New Grower Slow journey to my first grow... sorta.

[Mañ'O'Green]

Thank you for the info!! I always start my seeds in large peat pellets in a humidity dome with a heating mat. This helps me maintain about 99.7% germination rate. I transplant into the main pot a couple days after the seed breaks the surface. I won't be using ro water. I have well water that ph's about 7.2. I probably don't need to but I will use citric acid to bring that down closer to 6.5.

What is the PPM of the well water?

I did think about possibly mixing a couple tablespoons of Dr earth flower girl or happy frog fruit & flower into the bottom 1/3 of the pot so there would be some bloom boosters available around week 4 when they should start flowering...

Do not do that. A cannabis tap root can grow 9 inches in 3 days. Roots will be at the bottom of the pot in the first week. If the tap root hits a spot that is too hot it may be damaged or just stop growing. The lateral roots will eventually penetrate the layer but the plant can be stunted by then. Homogeneous soil is the best for rapid full growth.

Layering is another soil mistake that people do all of the time. It sounds logical but roots do not grow like that. The physics of water behavior in soil dictates that when water hits a different substrate the layer above must become saturated before the water will move to the next layer. Of course all of these things do not always happen they just can.

Watering is an art. What you need to learn about watering will come with practice. Here are the basic rules: Never let the soil dry out. Soil and or coco can become hydrophobic if allowed to dry. This means it repels water. This in turn will create dry pockets in the soil and the roots and microbes will die there. If your soil - coco have accidentally dried out use a surfactant to help re-wet it. I like yucca powder. Don't let soil remain soggy by watering too much too often. Root rot, damping off, molds, fungus gnats and other problems start in soggy soil. When you do water water the entire pot. How to learn when to water starts before you plant the seed. Fill your container with fresh soil/coco and weigh it (heft it) this is the lightest weight and consider it a dry pot. Now slowly water until the soil/coco will no longer absorb the water and run-off begins; weigh the pot (heft it) this is the maximum water, the wettest the pot can get. The difference between wettest and driest is the maximum water weight, for ease of explanation lets just say the water weighs 20 pounds. When the pot loses 10 pounds (half of the water weight) it is time to water again

 

[Hunter11]

What is the PPM of the well water?



Do not do that. A cannabis tap root can grow 9 inches in 3 days. Roots will be at the bottom of the pot in the first week. If the tap root hits a spot that is too hot it may be damaged or just stop growing. The lateral roots will eventually penetrate the layer but the plant can be stunted by then. Homogeneous soil is the best for rapid full growth.

Layering is another soil mistake that people do all of the time. It sounds logical but roots do not grow like that. The physics of water behavior in soil dictates that when water hits a different substrate the layer above must become saturated before the water will move to the next layer. Of course all of these things do not always happen they just can.

Watering is an art. What you need to learn about watering will come with practice. Here are the basic rules: Never let the soil dry out. Soil and or coco can become hydrophobic if allowed to dry. This means it repels water. This in turn will create dry pockets in the soil and the roots and microbes will die there. If your soil - coco have accidentally dried out use a surfactant to help re-wet it. I like yucca powder. Don't let soil remain soggy by watering too much too often. Root rot, damping off, molds, fungus gnats and other problems start in soggy soil. When you do water water the entire pot. How to learn when to water starts before you plant the seed. Fill your container with fresh soil/coco and weigh it (heft it) this is the lightest weight and consider it a dry pot. Now slowly water until the soil/coco will no longer absorb the water and run-off begins; weigh the pot (heft it) this is the maximum water, the wettest the pot can get. The difference between wettest and driest is the maximum water weight, for ease of explanation lets just say the water weighs 20 pounds. When the pot loses 10 pounds (half of the water weight) it is time to water again

I would have to check to be sure but I believe it is around 220-240ppm. I checked it a month or 2 ago when I was checking my water for my aquariums.

 

[Hunter11]

What is the PPM of the well water?



Do not do that. A cannabis tap root can grow 9 inches in 3 days. Roots will be at the bottom of the pot in the first week. If the tap root hits a spot that is too hot it may be damaged or just stop growing. The lateral roots will eventually penetrate the layer but the plant can be stunted by then. Homogeneous soil is the best for rapid full growth.

Layering is another soil mistake that people do all of the time. It sounds logical but roots do not grow like that. The physics of water behavior in soil dictates that when water hits a different substrate the layer above must become saturated before the water will move to the next layer. Of course all of these things do not always happen they just can.

Watering is an art. What you need to learn about watering will come with practice. Here are the basic rules: Never let the soil dry out. Soil and or coco can become hydrophobic if allowed to dry. This means it repels water. This in turn will create dry pockets in the soil and the roots and microbes will die there. If your soil - coco have accidentally dried out use a surfactant to help re-wet it. I like yucca powder. Don't let soil remain soggy by watering too much too often. Root rot, damping off, molds, fungus gnats and other problems start in soggy soil. When you do water water the entire pot. How to learn when to water starts before you plant the seed. Fill your container with fresh soil/coco and weigh it (heft it) this is the lightest weight and consider it a dry pot. Now slowly water until the soil/coco will no longer absorb the water and run-off begins; weigh the pot (heft it) this is the maximum water, the wettest the pot can get. The difference between wettest and driest is the maximum water weight, for ease of explanation lets just say the water weighs 20 pounds. When the pot loses 10 pounds (half of the water weight) it is time to water again

So let's say my pot dry weighs 10lbs and fully saturated it weighs 30 lbs... I should water when the pot weighs 20 lbs? Or is 20lbs the ideal moisture content?

 

[Hunter11]

What is the PPM of the well water?



Do not do that. A cannabis tap root can grow 9 inches in 3 days. Roots will be at the bottom of the pot in the first week. If the tap root hits a spot that is too hot it may be damaged or just stop growing. The lateral roots will eventually penetrate the layer but the plant can be stunted by then. Homogeneous soil is the best for rapid full growth.

Layering is another soil mistake that people do all of the time. It sounds logical but roots do not grow like that. The physics of water behavior in soil dictates that when water hits a different substrate the layer above must become saturated before the water will move to the next layer. Of course all of these things do not always happen they just can.

Watering is an art. What you need to learn about watering will come with practice. Here are the basic rules: Never let the soil dry out. Soil and or coco can become hydrophobic if allowed to dry. This means it repels water. This in turn will create dry pockets in the soil and the roots and microbes will die there. If your soil - coco have accidentally dried out use a surfactant to help re-wet it. I like yucca powder. Don't let soil remain soggy by watering too much too often. Root rot, damping off, molds, fungus gnats and other problems start in soggy soil. When you do water water the entire pot. How to learn when to water starts before you plant the seed. Fill your container with fresh soil/coco and weigh it (heft it) this is the lightest weight and consider it a dry pot. Now slowly water until the soil/coco will no longer absorb the water and run-off begins; weigh the pot (heft it) this is the maximum water, the wettest the pot can get. The difference between wettest and driest is the maximum water weight, for ease of explanation lets just say the water weighs 20 pounds. When the pot loses 10 pounds (half of the water weight) it is time to water again

The pots I have are supposed to help with the soil hydrophobia. They are fabric but are made by grassroots and have a moisture liner so the sides of the pot aren't exposed to the air. There is a 4in h ring at the bottom that is just fabric for air pruning. The liner is to help keep the sides of the pot from becoming hydrophobic. They were designed to be used with living soil.

 

[Mañ'O'Green]

I would have to check to be sure but I believe it is around 220-240ppm. I checked it a month or 2 ago when I was checking my water for my aquariums.

Ok so that means your starting water will contain 100 PPM to 120 PPM of calcium to start with. This will be a problem because plants need only 80 - 140 PPM total. Your soil has a lot and most fertilizers have some.

This will be more manageable in peat or coco than in the OF + HF but is still high for them. You may want to consider an RO system and blending the water down to a starting range <100 PPM

So let's say my pot dry weighs 10lbs and fully saturated it weighs 30 lbs... I should water when the pot weighs 20 lbs? Or is 20lbs the ideal moisture content?

So totally saturated you have 20 pounds of water and 10 pounds of soil+ the pot for 30 pounds total. When half of the water is gone 20/2 = 10, 30-10= 20 it is time to water.

Those pots look excellent. Be sure to have an air-gap underneath to prevent the growth of anaerobic microbes.

 

[DankMcNuggets]

The OF and HF blended well will still be too hot for germination.

I know are hot, but personally I’ve never had a problem with OF. I always germinate using paper towel then put directly into OF…maybe I’ve just gotten lucky

 

[Hunter11]

Ok so that means your starting water will contain 100 PPM to 120 PPM of calcium to start with. This will be a problem because plants need only 80 - 140 PPM total. Your soil has a lot and most fertilizers have some.

View attachment 1365479

This will be more manageable in peat or coco than in the OF + HF but is still high for them. You may want to consider an RO system and blending the water down to a starting range <100 PPM

So totally saturated you have 20 pounds of water and 10 pounds of soil+ the pot for 30 pounds total. When half of the water is gone 20/2 = 10, 30-10= 20 it is time to water.

Those pots look excellent. Be sure to have an air-gap underneath to prevent the growth of anaerobic microbes.

No I am not going to bother with the RO part. I don't think this should cause a big problem with organics. We will see. I was thinking about putting a layer of hydroton or gravel in the tray before I put the pot on it.

 

[Mañ'O'Green]

 

[Hunter11]

Tonight I'll try to get some more pics of the area of the basement the grow room will be going.

 

[Hunter11]

So here are a couple pics of the corner in the basement where I am going to have this grow room. The door will probably be about where the ladder is sitting now.