pot, just be careful with watering and the nutes. Not much water is needed for the first week or so. Superthrive and other vitamin supplements like scorpion juice can safely be administered in small doses. These vitamin solutions can help promote disease resistance, root growth, plant growth, and increase nutrient uptake.

Generally the bigger the container the bigger the plant up top. It's all about feeding the mix which feeds the roots which feeds the plant which feeds the buds which is what. we. want. Most growers do 3 gallon pots, anything above 5 gallons is overkill for autos.

HPS is great, just don't have it too close to your young seedling plants, it will cook them. Around 2 feet from the plants to start and when they get a couple sets of true leaves(first ones are single fingered and then it usually increases to 3 finger then 5, 7 and so on) then you can lower the light a little closer. Others will chime in with more HPS experience I hope. Metal Halide at 18-24 inches is best for seedling and vegetative growth, seedlings can withstand MH much easier than HPS.

Ph ph ph ph ph php ph PH is super important. If you don't have a good digital ph tester for your feeds and runoff then you need one yesterday, before you started germing those beans. Ph is a must, unless you reeeeallly know your mix and setup, even then it's tricky to rock around. :dance2: Without proper ph levels your plant will not uptake nutrients at optimum levels and your plant thus yield will suffer. Auto don't have much time to recover from being stunted, so be on point!
If your soil ph is known to be good or at an optimum level, you can use advanced nutrients PH Perfect nutes for a very very, nearly automated grow. If this is your first time, or you do not know your soil or hydro water ph levels, then a PH tester (with ph up and ph down additives) is a must. It is a must regardless, but if you cannot afford a PH tester then you are really pushing your luck by winging it, only by using ph perfect nutes can you hope to do well without a PH meter.

Water is key as well. You need a good water source. Something low ppm and with a ph not ridiculously high, somewhere around 7-7.6 is fine. City water is sometimes ok, but you ALWAYS need to let it sit out in a jug for at least 24 hours for the chlorine to evaporate out, chlorine's no good for herb. R/O(reversed-osmosis) water is said to be about the best. Distilled is good too with a zero ppm and neutral ph. PPM is part per million of particles in your water, be it various minerals and nutrients. Keep in mind with distilled water you will need to add everything you need, where as spring water, well and city water have trace amounts of certain elements such as calcium that are beneficial to your grow in the proper amounts and given at proper ph. Getting a small air pump for aquariums is also a must do IMO for your water. A cheap one is fine if you're just doing a gallon at a time like I do. The air pump with attached air stone and into your water jugs 24 hours a day. This bubbles, mixes and highly oxygenates your water. Roots love oxygen and this is a widely known tip for supercharging your water. Chlorine is a needed supplement for marijuana in very small doses:
Chlorine-Chlorine is involved in the evolution of oxygen in the photosynthesis process and is essential for cell division in roots and leaves. Chlorine raises the cell osmotic pressure and affects stomata regulation and increases the hydration of plant tissue. Levels less than 140 ppm are safe for most plants. Chloride sensitive plants may experience tip or marginal leaf burn at concentrations above 20 ppm. Chlorine Deficiency
Wilted chlorotic leaves become bronze in color. Roots become stunted and thickened near tips. Plants with chlorine deficiencies will be pale and suffer wilting.
Chlorine Toxicity
Burning of leaf tip or margins. Bronzing, yellowing and leaf splitting. Reduced leaf size and lower growth rate.



I am sure there are other things I could go on about, but this is a start. Browse around, use that search bar, read other grower's journals and soak up knowledge. You can always learn something new, mate.

In bold are additions.

 

[Hugo]

That's what people at 420 are saying man and that is just not right, sorry. How would you explain people that grow in 100% perlite? With very good results I might add! I give you this: root stems circle perlite but root hairs get everywhere.

If you used perlite you could dig up your roots after harvest, I'm pretty sure you'd end up with perlite attached to the roots.

Cervantes loves perlite!! Do you want proof? Check this:

http://www.cannabis.info/UK/library/4492-mixing-soil-for-transplant-rc-article

Perlite not only holds water and O2, it helps in drainage, it's pH neutral and it also supports growth by absorbing some nutes.

http://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Perlite#section_2

The roots can not penetrate it (acording to Cervantes) so if you had 10l pot and 20% perlite you would loose 2l of media root space so you only have 8l pot and would have to use a bigger pot to compensate.
So if you have a media that hold air and water (example coir) but the roots can also use the space it makes better sence as you have more root space.

Perlite holds very little water IMO but aids in drainage but so would coir

 

[agito]

I dont need proof why would I say something if it was not true

To grow in 100% perlite would have to use hydro nutrients but you dont have to use and media in hydro so i dont see your point in disneyland they grow in sand theres a reason why auto pots dont use 100% perlite.

Honestly common sense would dictate that coir could support more roots than perlite look at it. Also my roots cling to my hydrotron but split itin to theres very little to no roots inside

 

[Hugo]

I don't get that stuff about roots not getting inside the perlite. It's quite obvious they don't, I just don't see why would anybody want them too! Perlite is fairly small (the kind for horticulture) for roots to enter it. Root hairs on the other hand are different because they penetrate everywhere: perlite included!

I know that growing in 100% perlite is like hydro.

Well I can tell you they could use some coco in Disneyland.

I wouldn't use coco to replace perlite, but rather use it to enhance the water retention and general consistency of soil (hence the good use in Disneyland).

 

[The Squid]

In bold are additions.

Yeah I have heard that about chlorine actually. I suppose a trace amount is probably left in after bubbling for 24 hours anyway. Yes those temps are fine, even though I'll still disagree on the magic daytime number. I say it's higher IMO. It's all good though, to each his own. And some strains are super sensitive, even to those products.

Thanks man! :smokebuds:

 

[Hugo]

I believe that was me squid the chlorine or the chloride in the tap water WILL NOT HARM the plants in any way. Even if you didn't aerate it for 24h the levels of chlorine or chloride in tap water are not a problem. Chloride is the ionic form of chlorine (found in nature), it's non-toxic, negatively charged and readily absorbed by plants.

Just out of curiosity did you know that sea water rich in bacteria life holds about 20,000ppm of chloride?

But the big question is not if Cl is bad for plants (which is not!), the big question is if it's bad for the soil fungi.
From what I gather typical levels of chlorine from municipal supplies should not cause a problem also, but if someone cares to make a comment on that is very welcome.

 

[agito]

I don't get that stuff about roots not getting inside the perlite. It's quite obvious they don't, I just don't see why would anybody want them too! Perlite is fairly small (the kind for horticulture) for roots to enter it. Root hairs on the other hand are different because they penetrate everywhere: perlite included!

I know that growing in 100% perlite is like hydro.

Well I can tell you they could use some coco in Disneyland.

I wouldn't use coco to replace perlite, but rather use it to enhance the water retention and general consistency of soil (hence the good use in Disneyland).

They use sand culture not coco my point was you can grow in anything with hydro nutes even Styrofoam. If you have bought a premium mix you should not have to add anything any way as it should be balanced for water/air retention if its not its not a premium mix and adding soiless media will just deplete the medium early and make it hold less water than it should. I really doubt the root hairs would pentrate perlite that well because its an expanded surface does not mean there would be a direct passage through the media.

If the above picture was 100% perlite and the roots hairs penetrate all the perlite it should be a solid white block.

Using sea water as an example is fruitless as we are not dealing with sea weed here water your plants with ocean water and they will not last 2 seconds. Bacteria in ocean water is adapted for that purpose. Thats why salt is used as a preservative as we are not dealing with ocean bacteria on land

 

[Hugo]

I said "as a curiosity". It's pretty self explanatory, I would think. I'm not advising anyone to use salt water on their grows man.

It wouldn't be as much of a White block as it's not a dirt block in soil. Get a grow in some soil with perlite and after harvest pull it off, rinse it out and take your conclusions. You are bound to see Perlite attached to the roots after rinse off. I don't see any point in replacing perlite with coco. Now, if your saying That premium mixes are already well balanced, hell, ofcourse! Sometimes people don't take into consideration that big companies have R&D departments to come up with the best products they can provide.

I'm standing by my advice: get a good soil with water drainage, good aeration and good soil structure (not compacted). Perlite helps to achieve this objectives in soil. Some brands specify how much they have of each product. Perlite should be about 20% to 30% of it.

And furthermore I wouldn't advise coco that much because it retains N from the roots due to their high c:n ratio. They have high amounts of K and very low Ca, so it should be amended with gypsum, not liming materials because coco pH is already around 6.0 and it would get off balance. And besides their high salinity they are also rich in phenolic compounds witch reduces growth.

Ofcourse this would only be THAT important if we were talking about growing in soil-less coco. Peat-moss would be much much better for that purpose. 50/50 with perlite and that's not IMO, it's facts.

http://www.usu.edu/cpl/PDF/CoconutCoirPaper.pdf