feeding & PPM explained

stealthgrow;2164157 said:

Hi Robert.

Good updates, I'm using pretty much the same series as you for nutes minus a couple of products (flora diamond, the tea, and 1 other). The way I mix my nutes is pretty simple, and has been working for my last 3 harvests in my Trinity closets. I use very similar bottles/jugs of water to refill and drain the reservoirs. What I do is follow the nutrient directions for 5 gals of water (one of those jugs) using the recipe chart you posted, and that's it!! That's how I measure out my 1/3 strength when I change the reservoirs, One 5 gal jug at regular strength, and the other two jugs plain water. It hasn't failed yet.
I find that because the roots are dangling in the nutrient rich water, you don't have to feed a lot of nutrients. The plants will absorb whats needed from the water, and in my past grows this seems to be almost the perfect amount to feed.

This is how feeding and PPM's were explained to me, and it help me to understand how to read the PPM's better.....

First scenario. When your fill your reservoirs with fresh water and nutrients, note the PPM's. A day or two later you'll notice the water lvls are down, but the PPM's are still the same as when you changed the reservoirs. This is what you want and means the plants are taking nutrients and water in equal amounts for optimal growth.

Second scenario is going back 2 days later and water lvl is down but the nutrient PPM is higher then when you changed out the reservoir. This means you over fed the plants and they are drinking more water than taking in nutrients. Try cutting back on the nutes by 10-15%.

Third scenario is underfeeding but the plant will show signs of deficiencies and can be fixed with a little TLC. Its much easier to raise the nutrients a little on a deficient plant to bring it back to health than overfeeding a plant and burning the roots or leaves.

Hope this helps.

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