Hydro Hippie
Member
I have a good amount of experience growing in soil. I formulate and manufacture microbial biostimulants you a living. I measure the ppm of my compost tea evertime I make it.
"Just add water soil" problem
- Thread starter Jimi O'Connor
- Start date
Hollatchaboy
Well-Known Member
Ph,ppm.... those are your input parameters.
Hollatchaboy
Well-Known Member
If the parameters of your input water (ph,ppm) are good, there's no need to measure runoff.
Jimi O'Connor
Active Member
So im wondering if i should just toss the big plants that are not doing so hot. There already really tall i wanted to flip them a week and a half ago bc there tall n now there taller.
The other plant i have is doing good and i feel like messing around with the tall plants is going to ruin the small one
PadawanWarrior
Well-Known Member
I'd just feed them and stop adjusting pH. I'd also add some yucca or another wetting agent in case the soil is hydrophobic. The plants in the first pic don't look too bad. If you're trying to grow organically it's best not to let the soil get too dry.
Jimi O'Connor
Active Member
Do you think i should maybe cut my losses with the taller plants that aren't doing so well? There still lime green on top, ive tied them down and there still to tall and not even in flower yet. The smaller plant is at a good height now to flip and seems to be doing well.
Also the tent is full so its hard to keep the humidity down ( granted the last two days its been 70 out and rain so its really humid out which dosen't help)
Seems like its just a waste of time to keep fuckin around with what seems like a never ending problem
Hollatchaboy
Well-Known Member
What's the never ending problem? Cannabis has been growing on earth for about 28 million years, most of that time WITHOUT human intervention. Nature doesn't seem to have a problem, and it doesn't have a mind to think. So just follow nature when in doubt.
Hydro Hippie
Member
That's up to you. The good part of messing around with it is your trying to solve problems and you're learning.
I do totally understand the flip side. There is no real reason to keep something around that is fussy to grow. Right now I have 3 Grand Daddy Purple plants grow from seed in flower. They have all been treated the same but only one of them packs on flowers and easy to grow. I already got rid of the others. No need take up resources when it makes me inefficient.
Jimi O'Connor
Active Member
Right thats how i feel, and i am wondering how much taller they will grow once they flip? I have them tied in place now .....do you think maybe that having them tied down cou
So the leaves starting to darken up, which is a relief. So i was wondering if you have any tips on what what to do before I flip to flower? The plants are tall so I'd like to get it fliped asap.
Also is there a better or a best time to run your light during the day/night? I was told its cheaper at night to run, any truth to that?
Again tks for your help, and you mentioned what you make at your job but i still have no clue what you do?
Hydro Hippie
Member
Glad to hear your leaves are greening up. Generally plants will double in height during flowering. It depends on the strain and the phenotype. As far as tips on getting ready to flower, hear are some suggestions:
1. Make sure the plants are healthy and not stresses before the flip. If they are not, get them healthy and wait.
2. Make sure they are mature , otherwise yield could suffer. I wait to see preflowers.
3. Make sure they are in large enough pots. Their water and nutrient needs increase greatly during flower.
4. Make sure you have your odor control in check. By week 5 the smell will be extream.
5. Feed Veg nutrients for the first 2 weeks after the flip. The plants need a lot of nitrogen to put on all that growth thrvoughout the stretch.
It may be better to run the lights during the night. I switch based on the temperature and season. It's cooler at night in the summer so I'll have everything run through out the night. This makes it easier to keep the temperature down saving on cooling cost. It can also be cheaper at night depending on your electric company. Some offer lower rates during non peak hour (night).
For work I formulate biostimulants. That means I figure out different ways to improve soil health and increase yield. I tell people my products feed the microbes so they can feed the plans.
Jimi O'Connor
Active Member
So the plants are healthy as there gonna get i flipped them yesterday. I'm using gaia green 4-4-4 and 2-8-4, the directions say to top dress every 30 days. Are you saying since i flipped them i need to feed them bow not wait till the 30 days is up?
Also i am wondering about the bigger leaves, fan leaves i guess there called. Should i trim the big ones on top so the smaller ones can get some light or does the plant need them bigger leaves? I added a pic tks again
Attachments
Hydro Hippie
Member
Looking good, nice work!
I don't use Gaia Green but I did a quick look into it. Someone else correct me if I'm wrong, Gaia Green is not readily available to the plant. These nutrients will slowly become available over the next month or so as microbes break the nutrients down to a form that is usable to the plant. This makes things difficult because you can not quickly fix a nutrient deficiency. I would say follow the manufacturers recommended feeding schedule. Take good notes so you can adjust things next grow.
In regards to taking leaves off, I defoliat heavily (lollipop) a week before I flip to 12/12 and again after week 2-3 of flowering. This is more of an advanced technique.
I would say don't get carried away removing lots if fan leaves your first couple grows. Totaly cool to remove some hear and there for better airflow and light penetration.
Jimi O'Connor
Active Member
Yes i did lollipop the larger plants, a cpl days before i flipped them. The smaller plant is growing great also i did lollipop that plant kinda its just shorter...for now, but its caching up fast.
So the biger fan leaves that are close to the 4 "main colas" at the top is it ok to trim some of them or are those specific leaves important?...idk if im explaining myself very well so my apologies for that
Jimi O'Connor
Active Member
Tks again hydro hippie, you have been most helpful. I really appreciate you taking the time to help out a moronic idiot trying to grow some pot, thank you sir
Jimi O'Connor
Active Member
Son of a bitch am i crazy or are the taller plants geting light again?
I fliped them two days ago and they were good to go, i haven't done anything to them except trim a few fan leaves, and i filled the trays that were geting low on water but i ph'd the water to 6.0 like i have been so nothing different there i dont think.
Am i crazy or what?
I fliped them two days ago and they were good to go, i haven't done anything to them except trim a few fan leaves, and i filled the trays that were geting low on water but i ph'd the water to 6.0 like i have been so nothing different there i dont think.
Am i crazy or what?
Attachments
Hydro Hippie
Member
I would not remove a bunch of leaves. If the are shading bud sights on a few weeks then go for it.
Hydro Hippie
Member
When you say filled the trays that are getting low, what does that mean?
Hydro Hippie
Member
I think they still look hungry. Cannabis uses a ton of nutrients during the beginning of flower. Your best bet would be to give them some fertilizer, something specific for cannabis in flower with Calcium and Magnesium. Something that is readily available...or just add some more organic stuff and cross your fingers.
Jimi O'Connor
Active Member
So i guess there doin fine so far. Sorry I didn't get back to you sooner, i got really busy with some family stuff, my mother had her knee replaced so thats fun....anyway its day 11 of flowering and there doing ok, it took a little time but the gaia green 4-4-4 and 2-8-4 mix worked fine as far as i can see. I just followed The directions, however I'm wondering if maybe I should top dress the next feeding a few days earlier than the every 30 days directions just because it took about 2 weeks till the food became available and when i mixed the dry amendments in the ratios i followed was 1 tbsp per gal, so 3 tbsp of 4-4-4 and 2 tbsp of 2-8-4 for a total of 5 for the 5 gal cloth pots.
What i wanted to know is since there now in flower should i reverse the ratio?
So it would be 3 tbsp of 2-8-4 and 2 tbsp of 4-4-4?
I hope this makes sense im terrible at explaining this stuff.
Tks again
Jimi O'Connor
Active Member
When does the stretch end because im out of room
