Whats goin on, bro? They look like they're doing just fine. Some significant growth in the past week. Anyway, I noticed on your 'basic info' that your water pH is 8.0... Is there a reason why you're comfortable doing this? Obviously, they seen to be growing under the conditions in which your providing, but I was just curious? And FYI, I noticed your multipurpose meter laying in the pic... pH, moisture, light, if it's similar to mine? Just so you're aware, those particular meters don't work worth a damn. Or, at least mine doesn't. Basically, I wouldn't rely on it to troubleshoot any problems. I invested in a decent pH meter, but only b/c I'm going hydro after this grow. I'm well aware how UB feels about pH in soil, but at too high of pH you will start to see some secondary and micronutrient deficiencies.
Btw, you should read up on topping. Considering your setup, ie, 400W lamp, it should benefit you greatly. Also, place your shortest plants directly beneath your lamp and the tallest on the outer edges. If you get familiar with an intensity layout, you will learn that the intensity of the light is dispersed similar to that of a parabola. The most intense directly beneath, and less intense as you stray from the center of the axis. Having your plants in an 'even' canopy across the top actually creates uneven dispersion. If you would like me to elaborate, just let me know.
Hope all is well. Happy New Year, dak
Hey, Dak... thanks for dropping back in. As always, a thoughtful post from you..
As for pH of 8.0, I'm comfortable with it for two reasons... 1) It's not that far off the ideal of 6.5. The diff between 8.0 and 6.5 is such that any excess alkalinity will be easily buffered by the soil. Typical potting mixes are very heavy in wood- and peat-based organics, which are heavily buffered to the acid side owing to an abundance of humics, fulvics, etc derived from the wood material. Water at pH 8,0 would take years, not months, to exhaust the acids out of a wood-based soil like 98% of the potting soils out there 2) That alkalinity does not come from hydroxide ions (OH-), which are a strong base. It comes from a weak-base constituent they use in our water system (can't recall it). Even if it was hydroxide, #1 would trump this anyway.
PH'ing your water is, I think, a good idea if your water is 4.0 or 10.0 (which it is in some places). I also like the idea for nute solutions, which can be outrageously acid. But it's not worth the trouble otherwise.
I've had runoff pH's in my last grow that were very acid (same pH 8.0 water going in, though). That testifies to the tendency of wood-based mixtures to go the other way. Going "too basic" is the last of my worries.
Just food for thought, about 90% of the plants of the world share the "ideal pH" of 6.5. Yet, MJ is the only one in our gardens for which we give one whiff of thought to what our incoming water pH is.
As for the meter, I never use it for pH. The light and moisture functions work well, though, and have served me at several points. My policy is .. if a pH meter cost you less than $200, it's a piece of shit not to be trusted. This comes from years of working in analytical chemistry in both field and lab environments. If you want to measure pH cheap, colorimetric methods (strips, tablets, etc) are actually superior to any $50-75 meter.
I can totally visualize the "parabola effect" you mention. Thank you -- good thought. I was just staring at the girls this morning thinking the very thing you suggest (taller plants on fringes). Frankly, I'm too lazy to go for the "even canopy" thing anyway, although I did some LST last year to manage height and light utilization last year, and it worked out huge.
I plan to read up on topping today. So, yeah..
Thanks again for your input... Happy New Year, bro...
