lucas question
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chasingwaterfalls
Active Member
Is there a reason why I have trouble reaching feeding Lucas formula at full strength? Ppms hold steady when I'm only at 0-4-8.
Currently on week 9 from sprout for autoflowers. My last plant, which was my first hydro attempt, was overfed from feeding 8-16 For 1.5 weeks
Currently on week 9 from sprout for autoflowers. My last plant, which was my first hydro attempt, was overfed from feeding 8-16 For 1.5 weeks
OldMedUser
Well-Known Member
Because it's too strong at that concentration so you use less IN THE SAME RATIO to feed a weaker version of the same nutes the Lucas formula way.
You could feed 0-16-32 and it's still the Lucas formula but you'd likely fry your plants.
im4satori
Well-Known Member
I honestly don't understand the question
OldMedUser
Well-Known Member
I can't see running Lucas during veg being a good thing either. I switched back to 3 - part nutes so I could do Lucas after the stretch was over and I want to reduce N for later flowering. Worked good this run in a soil/soilless mix and I'll be trying it in DWC next time I do that. I bought gallon jugs of all 3 parts for $40 each.
im4satori
Well-Known Member
personally
im not a fan of the lucas formula for either veg or bloom
chasingwaterfalls
Active Member
I understand that the ratio is micro-bloom 1-2, but everywhere I've read, Lucas is generally understood as using 8-16. From my limited experience, everytime I get close to that high of a level for feeding, my plants don't like it and start showing signs of burn
Was jw if there was any simple reason, as I couldn't find one online. I might just sick at searching
rkymtnman
Well-Known Member
i have the same problem with full strength. i attribute it to where i live: high altitude. i ran at either 4/8 or 5/10 without burning but still keeping the 1:2 ratio of micro to bloom.
rkymtnman
Well-Known Member
there's your reason. autos don't feed nearly as much as photos.
TheChemist77
Well-Known Member
gh has a great line of nutes, the 3 part,, flora, maxi, and a few others.. all seem to work very well in hydro..as for cost of nutrients per yield though,, you simply cant beat gh maxi series.. i buy 16lb containers of gro n bloom for like $80.00 each, 1 container of gro last me just short of 2 years w a 30 gal rez in veg.. 1 container of bloom last me 1 year w a 50 gal rez in bloom...$240.00 for 2 years worth of nutes, i grow 50 day strains so about 14-16 runs in 2 years i think it averages to cost me $15.00 per run.. each run yields me roughly 1300 grams dry 2.9 lbs every 50 days,, thats 2 315 watt cmh + 2 100 watt gogreen led citizen,,830 watts total in my bloom room and i get 1.5 gpw.. i do NOT sell, but i would guess good hydro goes for maybe $2500.00 per lb,,
im4satori
Well-Known Member
ok
are you using General hydro micro and bloom?
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im4satori
Well-Known Member
8-16 is just to strong an EC/ppm for your plants
and it would be for mine also
if I was mixing with the GH bloom and micro and wanted to mix lucas
I would mix 6mls micro 12mls bloom max..
that's still the lucas formula its just a lower EC/ppm
the 8-16 formula is very hot and better suited for soil or mediums that buffer
and these will require more frequent flushing from the high EC
chasingwaterfalls
Active Member
Yeah, using GH Micro and Bloom. 6-12 Is about as high as I got with my photoperiod plant last time
Edit: ..before I started overfeeding
im4satori
Well-Known Member
sounds about right to me
everyones different in some ways
some peeps got plants that tolerate high EC
some grow in a medium that has a buffer
you humidity plays a big role in EC
if humidity is low youll need to feed less cuz they drink more
chasingwaterfalls
Active Member
This is news to me. Thank you.
I feel like I could search and read endlessly, but little nuggets of info like this are so helpful - and hard to come by. Glad I asked, sorry for the threadjack!
OldMedUser
Well-Known Member
It's called Vapour Pressure Deficit and your plants grow best when it's dialed in along with everything else. Like @im4satori said when humidity is low your plants are drinking more water and taking nutes with it so you want a lower ppm when conditions are like that.
Good explanation of it all in detail HERE.
Good explanation of it all in detail HERE.
im4satori
Well-Known Member
if you use a recirculating reservoir aka closed hydro system
manage your reservoir with these rules in mind
EC/PPM goes down and ph goes up, feed more
EC/ppm goes up and/or ph goes down or doesn't move, feed less
Earlyriser76
Well-Known Member
I would like to try this. Please clarify if the NPK numbers are better for 5 grams or 6 of the 50/50 mix? You said both in this thread.