Need opinion on def

189 ppm's is not too bad, a touch high, but acceptable. May still contain higher amounts of calcium. What is the ph of it?

Hi Hashfinger017,

When you mixed the 75% FFOF with 25% coco coir, did you add any lime?

From what i gather FFOF is hot already, out the bag, and often has a low ph as well. People do whole grows, with nothing but FFOF and water.

I find it hard to believe you're seeing a deficiency, given you've just transplanted.
When you transplanted, did you water them right in?
These symptoms started before transplantation? If so, what were the plants growing in beforehand?

I'd think sticking to plain water for now, should be the approach. They haven't even settled into their new pots yet. Give them a little time.

You added aeration / drainage? Perlite etc.
Tbh, i don't believe mixing in coco coir was the best idea either.

If you have a soil ph probe, or soil test kit, i'd check the ph of your soil.

So I had them in red solo cups before transplanting with the same mix as I have now(75%ffof 25%coco).... after transplanting into new pots I waterd them with plain PhD water so the new soil would get some water.... I was seeing problems with the plants before transplanting when they were in red solos which is why I transplanted into bigger pots hoping they would snap out of whatever they were doing.... no extra aeration was added..... also the ph of my tap water is about 7.8-8

Hashfinger017 said:

So I had them in red solo cups before transplanting with the same mix as I have now(75%ffof 25%coco).... after transplanting into new pots I waterd them with plain PhD water so the new soil would get some water.... I was seeing problems with the plants before transplanting when they were in red solos which is why I transplanted into bigger pots hoping they would snap out of whatever they were doing.... no extra aeration was added..... also the ph of my tap water is about 7.8-8

Click to expand...

Right i hear you, It is a little alkaline. In general though, the soil should buffer it fine.

The ph of your soil is what's most important though. Have you any way of testing what it is?
If it was much lower than about 6.5 i'd be suspecting that's your problem.

My advice would be to find the ph of your soil before adding nutrient.
You have a few days for the plants to settle into their new pots, so plenty of time.
Stick with plain water, ph between 6.5 and 7.5.

I have trouble believing it's your water source, seeing as your ppms are below 200. Also being in soil, and only just transplanted.

You have plenty of time.
Test your soil's ph, then update the thread with the result.
If the ph is low, you may want to top dress with some lime. But it's too early to say.

Aussieaceae said:

Right i hear you, It is a little alkaline. In general though, the soil should buffer it fine.

The ph of your soil is what's most important though. Have you any way of testing what it is?
If it was much lower than about 6.5 i'd be suspecting that's your problem.

My advice would be to find the ph of your soil before adding nutrient.
You have a few days for the plants to settle into their new pots, so plenty of time.
Stick with plain water, ph between 6.5 and 7.5.

I have trouble believing it's your water source, seeing as your ppms are below 200. Also being in soil, and only just transplanted.

You have plenty of time.
Test your soil's ph, then update the thread with the result.
If the ph is low, you may want to top dress with some lime. But it's too early to say.

Click to expand...

Ok so noob question ....can I just use my ph meter and test my runoff next time I water with plain water... otherwise I can order a soil tester Amazon has been my best friend past few weeks lmfao

Hashfinger017 said:

Ok so noob question ....can I just use my ph meter and test my runoff next time I water with plain water... otherwise I can order a soil tester Amazon has been my best friend past few weeks lmfao

Click to expand...

Lol, yeah i can be a bit of an ebay fiend haha.

Short answer is no. You need to test the soil itself.
Runoff is pretty inaccurate for soil.

Sounds like a plan. If it's a cheap meter i'd buy 2. Sometimes they can be a little faulty.
On the otherhand a reputable brand should be fine.
Might just be me, but i don't think you can really beat the old school test kits. The one where you make a paste with soil, and the solution provided. Then sprinkle the powder on top. Wait a couple minutes, then compare the colour of the powder to the provided colour chart.
They're cheap too. Cost about 10 bucks for 100 tests worth or so.

Aussieaceae said:

Lol, yeah i can be a bit of an ebay fiend haha.

Short answer is no. You need to test the soil itself.
Runoff is pretty inaccurate for soil.

Sounds like a plan. If it's a cheap meter i'd buy 2. Sometimes they can be a little faulty.
On the otherhand a reputable brand should be fine.
Might just be me, but i don't think you can really beat the old school test kits. The one where you make a paste with soil, and the solution provided. Then sprinkle the powder on top. Wait a couple minutes, then compare the colour of the powder to the provided colour chart.
They're cheap too. Cost about 10 bucks for 100 tests worth or so.

Click to expand...

I just purchased one on amazon it was their best seller and couple peaople have videos on YouTube saying it works so I guess well go for it.. only 15$ I’m also picking up some of the old school ones your talking about ...I will keep you updated on things.... thanks for your help

Hashfinger017 said:

I just purchased one on amazon it was their best seller and couple peaople have videos on YouTube saying it works so I guess well go for it.. only 15$ I’m also picking up some of the old school ones your talking about ...I will keep you updated on things.... thanks for your help

Click to expand...

Awesome, no worries.
Always good to have them around as a spare anyway. If you ever suspect your probe is inaccurate, you can always check it against them.

Cool, will keep an eye on this thread. No problem.

Ok so it’s been about a week since I started asking for help on here... I gave my plants a feeding of about half the recommended dose of veg nutrients with water phd at 6.5..... if you look at previous pictures on first page I would say that they are doing much better but I still want your opinion on what I should do for feeding this week should I do a light nutrient feeding or just do phd water? And what should I run my ph at? ... I was at 6.5 remember I’m (25%coco 75%ffof)

I'd stick to what they're liking. If they responded well to ph6.5, i'd keep it the same.

Question is whether to feed again, then water. Or water, then feed again.
That's probably something you'll have to be the judge of.

You could give them another feed, but at 1/4 dose this time?
If they responded well again, then you could likely assume they're hungry.

Seems to vary a hell of a lot, FFOF. From whole grows being done with just plain water, growers having to lime straight out the bag because ph is too low, to growers supplementing 1000ppm of nutrient because there Isn't enough in the soil.

Imho, i think you're on the right track.

Plenty of others here who use FFOF, i'm sure they can give you some solid advice.

Looking better for sure, good news.

Not mentioning the hybrid medium you have going, you need to feed again; your plants slightly greened up which meant they liked what you did for them. However, for sure your plants are being shorted on Mg...perhaps a result of the coco component holding the Mg, or perhaps your pH is off...which would lead me to prepare for Ca either now or later, as it might also be an issue. (Here in lies the challenge of the mixed mediums...not impossible, but not so straight forward now.)

Feed again, maintain the same pH for now...and keep a record of all of this, day, amounts, feed %, last time you scratched your ass, etc, etc...the details matter...spray your plants with Epson salt, follow the directions on the package,...it will green them up a little more and help you on the Mg issue. In the future I'd stick to one medium and go with it. Good luck.

Thanks for the help boys I’ll keep my ass scratched and detailed log of my feedings lmfao