ph runoff

My thoughts exactly cob.......

And rhats what i was doing i.donr fuxk.with em.at all the dude i got them from told me.to.feed like that damit ima just go back to what i was doing and that plain ass water with rapid start and letting them.tell me what they want not other ppl telling.me what they do shit man.thanks.for the eye opener sometimes i need it i read alot i understand everything i just go over bored when ppl tell me what to do so ima go back to the drawing bored thanks bro ima very anxious person and.over do it sometimes my bad

Believe me thats what i said as soon as he told me to feed em.all that i kno u gotta wait till they are bigger and have more roots and leaves so.the nutes have more space to go

gunnar&carey said:

Im just tired of not being able to water my girls and always having to wait for soil to dry and its just a pain in the ass if the soil ph is off i gotta fix that and its just all to much so i want to go to DWC

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Ph doesn't matter that much in soil. It's only a problem when there is salt buildup. And, if you don't let the soil dry enough before watering (soil ph rises as it dries. If you keep it too wet it holds the ph which the plant experiences low). The way to reduce the problem is to feed weaker nutes and/or feed enough to get 20% (or more) runoff. The runoff will act like a mini flush each feeding. Use 1-2 Tbsp powdered dolomite per gallon of soil. That will buffer (give strength to) the soil's ph. You can also water/feed at a higher ph to help pull the soil ph higher. You shouldn't have to do this if you use enough dolomite, and feeding a proper amount (and/or getting good runoff) to avoid salt buildup.

You should be able to water every 2-3 days. If it takes longer, add more perlite to your soil. I use almost 50% perlite. (My Pro-Mix HP comes with perlite. I add 20-25%.).

Sprouting directly in a large container can make it difficult to water the first 3 weeks. Start in an 18oz solo cup, transplant to 1gal, then to 3 or 5 gal.

I don't think your collection of nutrients is insane. I've seen more (and often more experienced growers use more). I don't think you need all that. Just some All-Purpose (npk 1-1-1 ratio). Maybe a bloom fertilizer that's more like 1-5-5 that you could mix with your all-purpose to bump up the PK to 1-2-2, 1-3-3 in late flower.

I agree with others. I'd try to hone your skills, apply what you've learned, and get better with soil before moving to hydro. Hydro's strong point is *efficiency* (economy of scale), not necessarily ease of use. If you grew 10-20 plants, working with a single reservoir and "container" is like mass production compared to watering 10-20 plants in soil. That's beneficial at that *scale* of operation. If you're growing less than 6 plants, I think it would be more work than managing soil containers.

IMO, the worst thing a new grower can do is jump around a lot, trying too many things in a short period.

Regarding a ppm meter, I use this HM for $16. It's been ok. I'm not certain it measures the 1000 range. It goes to 999 then seems to jump to 100 (with an x10 indicator, which I interpret to mean 1100). I don't think I've ever seen it display < 100 when that indicator is on. If I were in hydro where ppms would be more important, I might get a better meter. For soil, it's good enough.