600 Watt Hydro Jack Herer - GHS

[Lyra]

Hi, It's been a while but I now have a few grows under my belt and pretty much got the hang of things.

I have a new kid goin' right now and she's doing so well I thought I would share. She is Jack Herrer from greenhouse (so not the orig.) Very indica dominant strain (at least the pheno I'm growing.) She is a VERY smelly girl at 49 days old (from the day she popped.)

She is under a 600 watt MH 18/6. She is in a 3 gallon bucket using ---.

I have done a few hydro grows and have come to the conclusion that measuring PPM and PH, using distilled water, trying to control the temp of the water in the bucket, making sure the humidity and temps are good in the tent, etc etc just lead to more problems (for me!)

I have come to know my plants and can tell what they need (for the most part) and do not mess with any of that stuff unless my girls tell me something is wrong. Again THIS IS JUST ME. I killed one too many planets that were doing fantastic, trying to get the PH up or down. Or trying to make sure the PPM were spot on.

So now I use water straight out of the tap. Yep, I don't even let it air out for a day and it works fine for me. don't care about PPM, I just follow the nutrient guide on the bottle and change my water 100 percent every week.

Temps in my tent have ranged from 70 degrees to 98 degrees, and this particular girl has been just wonderful about not caring. 98 she got a little stressed but was a trooper and got past the hot summer days with lots of new growth.

I will be posting pics as soon as I can figure out how I'm going to get them onto this new computer (no camera software)

I have topped/fimmed in several places and tied down all her main branches. She is getting huge. in 12 days I will be putting her into flowing using the HPS bulb. I can't wait to get some pictures to show you my beautiful lush green Jackie!!!!

Here is a summery of my grow.

Strain: Jack Herrer GHS (indica dominant pheno, but she is a mix)

Age: 49 days (since emerging from rock wool

Germination: Put seed in rock wool cube in net pot. Covered with clay pebbles and used plain water in DWC bucket. Left light on 24/0 for first two weeks. She popped after 2 days in the rock wool. When I switched lighting from 24/0 to 18/6 I also gave her the first dose of nutrients. (at 2 weeks)

Set up: 3 gallon bucket with fish tank pump using 2 air stones. 3X3X7 grow tent. Cool tube with MH and HPS 600 watt bulbs. 600? CM fan blowing through cool tube with a piece of carbon furnace filter attached to the other end of the cool tube (since she's so stinky!). An air purifier blowing in air from bottom vent of tent.

Training: LST, Topping, Fimming, (some mild HST went the main stem and a branch split a bit when bending)

Veg time: 8 weeks (possibly 10, we'll see.)

Flowering time: 8-10 weeks

If anyone has any questions I'll be happy to answer them. Working on getting pics up ASAP. And a BIG thank you to those who helped directly and indirectly since I found this site.

Oh, and yield.... I'm going for a pound! That may be optimistic though.

 

[Lyra]

Re: 600 watt Hydro Jack Herrer (GHS)

Just changed her water and gave her 'transition nutes.' She will be going on a 12/12 schedule tomorrow. She is currently drinking 1/2 gallon of water per day!! This is the first time I am using 3 gallon buckets instead of 5. I have a feeling that near the end of this grow I may need to change her water every couple days instead of once or twice per week. She's looking beautiful and I gave her a hair cut. Trimmed a handful of her fan leaves off but she still has plenty. I topped and fimmed several clusters of leaves about a week ago and that will be the last time. She's very bushy and just thriving. I released most of the ties from the LST today as well.

53 days old going into 12/12. Will probably be around 60 days old when she is officially out of veg and begins the flowering process. Only 67 more days until harvest if she only takes 60 days to finish!!! I'm almost half way there.

 

[Lyra]

Re: 600 watt Hydro Jack Herrer (GHS)

I fed her again on the 23rd. She appears to be showing some signs of flowering (very minimal and quite possibly a figment of my imagination) so I changed the MH bulb to the high pressure sodium yesterday.

Something kind of weird I noticed....

When I visit her in the mornings she perks up. You know how when you feed them they do the 'happy dance?' They slightly cup their leaves and they get perky and stand up a little. Every morning she does this within 3 or 4 minutes of seeing me. I thought it might be the CO2 from my breath so this morning to test that theory I made sure I kept my head out of the tent. I talked to her from the outside and gave her a few pets. (yes I treat my plants like puppies. lol ) Sure enough she got all perky! I know there are studies on plants growing better when they are played soft music or talked to. But this particular plant makes me think there might be a little more to it than simple vibrations strengthening their stems. I really think she's happy to see me every morning.. Call me crazy!

I took a clone a few weeks back. It was about 6 or 7 inches, a pretty decent size. I haven't made more than a few serious attempts at clones before, I like my seeds. But I thought I'd give it a shot. Here's what I did. Seems to have worked OK.

Cut the branch at an angle and peeled some skin off. It was stringy so I just torn it up the stem a little. Put in a plastic water bottle with plain tap water for the first 3 days, changing the water every day. After 3 days I stole some nute water from Jackie when I fed her. 1/2 nute water in the bottle and 1/2 tap. Changed it out every 3 days after that. Through the duration I kept her an inch from a florescent light. About 5 days ago I noticed some root nubs. They have grown in size and so today I decided that she needed some oxygen to help her roots sprout. I think she was using the little nubs as roots so she didn't have to grow roots. My thoughts are that some air will kind of force them out of her.

I just set her up in a rock wool cute in a net pot with clay pebbles. I got a new air pump in the mail today (yay!) that has a bit more juice. My old one was getting, well... old. And the out put of air had lessened. So I gave Jackie the new shiny one, and Jackie # 2 got the old one. I put a net pot upside down in a XL taco bell cup with the air stone under it. And put the net pot with the clone in it on top of the upside down one. I gave her some root starter nutrients that I had laying around It's 10 10 10 I believe and I used 2.5 teaspoons for four cups of water (but poured some of the water out after mixing because there was too much for the cup.) We'll see if she finally gets her roots in the next few days.

I like doing things cheap and simple!

 

[Lyra]

Re: 600 watt Hydro Jack Herrer (GHS)

I just realized green house seeds have grow videos for all their strains. I am pleased to announce that my plant looks way better then theirs! Maybe it's the 8 week veg times, but compared to their fully mature plant/right before harvest, my girl is bigger and busier and .. prettier! They got nine ounces off theirs so the possibility of getting a pound just became a little more real for me.

Long veg time + hydro + LST + FIM + HST (with the knowledge to not OVER do it) + Minor Defoliation seems to have given me some really good results. I am going to use LA's back building technique at around 40 days of flower as well. I'm really excited about this grow, it's shaping out to be one of my very bests. I REALLY need to get some pictures for you guys. Seeing the (relatively) scrawny plant in that video really got me excited for this next stage of Jackie's growth (flowering)

 

[OlDirtyGhost]

Re: 600 watt Hydro Jack Herrer (GHS)

Thanks for the feedback on my grow, do you have any pictures available?

 

[Lyra]

Re: 600 watt Hydro Jack Herrer (GHS)

You're welcome I hope it helped some, I'm not very good with soil.

Pictures up tomorrow!! I've spent half the day trying to figure out how to get them on my computer without the right software. It used to be so easy to import stuff onto my old computer.

But they will be up tomorrow, hopefully you guys like them. I may be a little biased but I tell her all the time how pretty she is. Any leaves that you see that are damaged are from LST. I got a little rough with her a few weeks ago.

 

[Lyra]

Re: 600 watt Hydro Jack Herrer (GHS)

Pictures as promised. The one in the cup is obviously the clone, she's starting to get roots and was clipped about 2 or 3 weeks ago. Her lower leaves are starting to wilt but the top part looks pretty good.

Oh, and no judging about the chewed up leaves! Some of them are from my fim cut not taking, some are from a little rough LST. Please tell me what you think!

She is exactly 2 months old today, and my tent is 3 X 3

 

[Lyra]

Re: 600 watt Hydro Jack Herrer (GHS)

The lighter green is not a deficiency by the way. It is new growth, she is starting to 'stretch' but instead of going up she's bushing out even more!

Looking at these pictures makes me want to do some minor defoliation.. I got the itch but I'm going to wait until she's done stretching.

 

[Lyra]

Re: 600 watt Hydro Jack Herrer (GHS)

I combed through all her leaves today with my fingers. It's amazing how a few minutes of this will open up the plant so much without trimming any fan leaves. I wanted to get some light to the very center of the plant, there's several 'tops' there that are a little behind on growth. I figure some more light might help them get a little taller.

She got fed yesterday as well. I don't know how people foliar feed, I'm too scared to try. I have to make sure I don't let any water slosh on her leaves, every drop burns her. I wonder why it burns the leaves and not the roots.

 

[TheCapn]

Re: 600 watt Hydro Jack Herrer (GHS)

Hi Lyra. I've got a lot of catching up to do on your journal but I'm impressed so far. Isn't it fun to go bigger and bigger? I like how you just have one specimen. Should you get a knock on the door, it's is a lot easier to explain when you only have one.

>>>I have done a few hydro grows and have come to the conclusion that measuring PPM and PH, using distilled water, trying to control the temp of the water in the bucket, making sure the humidity and temps are good in the tent, etc etc just lead to more problems (for me!)

>>>I killed one too many planets that were doing fantastic, trying to get the PH up or down. Or trying to make sure the PPM were spot on.

Sheesh! Which planets did you kill? I didn't hear about this on the news? just kidding

But seriously I agree with you mostly on this. I too have seen many grows go wrong, especially by newbees, when they over - correct, or try to adjust too many things at one time. I've been there too. The people who like to tinker too much, usually don't do well at first.

>>>So now I use water straight out of the tap. Yep, I don't even let it air out for a day and it works fine for me. don't care about PPM, I just follow the nutrient guide on the bottle and change my water 100 percent every week.

That's interesting. I've used at least 4 different nutrient brands, and I know I would burn them up if I used their nutrient calculators. But hey, if it's working for you, I say, keep doing what you're doing!

>>>I have topped/fimmed in several places and tied down all her main branches. She is getting huge. in 12 days I will be putting her into flowing using the HPS bulb. I can't wait to get some pictures to show you my beautiful lush green Jackie!!!!

It is looking beautiful. Nice job.

>>>Set up: 3 gallon bucket with fish tank pump using 2 air stones. 3X3X7 grow tent. Cool tube with MH and HPS 600 watt bulbs. 600? CM fan blowing through cool tube with a piece of carbon furnace filter attached to the other end of the cool tube (since she's so stinky!). An air purifier blowing in air from bottom vent of tent.

Sounds like a nice set up. Is your 3 gal bucket jammed packed full of roots by now? What is the temp of the water in the bucket? I'm worried about pythium. If it gets too packed in there it will get low on oxygen and anaerobic bacteria may kill roots.

>>>I'm going for a pound! That may be optimistic though.

Depending on the phenotype, with 600W, I don't think that is out of the question.

>>>She will be going on a 12/12 schedule tomorrow. I topped and fimmed several clusters of leaves about a week ago and that will be the last time.

Bravo. I too always try to top a week before flower and that's it.

>>>I fed her again on the 23rd.

What you do mean, you "fed" her. This is DWC, correct? Aren't you ALWAYS feeding her? Or do you mean that you changed out the water? Tell me HOW you are changing the water?

>>>When I visit her in the mornings she perks up. Call me crazy!

Most of us here are a little crazy, but you might be on to something. Do you have a gopro? Do a time lapse photo shoot over 24 hours and see how it looks. Or put a cam on a tripod, take a picture, then talk to it for 30 minutes, then take another picture

>>>Looking at these pictures makes me want to do some minor defoliation.. I got the itch but I'm going to wait until she's done stretching.

I dislike that word, "defoliation". The fan leaves are solar panels and provide energy for the buds that are starting to grow. There are no buds yet, so there is no point is trying to "get light" to lower buds. Plus, if you leave the leaves on now, the lower branches that aren't quite up to the canopy, are more likely to stretch to find the light. Removing leaves now might give light to those lower branches and cause them to stop stretching. Indoors, we have a limited amount of light that doesn't penetrate the canopy very well. Right now, you will be better off starting at the bottom of the plant and taking off a few tiny branches a day (rather than all at one time). Don't take the lower leaves, I'm talking about the little nodes that you know will never reach the light. Check this out for more info: Defoliation and Pruning - Blogs - 420 Magazine ®

I'm looking forward to seeing how you do with this beast. Or should I say, Banshee.

 

[Lyra]

Re: 600 watt Hydro Jack Herrer (GHS)

>>>I killed one too many planets that were doing fantastic, trying to get the PH up or down. Or trying to make sure the PPM were spot on.

Sheesh! Which planets did you kill? I didn't hear about this on the news? just kidding

But seriously I agree with you mostly on this. I too have seen many grows go wrong, especially by newbees, when they over - correct, or try to adjust too many things at one time. I've been there too. The people who like to tinker too much, usually don't do well at first.

Didn't you hear??! I killed PLUTO!!!

That's interesting. I've used at least 4 different nutrient brands, and I know I would burn them up if I used their nutrient calculators. But hey, if it's working for you, I say, keep doing what you're doing!

I use a line that used to be a sponsor here. Unfortunately they no longer are so I won't mention the name of the product. Despite them no longer being a sponsor (for good reason) I have always had fantastic results with the product. I usually wait until I see some yellowing on the baby leaves and then after that go right off the chart.

Sounds like a nice set up. Is your 3 gal bucket jammed packed full of roots by now? What is the temp of the water in the bucket? I'm worried about pythium. If it gets too packed in there it will get low on oxygen and anaerobic bacteria may kill roots.

Oh yeah, her root ball is huge. I recently read your excellent thread on root rot. Man did you freak me out. I think I am where you were in the beginning. Just gettin' by on good luck alone. You said something that really interested me. Your roots don't stain from the micro nutrients. This has me concerned, as mine are slightly dingy. I had thought it was the micro nutrients, but seeing your roots prompted me to look into acquiring some form of beneficial bacteria. Haven't really found anything yet, but it's on my to do list for sure.

What you do mean, you "fed" her. This is DWC, correct? Aren't you ALWAYS feeding her? Or do you mean that you changed out the water? Tell me HOW you are changing the water?

Yep. She's always getting fed but I like to think of water changes as her supper time. Old depleted nutrients out, and a belly full of fresh nutrients in.

I drilled holes in the lid of the bucket instead of the side of the bucket, inserted the tubing through the lid and covered with electrical tape. This makes it very easy to fill the empty bucket I have on hand with fresh water and nutrients and simply take the lid off the one she's currently residing in. I just plop her in the new solution and done! It's good it's so easy, what with her drinking nearly a gallon a day and all. I can't believe I was such a dummy and thought the 3 gallon would be big enough.

Most of us here are a little crazy, but you might be on to something. Do you have a gopro? Do a time lapse photo shoot over 24 hours and see how it looks. Or put a cam on a tripod, take a picture, then talk to it for 30 minutes, then take another picture

That's really neat, I'm going to have to try that for my next round of pictures.

Do you know anything about Cleve Backster? He conducted a really cool experiment by hooking up a lie detector to a plant.

I dislike that word, "defoliation". The fan leaves are solar panels and provide energy for the buds that are starting to grow. There are no buds yet, so there is no point is trying to "get light" to lower buds. Plus, if you leave the leaves on now, the lower branches that aren't quite up to the canopy, are more likely to stretch to find the light. Removing leaves now might give light to those lower branches and cause them to stop stretching. Indoors, we have a limited amount of light that doesn't penetrate the canopy very well. Right now, you will be better off starting at the bottom of the plant and taking off a few tiny branches a day (rather than all at one time). Don't take the lower leaves, I'm talking about the little nodes that you know will never reach the light. Check this out for more info: Defoliation and Pruning - Blogs - 420 Magazine ®

Hmm. I have always (in my whole TWO years of growing ) tried to get light to the branches that are behind. I've just always felt like it made them grow faster. I pull the ones that are taller down too, so the smaller one is the tallest. It's seemed to help but I'll pay more attention from now on to see if keeping them shaded is more beneficial.

I mostly want to chop some leaves off due to the moisture that's been accumulating under some of them where they meet. I have really good air flow in my tent, but when buds start to form I know I'll have to add another fan. I've never had bud rot, thankfully, and I don't want to start now. I give this plant so much attention though, even without the extra fan I probably wouldn't have to worry about it.

I love only having one big plant, but sometimes I can give her a little too much TLC if ya know what I mean.


Thanks for taking the time to read my journal Capn! I really appreciate your advice.

 

[Lyra]

Re: 600 watt Hydro Jack Herrer (GHS)

This grow I decided not to use distilled water, instead I went with water right out of the tap. I have not PH'ed the water at up until this point either. This was an experiment to some extent. I wanted to see what would happen and I was also being lazy. While giving my plant veg nutrients she did fantastic. However, now that I have begun giving her flowering nutrients I think I may start adjusting my PH. I also think I may switch back to the veg nutrients until I get a new PH meter. Mine is no longer working, now that I need it. Of course.

I am seeing what I believe to be a little bit of a deficiency. Maybe not but I would rather react now instead of waiting to find out. She will be getting fed in a day or so again and will be giving her veg nutes until my new PH meter arrives just in case. I miss the clarity of colors that goes along with the metal halide light.

 

[TheCapn]

Re: 600 watt Hydro Jack Herrer (GHS)

This grow I decided not to use distilled water, instead I went with water right out of the tap. I have not PH'ed the water at up until this point either. This was an experiment to some extent. I wanted to see what would happen and I was also being lazy. While giving my plant veg nutrients she did fantastic. However, now that I have begun giving her flowering nutrients I think I may start adjusting my PH. I also think I may switch back to the veg nutrients until I get a new PH meter. Mine is no longer working, now that I need it. Of course.

I am seeing what I believe to be a little bit of a deficiency. Maybe not but I would rather react now instead of waiting to find out. She will be getting fed in a day or so again and will be giving her veg nutes until my new PH meter arrives just in case. I miss the clarity of colors that goes along with the metal halide light.

HI Lyra,

>>>Just gettin' by on good luck alone.

Like I said before whatever you're doing, you're doing well, so keep doing it. On the other hand, you are at the point now where you have something VERY VERY valuable on your hands. To lose it now would be devastating (especially since you've made good friends with it).

Since you're using tap water, you are running a "sterile" environment. Although "sterile" doesn't truely exist, the chlorine and chloramines in the tap water, are most likely keeping any (good or bad) bacteria at bay. As I said in that article, you might get thru this grow with no problems, however I am concerned. This is most likely the biggest plant you've grown and I'm sure the 3 gal bucket is jammed packed full of roots. The plant will literally drink 1/2 that per day, plus as the roots get more packed, you won't be able to get air to the entire root ball, and you could get root rot. I am glad to hear you upgraded your air pump. Here are a couple more things I would do if it were me:

1. I would go to the home store and get a tote like this:

They make a 12" tall one that is 15 gals, or a 15" tall one that is 27 gals:



And put your plant in it like this (I've cut a hole in the top and set the net pot down in it):





2. I would make the heisenberg tea and use about 10 oz at the root base, 1-2 times a week (but you will need to DE-chlorinate your water first, or use distilled water).
Tea recipe: How to get pearly white roots and accellerate vegetative growth - Blogs - 420 Magazine ®

3. Keep your room temp below 73. The water in the bucket will become "room temperature" quickly, and anything over 70 degrees, makes it difficult for the water to hold dissolved oxygen.

4. I agree you have potential pound of bed there, and it might be time to start using adjusting PH and watching your PPM. It is much easier to dehydrate plants with flower nutrients than veg nutrients. With DWC, the roots are sitting directly in the water, and I have never seen a reason to ever go over 1000ppm. And when I do, I ALWAYS dehydrate leaf tips and then I regret it!

Call me a worry wart, but after losing an entire grow to root rot / pythium, and seeing other growers, one after the next, losing grows to root rot, I don't want to see that happen to you. The heisenberg tea is a good "preventer" of pythium because it inoculates your root zone with beneficial bacteria, helping to protect it against bad bacteria. It is the ONLY thing I have ever seen actually recover a plant that got root rot.

We need more pictures!

 

[Lyra]

Re: 600 watt Hydro Jack Herrer (GHS)

GRRR I clicked X while trying to upload my pictures and I lost everything I typed!!! ugh. Ok here goes again.


I went shopping today and got some PH test strips to use until my new PH meter arrives. The test strips said my tap is 8.4. When I mixed a fresh batch of nutrients, the PH was lowered to 6.8. I guess this is why I wasn't having too many problems in veg without adjusting my PH. It was already pretty close to the mark. I compared the older nutrient solution with the new, and the strips indicated that they were about the same (no drifting as far as I can tell the longer the solution sits out.)

I only felt comfortable adding about a teaspoon of PH down to my solution, bringing it down to about 6.3 - 6.5. I will lower it slightly more when I get my new meter and can be confidant in the PH level.

I purchased the exact tote capn suggested and I really like it. It's very sturdy, much more so than my last one. Here's how I got my plant in it, it was kind of a head scratcher since she was already attached to the lid of the bucket.

I lifted her out of the bucket, lid and all, and gently worked her roots through the opening I had cut in the new tote. While doing this I realized her roots aren't stained as I had previously thought. The light reflecting from the red water, combined with the light hitting the green roots at the top of her root ball, just made her roots appear to be dingy. They are very white and pretty!

Once I got her roots worked in I found that the lid fit snugly in the groves of the new lid! It worked out so perfect, it just snapped right in. So I didn't even have to worry about getting the old lid off or drilling new holes for the air tubing.

Here are some pictures.

I can't tell if the spots on some of her lower leaves are just from splash back from the nutrients, or if they are some sort of deficiency. I guess I will find out if they spread! She was so perfect before switching to flowering nutes. It annoys me a little, but I guess things can't stay the same forever.

 

[TheCapn]

Re: 600 watt Hydro Jack Herrer (GHS)

Shopping spree!

>>>I only felt comfortable adding about a teaspoon of PH down to my solution, bringing it down to about 6.3 - 6.5. I will lower it slightly more when I get my new meter and can be confidant in the PH level.

A teaspoon seems like a lot but I guess it depends on what kind it is? I agree to leave as is until you know for sure.

>>>I purchased the exact tote capn suggested and I really like it.

Looking good! Did you cut another hole so you can pump out nutrients and put new nutrients in? Sorry I didn't tell you that part.

>>>I realized her roots aren't stained as I had previously thought. The light reflecting from the red water, combined with the light hitting the green roots at the top of her root ball, just made her roots appear to be dingy. They are very white and pretty!

Beauty! Those roots look amazing especially considering they were previously outgrowing the 3 gal bucket.

>>>I can't tell if the spots on some of her lower leaves are just from splash back from the nutrients, or if they are some sort of deficiency. I guess I will find out if they spread!

I wouldn't worry about a few lower leaf spots at all.

Jorge Cervantes called. He wants his plant back!

Absolutely beautiful.

 

[Lyra]

Re: 600 watt Hydro Jack Herrer (GHS)

Do you think a high alkalinity would mean you have to use more PH down? Mine is around 200. I just got so freaked out and used about 5 more of the test strips. I used one in a solution of water with a high PH down to water ratio and it indicated that the PH was very low. It was a much lighter shade than what is in the tote. *sighs in relief* I HAVE killed plants messing with my PH too much. I just got cold with fear. heehee

Thank you for the compliments on my pretty girl. I didn't drill holes for pumping the water out/in but I saved the bucket so when it comes time to change her water in a week I will just haul it to the nearest drain by hand. I wish I could toss it out the window. I pay more for waste water than the water itself.

Really, thanks for the compliments. It makes me feel really good to know that she's a looker and it's not all 'a mother's love!'

 

[TheCapn]

Re: 600 watt Hydro Jack Herrer (GHS)

Do you think a high alkalinity would mean you have to use more PH down? Mine is around 200. I just got so freaked out and used about 5 more of the test strips. I used one in a solution of water with a high PH down to water ratio and it indicated that the PH was very low. It was a much lighter shade than what is in the tote. *sighs in relief* I HAVE killed plants messing with my PH too much. I just got cold with fear. heehee

Thank you for the compliments on my pretty girl. I didn't drill holes for pumping the water out/in but I saved the bucket so when it comes time to change her water in a week I will just haul it to the nearest drain by hand. I wish I could toss it out the window. I pay more for waste water than the water itself.

Really, thanks for the compliments. It makes me feel really good to know that she's a looker and it's not all 'a mother's love!'

Good question, Lyra. If you have a High alkalinity, that means your water would have a tendency to spring back up to where it was. For example, if your tap water is 8.0, you lower it to 6, then it drift back up. In veg and early flower, (in hydroponics) PH will have a tendency to drift up. In late flower when things start to deteriorate, you might notice PH falling.

You hit the nail on the head in your previous post, when you said you try not to mess with things too much. It sounds like your PH is ending up right where it needs to be after you add your nutrients. Studies show 5.8 is the best PH for hydro. FWIW, in my experience, I've done dozens of runs in the 6.1-6.4 range all the way, and I've had amazing results. However, when I run at 5.3-5.5, I notice deficiencies every time. I also get deficiencies if I don't change water at least every 10 days.

>>>I will just haul it to the nearest drain by hand

This banshee is about to scream (get giant) in flower, Lyra. I think your "hauling" days are coming to an end ;-)

 

[Lyra]

Re: 600 watt Hydro Jack Herrer (GHS)

She still looks good today, no sign I lowered the PH too much. I have some great news!

A few days ago I noticed a change in smell. It's hard to describe to anyone that hasn't grown before but I've noticed it on most of my other grows as well. I believe it's when the chemicals/hormones shift and the plant begins to flower. It almost smells a bit more earthy/musky and less skunk like. Since then I've seen a few hairs pop up here and there, a little swelling at the (pending) bud sites. Well today there is much more swelling and a lot of hairs have popped out!! She's officially budding! I'm going to wait a few days to post pictures, let it progress a little to be easier to see.

I wonder if it's just a coincidence that this happened the day after I gave her roots more room. There's no way to tell for sure but I am deciding to believe that the roots no longer being as confined helped give her the extra nudge she needed to push out those pistils.

@The Capn
I think the high alkalinity means I also have to use a little extra PH down. I got really scared I used too much yesterday and looked through some of my journals (handwritten) to see how much I've had to use in the past. It was not as much with distilled water. This is my first time using tap. I'm really glad I added the nutrients BEFORE I PH'ed my water or I would have had to dump it all out. I don't have any PH up on purpose. I don't like the thought of adding more chemicals to fix overshooting the first chemicals I dumped in. I think since the PH will drift from the high alkalinity I will PH the water at 6.0 when I get my pen and let it drift up for a week between water changes. I think drifting PH could be a good thing? Give her a broader spectrum of nutrient absorption. It sounds good at least!

Oh, and the banshee will not be moved while I dump the water. I've done it before this way. I scoop out the water with a cup and dump it into the bucket and then take the bucket and dump it down the drain, repeat, repeat. It's time consuming but I don't mind so much. Gives me a chance to squeeze in some extra time with my kid!

 

[Lyra]

Re: 600 watt Hydro Jack Herrer (GHS)

My clone has some new growth! I thought she wasn't going to make it. I had to cut off the bottom branches and pick a leaf off of the very top. There was white powdery mold like stuff on her. I washed her off very well, flushed out her rockwool and pebbles, and gave her some fresh root starter nutrients and within a few hours she looked a million times better. By the end of the day she had some new leaves coming out from where I cut the old ones off.

 

[TheCapn]

Re: 600 watt Hydro Jack Herrer (GHS)

>>>She's officially budding!

The stars are coming out!

>>>I wonder if it's just a coincidence that this happened the day after I gave her roots more room. There's no way to tell for sure but I am deciding to believe that the roots no longer being as confined helped give her the extra nudge she needed to push out those pistils.

There are a couple factors here. With hydro-based nutrients, they make the nutrients INSTANTLY available to the plant. So you've probably switched to flower recipe or transition recipe. Also, yes, when roots are confined, the plant knows it and growth slows. I've seen the same behavior when I'm root bound in a pot, and then I transplant. Some people say, (just a theory) that when roots can spread out horizontally, that the branches then tend to spread horizontally too. Another reason for doing dwc in the wide tote, rather than a bucket. I'll let you determine if you think this theory is true.

>>>I think the high alkalinity means I also have to use a little extra PH down.

You will know for sure when you get your PH meter. Your thinking is correct, but how do you know your water has a high alkalinity?

>>>I'm really glad I added the nutrients BEFORE I PH'ed my water or I would have had to dump it all out.

Good job.

>>>>I think since the PH will drift from the high alkalinity

Correct. If your water has a high alkalinity, PH will have a tendency to rise.

>>>I will PH the water at 6.0 when I get my pen and let it drift up for a week between water changes.

If you refer to "adjusting your ph" as "PH your water", you MIGHT be a stoner.

>>>I think drifting PH could be a good thing?
Yes, in small drifts.

This is great discussion. I can't want to see what the PH meter says.