jonnynobody
Well-Known Member
Hey guys, do I need to paint my 5 gallon home depot buckets black on the exterior prior to using them for hempy?
Thanks for the info! I use tap water for my grow. PH is at 7.9 before adjustment. Medium is river rock reservoir and rinsed coco / chunky perlite for the rest. I'm also using the GH 3 part with flarlicious plus and beneficial microbes. Is cal / mag recommended throughout the entire grow cycle? I was unsure on my last grow and used it sparingly...I never did, but I also had a liner of moss/algae at the end some times....not a problem.
Really appears on my outdoor garden buckets.
Just my $0.02
My tap is 7.9 and hovers around 215ppms for TDS values...I PREFER my tap over using my RO system....The 215 contains a lot of Calcium with my city water (good residual).....Your starting pH is not a big concern as compared to what your water CONTAINS....MANY South Cal growers have to deal with TDS levels 600-700ppms, right out of the tap!...large part of that is sodium....pH is easily adjusted....Thanks for the info! I use tap water for my grow. PH is at 7.9 before adjustment. Medium is river rock reservoir and rinsed coco / chunky perlite for the rest. I'm also using the GH 3 part with flarlicious plus and beneficial microbes. Is cal / mag recommended throughout the entire grow cycle? I was unsure on my last grow and used it sparingly...
Words of wisdom. I could have used that advice on my first hempy grow a few years back. Have a look...I typically keep it simple...but I also add a bit of cal-mag most feedings. It is probably
the thing suggested most when people run into nute issues. It sounds like you are being
careful and that is good. "Less is more" is probably the best advice I can give.
If you start a thread, then post the URL here.
Wow your tap water is dam near identical to mine. I'm around 190-210 ppm and 7.8-7.9 ph consistently. 600-700ppm would be complicated to deal with. Glad I'm not thereMy tap is 7.9 and hovers around 215ppms for TDS values...I PREFER my tap over using my RO system....The 215 contains a lot of Calcium with my city water (good residual).....Your starting pH is not a big concern as compared to what your water CONTAINS....MANY South Cal growers have to deal with TDS levels 600-700ppms, right out of the tap!...large part of that is sodium....pH is easily adjusted....
I have used the 'orange' buckets...As someone mentioned, indoors, they are ok, but I AM using black exclusively now....they 'self-shade' anyways in a cpl weeks if your vegging properly...
Your medium sound good...I like perlite too as the medium 'lightener'...I run a VERY dry mix....4:1 Perlite to Vermiculite...Never went with Coco since the Vermiculite works just fine, but Coco has very similar properties for moisture retention...
I AM NOT a fan of nutrient addatives...Everyone who knows me, can get me started on that subject...Nutrient addatives, for the most part, are a BIG rip off...Multi-million dollar industry preying on the uninformed...BUT, you must use a quality nute to start with..Your 3 part GH should work ok....I go one step further and use a SINGLE USE nute...One product for Veg (DynaGro's foliage pro), And one product for Bloom (DynaGro Bloom)....Has EVERYTHING your plants need....CalMags addatives are good ONLY IF your using nutes weak with those minerals....R.O. Water users benefit from it, ONLY IF their product does not contain enuf.....NEVER USE ADDATIVES just because it sounds good...If you starting mix is quality, YOU DONT NEED IT....Quality nutes only, stick with the same one, learn how to use it, and addatives are not needed!....YT
How do you finish your hempy's before harvest? Heavy reduction in fertilizer strength? No fertilizer for the last week with just plain water? The last cycle I fucked up and got busy at work. I subsequently did not flush the plants or reduce fertilizer strength at any point in time before the chop. I know I fucked up pretty bad by not reducing the fertilizer strength in the last 2 weeks. I won't make that mistake again. Any advice y'all can offer is greatly appreciated. I'll post some pics of my new grow room and setup tonight or tomorrow morning. I got a couple days off...you can usually cut back a lot on the cal mag by the middle of flower. not cut off, but i usually drop it by about half and never see any problems from it
Thanks for the info Shrubber. I like the way you gradually increase and then gradually decrease your fertilizer strength. Jack's is good stuff too. I'm planning to switch to jack's nutrients Tap water 1 part veg and 1 part bloom after my next grow when I have some more available cash to make the purchase. $110 for 50LBs of raw fertilizer is the best deal going for quality product. Should last 10+ years. I do hate all the GH bottles.... for what it's worth GH is effective and it's what I happen to have leftover. GH's maxi grow and bloom is good stuff too from what I hear, but they can't get close to Jack's price of $55 for 25 LBS. I'm no fan boy. I'll spend my money with whoever makes the best product for the right price.i'm a light feeder to begin with, compared to most people. a typical cycle would be 100 ppm of jack's citrus + 50 ppm of calcium nitrate for the first two weeks of veg, then up to 200 +50 till i go to flower. then i switch to jack's tomato feed for flower, start at the same 250, and add about 50-75 ppm per feeding till i get to 500, then i'll add 100 ppm of blossom booster for a week....then i start to drop about 100 ppm per till i get back down to 150 ppm the last two or three feedings. i add things here and there as needed, but that's the base
I'll bite...what are PGR's?Words of wisdom. I could have used that advice on my first hempy grow a few years back. Have a look...
https://www.rollitup.org/t/thc-bomb-exploding-w-pics.842487/ <<<<Jonny's first hempy bucket grow...
Appearances are deceiving. It was chronic, but due to over fertilization, the use of an unnecessary piece of shit bloom enhancer (koolbloom), and a dry time that was far too quick (5 days) the bud smoked very poorly. It was the first time I've ever seen a bowl burn to a hard black charcoal ash that had to be dug out instead of tapping it into the palm of my hand.
I read that Koolbloom and other flower boosters contain PGR's which might explain why I had a lot of fox tailing of the flowers. I also saw the plants spitting out fresh white hairs all the way up to the day of harvest even though they were absolutely done.
I'm planning to switch over to Jack's Nutrients (j.r. peters cannabis line) 1 part designed for tap water. They sell 25 lbs for $55.00 with free shipping which I think is pretty good compared to the cost of bottled nutrients. And the bloom fertilizer is also $55.00 for 25 lbs. You get more for your money and it's a little easier to prepare the nutrient mixture for the ladies. I'm running slim on cash though due to x-mas, so I'm going to make the switch next cycle. The only additive I've used in the past with success is floralicious plus. It's sea kelp, humic acid, molasses, and beneficial microbes which all seem to be good additions to any garden.
plant growth regulatorsI'll bite...what are PGR's?
exactly! what is the one that used to be used to stop a plant from growing taller? that was some nasty shit.some are nasty shit, and should be avoided at all costs...like paclobutrazol, daminozide, and chlormequat chloride. they all cause problems, cancer, respiratory problems, fertility problems, and birth defects.....
some, like triacontanol, and brassinolide have been used long term with no major problems associated with them. if you ever decide to experiment, do a lot of research first