Fear of Nute Burn

[Chinnubie]

The grow has been going on for about 6 weeks in veg for the tall Bag Seed Plant and 4 weeks for the 3 shorter Purple Kush at least that's what the King of Seed website told me I was getting.
Anyway, they are all in a over the counter bought soil called Ferti-Loam all purpose: peat moss, coarse perlite, limestone, dolomite, starter charge, & wetting agent. The older plant called Rudy is in a 5 gallon bucket, 2 Purple Kush in one big 10-15 gallon pale, and 1 Purple Kush in a 5 Gallon pale. Our water here is 130-150 ppm, the soil stays at 6.8 ph and have been a little sparse on the nutes for fear of burning them. The nutrient used is a fish emulsion bought from a reputable establishment. The light is 2 150 watt HPS kept 10-15 inches above. Getting a 6" Carbon filter fan w/speed control next week for the oder and heat regulation because of the change in temps. The closet is 22"x 39"x 96" with aluminum foil covering the walls. The closet is kept at 68-70 degrees for 6 hours overnight and can reach 84 degrees during the 18 hour day light cycle. Most of the time day temps stay at 79 degrees. Temps are in Fahrenheit. Any advice on this amateur 1st grow would be greatly appreciated. P.S. The cheap simple fans are for moving the air around to not very good affect. There is also an air cleaner that helps circulate the air.

They seem to have slowed a little or are they fine?

 

[David Bowman]

Your grow looks to be in excellent shape. It's hard to tell with the HPS but they look a little light on N, how much fish emulsion and how often are you giving them? I understand your concern about burning them but underfeeding has its own downsides as well.

 

[Chinnubie]

They were getting 1/3 of recommended dose so next watering should I go ahead and do a full recommendation or 2/3 of the recommended feeding. The fish emulsion smells terrible and don't get it on your hands but the plants seem to respond well when they are fed with it. Our water being 150ppm means I can pretty much feed the 5-1-1 fish poop at the recommended dosage, right? The loamy soil really holds the moisture but we have been getting pretty good at judging when to water. Been about 4-5 days between watering and the soil isn't at all crusty but it is dry for about 4 inches down. Also, been watering about 1.25 gallon per pot a little more on the big pot with 2 plants.

Thanks for responding Colorado, I just want to make sure I'm covering as many limiting factors as I can because I'm in a closet, so I realize I can't get the plants to their absolute potential. At the same time I would like to have a successful grow and keep my money in my pocket and although there is an initial expense, afterwards I feel like I'm the one in control of my medicine and will no longer need to call anyone for what can be grown. You have no idea how lucky you are in Colorado.

P.S. I dig the Carl Sagan quote even though I may not agree with everything he said, I respect his right to say it.

 

[David Bowman]

I think an increase of nutrients is a good idea, if the plants are a lighter green in color then I would go with full nutrients for your next feed. Sounds like you got things well under control, have you though about posting a journal?

Yeah, getting that first grow under your belt makes all the difference in the world. Once you have proven to yourself that you can successfully grow cannabis, the worry factor drops significantly. That doesn't mean you won't have issues, I had more and bigger issues with my second grow than my first, partially due to trying new techniques and pushing the envelope so to speak, but that's what it's all about, expanding one's awareness and knowledge and you can't do that without making mistakes.

I think Carl Sagan was approaching cannabis from the holistic/recreational side of things rather than the medicinal approach which wasn't much appreciated 30-40 years ago.