Volksgarden Grow Attempt #2

[Vick074]

Don't be embarrassed to talk about anything here.
We're just trying to help you succeed, not judge you.
But you seem to be avoiding answering some questions here.
PPM's!?
What kind of water are you using and what does it read?

Hi GK!!

 

[Green Knight]

Hi Vick, hope you're well mate. Missing your grows and photos man! Hope all's settled and you can get another journal going soon.

Agree with you and stealth re: the pH and ppms, an absolute must for anything hydro.

Don't worry about providing info Vg, the more you can provide the better. Most issues are solveable, it's just a question of diagnosing the problem that's causing the symptoms. Sometimes this can be a bit of trial and error to get to the root cause but there's so much experience on this site if you can give as much info as possible someone will be able to work it out.

Key information to start everything off is:
-pH - is it rising or falling over 24-48h, or staying steady?
-ppms or EC - and is this rising or falling over 24-48h?

This information will allow people to determine what your plants are doing and how they're using the nutes. If that's all good then we've excluded nutrient or pH problems and need to look elsewhere for the problem.

 

[VgAce]

Ok so I just dumped my resevoir and made up a new nute solution. The PPM out of my tap is about 90. I then add Silica 1/4 tsp per gallon, then since they are going into bloom I added 2ml of Flora Nova Grow and Bloom, (which is half of what is recommended). I didn't add anything else. idk what my ppm is but i will measure it tonight.

 

[J189RFC]

What are you using the silica for? I've never heard of adding silica to your water...

 

[Green Knight]

Ok so I just dumped my resevoir and made up a new nute solution. The PPM out of my tap is about 90. I then add Silica 1/4 tsp per gallon, then since they are going into bloom I added 2ml of Flora Nova Grow and Bloom, (which is half of what is recommended). I didn't add anything else. idk what my ppm is but i will measure it tonight.

Cool, let us know when you've read the ppms.
Do you add pH down after adding your nutes out of interest? That could be your problem if not; it's very unlikely your solution will be at the correct pH if you don't pH adjust it after adding nutes, and wonky pH is the single most important factor in hydro before anything else. Your ppms could be fine but if your pH isn't within the correct range then those nutrients will be locked out and the plants won't be able to take them up.

 

[KingJohnC]

here is a nutrient availability chart

 

[VgAce]

Ok so I measured my PPMs. I did have to adjust down the PH a bit but at first watering after a resevoir flush with fresh nutes the PPM is at about 650. One of my healthy looking Blue Dream plants literally snapped its own stem and died today. This machine was NOT made for tall plants. My Grape Gods tho are looking great.

 

[stealthgrow]

Hi again VgAce.
Your PPM's are VERY high for young plants. I would have that lvl of PPm's if your plants are large and in their 1st week of flower or so. How old are your plants? I would suggest that you cut your nutrients in half or even a quarter if your plants are only a couple weeks old.

 

[VgAce]

The plants are over a month old at this point. I cut them about 6 weeks ago and after they had a good root structure under a CFL I put them in the machine. So i would say at least 4-5 weeks old. I would think 2ml of Grow and Bloom Nutes per gallon is just fine. I am already cutting in half the recommended dosage for the GH feeding schedule going from veg into bloom.

 

[stealthgrow]

The plants are over a month old at this point. I cut them about 6 weeks ago and after they had a good root structure under a CFL I put them in the machine. So i would say at least 4-5 weeks old. I would think 2ml of Grow and Bloom Nutes per gallon is just fine. I am already cutting in half the recommended dosage for the GH feeding schedule going from veg into bloom.

Your right VgAce, sorry I thought your plants were younger for some reason. PPM for that age is good.

 

[VgAce]

So the Grape Gods are looking quite good, but the Blue Dreams are just not looking so good at all. They are all being fed the exact same food. Like I said tall plants are no good for this machine.

Grape God

Blue Dream

 

[stealthgrow]

 

[VgAce]

So one of the things I have noticed is that a lot of the plants leaves are turning yellow. I believe they are deficient in something. I have heard that rockwool can hold on to Magnesium creating a deficiency. I had a bottle of AN SensiCal Grow sitting around that I won in a contest. I decided to add some of it in hopes that the leaves will turn green again. I don't know what else could be causing the deficiency. I also lost another plant last night. I can't figure out why but they just keep dying.

 

[Green Knight]

Sorry you're still having problems VG. I'm still with previous suggestions that I think pH could be a big contributing factor to the problem. It is THE single most important thing in hydro and needs checking every day and adjusting to keep it as near 5.8 as possible until you have your system dialled in. If it swings outside 5.2 or 6.1 you will get problems. How the pH and EC / ppms are behaving will also give you a lot of information about your plants needs (and will help the experienced growers on here help you).

I hope this doesn't sound rude, it's not meant to, but pH has been suggested by several experienced growers but your updates still don't give any indication that you're regularly checking or focusing on pH. Until you are fully on top of the pH you won't get on top of any problems I'm sorry mate, and they will continue - if the pH is above 6 you lock out K, Mn, Ca, B, Fe...the plant cannot take up those nutes. If it's below 5.7 you lock out Mg and others. A $2,500 system will be rendered useless without an accurately calibrated $30 pH meter and daily pH checks (and pH adjustment to bring it back into range if needed). The pH can change over a period of hours too, so checking it once when you change the res and then leaving it just won't do. You need to know exactly how it changes and swings over time. It's easy to do.

 

[stealthgrow]

Hi again Vg.
Just for sh*ts and giggles could you take the plastic off rockwool on one of the recently dead plants and take a pic of the roots. I still think not enough root space is a BIG a factor in whats happening to your plants.

If you put 3 rockwool cubes per isle in the machine (all 3 with plastic removed from rockwool) but only have 1 plant in the middle cube, if it is a root issue the roots will make their way into the neighboring rockwool cubes and have room to grow more and not die. The plants themselves can be trained using several different techniques to keep a low profile and not get to close to the light.
Good luck.

 

[VgAce]

No i am checking the PH. Before I water them every 2 days I dial down the PH. It always starts to rise a bit, but I just add some down. So the PH is not a problem. Also I have a brand new Hannah PH tester.

Stealthgrow I understand what you are saying but there really is nothing that I can do about the Root Zone. The VG company only makes a green cube in the Delta 4 size of Rockwool. So I cannot get a bigger size.

I will see if the CalMag stuff I added makes any difference. If i just watered them last night, how long until I start to notice a difference if they were deficient in Mag?

 

[stealthgrow]

you don't seem to understand... you only have 4 inch cubes I know, but can't you put more than 1 cube per isle in the machine, It looks like it can holds 3 or even 4 cubes per row. Put 3 or 4 cubes into the each row without plastic wrapping, but only 1 plant in the middle cube, so roots from that 1 plant can expand into the neighboring cubes.
As for how high the plants get try doing some bending or Low Stress Training (LST) to keep the plants away from the light, you could form a bonzai tree of MJ around the entire wheel.

If you don't wanna try that's cool but I give up. I got no more input for you.

Good luck man.

 

[KingJohnC]

you may need to adjust your pH every day depending on the size of the nutrient reservoir, as the plants use nutrients the pH will naturally rise. adding some grow nutrient to your reservoir appears to be the correct thing to do.

here is a nutrient availability chart

 

[VgAce]

Ok so heres an update. I was finally able to get a CO2 tank and start feeding the plants that. Wow. What a difference. The buds are now so big on the plants that I can no longer see the stem. Check it out!

 

[KingJohnC]

glad to see your system is working properly now.