1st Grow: Jumping Into The Deep End, DWC

[West Hippie]

Love the way they took off . Stick with the veg nutrients schedule for the first week then move on to flower . Are you using 50% or what they ask for in nutrients ? I don’t do the darkness thing .
Have you read @Rexer post on how to maintain hydro. Here’s the link

https://www.420magazine.com/community/posts/5415440/bookmark

Your gonna get some stretch and if you think the stretch is getting out of hand supercrop the gals .

 

[Rexer]

Thanks West!

The post I did recently for reservoirs can be found here:
Rex's Sponsored Test Of The ViparSpectra P4000 In A 4x4

It doesn't answer everything, but has a few good nugs of info in it. If you have any questions on it, you can ask here or in my journal. It's a bit of a long read.

 

[LKABudMan]

Thanks @West Hippie Right now, I am at 40-50% of the recommended dosage of nutrients, depending on the plant. I am following the PPM & pH for each plant and increasing as needed.

I am looking forward to the stretch. These plants are very squat and bushy, it makes it hard to LST. Although they are getting bigger daily

Thank you both for the links. I had already read Rexer's post, very informative. Let me know if you have any other suggestions or hints.

 

[Krissi Carbone]

Thanks @West Hippie Right now, I am at 40-50% of the recommended dosage of nutrients, depending on the plant. I am following the PPM & pH for each plant and increasing as needed.

I am looking forward to the stretch. These plants are very squat and bushy, it makes it hard to LST. Although they are getting bigger daily

Thank you both for the links. I had already read Rexer's post, very informative. Let me kn ow if you have any other suggestions or hints.

Good luck with the flip budman!!!!

 

[Rexer]

Hey LKABudman,

As has been mentioned Super cropping is a great way to maintain an even canopy.

Another method, one that I use (I'll be posting a how to in my journal very soon) is "pinching". It's basically the same method as a super crop, without the bend. You want to gently squeeze the cola stem, and gently squish till you feel a slight pop. That cola will slow its growth for a bit. The process can be repeated on the same stem, but the pinch height usually needs to be changed (the spot pinched will be almost a knuckle).

If you feel that a super crop or a pinch is too hard, you can use pliers as some do. Personally I soften the spot up by pinching it for a day or two without the pop. It'll create a weakened spot more susceptible to a pinch/ super crop via bruising.

Pinching is a trick I picked up from a user that used to be active on here. Pennywise. Take a look through some of his posts...filled with gold!

 

[sneekymofo]

They look great, budman! I haven’t ready through the journal yet, so I don’t know what nutes you’re on, but don’t be afraid (maybe after a grow or two under your belt) to start getting aggressive with the nutrients, definitely with strains you are familiar with in this setup. I grew for years at 33%, convinced I was going to burn them up, then finally went to 50%, now some strains I am at 100% and ‘barely’ get brown tips which is the edge I like to find (IF I’m on top of everything). But 50% should be a good medium. I used GH on a side note, and use their ‘aggressive’ feed schedule which usually keeps TDS in flower around 1300ish. I woulda died my first grow if I had seen that number lol. Hope that helps, and they look great. Blessings on the flip!

BTW: I cant even consider any LST until the stretch…just not enough stalk to work with. I really like the Rexer’s pinch thing….

 

[LKABudMan]

@sneekymofo I am on Advanced Nutrients micro/grow/bloom. I am watching the PPM and pH on all of the plants. Some days, the PPM rises as the plant drinks more than it eats. How would raising the EC help? Do they eat more if the solution is more concentrated ? Do I need to optimize my VPD and get more light for the plant to use the additional nutes? If there are no nutrient deficiencies now, how will giving the plant more help? Do they grow that much quicker? Bigger buds?

Right now, I am on 40% for three of the plants and 50% on Kini (the largest). Kini will be getting a nute change soon, and should move to 60%. The other plants will probably move to 50% with the next change. The AN nute schedule calls for the same base feeding for veg & flower (4ml each micro/grow/bloom per liter), just different additives.

I am open to increasing the nutrients, but I am not really ready to start burning the tips. I may just see how far I can push it this time, and try an increased schedule with the next run. You have definitely given me something to think about. Thanks for dropping in.

 

[sneekymofo]

It might not - if you are on it an everything is dialed in they may be taking everything they can take. I just know that they can often take more than I gave them, which given my poor record of tracking pH and whatnot, probably meant I was letting other things slide. It was more just to let you know that there is an upside, and you might not be against it. EC raise may do nothing for you - I was actually starving my plants a little, so when I increased I got better results. BUT: that was 10 years of lazy, no meter, fear-based growing.

I try to give them as much as they will eat in a week until they are ‘stuffed’ (tip burn). For me, that means they had everything available, when they needed it, and pH drifts up gently and back down gently through the cycle. Yield went up significantly because I was afraid of burning them up. You are monitoring, so probably different animals.

The TDS comment also assumes top off of freshwater, so your water is assumed to be constant but your nutrients should be dropping as the plants uptake. Of course, to complicate matters, they are also putting other things back in the water, but then I get confused and want to go back to buying weed from Eddie lol.

I wouldn’t suggest changing anything for THIS grow. Just take good notes. And if you think there might be a little room for 10-20% more nutes in a stage, maybe give it a try and take some notes. Like I said, I went from 33% of GH’s Aggressive Feed schedule with no monitoring to 100% of GH’s Aggressive Feed schedule with YUUUUUGGGEE yield results. And that might be because I FINALLY listened to peeps on this sight and dialed in my pH issues (didn’t own a pen for 10 years lmao) And some of it might be because I stopped starving my babies and let them get a little fatter. It’s probably a little of both.

I truly hope that helps clarify, I didn’t mean to complicate anything! Have a great weekend @LKABudMan !

 

[LKABudMan]

It might not - if you are on it an everything is dialed in they may be taking everything they can take. I just know that they can often take more than I gave them, which given my poor record of tracking pH and whatnot, probably meant I was letting other things slide. It was more just to let you know that there is an upside, and you might not be against it. EC raise may do nothing for you - I was actually starving my plants a little, so when I increased I got better results. BUT: that was 10 years of lazy, no meter, fear-based growing.

I am definitely open to raising EC. I started slow, but I am watching the plants and trying to give them as much as they can eat.

I try to give them as much as they will eat in a week until they are ‘stuffed’ (tip burn). For me, that means they had everything available, when they needed it, and pH drifts up gently and back down gently through the cycle. Yield went up significantly because I was afraid of burning them up. You are monitoring, so probably different animals.

The TDS comment also assumes top off of freshwater, so your water is assumed to be constant but your nutrients should be dropping as the plants uptake. Of course, to complicate matters, they are also putting other things back in the water, but then I get confused and want to go back to buying weed from Eddie lol.

I am playing the PPM game on this one. Depending on how the PPMs go from one day to the next, I may top off with fresh water (if they rise), 1/3 nutes and 2/3 fresh water (if they are steady), or all nutes (if they drop). I mix up an extra 1/2 - 1 gallon of nutes during bucket changes so I have some to feed during the week. So far it is working out well; by the time the extra nutes are gone, it is time for a bucket change.

I wouldn’t suggest changing anything for THIS grow. Just take good notes. And if you think there might be a little room for 10-20% more nutes in a stage, maybe give it a try and take some notes. Like I said, I went from 33% of GH’s Aggressive Feed schedule with no monitoring to 100% of GH’s Aggressive Feed schedule with YUUUUUGGGEE yield results. And that might be because I FINALLY listened to peeps on this sight and dialed in my pH issues (didn’t own a pen for 10 years lmao) And some of it might be because I stopped starving my babies and let them get a little fatter. It’s probably a little of both.

I truly hope that helps clarify, I didn’t mean to complicate anything! Have a great weekend @LKABudMan !

I appreciate your comments, especially coming from someone that was cautious at first and then found that increasing nutes increased yield. So far, I had planned on staying at 30% for this grow, and I am already up to 50%, moving to 60% soon. Will I get to 100%.. we'll see. You have a great weekend as well!

 

[LKABudMan]

Found this 48"x16" closet shelf at Lowes. I really like having a place to mount everything.

20211024_154437.jpg

• LKABudMan
• Oct 24, 2021
• 1
• organized

Tent 10/24

 

[LKABudMan]

OK, here is another peek into my methods/madness. I track pH, PPM, and bucket temperature every day for each plant. I also track how much water/nutrients are added each day. This way I know if each plant needs to be fed, watered, or needs a bucket change.

20211023_DailyNotes1.jpg

• LKABudMan
• Oct 26, 2021
• grow tracking

Grow Clipboards

20211023_DailyNotes2.jpg

• LKABudMan
• Oct 26, 2021
• grow tracking

Tracking sheet close up

And here is a picture of the girls, 3 days into 12/12:

20211025_Tent.jpg

• LKABudMan
• Oct 26, 2021

Tent 10/25

 

[cjsbabygirl313]

Beautiful looking ladies!

Nice work on those spreadsheets! Looks very much like what I did for my last grow! Only difference was I didn't track the water volume specifically because once its in the bucket, I cant tell exactly how much was used from one day to the next; I just kep an eye on if the water level dropped and added more water if it needed it. Also my buckets got changed out every week with fresh nutrient solutions.

 

[Doctor Trevor]

You're a homebrewer? So am I. My grow tent and my carboys sit right next to each other.

 

[LKABudMan]

@cjsbabygirl313 , Yea, I put water volume on there, but realized quickly that it was not easy to track. I am keeping track of what is added (water/nutes) daily instead. I will remove the water volume column from the future sheets. I am changing my buckets out about every week as well.

@Doctor Trevor , I homebrewed with my brother for over 10 years. We made a lot of fantastic beers, won a lot of competitions, and even got a national gold. Unfortunately, when COVID hit we quarantined separately so I have not brewed since Feb 2020. I have been looking for a new hobby since then, even tried baking (I make a great baguette). When VA legalized and I decided to grow hydroponically, I knew that I had found my new hobby I am not saying that I will never brew again, but I see spending a lot more time in the grow room in the future.

 

[LKABudMan]

I am playing around with my Wyze camera again. Here is a time lapse video from 10/5 - 10/25, every 30 minutes. I do rotate the buckets, so you need to follow them counter-clockwise. Enjoy!

Time lapse video 10/5-10/25

 

[cjsbabygirl313]

Nice!!!!

 

[sneekymofo]

I’m not worthy! I’m not worthy! Wow - I wish I could get my ADHD under control and get more organized, but then I see a squirrel out the window and BANG….I’m making brownies or something. Looks awesome, BudMan!

 

[West Hippie]

Most excellent

 

[LKABudMan]

I have an interesting observation and a question. I have been reviewing my Govee temperature sensors lately. I have sensors in my tent (canopy level), in the basement where my tent is located, and (for now) I have a sensor under the leaves of one of the plants.

I started these plants on 18/6 lights, with lights on from 5am-11pm. Last Friday, I switched to a 12/12 schedule, with lights on from 8am-8pm.

When you review the logs from the basement & tent, you can see that the lights are on from 8-8. However, when you look at the logs from the plant, it looks like it is still waking up at 4am:

Basement_20211028.jpg

• LKABudMan
• Oct 29, 2021

Temperature/Humidity in Basement 10/28/2021

Tent_20211028.jpg

• LKABudMan
• Oct 29, 2021

Temperature/Humidity in Tent 10/28/2021

Plant_20211028.jpg

• LKABudMan
• Oct 29, 2021

Temperature/Humidity in Plant 10/28/2021

I have been watching this happen all week. I switched the thermometer from one plant to another, and the same thing happened.

Has anyone ever seen this before? Is the plant still on the circadian cycle that was originally established? Does anyone have any other explanation as to why the plant jumps 4-5 degrees at 4am, even though the ambient temperature does not change?

 

[cjsbabygirl313]

I have an interesting observation and a question. I have been reviewing my Govee temperature sensors lately. I have sensors in my tent (canopy level), in the basement where my tent is located, and (for now) I have a sensor under the leaves of one of the plants.

I started these plants on 18/6 lights, with lights on from 5am-11pm. Last Friday, I switched to a 12/12 schedule, with lights on from 8am-8pm.

When you review the logs from the basement & tent, you can see that the lights are on from 8-8. However, when you look at the logs from the plant, it looks like it is still waking up at 4am:

Basement_20211028.jpg

• LKABudMan
• Oct 29, 2021

Temperature/Humidity in Basement 10/28/2021

Tent_20211028.jpg

• LKABudMan
• Oct 29, 2021

Temperature/Humidity in Tent 10/28/2021

Plant_20211028.jpg

• LKABudMan
• Oct 29, 2021

Temperature/Humidity in Plant 10/28/2021

I have been watching this happen all week. I switched the thermometer from one plant to another, and the same thing happened.

Has anyone ever seen this before? Is the plant still on the circadian cycle that was originally established? Does anyone have any other explanation as to why the plant jumps 4-5 degrees at 4am, even though the ambient temperature does not change?

Wish I could answer - I just got mine a week ago and I have so many fluctuations that its an eyesore to look at. Hoping I can find a way to stabilize temp and RH in the tent before my babies go in there!