Grow Mediums Trouble With Auto pots

[ThaGreenBandit]

OK, OK. Once again, things are all cool in the grow tent. I'm about 5 days into my final flush. I may take it 3 weeks instead of two, since the one time I did a 3 week flush, it seemed to taste much better than all of my other grows

 

[MediScrogs]

Nice man, buds looking good.

 

[ThaGreenBandit]

Nice man, buds looking good.

Thanks. That 2 week rough patch took a toll on me the yield, but it's cool. I learned a few things, so I get better with the next grow.

 

[ThaGreenBandit]

Started smoking at 4 this morning, and didn't stop 'til 4 in the afternoon. Did plenty of smoking while I was smoking...

 

[pop22]

Soil acts differently in a hydro style pot. I'm running soil AND coco in the same system, using just one reservoir. I keep PH 6.2 -6.4 and my plants look great. Soil will work in auto pots with a ph anywhere between 6.4 and 7.0 for organic soil. The trick is to get the res stable. big ph swings means you need to improve the buffer. I add baking soda as a PH up and it acts as a buffer. Yes, it has sodium in it but the amount used is so small as to not be an issue. And my ph stays solid even days later. I don't even bother checking ph after I mix my nutes now. I ph to about .5 low, then bring it back to my desired ph with the baking soda.

Low PH is Mg/Cal issue since PH under 6.5 in soil will lock them out amongst other elements. Luckily, there are lots of nutes out there, pick one of your choice. I use Boomerang because I use nutes. Buget help would be Epson salt at 0.5 tsp gal but check PH since Epson is alkaline. However, other elements locked out are not in Epson, like Boomerang. Therefore, I'd use 1/4 strength grow, or better yet fish and seaweed nutes with Epson which will help keep PH down but still check post mix. Feed till 20% runoff. I fill my plastic tray under pot 1.5 times (shop vac works so you don't need to move plants). This ensures most or all old salts flushed with weak feed. This takes about 3 to 4 days for full recovery and will resume growth.

Cheers

Sent from my SPH-L720T using Tapatalk

 

[pop22]

All nutrients usable by a plant are "salts" ie, ionic form of an element or compound. As with any other nutrient, use it in moderation and it works well. I add it to all my soil.

In my water, I always use cal/mag. I use RO water and ad 90-120 ppms of cal mag and never have cal/mag issues, even in coco.

Hey, I used Sea Grow last season and it doesn't have any calcium in it as I recall. Although I see you're adding molasses and epsom, you might want to add another source of cal.

Not saying this will solve the symptoms you see, but it's something to be mindful of. Some guys here say that Epsom is good for short term fixes but tricky over the long term as it is a salt, and might contribute to salt build up in the medium. May be better to go with a standard Cal mag instead if you've got one. Calcium is an important nutrient for flowering.

Good luck though man, they don't look too far out of whack.

 

[pop22]

it may act like a buffer.

hey dude I use liquid silica I think it helps with the ph balancing filled up my res ph 5.8 checked it 24 hours later its ph 5.9 I also use it as a ph up
View attachment 600790
I only use it at 0.5 ml per ltr

 

[pop22]

I had suspected molasses wouldn't be good in a res, you may have confirmed that.

I do use Silica Blast by Botanicare, and after refilling my res, sans the molasses and salt, the pH seems stable, and I don't have that foamy, muddy looking solution going on. Any who, I appreciate you guys pointing me in the right direction, and hopefully in a couple days things Will be l turn around
[HASHTAG]#afnfam[/HASHTAG]

 

[pop22]

maybe for the hell of it, give my way a try, I use seagrow 16-16-16 the entire grow with great results! I've done this for three grows now and it works well every time. I ph it and forget it till next res fill. auto pots done right are boring but productive!!

OK, OK, I think I'm back on steady ground. In the end, I think the molasses was the culprit. Once I switched from molasses and Epsom salt to CalMag, the nute solution stopped turning a thick, coffee brown, and the pH stopped fluctuating so wildly. My yield definitely took a hit, and my ladies look ragged as hell, but the buds are sticky, and stanky, and I learned a good lesson for my next go round wit these auto pots. I can feel it; I'm gonna knock the next grow straight out the park. 4sho

 

[ThaGreenBandit]

...auto pots done right are boring but productive!!

I love that line, Pop!! So true! I felt the same way, up until I started putting molasses in my res. How in the he'll did I not catch that earlier, I truly don't know. I might go all organic next grow, and go with Sacred Nutrients and their line of organic soil ammendments.
If not, I'll give the 16-16-16 straight thru a try. Almost all saved up for one of those new Mars lights, too, so things might get a bit interesting my next grow.