New grower

[Backlipslide]

Lookin good ghost!

 

[DonkeyDick]

Your plants look very healthy already.
I dare say you can teach as much as you can learn because you’re clearly doing stuff right

 

[Billotto]

Come on in!

The amount of info on this site is staggering.

 

[Ghostwriter31]

I mix 50/50 perlite with my soil mixes. I've had issues with compaction when I started inside growing but none since. Be sure to closely monitor your plants while drying them out the first time, after that try to water the day before they wilt over a bit. And during flower you will have to step up watering some cause they will drink like crazy. Some strains are a daily soaking. Best of luck

So the PH was right at 7, I took the time to snap a few pics of a few concerns. First one is the very first set of what looks like a pot leaf is starting to brown on edges as seen. Rest of plant looks fine . The small one has a few brown spots on leaves spotted here and there . From what I’ve read was maybe I was too heavy with these two nutrients on a feeding? I’ve thrown out that water mixture and made a new one for week 4 because that’s where I am 15ml 15 ml each per gallon. I was going to wait a few days before I feed again.
Oh boy, this seems like it may be a difficult journey but one I will do over and over again until I get it right

 

[Ghostwriter31]

I mix 50/50 perlite with my soil mixes. I've had issues with compaction when I started inside growing but none since. Be sure to closely monitor your plants while drying them out the first time, after that try to water the day before they wilt over a bit. And during flower you will have to step up watering some cause they will drink like crazy. Some strains are a daily soaking. Best of luck

 

[BeanTownFan420]

 

[MochaBud]

Thank you for the reply. I just got home and turned the lights out for next 4 hours. I’m doing the 20/4 during the veg stage. I am using fox farms organic with one pound of super soil on bottom.. I also have used the fox farms 3 bottle nutrients of course only the first two atm. During the flower stage I’ll use third nutrient . Here’s my problem, I’ve been watering and feeding according to directions and what I’ve read here. I am going to Home Depot tonight and check the PH because I feel like I am at a point where I can very easily mess up the last month hard work. A few leaves have a brown spot here and there. I have a new cob/led light on its way to help with light. Back to water: my soil seems to damp but my plant seems like it’s drinking it up. I guess I’ll know.more once I check my PH
Ghost

Hey Ghost, fox farms is just an organic base and "is" considered a super soil. So if your putting another super soil on bottom it's a waste of time and money "organics" is super soil with "beneficial bacteria and fungi" to bring it to life...also you never want True Living Organics to dry out completely, as it will kill the soil, you have to keep True organics moist.

That being said, you have a super soil mix that NEEDS to dry out, that's what is causing the discoloration on bottom leaves, you are drowning it, sorry but here read this The Proper Way To Water A Potted Plant and good luck...any questions just give me a shout with a @MochaBud

 

[Ghostwriter31]

Your plants look very healthy already.
I dare say you can teach as much as you can learn because you’re clearly doing stuff right

Thank you , that means so much. I have read and read before I ventured into this and tried to prepare myself for whatever came my way. I just hope I don’t jinx myself for I’m starting to feel the pressure .

 

[Ghostwriter31]

Hey Ghost, fox farms is just an organic base and "is" considered a super soil. So if your putting another super soil on bottom it's a waste of time and money "organics" is super soil with "beneficial bacteria and fungi" to bring it to life...also you never want True Living Organics to dry out completely, as it will kill the soil, you have to keep True organics moist.

That being said, you have a super soil mix that NEEDS to dry out, that's what is causing the discoloration on bottom leaves, you are drowning it, sorry but here read this The Proper Way To Water A Potted Plant and good luck...any questions just give me a shout with a @MochaBud

Thank you!! I just read a little more on super soil and figured out it was nutrients. I haven’t watered today and was going to let dry out. So just water from here going forward? Thanks again for reply

 

[MochaBud]

Thank you!! I just read a little more on super soil and figured out it was nutrients. I haven’t watered today and was going to let dry out. So just water from here going forward? Thanks again for reply

Well, when they're that small (young) I will start to give food/nutes at a half dose of the recommended amounts, but only every third time, in other words you will water twice and feed the third time....water...water...feed. The plant will tell you when it needs more by the bottom leaves "starting" to turn yellowish

 

[Ghostwriter31]

I introduced myself last night and the response and LOVE here is like no other. I am part of one other online community ( BMX museum- plug) those guys are great but you all are over the top. It makes me feel good about what I’m doing. I’ve been shown ways to do things better and given solid advice on some concerns I had on my two plants I have going now . I feel like I may be able to fix my problems and and move forward from here. They will dry out tonight for I think I’ve been a little heavy with feeding

 

[Ghostwriter31]

Oh snap, I intended this to go under introduce yourself, I ventured over to different forums and forgot to toggle back to intros, I wonder if there’s a way to move it hmmmm

 

[Ghostwriter31]

Anyhow, off to bed, gotta get up early so I can go teach my 3rd graders in the morning. Much love y’all . Yeah I’m southern lol

 

[Usherwood]

Looking really good there ghost. I think you will be in great shape now with watering under control.

 

[John Wick]

Thank you!! I just read a little more on super soil and figured out it was nutrients. I haven’t watered today and was going to let dry out. So just water from here going forward? Thanks again for reply

I grow with FFO and FFF trio nutes.
I did the same thing, over nute, it was recommended to me to flush with water to lesson the nute power going into your girls.
@Emilya, came to my rescue and the two that I over nute, survive all the way to harvest. Also, pH at 7, you may want to lower it a bit.

BTW, welcome.

P.S. Sorry to keep bugging you, Ms. Emilya.

 

[Emilya Green]

Hey Ghost, fox farms is just an organic base and "is" considered a super soil. So if your putting another super soil on bottom it's a waste of time and money "organics" is super soil with "beneficial bacteria and fungi" to bring it to life...also you never want True Living Organics to dry out completely, as it will kill the soil, you have to keep True organics moist.

That being said, you have a super soil mix that NEEDS to dry out, that's what is causing the discoloration on bottom leaves, you are drowning it, sorry but here read this The Proper Way To Water A Potted Plant and good luck...any questions just give me a shout with a @MochaBud

Sorry @MochaBud , but I have to correct this even though I am grateful for the referral to my watering thread.

Fox Farm's Ocean Forest is a very good organic soil, rich in organic materials and I also use a mix of this in the top 2/3 of my containers. It however, is NOT a supersoil. A supersoil by definition is an enhanced soil that has had added to it all the minerals that will be needed for the entire grow, that are then cooked into the soil in a compost pile. A supersoil has everything needed in it, so that all you need to do is give plain water, and the plant will have all the nutrition that it needs, provided that you also take care not to kill off the microlife in that supersoil or as in your case, re-supply the microlife that is needed to break down these minerals and which, as said above, brings the soil to life.

The biggest problem here is that synthetic nutrients are not compatable with the super soil you have in your bottom third. The only product that FoxFarm makes in their nutrient lines that is compatable with an organic supersoil grow is the Big Bloom, but the other two that you have already used will flat out kill all the microlife that may have been in your supersoil. So, in effect, at the moment you have wasted your money on the supersoil in the bottom of your container. It is no longer alive and the nutrients are no longer available to the plant.... but the good news is that you can fix it.

First, another point. It is a myth that an organic grow needs to stay moist to stay alive. Microbes are incredibly resilient and a little bit of drying out does not stop them. Microbes can go into hibernation, hide within the organics and go dormant when there is a lack of water, and upon watering the container they spring back to life and rapidly start multiplying. Knowing this, it is still important even in an organic grow to let the container dry out all the way to the bottom during veg so as to entice the roots to fill the container... if you leave the soil moist all through veg the roots do not have to work, and they will not. Pamper a weed in veg and you will end up with a horrible root system, thus a horrible final yield.

Now... first off, FFOF is such a rich soil that adding any extra nutrients to it before week 5 is to be highly discouraged, and you had active supersoil in there too! The plants do not need any extra nutrition in such a soil and even in plain FFOF, until the start of bloom where nutritional needs change, the regular FFOF can supply all the needs. All the advice above about not needing nutes in this grow is correct, and you saw the results on your plants of not trusting the soil.

The biggest problem is that you have supersoil at the bottom, a fully loaded and rich soil that can provide everything that plant needs, even during bloom, therefore you do not need the FF nutes... not at all... at least until you killed the microlife by applying the toxic synthetic Grow Big to the system. Right now, the soil has enough free Nitrogen in it to be able to supply the plant what it needs. You need to trust the system you have built, and put your nutes away... you don't need them nor do you want them in your organic supersoil grow.

Would you like to turn this back into a supersoil organic grow, or are you going to be happy with a synthetic Fox Farm Nutrient grow? You need to decide right now. You of course can forget about the now dead supersoil and simply use the soil in the container as a medium to supply your bottled nutes to it. Follow the instructions that FF provides, and you will be able to grow a very nice FF grow. Doing it this way, the pH of all of your fluids becomes critical, and you will need to carefully measure every fluid that hits your soil to adjust it to 6.3 pH.

If however you wish to get back to your original supersoil idea, you can forget about pH. Since you won't be using bottled nutes, there is no need to adjust pH... the organic soil does not care. To go this route however, you are going to have to repair the mistake you made by adding back some microlife to this grow. There are 3 good products that can do this for you, or you can get all the raw materials needed and an air pump and you can learn to make your own actively aerated compost teas. If you are in the USA, I suggest RealGrower's Recharge, a very economical microbial superpac that you can regularly add to your soil. This is not a nute, it is microbes... gobs of them... and they will bring your supersoil and indeed the FFOF, to life. Other more expensive products that do the same thing are URB and Voodoo Juice and are the only commercial options in some places in the world.

So, you are at a crossroads and need to choose your direction, now. Go with the FF nutes and figure out pH and mixing the nutes and then come to realize that unless you invest a fortune in every product FF produces to enhance a grow, it will never be as good as the truly organic grow would have been. My advice: wean yourself from the nute bottle, and follow through with your original plan... go full organic.

 

[John Wick]

Well then, I just found out that using FF nute's in FFOF before flower waisted my money.

Crap.

I learn something new every time from Emilya.

Thanks for stopping in, Ms. Emilya!

 

[Emilya Green]

Well then, I just found out that using FF nute's in FFOF before flower waisted my money.

Crap.

I learn something new every time from Emilya.

Thanks for stopping in, Ms. Emilya!

You didnt waste your money. Think of nutes in the way they used to be thought of, before we fed into this idea that we needed to "feed" our plants to reach a harvest. Read the last little paragraph in my signature. Use your expensive nutes to supercharge a plant beyond what it is doing now... if and only if, it can handle it.

 

[John Wick]

You didnt waste your money. Think of nutes in the way they used to be thought of, before we fed into this idea that we needed to "feed" our plants to reach a harvest. Read the last little paragraph in my signature. Use your expensive nutes to supercharge a plant beyond what it is doing now... if and only if, it can handle it.

Thanks good Lady, I going to read it. You're so cool.

 

[John Wick]

You didnt waste your money. Think of nutes in the way they used to be thought of, before we fed into this idea that we needed to "feed" our plants to reach a harvest. Read the last little paragraph in my signature. Use your expensive nutes to supercharge a plant beyond what it is doing now... if and only if, it can handle it.

Hahahaha, lesson learned.
I did calibrate my New pH pen and now I trust it.
"I thought everything was going great, until I got hit in the face, being without a good pH pen". Lesson learned and Emilya can teach this old dog new tricks!