Malevolence
New Member
Impman is full of terrible advice.
The Potassium Myth
- Thread starter Impman
- Start date
1itsme
Well-Known Member
i was thinking the same thing. most of his posts sound like he just read an ub thread and repeated it, but without realy understanding it.
skunkd0c
Well-Known Member
The op is hating on hydroponics more than anything
did you experience a hydroponic failure and then find recent success with dirt ?
i have seen this scenario before
i am not sure which hippy grow books you have been reading, in the closet cultivator or some such nonsense
contrary to what you may have read, hydroponics when applied correctly is very simple
peace
did you experience a hydroponic failure and then find recent success with dirt ?
i have seen this scenario before
i am not sure which hippy grow books you have been reading, in the closet cultivator or some such nonsense
contrary to what you may have read, hydroponics when applied correctly is very simple
peace
hexthat
Well-Known Member
I think soil is easier if you start with good soil. I prefer to grow hydro "custom-ability".
Impman
Well-Known Member
Ya, I went over bored for sure with the PH and Co2 rant. I wouldn't even call myself a novice grower. Im a newb that went down the gauntlet that is the marijuana industry. I wasted lots of money on equipment and seen terrible failures. Enough to make me never want to grow weed again. Then I had a epiphany while reading Uncle Ben's posts. I went back to basics and saw rapid amazing success. I am a family man, Im not trying to hustle anyone out of hard earned money. I feel I was hustled and I want to scream at all the other new growers SLOW DOWN!!! WARNING!! and I feel that the shock factor is the only way to get attention some times. oh well, more ranting, hopefully some sorry sap sees it and makes a good decision..
Nullis
Moderator
Dude... people... whomever. You all do realize the article is saying that potassium does not STIMULATE flowering. Does not cause flowering to occur. It is not saying that plants don't need K (as if it isn't a macro-nutrient) and doesn't even mention if they do or don't, in general, just happen to use/require more K during flowering. Simply that people have it backwards when they say high-K fertilizers trigger or promote flowering. And none of that addresses or has anything to do with plants perhaps simply not needing as much Nitrogen during flower (because they are not growing as much).
As it does say:
I don't like Jorge C. myself, but you're generalizing and assuming a hell of a lot. Like somebody else mentioned any industry has it's bullshit products.
And you think Miracle-Gro is the sensible, practical way to go? You really think you need a 24-8-16, or an 18-18-21? Seems like an awful lot of K to me.
Too the plant doesn't really absorb too much of it.
Hey did you ever realize that nobody ever fertilized an old-growth forest?
1itsme
Well-Known Member
i definately think soil is easier to get good results for a new grower, but that doesn't mean that everything else is a scam (alot of it is). alot of bad advice that new growers fall for is from other new growers. who see a post or hear something that sounds good to them...
U.B. has some of the best (imo) posts on this forum. however, my impression is that he assumes a certain lvl of knowledge on the part of the person reading it. like the ph thing- what he says is absolutely right (in soil), as long as the tapwater is pretty good, and the soil mix is properly buffered. but in reality that's not the case for alot of new growers.
Prawn Connery
Well-Known Member
In all seriousness, yes you can get away with using plain old tap water without testing the pH for your soil plants. Start getting into hydro and other bufferless systems, though, and you are simply playing roulette by using unknown water. You may get away with it - your plants may even thrive (if your tap water isn't too hard) - but you will never be able to fine-tune your system if you don't know what's going into it.
I'm a rational, practical guy. I don't subscribe to buying lots of stuff for the hell of it if you don't need it. But I own a $30 pH pen (you can buy aquarium pH testing kits that do the same for a few $) and I use it simply to know what is going on in my grow.
I use it to tell me how my nutrients affect pH - up (silica) or down (most grow nutes).
I also use it to maintain a healthy system: in a healthy system, pH should slowly rise - falling pH in a hydro system can be an early warning sign of impending problems, such as anaerobic bacteria (of which pythium root rot is just one).
It's not alarmist - it's simply knowing what you are doing.
And let me tell you from 30+ years of growing experience - including more than 10 years indoor hydro/coco - maintaining the correct pH balance DOES make a difference to your plants and yields. You may not notice the subtle changes, but once your pH really starts getting out of wack - like my pH5 comment earlier on - your yields will not only suffer, your plants will start to die.
Let's not be silly about this: plants grow fine in soil with most drinkable water (pH-wise, anyway). It's when you really start to push your system that you need to know what's going on. A $30 pH pen is not only cheap insurance, it's vital for fine-tuning a hydro system in which you want to get the most out of.
It doesn't cost much to be prudent.
I'm a rational, practical guy. I don't subscribe to buying lots of stuff for the hell of it if you don't need it. But I own a $30 pH pen (you can buy aquarium pH testing kits that do the same for a few $) and I use it simply to know what is going on in my grow.
I use it to tell me how my nutrients affect pH - up (silica) or down (most grow nutes).
I also use it to maintain a healthy system: in a healthy system, pH should slowly rise - falling pH in a hydro system can be an early warning sign of impending problems, such as anaerobic bacteria (of which pythium root rot is just one).
It's not alarmist - it's simply knowing what you are doing.
And let me tell you from 30+ years of growing experience - including more than 10 years indoor hydro/coco - maintaining the correct pH balance DOES make a difference to your plants and yields. You may not notice the subtle changes, but once your pH really starts getting out of wack - like my pH5 comment earlier on - your yields will not only suffer, your plants will start to die.
Let's not be silly about this: plants grow fine in soil with most drinkable water (pH-wise, anyway). It's when you really start to push your system that you need to know what's going on. A $30 pH pen is not only cheap insurance, it's vital for fine-tuning a hydro system in which you want to get the most out of.
It doesn't cost much to be prudent.
DemonTrich
Well-Known Member
x2 or Bmeat status.
my ph out the tap is 8.0. you bet your ass i PH ALL my water each and every time. and ill pass on the MG soil and food. ill stick with my proven FFOF and nutes.
iblazetoomuch
Active Member
yerp 8.0 tapwater here too, my first seedling planted, auto berryryder said no-no and died from similar dampin off symptoms with non-pH'd tapwater, I regret not having pH'd water for her nor would I recommend a first time grower to avoid buying one, a creek a town over has mercury levels too high for fishing so its restricted, 2 headed fish n shit, Lol...yeah water source is a bit important for a new grower and I would say alot of the marketing and reality of how cheap the raw materials are can be a bit of scheme, but it is that way in all things consumers demand.
RIKNSTEIN
Well-Known Member
WOW dude...smoke some of that "top shelf A+" and chill...it's a matter of what works for you. I personally don't use a PH meter anymore, BUT, your plant WILL do better between 6.5 & 7.0 in soil and THAT'S A FACT!! I use MG products BUT I recently switched to subcools super soil and I can see with my own eyes the BIG diff in growth...So long story short, use what works for you, but just because someone does something different doesn't make them stupid or a fool...and by the way, if you don't have potassium in your nutes, your plant may or may not be able to uptake the proper level of nutes and chelated minerals it needs to grow to it's full potential...here's proof that subcools soil WORKS BETTER...
The ones circled are the same age as the ones on either side AND in subcools soil....So again it's what works for you, and how open your mind is to new things...