PPM and Nutes?

[Ripples]

Mixture= 70% peat 30% perl. in a well set up 4x4 with 1000 hps. Starting week 2 of flower. Been successful to this point but always looking to improve! 1st grow Chronic. Using Foxfarm nutes at 2/3 strength every other watering. I water every 6 days with a 20% run off. Foxfarm suggest follow the schedule they put forth feeding twice weekly which I don't understand given I water only once a week? The real question: PPM is a way of doing exactly what? Measuring the level of nutes the plants is getting or lack of. Is it really a necessity to be this precise or do most experienced growers watch and read the signs she is telling you? I have read so many different takes on this and at times it seems very confusing. The advice I get from you all has been very helpful as the pictures will show. I know it's crowded but in other post I have explained and you have responded with much help! Are the lights I installed below (100w CFL 4x) a wise decision or not. Helps get light below and counter some issues I have with crowding. Temp rose 2 deg. to 77 as a high... One more question, how does one become friends with fellow growers on this site? Anything like fb? I have one friend and don't even know how it happened! Wanted to reach out to several specific growers who helped tremendously.

 

[go4snypr]

PPM is important in a hydro grow because you are feeding the plant all the time. The plant will use nutrients if it is hungry and will use water if it is not. this changes the ppm of your res. If the plants are using nutes, the ppm will drop indicating it is hungry. If the plant is only using water, the ppm will climb as the water gets used. I try to keep my ppm right around 500 in veg, and 800 in flower. as i start to see swings in PPM, my ph will swing as well. If you are growing in soil and you monitor your ppm, it gives you a reference as to how much your feeding the plant. if your giving it 500ppm and the plant looks hungry then you know you can add more nutes. If your giving 500ppm and seeing a toxicity then you know you can cut back to 300 ppm. When we first started we would just add nutes and hope for the best but that was in a soil less grow. Now we are in a hydro grow so monitoring ppm is important because it will affect the ph.

 

[MassMedMan]

Good question, I'm looking forward to more answers with great info like go4snypr gave.

Most of what I've found with regard to ppm is in hydro grows. But I've read experienced guys in soil or other mediums talk about it.

I've been seeing a correlation to light colored leaves, and a low ppm run off (<200)when I feed with water only. I usually follow that watering with a tea in the 3-500ppm range, but last night the tea I gave them was a little stronger, maybe it was the kelp meal I added, it was around 800ppm which is very high for tea, I think.

But I noticed this morning they appeared to be greener and I saw a good amount of growth. Maybe that was a good feed for me/then, I'm still unsure.

If that helps,, good luck. Like I said, you took some words right out of my mouth with your question!

 

[rillos]

You should always monitor your PPM's. Hydro you have too but answer me this. Are you too cheap to buy a simple ppm tester. How do you know what your doing, yes you can read the plant's but you have no idea how much you are feeding. My last grow was soil using foxfarm and I didn't always feed twice a week but I knew exactly how much I was feeding when I did feed.

 

[Ripples]

Cost is not an issue. Understanding what I'm doing, learning and doing it correctly is the goal. The equipment is useless if used incorrectly or if you don't understand what your reading means. I follow the suggested feeding schedule given by foxfarm and watch my plants reactions. As to whether or not I'm feeding them sufficiently you are correct I have no clue except a visual read! I have considered purchasing some PPM instruments but not sure what works well or if I even really need one? We all know not to believe the advertised promise! Hardly anything you buy nowadays does what it says it will. If you like these tools which do you use and why?

 

[go4snypr]

It will make life easier once you have one. My good meter fell into my res and the ppm end of it no longer works. and the ph end of it won't seem to calibrate the high end properly. I bought a TDS (ppm) pen from amazon shipped to my door in 2 days for 30 bucks. If you follow the FF feed schedule you can mix a batch of nutes and read the PPM. If you notice the plants are turning a lighter green then you know you need to add more nutes. The ppm meter help you control how strong the nute mixture is. the same goes the other way, if your burning tips or seeing nitrogen toxicity you can start lowering your nute mixture. But without a ppm meter, you have no idea how much or how little you have changed you nutrient mixture

 

[rillos]

It will make life easier once you have one. My good meter fell into my res and the ppm end of it no longer works. and the ph end of it won't seem to calibrate the high end properly. I bought a TDS (ppm) pen from amazon shipped to my door in 2 days for 30 bucks. If you follow the FF feed schedule you can mix a batch of nutes and read the PPM. If you notice the plants are turning a lighter green then you know you need to add more nutes. The ppm meter help you control how strong the nute mixture is. the same goes the other way, if your burning tips or seeing nitrogen toxicity you can start lowering your nute mixture. But without a ppm meter, you have no idea how much or how little you have changed you nutrient mixture

Now go4snypr has just explained properly the reason you always check your PPM's. They can be brought from 12 bucks to over 100 bucks.