First Time Hydro, Follow Along!

[Bonez]

If a strain is reported to have a 55 day flowering period, I'd expect the stretch to last 22 days from the day that I switched to 12 on / 12 off.

If the stretch actually lasted, for example, 27 days... Then I'd know that it was actually a 68-day strain instead of a 55-day one.

And if the bank that sold me the hypothetical strain listed as being a 55-day flower that actually was a 68-day one called it "an early harvest with sativa-like affects," then I'd know right away that they were trying to pull a fast one on me by trying to get me to harvest early so as to get a quick, raw, speedy affect. Not that they've ever done such a thing grinjoint:). But in such a case I'd take it to the calculated 68th day of flowering for a different, but more natural - although more couch-lock, +/- - affect (even though I prefer sativas). I'd get fuller buds since they tend to put on the final surge of trichomes (and weight) close to harvest.

[While many people eventually adjust the exact harvest date (slightly) to suit, cutting an indica down mad-early (premature) to get some supposed "sativa-affect" is, IMHO, like letting a 115-day sativa go to 135 days to get a couch-lock/narcotic "indica-affect." Like that fat redneck comedian said, "It's like wiping before you p00p - it don't make no sense."]

I've found that to be pretty accurate. Assuming no major "oh shits" occur that so stress the girls that flowering is delayed, and assuming that major light changes do not occur (switching types or color-temperature), cannabis will "stretch" for the first 40% of its flowering period and "fill-in" for the remaining 60%.

Called the 40:60 rule for that reason. Handy.

You might harvest a bit earlier or a bit later in order to (somewhat) adjust the characteristics of the affect, but if you've got the exact stretch time and have to go on vacation with a helper who can follow directions but not determine the harvest date, then your calculated harvest date would be safe as houses.

Count the flowering period from the first day you introduce a full 12-hour dark period. Count the stretch period from the same. You should be able to tell when the stretch stops. It might not completely cease, but it'll go from "wow is this thing ever going to stop getting taller?" to "it might have grown a little," lol.

Certain hormone supplements may play havoc with this formula (and the plant). And auto-flowering strains of course, are an aberration.

Super helpful. That really helped me out because I have one pure sativa, pure indica, and a mix of both so finding the right time to harvest each is going to be tricky. I have been trimming off the bottom fan leaves and the popcorn budsites a little everyday, but theres just so many that im starting to worry I could hermie it.

Since its day 14 of flower, and most budsites are from 4-8 inches above the screen would you guys say they are going to grow a little to high and defeat the purpose of the screen? Ive seen a couple scrogs where all the budsites are like 2 feet above the screen

 

[Bonez]

I need some help pretty quickly as it seems to be getting worse everyday. Some of the lower leaves are yellowing, and there is brown spots as well as browning around the leaf edges. Not sure what the issue is here. The pH is right at 5.9, and the temps are around 85-90. Need help asap, anything will be appreciated.

 

[HealingKronic]

hey man if your possitive your pH is good and that your meter isnt jacked up then you should probably use some cal-mag. looks like an iron or calcium deficiency which cal-mag clears up nicely!

 

[TorturedSoul]

hey man if your possitive your pH is good and that your meter isnt jacked up then you should probably use some cal-mag. looks like an iron or calcium deficiency which cal-mag clears up nicely!

Yeah, either a simple deficiency or one caused by nutrient lockout due to an overabundance of other nutrients. Not familiar with your nutrients but cannabis does like its magnesium. Many "non cannabis-specific" nutrients don't provide enough.

In the calcium-magnesium relationship, I never could remember which one caused the other to become unavailable to the plants. But if using "tap water" from a municipal supply it might have enough calcium in it already to screw up the relationship when nutrients are added (if using RO water, there would of course be none in the water).

BTW, did you ever identify your little black bugs? Hope you were able to get rid of them.

 

[ledtester]

I need some help pretty quickly as it seems to be getting worse everyday. Some of the lower leaves are yellowing, and there is brown spots as well as browning around the leaf edges. Not sure what the issue is here. The pH is right at 5.9, and the temps are around 85-90. Need help asap, anything will be appreciated.

No worries brother,,first thing is to flush them straight water for a day. Your ph is a bit high. usually start off at 5.5 and let it drift to 5.8...any fresh air coming in, your temps should be 85 tops lower if possible but never higher. always add h202 at 3ml /gallon and the half that everyday. along with some cal/mag and your all set again. Try to flush and change things up once a week. test and calibrate your meters then also.

 

[ledtester]

Yeah, either a simple deficiency or one caused by nutrient lockout due to an overabundance of other nutrients. Not familiar with your nutrients but cannabis does like its magnesium. Many "non cannabis-specific" nutrients don't provide enough.

In the calcium-magnesium relationship, I never could remember which one caused the other to become unavailable to the plants. But if using "tap water" from a municipal supply it might have enough calcium in it already to screw up the relationship when nutrients are added (if using RO water, there would of course be none in the water).

BTW, did you ever identify your little black bugs? Hope you were able to get rid of them.

Hey TS
This from the study I found on nutes:I found additional Magnesium and Calcium made substantial improvements with bud growth generally and actually improved individual plant harvests when applied.

This from ...."(p.253 of Jorges Bible, 5th addition.) Frequently, plants can process more calcium than is available. It also washes out of the leaves that are sprayed with water

 

[TorturedSoul]

Hey TS
This from the study I found on nutes:I found additional Magnesium and Calcium made substantial improvements with bud growth generally and actually improved individual plant harvests when applied.

This from ...."(p.253 of Jorges Bible, 5th addition.) Frequently, plants can process more calcium than is available. It also washes out of the leaves that are sprayed with water

Thank you for the references. I used to have a link to some articles at some state's agricultural department's website that dealt mainly with the relationships of one nutrient to another but I seem to have lost it. One of the articles had a handy chart that would allow the forgetful (me) to see the deficient element and it had suggestions as to what other element(s) might cause problems in the plant being able to utilize the deficient element - and what to look for in order to help determine whether the problem was an actual deficiency or if it was a lockout due to other factors. Kept me from overnuting a time or two. Wish I could find that link again.

 

[Bonez]

Thanks guys, im going to the hydro store so Im going to buy a couple of things. The strange thing that the problem is really only on one plant, and very very slightly on the others. Not sure if my pH was out of wack and now its fixed. The plant is a sativa herojuana, not sure if that helps.

At the hydro store im thinking of getting some
Cal - Mag
H2O2
4.0 calibration fluid

How important do you think flushing would be? Or should I just add the h2O2 and cal mag in?

 

[Bonez]

Okay so went to the store and picked up everything. I ended up getting botanicare cal mag plus, and a 29% solution of hydrogen peroxide for plants. Added everything to the res, altho it was kind of scary adding so much stuff. Hope the plants dont mind

Reservoir:
~17 mL per gallon Soul Synthetics Bloom
~3 mL per gallon Hydrogen Peroxide
~6 mL per gallon Cal Mag plus (didnt have exact amount for hydro, just ppm. So used a lil higher than soil.
~5.7 pH
~970 ppm

I also have a small bottle of sugar daddy that I wanted to add. But I feel like I just added so much more so I dont want to add too much. Would it be okay?

Also after adding the h2o2 a bunch of gunk from the bottom is no chillin at the top of the res. Since my nutes are about 80% organic im guessing this is alright.

Will the brown edges and necro spots eventually go away or am i just aiming to see no increase in the amount of them.

 

[TomatoPie]

Um, your nutes are organic and you went and added a bunch of H2O2. Most of the bacteria supposed to be breaking down those organic compounds into available nutrients in your res are probably dead now.


Most organic nutrients or supplements clearly state not to use Hydrogen Peroxide with them as it oxidizes everything. It's a water molecule with an extra oxygen, which loves to bind to stuff.

 

[Bonez]

Um, your nutes are organic and you went and added a bunch of H2O2. Most of the bacteria supposed to be breaking down those organic compounds into available nutrients in your res are probably dead now.


Most organic nutrients or supplements clearly state not to use Hydrogen Peroxide with them as it oxidizes everything. It's a water molecule with an extra oxygen, which loves to bind to stuff.

It says its derived from organic and synthetic fertility components. Heres the link. Soul Synthetics ? Bloom by Aurora Innovations I might have been thinking of their organic line when I said that. And reading the bottle and the site, I havent seen anything that says against it.

How will I be able to tell if my plants have recovered? Would adding some bud enhancements as well be a bad idea until I know whether or not the problem is fixed and what it was? I flushed for a couple of hours with pHed water.

Edit: Byaccidently knocked the power strip out of the wall, so while the light was heating up decided to take another pic. Today is exactly week 3 of 12/12

 

[Bonez]

Im a lil worried that my tap water might be a little too hard thus creating a lockout since my neighbor had a very similar problem to mine. I checked the ppm of the tap water alone and it is right around 50. Is this considered high? Couldnt find too much info about exact measurements of calcium and magnesium in the water where I live

 

[TorturedSoul]

50ppm? 50? Wow, lofl - have you calibrated your meter lately, lol?

Seriously, that's better than mine by a great margin. Mine is nominally around 345ppm. So on numbers alone, you've got much healthier water than the "sludge" that I pay for each month.

But still, if you can have a sample analyzed - either by taking it to your water department (generally cheap, occasionally free) or through one of the several places in the country that have web sites - it's always a good idea to know exactly what's in your water. And not just for peace of mind where your plants are concerned.

Still, 50ppm... Want to trade, lol? I bet if you get a glass of water, put four or five ice cubes in it, and let it sit until the ice all melts... that you don't have a bunch of "white stuff" sitting in the bottom of the glass, huh?

Just FYI - and I don't know exact their numbers are, or just how it would carry over into other brands of nutrients - General Hydroponics 3-part Flora series has a "Flora Micro" and a "Flora Micro Hardwater." And their website states (in deciding which one to use), "If your tap water is over 200 ppm (or contains Calcium above 70 ppm), use Flora Micro Hardwater. If your water contains 30 to 50 ppm Calcium, you can mix our original Flora Micro with Flora Micro Hardwater to create a perfect Micro blend for your plants."

So on the face of that, your water seems like it would be fine.

Again, have you calibrated your TDS meter lately?

 

[Bonez]

50ppm? 50? Wow, lofl - have you calibrated your meter lately, lol?

Seriously, that's better than mine by a great margin. Mine is nominally around 345ppm. So on numbers alone, you've got much healthier water than the "sludge" that I pay for each month.

But still, if you can have a sample analyzed - either by taking it to your water department (generally cheap, occasionally free) or through one of the several places in the country that have web sites - it's always a good idea to know exactly what's in your water. And not just for peace of mind where your plants are concerned.

Still, 50ppm... Want to trade, lol? I bet if you get a glass of water, put four or five ice cubes in it, and let it sit until the ice all melts... that you don't have a bunch of "white stuff" sitting in the bottom of the glass, huh?

Just FYI - and I don't know exact their numbers are, or just how it would carry over into other brands of nutrients - General Hydroponics 3-part Flora series has a "Flora Micro" and a "Flora Micro Hardwater." And their website states (in deciding which one to use), "If your tap water is over 200 ppm (or contains Calcium above 70 ppm), use Flora Micro Hardwater. If your water contains 30 to 50 ppm Calcium, you can mix our original Flora Micro with Flora Micro Hardwater to create a perfect Micro blend for your plants."

So on the face of that, your water seems like it would be fine.

Again, have you calibrated your TDS meter lately?

Nah, not having calibration solution makes that pretty tough. hah I always was thinking that my ppm for my nutes was extremely low. I think I remembered taking readings around 200 a while ago but just assumed it was higher than now because it was just fresh water in a dirty res.

 

[ledtester]

Im a lil worried that my tap water might be a little too hard thus creating a lockout since my neighbor had a very similar problem to mine. I checked the ppm of the tap water alone and it is right around 50. Is this considered high? Couldnt find too much info about exact measurements of calcium and magnesium in the water where I live

Bonez I was just at a buddies and his tap water tests out at 1.59 EC that's 1120ppm. They were afraid what this water was going to do to the plants but since it was well water gave it a shot. With nutes the rez is 2100ppm. You should see these plants. You have great plants and these maybe look slightly bigger. The kicker is , none of the plants were topped at all. They just branched out every where.

From what I've read today your tap water can't have enough cal/mag in it and plants seem to love it!

This is from a nute study --------I found additional Magnesium and Calcium made substantial improvements with bud growth generally and actually improved individual plant harvests when applied. This when feeding with chem nutes!

"...Frequently, plants can process more calcium than is available. It also washes out of the leaves that are sprayed with water...."(p.253 of Jorges Bible, 5th addition.)

 

[Bonez]

Bonez I was just at a buddies and his tap water tests out at 1.59 EC that's 1120ppm. They were afraid what this water was going to do to the plants but since it was well water gave it a shot. With nutes the rez is 2100ppm. You should see these plants. You have great plants and these maybe look slightly bigger. The kicker is , none of the plants were topped at all. They just branched out every where.

From what I've read today your tap water can't have enough cal/mag in it and plants seem to love it!

This is from a nute study --------I found additional Magnesium and Calcium made substantial improvements with bud growth generally and actually improved individual plant harvests when applied. This when feeding with chem nutes!

"...Frequently, plants can process more calcium than is available. It also washes out of the leaves that are sprayed with water...."(p.253 of Jorges Bible, 5th addition.)

Ahh that makes me feel so much better. Ya know, it woulda been so shitty for me to fill the res all the way and then have to toss it. Even tho it was kinda stupid to fill it all up before knowing whether or not it was the correct fix

 

[Bonez]

So 3 days have passed and its still getting worse. Couldnt find any R/O water around so I picked up some distilled. Refilled the res today. Hopefully it should work.

 

[justintym2]

they look very nice good job, keep it up shell make it

 

[Bonez]

they look very nice good job, keep it up shell make it

Thanks I appreciate it. Just after seeing a friends plant who had the same issue and who had to harvest a little early, I want to finish off as strongly as I started

 

[justintym2]

you can put the hydrogen peroxide in the clay ... if you dont rinse your pellets or if you are using them over and over again , from what ive read can have bugs in them. i can surely see you makin this one , how long now