Tranquilgreen - Hydro & Soil - First Grow Journal

[Bapple]

Sounds like you're off to an interesting start

Keep on keeping on Tranquil

 

[Tranquilgreen]

Thanks Ranger, that is a GREAT idea! It will make my life much easier when doing anything with the DWC. The root-mass on that CK is three times the size of any of the others.


Now where is my drill?

I shall keep on keeping on Bapple, thanks!

 

[Ranger275]

Thx Tranquilgreen!
As a tweak, you could also play w/attachment point positioning. Single-point attachment would make a xmas-tree shape that would naturally suit the plant, and swing out most easily. 4 points would let you combine cup/bowl-shaped training w/ease of maintenance. Lots of options to play with.

 

[Big Budha]

Damn I'm late to the party again Hi T I'm over here in the corner waiting for the dubie to come by I see some twisting in your plants leaves. How's the ph holdin? I had twisted leaves from ph that was too high 8.5 and it stunted my plants I have since corrected it and they are takin off now. I'm hoping all goes well for you

 

[Weaselcracker]

Hi Tranquilgreen Yes your meter reads an EC of 1. All 'tds' and 'ppm' meters do the same basic thing- which is measure the electrical conductivity of the solution they are in. Conductivity goes up as the solution gets thicker.
After that it gets a bit more confusing.
Basically the meter takes the EC reading and then guesstimates what the parts per million may be, based on that. EC is a measurable thing. Ppm is Not measurable directly. It is subjective, depending on which meter you are using. So if someone says they are feeding with a ppm of 1000- it's fairly meaningless unless you know the 'conversion ratio' which the meter used to crunch the EC reading and estimate PPM with. Weird I know.
Without getting too deep in to 'sounding like I know what I'm talking about'. The meter just uses a conversion formula to estimate the parts per million. There are three different conversion rates commonly used. .5, .64, and .7. Your bluelab meter probably has a 'tds' display setting. This shows an estimate of total dissolved solids, based on taking the EC and multiplying by .5 Other meters use a .7 conversion rate to estimate ppm. Others use a .64 conversion rate. My blue lab has a setting for TDS and one for ppm. At EC 1.0 it will read tds 500, and ppm 700.
Geez.... Now I've probably confused the issue more than clarified it.

Here is a thread that maybe explains it better.EC reading confusion

 

[Bapple]

Hello Tranquilgreen!

I would add a bit more soil to the Sour Diesel pot just to shore up the stem a bit and that might just do the trick. She looks a bit stringy and slightly nute burnt, but she looks viable from where I'm sitting.

 

[Tranquilgreen]

I read the thread you suggested Weasel and I am not sure what conversion ratio my blue lab meter is. So, I am assuming a reading of 1.0 on my blue labs meter would be somewhere around 700 ppm. Is this correct?

 

[Weaselcracker]

Yes- correct. With my bluelab guardian- I can choose between displaying EC, TDS, or PPM. TDS uses a .5 conversion. For PPM it uses a .7 conversion. They all mean the same thing

 

[Tranquilgreen]

Bapple, I took your suggestion and added some more organic soil to the poor SD. Maybe this will make her happier. Can't lose, can we?

 

[Tranquilgreen]

Uh Oh...

Please look at these clipped under leaves from my Chocolate Kush. If it is nute problems they may be solved with careful feeding now. If it is pH factors they also may be fixed now with careful measurements and adjustments.

What do you think happened?

Bugs? Nutes? pH? A deficiency or over abundance? All of the above or ?

 

[db003]

to her your babies are having a hard time I hope you find out the answer to help them

 

[Bapple]

Bapple, I took your suggestion and added some more organic soil to the poor SD. Maybe this will make her happier. Can't lose, can we?

Hello there tranquilgreen!

Hope that does the trick with the Sour Diesel......

Re your chocolate kush - it looks like a deficiency to me, but as I know absolutely nothing about DWC it's best if you wait for someone with DWC experience to chime in.

Speaking simply from a common sense point of view, is it usual to have 3 plants in the same smallish reservoir? I generally treat my plants 420 and non 420 as individuals; so if you have 3 plants of different strains in one reservoir does that not make it impossible to restrict or increase nutes according to each plants needs? What makes one plant or strain happy can make another very pouty/poorly.

Hope your day is going well

 

[Dutty Panty]

Different strains feed different most larger hydro grows bank each strain together so if there running 4 strains each would have its own independent reservoir in a grow that's smaller not worth the added gear.

 

[Dutty Panty]

Blue lab is great gear ++++++

 

[Tranquilgreen]

Thanks db003, Bapple and Dutty Panty. Thanks for following my grow with helpful information and ideas.

I took the Sour Diesel and let the soil fall away from her roots. To my surprise there were no roots, only one with no branches. I wanted her to have a chance so I put her in the pot again with new soil and watered her in with Superthrive and B1. I let her sit deep in the soil to keep her from moving. I admit, I thought this would be her last gasp but no, she looked a little unhappy at first but after a few days now she might be liking things. We'll see if she wants to set in some more roots and grow.

When I started this journal I had been reading everyone's journals and was very interested in water culture. I wanted to try DWC and now I have. I see its problems and you are right, it's hard to treat each variety and plant as individuals. The DWC was an experiment and now I see it as something I don't want to do right now. I have learned a lot from it however, mostly about pH. I wonder if I can remove the plants in the DWC and put them in soil now. It means I have to cut the pots from around the roots and settle them into soil. What do you think? Has anyone done this?

I have been reading even more journals and have made a decision about my next grow, it will be High Brix. I have committed myself to following Doc Buds organic way of treating plants, including my garden plants. So my next grow will be High Brix and I hope you follow my journal this summer using that method.

Meanwhile, I have three plants in individual pots that I will be planting outside when conditions are right and the law allows.

 

[Dutty Panty]

Heres what I think. You chose the correct path Los and diy soil building is neat and all but yield it truly can't like other methods indoors. The statement yield doesn't matter is bullshit said by people with tiny Lil plants and lack of experience if you have a top shelf product why not try and get more period. I call those growers charlie brown growers.

I use docs and house and garden side by side and docs kit is easier and more user friendly period. The best thing is doc is available and answers super fast.

As posted by a very insightful fellow member
 Originally Posted by DrZiggy 
Im a Kit user and a weed snob. I grow and enjoy great weed and other produce. 'nuff said 
I sometimes don't even follow instructions, and make up some as I go along...
Im a Kit user and a weed snob. I grow and enjoy great weed and other produce. 'nuff said  

 

[Bapple]

I can't help with the DWC transplant question, I bet Weaselcracker will be helpful if he is around later.

Re learning, growing and adapting you are clearly going in the right direction. With gardening/growing, knowledge plus experience will eventually become instinct where your plants are concerned.

Go Tranquil!

 

[Ranger275]

While I've never done it, there's no clear reason you couldn't transplant.
Here's what I'd do. Prep the new pot and give it a little pre-water. Dim the lights. Gently shake out the pebbles and see if you can easily pull the roots through the mesh pot.
If yes, give thx and plant as you would any stressed plant.
If no, cut away pot then as above. Pots are cheap.
I'm sorry this didn't work out as you'd hoped. Chronichemphog is a very wise DWCMaster. Before you do anything permanent, check him out. He's also super-nice.
Respect

 

[Tranquilgreen]

I agree Dutty, Doc is a presence here and is available if we high brix growers have a question.

Yield is not a concern for me right now, I want to learn to grow happy plants. Being a farmer I understand yield, a good yield means money. But there are specialties that may not yield as good but may be in higher demand for better taste. It all depends on the market.

Thanks Bapple. I sure appreciate you along for this ride. This grow was a success even as a failure, I mean not exactly a failure but a learning experience. Time to see if I can move things to a soil and use the SWICK method to keep them alive and thriving after what I suspect will be some serious stress.

Ranger, your post gave me the push I needed. Tomorrow I will start. I'll try to take photos along the way, maybe, if I can juggle the job and the camera. We can all watch as I get these DWC plants in soil and see if they make it.

 

[Tranquilgreen]

Got Docs Kit and will start the process of cooking the mix for a month before I start my journal using High Brix. I'm so excited. Got my seeds picked too... Y Griega, DarkStar and Green Cush (Green Crack).



Now on to this grow...

I decided to wait on taking the plants from the DWC until I get some bags to put them in. I have some 5 gallons coming any day now.

And... let me take a photo of that poor Sour Diesel that almost died and marked time for over a month. She seems to be pulling through.

Before being replanted:

4 days after being replanted:

All is going well now! Leaves are growing.