Ask Us Anything: Sharing Knowledge 420 Style

Your 10 PM - 10 AM schedule seems off. The plants will only get 9 hours of sunlight (10 AM until 7:03 PM). Maybe try 7 PM - 7 AM?

Yeah you right, but I was hoping that the extra hours of darkness will do no harm. I was assuming minimum of 12 hours of darkness is required. I topped them earlier so will have to give at least 2 more weeks before flowering.
 
Ok this age old question....


Hydroponic is far superior to soil in everyway. Hydro includes coco coir and any other inert media. Let me clarify why....

You are creating an environment that is exactly specific to your plants needs. Anyone who grows hydroponically will rarely go back to soil but soil growers can get quite upset at the fact hydro is more efficient and effective and done correctly quality is far superior to 99% of soil grows.

More air in root zone provides much stronger plants that means they can take more nutrient onboard and produce heavier denser buds faster.

Its cleaner with less likely hood of pests when keeping ckean grow spaces.

Its very simple and what you give is what the plants recieve.

In terms of yields, speed of growth and quality hydro wins hands down.

People think hydro is complicated, i guess it can be if you over complicate things just like anything. But as long as you understand PH and EC/ppm you cant really go wrong in the simplest hydro set ups like hand fed coco coir. Remember you still need to understand these values to grow well in soil also.

Its true coco and hydro mediums need fed daily or multiple times daily and when manual feeding this can be labour intensive but its simple to add a drip system to do the work for you, set up in minutes and placed on a timer. Then if you want you could go to your grow once a week and it will look after itself. However most growers are in there grows daiky anyway.

Soil is cheaper to set up sure. And supersoils are great, im not saying soil is a complete waste of time, if you take time to use quality soil specific to marijuana you can have awesome grows.


There are people who get fabulous results in soil. But you can not deny the efficiency and growth rates of hydro. It takes practice but so does growing in soil.

I think if the question is which is better gor producing yield, quality and growth rates you cant argue soil is better. You have to have experience of both to have a true balanced opinion also. Its no good only growing hydro and never in soil and saying its better cos thats how you do it or vice versa. Its been a long time since ive grown in soil, years now and thats because i see no real benefit to it when hydro mediums arw so simple to access now.

Remember you can grow complete organic weed in hydro also, it doesnt mean chemicals and poisoning the environment. Even non organic feeds are high quality these days.

Anyway im rambling but coco would be a good step for anyone diving into hydro from soil or starting out growing. Check out my coco thread and my journals for any info on growing in this medium.

At the end of the day its all personal preference and just do what you want. Good luck with what ever you choose.

I wouldn't argue the efficiency, turn around time hands down on hydro is faster...but personally I don't need fast turn around myself..it's a hobby and each grow produces more than enough to last until the next grow is done, so time doesn't really matter to me...the largest factor to me would be quality....but to make a statement that "soil growers can get quite upset at the fact hydro is more efficient and effective and done correctly quality is far superior to 99% of soil grows"...quite honestly you're just pulling #'s out your rear lol...this is just your opinion, none of it is "fact"...you can't compare an experienced hydro grower to an inexperienced soil grower...if it was indeed "fact" this discussion wouldn't even exist

A perfect hydro grow vs a perfect soil grow, in my opinion I believe the soil grow will be of better quality...but that's just my opinion...
 
Im not going to start an arguement. It is my opinion but backed up by industry. Ive grown well over 20000 plants so i have a lot of growing experince and have grown every medium you can think of. Grow what is best for you. You said you dont care about yield, speed of growth and more efficiency, your in the 1% that doesnt matter too.

I did say there are some great soil grows, i dont deny that at all. But take an expert of both fields and both growers will grow fantasic plants only the hydro grower will get the fantastic plant in a faster time should all other criteria other than media Be the same.

I dont pull #s out my arse, i am a pro grower that knows his craft. I dont know why people get so upset that something is better than the other at the beginning of your post you said you dont care about the very things that make hydro superior, so you should be happy doing your thing and not trying to insult peoplle.

How many grows have you done? How many plants have you grown in those grows and have you grown hydro and soil enough to have an opinion based on reality and not what is read online. Its releveant because if you are advising people on growing one way or the other. Its fine to have an opinion but when dishing advice out iy should be balanced on real life experience.
 
Im not going to start an arguement. It is my opinion but backed up by industry. Ive grown well over 20000 plants so i have a lot of growing experince and have grown every medium you can think of. Grow what is best for you. You said you dont care about yield, speed of growth and more efficiency, your in the 1% that doesnt matter too.

I did say there are some great soil grows, i dont deny that at all. But take an expert of both fields and both growers will grow fantasic plants only the hydro grower will get the fantastic plant in a faster time should all other criteria other than media Be the same.

I dont pull #s out my arse, i am a pro grower that knows his craft. I dont know why people get so upset that something is better than the other at the beginning of your post you said you dont care about the very things that make hydro superior, so you should be happy doing your thing and not trying to insult peoplle.

How many grows have you done? How many plants have you grown in those grows and have you grown hydro and soil enough to have an opinion based on reality and not what is read online. Its releveant because if you are advising people on growing one way or the other. Its fine to have an opinion but when dishing advice out iy should be balanced on real life experience.
All this information good for me I hear nothing wrong from both of you so I thank you both for your opinions
 
Im not going to start an arguement. It is my opinion but backed up by industry. Ive grown well over 20000 plants so i have a lot of growing experince and have grown every medium you can think of. Grow what is best for you. You said you dont care about yield, speed of growth and more efficiency, your in the 1% that doesnt matter too.

I did say there are some great soil grows, i dont deny that at all. But take an expert of both fields and both growers will grow fantasic plants only the hydro grower will get the fantastic plant in a faster time should all other criteria other than media Be the same.

I dont pull #s out my arse, i am a pro grower that knows his craft. I dont know why people get so upset that something is better than the other at the beginning of your post you said you dont care about the very things that make hydro superior, so you should be happy doing your thing and not trying to insult peoplle.

How many grows have you done? How many plants have you grown in those grows and have you grown hydro and soil enough to have an opinion based on reality and not what is read online. Its releveant because if you are advising people on growing one way or the other. Its fine to have an opinion but when dishing advice out iy should be balanced on real life experience.

Why are you getting so defensive? He made his point across in a nice friendly manner. If you did not pull those numbers out of your behind then post a link where you got those numbers from... I mean that's all he wants is honest statistics not someone just throwing out 98% without any supporting proof other than himself. Just because you are a self proclaimed pro doesn't mean you get to make up your own statistics lol. Everyone is going to do what they prefer and that's fine I'm glad you like hydro and it works so great for you and I'm glad the other poster like soil so much and it works so well for him. But he didn't once insult you... He questioned your statistics which I question too... Just because you are a "pro" doesn't mean everything you say is right and cannot be questioned without it being an insult.
 
Im not going to start an arguement. It is my opinion but backed up by industry. Ive grown well over 20000 plants so i have a lot of growing experince and have grown every medium you can think of. Grow what is best for you. You said you dont care about yield, speed of growth and more efficiency, your in the 1% that doesnt matter too.

I did say there are some great soil grows, i dont deny that at all. But take an expert of both fields and both growers will grow fantasic plants only the hydro grower will get the fantastic plant in a faster time should all other criteria other than media Be the same.

I dont pull #s out my arse, i am a pro grower that knows his craft. I dont know why people get so upset that something is better than the other at the beginning of your post you said you dont care about the very things that make hydro superior, so you should be happy doing your thing and not trying to insult peoplle.

How many grows have you done? How many plants have you grown in those grows and have you grown hydro and soil enough to have an opinion based on reality and not what is read online. Its releveant because if you are advising people on growing one way or the other. Its fine to have an opinion but when dishing advice out iy should be balanced on real life experience.

I didn't insult anyone...nor am I upset in the slightest...and if my opinion was based just on "what I read online", then I'd believe that "an effective hydro grow is better than 99% of soil grows"...yes I question your #'s, because from what I have learned I know your claim is made up...my only hands on experience was in a soilless grow...and yet I advocate for soil...
 
Would this work for my first grow
84501908e2e4032089da56ba988e9de7.jpg
 
I posted this elsewhere but was advised I should post it here:
So discouraged :(

Hi All, I'm a grandmom fast approaching retirement age and decided I'd try growing my own supply. I've smoked for over 40 years at first for fun and now to help with neuropathy pain from Diabetes type 2. I purchased 3 seeds, Blue dream auto, AK 49 auto and chocolope auto. I live on acreage and produce an acre garden every year, organically. What I normally use is a mix of peat moss, worm casings, dolomite lime, vermiculite and compost I make from cow manure, grass clippings and chicken poop. I used the compost sparingly. All my veggie plants thrive in it, I start them from seed indoors. While I was waiting for my seeds to come in, I germinated a few bag seeds and used the mix I was planning on using for the purchased seed. They have grown great! However, my seeds arrived and I germinated two of them, then planted two of them in my usual soil mix. They germinated fine in a paper towel and I planted them in their final pot in the mix listed above. Humidity was good, water ph was good, they came up, the blue dream had the first cotyledon leaves and two teensy tinny leaves, the ak49 looked better when it popped out of the ground but since there have been no growth, the Blue Dream is on it's last leg, it'll be dead by tomorrow. THe AK is a tiny bit better, but I fear it won't survive. It's cotyledon leaves are fading and it only has the next two leaves and that's all. I planted them on 12/25. I have the chocolope in wet paper towel now. Blue Dream Auto and Ak 49 Auto were from the same seed bank and the chocolope is from a different one. I started them under a 150 watt LED and 3 85 watt cfl, just like I did the bag seed. I'm at a lose as to what to do differently, any help would be much appreciated.

A few more facts are, lights were 24 inches away from plants. What I really don't get is why the bag seed I started under the exact same conditions flourish. I only use organics here, not a drop of pesticide or chemical fertilizers used on this land in the last 40 years. I won't be doing hydro, first, it's not in my wheelhouse of knowledge (lol by my post you would think soil isn't either) and I'm looking for a cost effective, organic way to grow, I live in the sticks and hydro supplies are not easily acquired, I can't order mail order because I live a mile down a private road and fedex and ups leave my packages with whichever neighbor also has a package that day and finding my packages is like a demented Easter egg hunt (yes, I've complained,,, it doesn't help). Both tiny seedlings are dead now, they basically came up, cotyledon and first 2 single leaves, stayed the same for two weeks, turned yellow and died. I watered just around the plants, soil mix is super light and airy. I would think I'd gotten a dud seed, except it was 2 seeds from different strains. Those two were from the same seed bank, Vision.
 
I posted this elsewhere but was advised I should post it here:
So discouraged :(

Hi All, I'm a grandmom fast approaching retirement age and decided I'd try growing my own supply. I've smoked for over 40 years at first for fun and now to help with neuropathy pain from Diabetes type 2. I purchased 3 seeds, Blue dream auto, AK 49 auto and chocolope auto. I live on acreage and produce an acre garden every year, organically. What I normally use is a mix of peat moss, worm casings, dolomite lime, vermiculite and compost I make from cow manure, grass clippings and chicken poop. I used the compost sparingly. All my veggie plants thrive in it, I start them from seed indoors. While I was waiting for my seeds to come in, I germinated a few bag seeds and used the mix I was planning on using for the purchased seed. They have grown great! However, my seeds arrived and I germinated two of them, then planted two of them in my usual soil mix. They germinated fine in a paper towel and I planted them in their final pot in the mix listed above. Humidity was good, water ph was good, they came up, the blue dream had the first cotyledon leaves and two teensy tinny leaves, the ak49 looked better when it popped out of the ground but since there have been no growth, the Blue Dream is on it's last leg, it'll be dead by tomorrow. THe AK is a tiny bit better, but I fear it won't survive. It's cotyledon leaves are fading and it only has the next two leaves and that's all. I planted them on 12/25. I have the chocolope in wet paper towel now. Blue Dream Auto and Ak 49 Auto were from the same seed bank and the chocolope is from a different one. I started them under a 150 watt LED and 3 85 watt cfl, just like I did the bag seed. I'm at a lose as to what to do differently, any help would be much appreciated.

A few more facts are, lights were 24 inches away from plants. What I really don't get is why the bag seed I started under the exact same conditions flourish. I only use organics here, not a drop of pesticide or chemical fertilizers used on this land in the last 40 years. I won't be doing hydro, first, it's not in my wheelhouse of knowledge (lol by my post you would think soil isn't either) and I'm looking for a cost effective, organic way to grow, I live in the sticks and hydro supplies are not easily acquired, I can't order mail order because I live a mile down a private road and fedex and ups leave my packages with whichever neighbor also has a package that day and finding my packages is like a demented Easter egg hunt (yes, I've complained,,, it doesn't help). Both tiny seedlings are dead now, they basically came up, cotyledon and first 2 single leaves, stayed the same for two weeks, turned yellow and died. I watered just around the plants, soil mix is super light and airy. I would think I'd gotten a dud seed, except it was 2 seeds from different strains. Those two were from the same seed bank, Vision.

Is there a way you could post pics? My first thought is perhaps overwatering our not sure. That is crazy on the packages! I can't believe they just leave them wherever!
 
I didn't get any pics, chalk that up to my veggie growing arrogance. I only watered right around the plant when the soil was dry, only used tap water with a ph of 6.3 or so, never over 6.5. Yes it is nuts about the packages because around here if you go to certain doors you're likely to be met with a shotgun, to be honest, if you show up on my land after dark, unexpected, my 84 yr old mom who lives on the same land next to my house is on her deck in her housecoat and with her shotgun, that probably seems crazy to most but it's just normal here. I did wonder, are cannabis seeds like purebred horses or dogs, in that I mean, my muts or mixed bred horses are always healthier than my purebreds who almost always have genetically inherited weaknesses ie hip dysplasia. That's the only reason I can think that the bag seeds would flourish while the purchased seeds didn't when they were all treated exactly the same.
 
-NYCTD and Cheese Day 10
-Solo Cup with Hydroton at the bottom and holes for drainage Soil
-T5 & LED (T5 is over the seedling and LED is in opposite corner over a flowering cheese auto.
-No nutes yet
-Distilled Water when soil dries (fed mostly from the bottom but I lightly water the top just to get it damp)
-Temp average has been 79-81ºF
-Humidity was low for the first few days, between 40%-55% Now it is at 55%-75% thanks to a vaporizer that takes salt and another that
just blows cool humid air.
-6"fan on the seedling on low
4" inline fan w/ carbon filter it evacuate hot air (there's not much)
4x4 tent

I have some NYC Turbo Diesel and Cheese seedling that are 10 days old that are having some problems. These symptoms showed themselves in a matter of 6-8 hours as you can tell from looking at my grow 2 journal. Yesterday morning they were fine. Last night they were mottled yellow to straight brown. At first I thought it might be light burn as the T5 was 2.75" above the plants. Then a trusted friend on here said to check into Boron.
Help a fellow out if you have time.

Cheese_5_Burn_2.jpg

Cheese_5_Burn1.jpg

NYCTD_4_Burnteded.jpg

NYCTD4_Burn.jpg

NYCTD4_Burned.JPG

NYCTD3_Not_too_bad.JPG

Cheese_1_barley_burned.JPG

NYCTD5_Champ.jpg



Thanks in Advance. If you know someone who might know please send them my way. Peace folks!
 
I posted this elsewhere but was advised I should post it here:
So discouraged :(

Hi All, I'm a grandmom fast approaching retirement age and decided I'd try growing my own supply. I've smoked for over 40 years at first for fun and now to help with neuropathy pain from Diabetes type 2. I purchased 3 seeds, Blue dream auto, AK 49 auto and chocolope auto. I live on acreage and produce an acre garden every year, organically. What I normally use is a mix of peat moss, worm casings, dolomite lime, vermiculite and compost I make from cow manure, grass clippings and chicken poop. I used the compost sparingly. All my veggie plants thrive in it, I start them from seed indoors. While I was waiting for my seeds to come in, I germinated a few bag seeds and used the mix I was planning on using for the purchased seed. They have grown great! However, my seeds arrived and I germinated two of them, then planted two of them in my usual soil mix. They germinated fine in a paper towel and I planted them in their final pot in the mix listed above. Humidity was good, water ph was good, they came up, the blue dream had the first cotyledon leaves and two teensy tinny leaves, the ak49 looked better when it popped out of the ground but since there have been no growth, the Blue Dream is on it's last leg, it'll be dead by tomorrow. THe AK is a tiny bit better, but I fear it won't survive. It's cotyledon leaves are fading and it only has the next two leaves and that's all. I planted them on 12/25. I have the chocolope in wet paper towel now. Blue Dream Auto and Ak 49 Auto were from the same seed bank and the chocolope is from a different one. I started them under a 150 watt LED and 3 85 watt cfl, just like I did the bag seed. I'm at a lose as to what to do differently, any help would be much appreciated.

A few more facts are, lights were 24 inches away from plants. What I really don't get is why the bag seed I started under the exact same conditions flourish. I only use organics here, not a drop of pesticide or chemical fertilizers used on this land in the last 40 years. I won't be doing hydro, first, it's not in my wheelhouse of knowledge (lol by my post you would think soil isn't either) and I'm looking for a cost effective, organic way to grow, I live in the sticks and hydro supplies are not easily acquired, I can't order mail order because I live a mile down a private road and fedex and ups leave my packages with whichever neighbor also has a package that day and finding my packages is like a demented Easter egg hunt (yes, I've complained,,, it doesn't help). Both tiny seedlings are dead now, they basically came up, cotyledon and first 2 single leaves, stayed the same for two weeks, turned yellow and died. I watered just around the plants, soil mix is super light and airy. I would think I'd gotten a dud seed, except it was 2 seeds from different strains. Those two were from the same seed bank, Vision.

Hey Mimi...still learning a lot about organic gardening myself and while this might not help with your current problem right now, it'll help with down the road grows hopefully :Namaste:

You seem like you know quite a bit about it so....I'd point you to take a look at Clackamass Coots recipe....what most people don't know about CC's recipe is that it was a collaborative effort of people working together trying out different ingredients etc. and came up with a pretty simple and easy to make living soil. There's an entire thread on these forums dedicated to it Building a Better Soil - Demonstrations & Discussions of Organic Soil Recipes

As for your question in particular to your current problem I'd point you to this thread Cottage 420's Organic Perpetual Indoor Garden
Bob is one of the most knowledgeable organic gardeners I've come across, people always asking for help in his thread(myself included) and he's always happy to share & help, a vast wealth of knowledge, great member & person :Namaste:
 
-NYCTD and Cheese Day 10
-Solo Cup with Hydroton at the bottom and holes for drainage Soil
-T5 & LED (T5 is over the seedling and LED is in opposite corner over a flowering cheese auto.
-No nutes yet
-Distilled Water when soil dries (fed mostly from the bottom but I lightly water the top just to get it damp)
-Temp average has been 79-81ºF
-Humidity was low for the first few days, between 40%-55% Now it is at 55%-75% thanks to a vaporizer that takes salt and another that
just blows cool humid air.
-6"fan on the seedling on low
4" inline fan w/ carbon filter it evacuate hot air (there's not much)
4x4 tent

I have some NYC Turbo Diesel and Cheese seedling that are 10 days old that are having some problems. These symptoms showed themselves in a matter of 6-8 hours as you can tell from looking at my grow 2 journal. Yesterday morning they were fine. Last night they were mottled yellow to straight brown. At first I thought it might be light burn as the T5 was 2.75" above the plants. Then a trusted friend on here said to check into Boron.
Help a fellow out if you have time.

Cheese_5_Burn_2.jpg

Cheese_5_Burn1.jpg

NYCTD_4_Burnteded.jpg

NYCTD4_Burn.jpg

NYCTD4_Burned.JPG

NYCTD3_Not_too_bad.JPG

Cheese_1_barley_burned.JPG

NYCTD5_Champ.jpg



Thanks in Advance. If you know someone who might know please send them my way. Peace folks!

Hey. Need some help here.
ae0836aae4ebc52a80b10a0f58af0e37.jpg
68f1954f49f19ac769d195a824914b99.jpg


Could anyone tell me what's going on here?? I'm currently on day 35 of flower. Is this nute burn? Or a deficiency of some sort??

I'd say more info would be needed from both, as in what's your medium, are you feeding them and if so what, what products do you use with them etc....pretty hard to diagnose problems just from pics :Namaste:
 
Hey. Need some help here.
ae0836aae4ebc52a80b10a0f58af0e37.jpg
68f1954f49f19ac769d195a824914b99.jpg


Could anyone tell me what's going on here?? I'm currently on day 35 of flower. Is this nute burn? Or a deficiency of some sort??

A picture with normal light would be huge for us bud purple pics no good for us to help ya
 
Howdy folks,

I was reading some journal somewhere a week or so ago that talked about the order you should add nutrients, but I can't remember what journal or how to find the info.

So could anyone help me out with what order to add your nutrients to your water/nute mix? I'm not asking for a specific brand, just like, calmag first, grow before bloom, silica last, etc (these are just random examples that I have no idea if they are correct or not).
 
I posted this elsewhere but was advised I should post it here:
So discouraged :(

Hi All, I'm a grandmom fast approaching retirement age and decided I'd try growing my own supply. I've smoked for over 40 years at first for fun and now to help with neuropathy pain from Diabetes type 2. I purchased 3 seeds, Blue dream auto, AK 49 auto and chocolope auto. I live on acreage and produce an acre garden every year, organically. What I normally use is a mix of peat moss, worm casings, dolomite lime, vermiculite and compost I make from cow manure, grass clippings and chicken poop. I used the compost sparingly. All my veggie plants thrive in it, I start them from seed indoors. While I was waiting for my seeds to come in, I germinated a few bag seeds and used the mix I was planning on using for the purchased seed. They have grown great! However, my seeds arrived and I germinated two of them, then planted two of them in my usual soil mix. They germinated fine in a paper towel and I planted them in their final pot in the mix listed above. Humidity was good, water ph was good, they came up, the blue dream had the first cotyledon leaves and two teensy tinny leaves, the ak49 looked better when it popped out of the ground but since there have been no growth, the Blue Dream is on it's last leg, it'll be dead by tomorrow. THe AK is a tiny bit better, but I fear it won't survive. It's cotyledon leaves are fading and it only has the next two leaves and that's all. I planted them on 12/25. I have the chocolope in wet paper towel now. Blue Dream Auto and Ak 49 Auto were from the same seed bank and the chocolope is from a different one. I started them under a 150 watt LED and 3 85 watt cfl, just like I did the bag seed. I'm at a lose as to what to do differently, any help would be much appreciated.

A few more facts are, lights were 24 inches away from plants. What I really don't get is why the bag seed I started under the exact same conditions flourish. I only use organics here, not a drop of pesticide or chemical fertilizers used on this land in the last 40 years. I won't be doing hydro, first, it's not in my wheelhouse of knowledge (lol by my post you would think soil isn't either) and I'm looking for a cost effective, organic way to grow, I live in the sticks and hydro supplies are not easily acquired, I can't order mail order because I live a mile down a private road and fedex and ups leave my packages with whichever neighbor also has a package that day and finding my packages is like a demented Easter egg hunt (yes, I've complained,,, it doesn't help). Both tiny seedlings are dead now, they basically came up, cotyledon and first 2 single leaves, stayed the same for two weeks, turned yellow and died. I watered just around the plants, soil mix is super light and airy. I would think I'd gotten a dud seed, except it was 2 seeds from different strains. Those two were from the same seed bank, Vision.

It is possible you got defective genetics Mimi, but that's the last place I go. It does happen though, and I've never heard of this seed bank myself, which means nothing.

I'm wondering about the temps when you planted and during the germination stage. The only time I've had seedlings stall like that was when I subjected them to temperatures too cold for the soil community to be active enough to stimulate plant growth. Their stunted state suggests a disconnect between the plants and the soil. Soil temp would be my starting point in this mystery.

You have the experience in growing organically, so I'm going to assume it's not you, but something small that got overlooked.
 
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