Question about hydro plant behavior

[Serpentz]

There is literally nothing wrong with leaving your LED lights on for 24/7. I use more power to fart then they do to stay lit. I've done a lot of research on autos, from what I've come up with its going to be 24/0 with a 3 day dark period after flower. That's what I'm testing right now anyways, we'll see how that goes.

Let me know how it goes, I'm interested in your final results. I've still not seen anything concrete (online anyway) that justifies leaving the panel on 24/7. I've seen plenty that says that autos don't need a dark cycle till the end. I saw a really old post about some people doing what you are testing and they said the buds exploded in size in the dark...why...I'm not sure.

 

[Serpentz]

How far is the lamp from the plant?

It's 10" inches away.

 

[Galwaith]

Plants alternate between releasing oxygen and taking in CO2.

That's pretty much what this is. IMO. The plant is performing it's natural function as normal.

 

[Major Blazer]

From the pic idk that lamp but power depending, maybe it’s too close?

 

[Serpentz]

From the pic idk that lamp but power depending, maybe it’s too close?

It's 180-Watt Hans Panel. I also believed that it was too close when it was a seedling, but now that it's exploding in growth and bigger leaves, I think it's OK. This is how close the lamp was on my soil grow. But that was two plants. This is one plant and I will scrogg it. The plant is really starting to look good going on its third week. My nutes might be a little low I think, but I'd rather be low right now than fry it. It's my first hydro and test subject. I guess we will see what happens. I have a spreadsheet that I created with my feed schedule and amounts with some advice from a GE guy that I bother on occasion.

My panel is on vegetation mode at the moment and I take all my photos with it dimmed.

 

[Serpentz]

Plants alternate between releasing oxygen and taking in CO2.

That's pretty much what this is. IMO. The plant is performing it's natural function as normal.

Agreed. Thanks for the reply.

 

[Thundercat]

I would say it was about 2 weeks before I harvested when I took those photos. I waited until Trichomes were all milky and some started to turn orange before harvesting. I also ran GE Florakleen with pure water for the last two weeks to flush them.

I grow autos because of my small grow closet in my apartment. The average size seems to be around 2-4 feet tall without scrogging, so there's the room thing. I also like the speed of course.

So first let me start by saying your plant looks fine to me, and I believe like others have said it's behavior is pretty normal for transpiration.

Secondly I wanna suggest being careful trying to scrog an auto flower. From everything I've read over the years autos don't seem to respond to training the same as photo plants.

Now I also wanna add that I think you might have actually gotten a higher yield last time if you had let the plants mature longer. In the pictures you posted your plants still were covered in fresh new pistils and calyx growth. Usually that calyx growth stops and the plants still have another 10-20 days to properly swell and mature.

Generally plants put on most of their weight the last 2 -3 weeks of flower when they stop growing new calyxs and begin swelling up. The hairs turn red, the calyxs swell and drastically increase in weight.

I've watched plants start to bend over in the matter of a couple days.

You also really don't need to flush them unless your trying to correct an error, especially in soil when you were in soil.

"Flushing" your plants during the last few weeks is the same as intentionally starving them when they are trying their hardest to fatten up before they die. Instead just taper back your nutrients if you feel it's needed. I don't ever slam my plants with high nutrient levels so I personally feed till the day I harvest and get delicious buds every time since I know how to grow and dry properly.

Now auto flowers... You said you grow them to save space. I don't know if you realize it but you can usually grow photos just as small or fast as any auto. Having the ability to control the flowering cycle lets you control the plant better, and the plant not being on a timer lets you train it to your needs.

I hope some of this helps on your growing adventures.

 

[PhatNuggz]

autos flower on time, not light cycle.

so the more they can grow before they flower the better and bigger the plant will be.

they don't grow in the dark.

the genetics come from latitudes where there is no darkness during the summer which is how they can flower in such a short growing season.

I have no experience with autos, but I do otherwise. Plants absolutely grow in the dark, why wouldn't/don't autos?

 

[Serpentz]

So first let me start by saying your plant looks fine to me, and I believe like others have said it's behavior is pretty normal for transpiration.

Secondly I wanna suggest being careful trying to scrog an auto flower. From everything I've read over the years autos don't seem to respond to training the same as photo plants.

Now I also wanna add that I think you might have actually gotten a higher yield last time if you had let the plants mature longer. In the pictures you posted your plants still were covered in fresh new pistils and calyx growth. Usually that calyx growth stops and the plants still have another 10-20 days to properly swell and mature.

Generally plants put on most of their weight the last 2 -3 weeks of flower when they stop growing new calyxs and begin swelling up. The hairs turn red, the calyxs swell and drastically increase in weight.

I've watched plants start to bend over in the matter of a couple days.

You also really don't need to flush them unless your trying to correct an error, especially in soil when you were in soil.

"Flushing" your plants during the last few weeks is the same as intentionally starving them when they are trying their hardest to fatten up before they die. Instead just taper back your nutrients if you feel it's needed. I don't ever slam my plants with high nutrient levels so I personally feed till the day I harvest and get delicious buds every time since I know how to grow and dry properly.

Now auto flowers... You said you grow them to save space. I don't know if you realize it but you can usually grow photos just as small or fast as any auto. Having the ability to control the flowering cycle lets you control the plant better, and the plant not being on a timer lets you train it to your needs.

I hope some of this helps on your growing adventures.

I was able to super crop and lollipop the last two autos and they responded very well. So I can't see why adding a screen would do any harm. Let's see what happens in my experiment.

Some of the photos I posted were early photos. They were not all right before harvest. Sorry if I confused anyone about that. Those weren't right before harvest shots as I told someone else. I stopped taking photos towards the end as my smartphone bit the dust. Trichomes were all milky with some starting to turn orange...when I saw whole patches starting to turn red or orange I killed the lights, and then a couple days later I harvested. I got 150 grams out of a 180 watt LED panel. I'll like to see if I can push it to 1 gram per watt.

I have been told that you should always flush your plants the last week with pure water to get rid of any excess nutes because you don't want to taste it in your bud. I've read extensively on this and from what gather it doesn't matter if its soil or hydro. Well, I understand it's a hotly debated subject, but if the science is right, then it makes sense. I'm going to use Florakleen again in this grow to flush.

I'm also growing for speed as well as space...I've been really happy with my autoflowers and the last two plants were incredible in taste and smoke. The high was so good that one of my friends was afraid of my weed and wouldn't even accept a free nug I have to admit that the autoflower White Widow was a disappointment when compared to the Blueberry though. I wouldn't mind growing the true photo-period White Widow outside this summer. If I get my house it will be a reality.

Thanks for your reply. Its good to take a look at things from all perspectives. I also like to share my experiences. My plant is doing really good right now going on it's third week already.

 

[Major Blazer]

She is doing well for sure!

 

[joecanna17]

Hey @Serpentz , hope all is still going well with the garden!

For a possible answer to the "issue" you were experiencing, I'd suggest googling DLI, or "Daily Light Integral".
Basically, when a plant has absorbed all the photons it needs in a given day, it will droop the leaves, exposing less surface to absorb those photons the rest of the day.

So, the good news is that your plant is getting sufficient lighting! You could probably either raise your light up more, dim it, if you have a dimmer, or cut some time off your timer, if you wanted.

Enjoy your grow, and I think you can break the g/light watt barrier soon! I’ve personally seen potential for that and much more with the new school LEDs

 

[Serpentz]

Hey @Serpentz , hope all is still going well with the garden!

For a possible answer to the "issue" you were experiencing, I'd suggest googling DLI, or "Daily Light Integral".
Basically, when a plant has absorbed all the photons it needs in a given day, it will droop the leaves, exposing less surface to absorb those photons the rest of the day.

So, the good news is that your plant is getting sufficient lighting! You could probably either raise your light up more, dim it, if you have a dimmer, or cut some time off your timer, if you wanted.

Enjoy your grow, and I think you can break the g/light watt barrier soon! I’ve personally seen potential for that and much more with the new school LEDs

Thanks for the reply. I was actually thinking about cutting the light down on the timer. I've raised the light a couple of times already because this Blueberry is growing really fast. One thing I noticed is that its very bushy unlike the same plant I grew in soil. The top of the plant is flat and I thought I would be putting up my scrog screen...but there is no need at the moment. It seems odd to me that the only difference is that I'm hydro this time.

I have noticed something on some of the lower leaves that has me scratching my head. I have noticed some little white spots on some of the leaves. I attached a photo. The only thing I believe it could be is either a calcium or mag deficiency. I'm using a mineral water that has calcium <50 and magnesium <50 - Na (salt) + K (potassium) 20-150 - HCO3 (Hydrogen carbonate) 100-300 - SO2 (sulfur dioxide) <50 CE (Cerium) <50

Not sure about the total measurements but the water only measures 124 PPM out of the bottle. So the measurements on the water are very low as in trace amounts.

The rest of the plant looks really good and is doing nicely. I don't see any nute burn on the tips anywhere. The root system is healthy and looks like a pair of ...

I just started week 5 water change and nutrients and I'm running out of closet

If anyone has seen anything like those white spots, let me know what you think it might be. I only see it on a couple of leaves and I've watched them and nothing has gotten worse. Perhaps it could be some of those trace elements, I'm not sure.

Current water specs are pH 6.0 - PPM 588 (just fed yesterday) water temp is 68F

 

[rkymtnman]

If anyone has seen anything like those white spots,

check for mites on the underside of leaf. you'll need a scope or loupe to see them

 

[Serpentz]

check for mites on the underside of leaf. you'll need a scope or loupe to see them

No pests at all. I haven't seen a single critter at all except a house spider who took up residence when I was growing in soil. I actually give this spider water using a straw and let it live in there just in case some bugs might try to make it their home. But I've seen nothing and checked all the leaves. They are all clean. The plant itself is doing really well.

Upon closer inspection using my jewelers loupe, I see these tiny spots look like microscopic burn holes, like from a cigarette. It seems to only happen on a couple of lower leaves and then nothing anywhere else. It also doesn't become worse or show up anywhere else.

The weird thing is its not on the tips like you would see with nutrient burn. I'm guessing its the salt + potassium element in the water but I can't be sure. I'm waiting for my reverse osmosis system to be repaired so I'm kind of stuck using this water for now. Doesn't seem to be too bad actually. Its a lot better than tap water, and I tried using well water in a first DWC attempt and that was a big mistake.