Hydro-Organic Questions

[diradiumoxide]

I'm currently gardening with a full earthjuice lineup, and wondering about some things if you guys could help me.

Temperature of my solution is around 21-24C, I mix with 1 tsp/gallon of grow and catalyst, 3/4 tsp/gallon of bloom and microblast (every other week). My question is about pH:

I've heard from some friends that when growing organic to just ignore pH as the solution will take care of itself, but I'm a little hesitant to do that. Right now my plant is a seedling and it isn't growing as quickly as I'd like, two weeks in from starting germination and it is just growing its first true leaves, and isn't looking too good. I'm wondering if there are any experienced hydro-organic growers who can tell me if I'm over fertilizing, caring too much about pH (I try to keep it around 5.8-6.1, but it increases a lot... even daily. If I miss 12 hours it can go up to around 7.6) or anything else.

Thanks for the help, I'm really worried I'm doing this wrong and almost want to switch back to soil because having to adjust the pH twice daily is a pretty big pain in the ass.

 

[PrairiePoet]

You shouldn't be using any fertilizers with seedlings. Not until they get their second set of leaves.

Also, depending on the brand of nutrients you DO NEED to monitor pH. I've never used Earth Juice line, but I would think you to need to monitor it.

If you have nothing but seedlings in the hydro and your pH is rising that fast, something else is not set up proper. Can you give us more details about your grow?

 

[diradiumoxide]

It's a basic system - 15 min pumps every 3 hours or so to make sure the fluid is moving, CFL in a closed system. I have the grow system covered in aluminium foil so not much light gets to it, and I have it constantly aerated. Only a single seedling, and I had it at low level nutes, but the PPM got high because I keep having to add pH down to it because the pH rises by over 1.5 points over 12 hours. I have no idea why the pH is so jacked up, right now I'm brewing a new batch of solution at low level of nutrients and letting it brew for over 72 hours. Maybe the problem is that I have one single seedling in a 3 gallon system?

 

[Be Irie]

I use EJ in soil and I don't have to PH my mixes... Trying to grow organically in hydro is a whole different ball game.... Hopefully someone will be able to help you out or at the least point you in the right direction....

 

[TorturedSoul]

Three gallons? I know you stated that it's a seedling, but that is a pretty small reservoir. Large reservoirs are inherently more pH-stable than small ones.

And... depending on how dilute you're mixing your nutrients, it might be a case of the plant just consuming them (which tends to cause an upward pH shift, since adding nutrients to the water generally lowers it).

I'd go with at least a five-gallon bucket if it's a DWC setup. If you like an extended vegetative period and/or growing big plants (one-plant scrog setups, for example), a 13+ is nice so that you do not end up having to perform reservoir maintenance every day.

BtW, I'm not sure what EJ's pH-down contains, but most pH-down products contain ingredients that are usable to the plants - so if you're mixing your solution very diluted, having to add pH-down, and having to add pH-down again the next day (and the next, and the next, and...) then it would give me the impression that the plants are starving.

Then again, some "organic" pH-adjusters are said to suck (as in they give a more temporary effect; IDK about the EJ brand. I've never used it - I heard somewhere that it can be a PitA to keep stable in DWC, lol (don't know if that's true or not)).

Err... What's the 15-minute pump? You doing a DWC with a 15-minute Ebb & Flow cycle combination?

 

[diradiumoxide]

No a system I got from supercloset (sponsored site on this or the other forum I frequent)

It's a 4 gallon container with netcups suspended in the lid, and a simple pump to a system attached on the lid that sprays water on the medium in the net cups. I fill it with 3 gallons to just barely touch the bottom of the rockwool in the netcups, and the pump comes on every 3 hours to move the water around and do a little spray on the rockwool. I keep it well aerated.