New AF Grower in need of advice =)

[Mañ'O'Green]

Will do! My PH tester for soil will be here tonight, along with Cal-mag and jewelers loop. I have my other nutrients coming on Thursday (seems like forever). What I did yesterday is watered them thoroughly, hopefully that won't screw things up too much. I will follow the 50% to 30% run off as you suggested. How long after that should I start to see improvement? Also, should I go to full strength after they do? Sorry for all the questions.

I am way less freaked now and see it as a learning experience. I as so happy to have found this forum.

Just watering is OK. I would increase the nutrients 10% each time you fertigate after the 50% run and watch the plants response. It takes 5 to 7 days to see real improvement.

 

[Stormsmyst]

ManOGreen stated:
"I also just noticed their PPMs is on the Truncheon (700) scale you may need to convert it to Hanna (500) scale."

If you are going to measure PPM this is very important. You need to know if your pen is using the 500 or 700 scales and also what scale the nutrient manufacture is using. I would definitely learn the math on how this is figured as that will
empower you greatly. Wrong pen, mixed with wrong fert scale can spell disaster.

I dont know if that is nutrient lock out due to PH or burn. Have you considered a PH correct flush? Then next feeding make sure you have the PPM figured out.

Also: Manufacturers want to sell product. The recommended dose is often at the very high end of tolerance. I do not use liquids so perhaps someone else can comment. You may consider 1/2 dose. One thing I do know is you have to get to know your plants. They will tell you what they need. If you have multiple strains one may take the full dose just fine. Another may need less. In my experience when dealing with product less is more. I would ease into the nutes. You can always up it if they are responding well. Trying to correct too much at once will make you nuts as you can cause other issues in that effort.

Finally the environment is vital. Plants adapt very well but they need consistency. If your environment is not dialed in then get that done. Temp, RH, air movement, air exchange and or Co2... Apparently you can NEVER let them get ANY light during dark period.

I hope this helps. I am relatively new to Autos as well. I have been researching like crazy. I have a hundred questions myself.

GL

I guess this isn't as cut and dry as I thought. They make it look so easy on YouTube.
I will go back over to Amazon and see which scale it goes by? Math...sigh...lol I was just mixing and putting testing to appropriate numbers...at least what I thought was appropriate numbers. My growing area is in my second bathroom that we are remodeling slowly, so tub enclosure has been removed and Mylar is up, for now. Very simple set up, I would much rather grown them outdoors, but its winter so I have to wait. They were doing beautifully until about 10 days ago.

Thank you for your help, all of you have been so awesome!!

 

[420Forever]

I guess this isn't as cut and dry as I thought. They make it look so easy on YouTube.

hehe ppp

 

[Builder0101]

Yes, you mix the nutrients together in the water. Some nutrient vendors have a very specific order to add the nutrients when mixing. Never mix the concentrates together.

Ok so lets do this next time you fertigate - do so at 50% strength and fertigate to 30% run-off. The idea is we want to get the nutrients in the pot back to better balance. The vendor has flushes included in their schedule so you should follow their instructions on that! IMPO flushing is a last resort used to fix poor fertigating practices. They know their products best!

Do you have a PH soil probe. You should know the PH in the root zone where it counts. Get an Accurate 8 or a Blue Lab soil probe (be sure to get the right one as Blue Lab has several styles). Using run-off is notoriously inaccurate.

Tools are nice. Nothing replaces being intimately familiar with your plants. If you run multiple strains one may react well to a particular nute strength etc and one may not. Never do anything drastic or add too many moving parts at once. That will have you chasing your tail. Keep it simple. Less is more when you are learning. Pay attention to each individual plant. I use organics and do not water to runoff as a rule. I will once or twice because it feels right.

 

[Builder0101]

I guess this isn't as cut and dry as I thought. They make it look so easy on YouTube.
I will go back over to Amazon and see which scale it goes by? Math...sigh...lol I was just mixing and putting testing to appropriate numbers...at least what I thought was appropriate numbers. My growing area is in my second bathroom that we are remodeling slowly, so tub enclosure has been removed and Mylar is up, for now. Very simple set up, I would much rather grown them outdoors, but its winter so I have to wait. They were doing beautifully until about 10 days ago.

Thank you for your help, all of you have been so awesome!!

The 500 and 700 are multipliers of EC. An EC pen will read 1.2 or 1.5 etc. 500 and 700 are multipliers of that #. If you learn the math an EC pen is best. IMO. 1.5 x 500=175 x700 is 1050. Big difference. If your EC is 1.8 the difference between 500 and 700 pens starts to get even wider. I hope that makes sense. I use organics and do not measure PPM much. Someone else may be able to explain better. Or even correct me. The principal is accurate.

 

[Stormsmyst]

The 500 and 700 are multipliers of EC. An EC pen will read 1.2 or 1.5 etc. 500 and 700 are multipliers of that #. If you learn the math an EC pen is best. IMO. 1.5 x 500=175 x700 is 1050. Big difference. If your EC is 1.8 the difference between 500 and 700 pens starts to get even wider. I hope that makes sense. I use organics and do not measure PPM much. Someone else may be able to explain better. Or even correct me. The principal is accurate.

I think I need to watch a couple videos to really comprehend this. Honestly I grow with just compost for my gardens, perennials etc. I find it much easier to and healthier for everything involved. But I am really interested to see how this family of nutes works out.

Thanks so much for explaining this to me, I will try to get this old, Non-mathematical brain to wrap around this.

 

[Stormsmyst]

Just an update, I finally got those extra nutrients I was missing. So tonight I cleaned up the girls a bit. Had a handful or so of dead leaves, any leaf that I could remove with a light touch, came off and I left the rest. (For moral support? lol) I got my mixture together @ 50% and Ph'd to 6.48. Yet again, I had NO idea that adding all those together would drop the PH level. Learned a valuable lesson on that one!

They are all fed and I hope to see a recovery. I'll update with some pics....if it goes well.

So much appreciate all of ya'lls help on this!

 

[Builder0101]

There are lots of growers who do not measure PPM in or out. Who dont water to runoff. If you want simple proven method check out Mr. Canucks you tube videos. He uses 2 products, michorrize, and the occasional tea. Hs seems to rock out solid flower. He does Autos and Photos exactly the same. Beautiful. I swore I was going to emulate him. Got seduced by the prospect of complexity. I have not used my PPM pen in weeks. I do not water to runoff. You will find your groove. All of the tools give you an understanding of the process. I think it is safe to say the experienced growers have all simplified their process.