New Grower Trying to understand PPM's

[TheOutlawBubbaKush]

As a first time grower, this ppm business can get a little confusing. I understand that the nutrient companies tell you to feed MORE than you need to, in order to sell more product. And the growth cycle of the plant has many variables that will effect nutrient needs.


I have a 12 day old plant growing in coco. I'm using Canna A B nutrients / CALiMAGic / Plant Tonic.

I have mixed a 1/2 dose based on the Canna/CalMag charts but the ppm's were at like 500 ( my tap water is usually 20-25ppm). I wasn't sure if this was too strong so I watered it down to 300ppm - only because that's a number people were recommending for a young plant , added a few drops of Plant Tonic & PH'd to 5.7.

Was that right?

I read a lot of people's grow diary's and see them adding all kinds of different nutrients for similar grows, and most suggestions say keep upping until you see burn, then back off. That sounds dangerous to me, like I might just fry the little girl.


Should I mix nutes based on a mathematical percentage of feed chart ( like 25% to start and raise to 50% later ) or should I make mix based on product's feeding chart at 100% and water down to a specific PPM ( like 300ppm to start raising to 1000 during flower)?


Follow up: How long is a batch of nutrients good for once mixed.

 

[Heavily Medicated]

I first mix what I mark as 1X, which in my case with AN two part nutes is 16 ml A, and 16 ml B in 1 gallon RO water. I also add extra 6 ml of Microblast micronutrients and 6 ml GH Silica. This is my 1X.

When I need to mix up a batch of feed, I start with a gallon of RO water, add whatever supplements you are using at the time (CaMg, P/K boosters, etc) then add 1X until you reach close to your desired ppm. Leave a little, because pH adjustments can effect final ppm.

How much ppm do I need? Use this as a general guide until you learn to read when the girl is telling you she wants more or less nutes. Again, this is just a general guideline and should be adjusted as needed. Some plants are nute whores and others can be tender lasses.

Seedlings: 300-600 ppm
Veg: 600-800 ppm
Bloom: 800-1200 ppm

 

[TheOutlawBubbaKush]

Thanks

 

[AutoWonders]

Should I mix nutes based on a mathematical percentage of feed chart ( like 25% to start and raise to 50% later )

Autoflowers are well known for bestowing nute burn. Start with quarter amount and work up from there.

 

[Rev. Green Genes]

As a first time grower, this ppm business can get a little confusing. I understand that the nutrient companies tell you to feed MORE than you need to, in order to sell more product. And the growth cycle of the plant has many variables that will effect nutrient needs.


I have a 12 day old plant growing in coco. I'm using Canna A B nutrients / CALiMAGic / Plant Tonic.

I have mixed a 1/2 dose based on the Canna/CalMag charts but the ppm's were at like 500 ( my tap water is usually 20-25ppm). I wasn't sure if this was too strong so I watered it down to 300ppm - only because that's a number people were recommending for a young plant , added a few drops of Plant Tonic & PH'd to 5.7.

Was that right?

I read a lot of people's grow diary's and see them adding all kinds of different nutrients for similar grows, and most suggestions say keep upping until you see burn, then back off. That sounds dangerous to me, like I might just fry the little girl.


Should I mix nutes based on a mathematical percentage of feed chart ( like 25% to start and raise to 50% later ) or should I make mix based on product's feeding chart at 100% and water down to a specific PPM ( like 300ppm to start raising to 1000 during flower)?


Follow up: How long is a batch of nutrients good for once mixed.

Howdy Outlaw. It is a lot easier to fix a deficiency than it is toxicity. And the symptoms are less confusing. You are correct to start at 300 or so for the first two weeks, especially when I was a new grower I would wait to see some leaves yellowing a bit before upping the nutes. I finished several nice plants with good yields never going over 800 - 1000 PPM. In horticulture practices that line we are walking is called hidden hunger.

A lot of people try to force feed the plants thinking more is better. But the plant is perfectly happy with a light diet. She might want a cheeseburger when she starts flowering, bloom boosters are tolerated only after substantial root development. The real trick is walk the line between hidden hunger and sufficiency. Studies prove out with other plants that the average yield is higher and less risky.

 

[Tony21]

As a first time grower, this ppm business can get a little confusing. I understand that the nutrient companies tell you to feed MORE than you need to, in order to sell more product. And the growth cycle of the plant has many variables that will effect nutrient needs.


I have a 12 day old plant growing in coco. I'm using Canna A B nutrients / CALiMAGic / Plant Tonic.

I have mixed a 1/2 dose based on the Canna/CalMag charts but the ppm's were at like 500 ( my tap water is usually 20-25ppm). I wasn't sure if this was too strong so I watered it down to 300ppm - only because that's a number people were recommending for a young plant , added a few drops of Plant Tonic & PH'd to 5.7.

Was that right?

I read a lot of people's grow diary's and see them adding all kinds of different nutrients for similar grows, and most suggestions say keep upping until you see burn, then back off. That sounds dangerous to me, like I might just fry the little girl.


Should I mix nutes based on a mathematical percentage of feed chart ( like 25% to start and raise to 50% later ) or should I make mix based on product's feeding chart at 100% and water down to a specific PPM ( like 300ppm to start raising to 1000 during flower)?


Follow up: How long is a batch of nutrients good for once mixed.

Hey man, good questions. I found this thread PH and Conductivity in hydro

 

[Simplicio]

As a first time grower, this ppm business can get a little confusing. I understand that the nutrient companies tell you to feed MORE than you need to, in order to sell more product. And the growth cycle of the plant has many variables that will effect nutrient needs.
I have a 12 day old plant growing in coco. I'm using Canna A B nutrients / CALiMAGic / Plant Tonic.
I have mixed a 1/2 dose based on the Canna/CalMag charts but the ppm's were at like 500 ( my tap water is usually 20-25ppm). I wasn't sure if this was too strong so I watered it down to 300ppm - only because that's a number people were recommending for a young plant , added a few drops of Plant Tonic & PH'd to 5.7.
Was that right?
I read a lot of people's grow diary's and see them adding all kinds of different nutrients for similar grows, and most suggestions say keep upping until you see burn, then back off. That sounds dangerous to me, like I might just fry the little girl.
Should I mix nutes based on a mathematical percentage of feed chart ( like 25% to start and raise to 50% later ) or should I make mix based on product's feeding chart at 100% and water down to a specific PPM ( like 300ppm to start raising to 1000 during flower)?
Follow up: How long is a batch of nutrients good for once mixed.

ppm and Electrical Conductivity are based off of the same measurement. Multiply EC by 500 to get ppm in the US, by 700 in some other countries.
My present nute maker, Current Culture, recommends a maximum of 350 ppm, even during flower, for their pro DWC systems.
They claim that their air pump supports feeding that light.
This matches my own experience of severe nute burn late in flower, even from 350 ppm using a different DWC system.

If you use 1/2 or 1/4 tsp as a base, and add multiples of this base for each partial nute, in their proper proportions, to a gallon jug of water, you can measure its ppm and pH to learn how to mix.
If the jug comes out to be 800 ppm, and you wanted only 400 ppm more to be spread around in a reservoir, then use half a jug.
If the reservoir were 10 gal having starting ppm = 300, then adding 400 ppm would raise tank ppm by about (400 ppm - 300 ppm)/10 = 10 ppm, neglecting volume changes.