OlderStoner - Indoor/Outdoor Grow

[OlderStoner]

Needing the great advice that's available on this forum I decided to jump in with a grow journal of my own. I have grown in the past and always in soil. Had some success but most of the time I end up with headache weed.

For this grow I started with seeds from known strains. Ordered them from Herbies Headshop. The price was reasonable and they arrived in a stealth package as promised. I ordered the White Widow feminized seeds, quantity of four. They threw in 3 free seeds, 2 white widow X and one Cotton Candy.

Planted the seeds in some organic potting soil I got at one of the nearby big box home stores. Seeds arrived on 9/9/2013 and were planted that evening. About 84 hours later I saw the first seedling popping up through the soil. The two White Widow X seeds were first up. The Cotton Candy followed the next day. On the next day three of the White Widow fems popped up and the next day the last seed made its debut. So I got 100% germination.

I don't have a big light setup, not yet anyway. In my last couple of grows, one of them being Scrog, I used these same two 48" fluoros with 2 ea 40 watt bulbs. I used a timer before and as soon as I can find it I will install it to get the plants on a 18/6 routine. Right now I've been giving them 24 hours of light and even setting them outside in the sun when it's not raining. I don't want to stress them and so far they look healthy, outside of some slight yellowing of the lower leaves. As you can see in the photos I have the lights right down on the plants. These bulbs don't get even the slightest bit warm. And in the past I've let plants grow right into them to maximize the light they receive. Very soon I'm going to make a decision on getting a 400 watt MH or HPS rig for this setup. But I have to examine the budget first.

I have lots of pure rain water collected that I'm using to water them. And in the past I think I went overboard with the ferts and ended up with problems. So I've added only the smallest amounts of MG 24-16-8 fertilizer, about 1/8 tsp to 20 oz of rain water. Twice I have also mixed in only a 1/4 pinch of epsom salts and a little blood meal along the way.

My intentions were to have the seeds in Jiffy pots for the first 2 weeks. But I moved some of them over to 8" pots early on. This also let me easily identify the strains. The ones in the jiffy pots were the four white widow fem seeds. The two white widow X were placed in larger pots early and the cotton candy was also moved into a larger pot.

The stay under the fluoros for 24 hours most days. On about 6 of the 14 days of growth so far I had them out in the sunshine for no less than 6 hours. Today, and last weekend they got a good 12 hours each day out in the sunshine. The outdoor temp was about 85° F. A little hot I agree but today they seemed to enjoy it as I noticed a real spurt in growth of the two white widow X seedlings, the ones that had the early jump on all the others. More to come about those in the next post.

 

[Harley001]

Welcome to 420 Looks like you are on your way to a great grow!

 

[OlderStoner]

The weekend is here and I'm going to make some changes in the grow closet. I will take some white poster board I have and place it under the plants to reflect more light back up to the plants.

There are still a couple of concerns I have. The two white widow X's which germinated a full 48 hours ahead of the other seeds are much taller than the others. I have noticed that the lower two leaves, not the original seed pod leaves, but the first two have turned yellow. See the photo here.

I'm worried that there may be a nut deficiency. But this plant is barely 15 days old now. I was also concerned that since these two White Widow X's are so much taller that they might be reaching. But I just measured the distance between the nodes and it's only about 1". I think that has to do with the direct sunshine exposure I've been giving them.

The fluro lights work, but they don't put anywhere near enough of the recommended lumens for a real grow. Still, the scrog grow I did years ago with these very same lights and in the very same closet worked...but the yield was low and worse, not a single bud was worth smoking. THC was almost non-existent in that grow. Here are some old photos I have of that grow and while it may look impressive, it really sucked. Ended up throwing almost all of this smoke in the garbage.

I'm not sure if I'll do scrog this time. Mostly, though, this time around I know I want to take clones. I'd like to start a separate grow area just for clones. I need to study up on that more to figure out when to start taking the cuttings.

I generally like to top the plants at about 3-4 weeks so they will develop twin colas. That time is quickly approaching but the other plants, especially the cotton candy one are growing at a much slower pace...but coming along.

I could use some advice on ferts. I know the less the better, but in the past I've made some big mistakes with using too much...almost never too little though. And I have to make a decision within the next two weeks on a big light. MH or HPS.... and where to get it. There is a really nice hydroponics shop within a few miles of my home but they sell mostly chemicals and while they have a nice assortment of lights, they also seem to know they are the only hydro supply shop in the area and their prices are through the roof.

 

[OlderStoner]

I've made one more shot to compare the growth rates. There are only six of the seven plants in this one. The two white widow X's germinated a full 48 hours ahead of the others, thus they are the taller ones. The others are white widow fems and the smallest one front and left is the cotton candy strain. It's coming along but it was not the last one to germinate, in fact it was 3rd right behind the two white widow X's by about one day.

They are outside for today to catch as much real sunshine as I can give them. The temp right now is about 75° F with highs today in the mid 80's. Tomorrow the same so I'll let them get sunshine all weekend since I'll be around to move them in case of rain or any unwanted visitors.

 

[TanR]

Hi Older Stoner!

Having failed to do so previously, I'd like to take a moment to welcome you to the 420 Magazine site and community of members that gathers here. I know you'll find the information on the site and members to be a great benefit.

Thanks for sharing your grow with us. I learn so much following along in both successes and challenges and reading the suggestions and solutions folks come up with.

Curious if you have explored any online suppliers for a high intensity discharge lights (MH/HPS). I recently completed my first grow and can empathize that the frustrating process of evaluating all the different lighting options and their varying price points as I was gathering equipment. I found Am*zon to be a great source of acceptable products at prices that fit my budget. I ended up with a 600 watt (MH/HPS) for around $160.00 including two bulbs and shipping. I've since learned that there are "better" ballasts, reflector hoods and bulbs out there, but all I really wanted was to have a fighting chance to produce something decent to smoke for myself, a few friends and family and so wanted to keep my initial investment relatively low until I got a feel for it all.

Since you have 7 plants and what appears to be decent size grow area to work with, I'd like to respectfully suggest you consider at least a 600 watt HID if not a 1000 watt light. If you're budget allows, you might even evaluate using two LED's in that space. That closet appears to be 5 or 6 feet wide at a minimum. We have several site sponsors that manufacture reliable LED's, although I believe at the moment you will find Top LED Grow Lights to offer the most attractive pricing. The representative for that company (Sarah) is very active on the site and there are several growers currently testing those lights in grow journals (BigIrishDoode, Jon705, and Buckshot come to mind).

Should you choose High Intensity Discharge (HID) over LED, I offer my experience for your consideration. One choice that I've come to regret is that I opted for an open air reflector over a closed "cool tube" type reflector (again, to 'save' money). Those HID lights do generate a serious amount of heat that must be dealt with. I grow in a 4x4 tent and thankfully I don't require complete stealth and so I can leave the tent open or partially open during lights on. Had I required more stealth in my grow, I don't know that I could have effectively dealt with heat without investing yet more money to fix the hood choice error and purchase an inline fan. Definitely worth considering on the front end!

I also note that you mention using MG for nutes. I again respectfully suggest that you re-evaluate that choice and if the budget allows look at a balanced nutrient line specifically for Cannabis. I tried early on in my grow to use organic nutrients available from local big box retailers as the nutrient lines I initially evaluated seemed ridiculously overpriced. My grow suffered from this choice early in the process but I finally found a product line that had good reviews on this site and seemed priced within reason. If budget constraints preclude use of a cannabis specific line, then I've read good things about growers using osmocote plus as a MG alternative. Just don't forget to flush the plants the last couple of weeks before harvest.

I do hope you'll enjoy the site, the community of members sure to follow along in your journal, and this round of your growing experience!

Again, to and happy growing.

 

[danklover79]

Subscribed, all good info Tanr, MG lacks the micro nutrients these plants will need, so I would recommend Fox Farm, which you can get for under $20 a quart. There are many nute choices, but the FF has the micros, as do other brands, so it really depends on you, and what your budget will allow.

 

[OlderStoner]

Thanks. I really appreciate the good information and tips. I would rather get a handle on problems early with the experience from people in this forum than to wait until the end and have to throw it all away.

I will definitely buy my lights on-line. This local hydro shop is just too proud of their status and I guess they know they can charge whatever they want. Okay, so my closet is 58" x 30" which is just a tad over 12 sq feet. I'd like to overkill on the amount of light provided. If I could grow these things out in the sun I would but there are always problems with that in a residential neighborhood. So I just read a bunch of information about lumens per sq ft and inverse square law...and being an engineer I understand that but I'm faced with 12 sq ft of grow area. There is a wire shelf in it at about 68" which could be removed with little effort which would then give me 108" of height (less the size of the lights and any apparatus I'd have to build to suspend them. I also want to avoid cutting any holes to vent out the heat. A hole would have to eventually be repaired and that just adds more cost to the grow. One must be careful of this because it's really easy to go overboard and spend enough money to buy a pound of really good buds from another grower. That's a lot easier said than done, but I can see spending $3K or more on a grow without even trying that hard. And in the end you may end up with headache weed.

I'm also considering making two tents in this room. I have this entire house to myself so that's not a problem. I would like to have two areas, one for cloning and veg and one for flowering. But again, that involves costs which I have to examine closely.

Now, I will add that for years, from the time I was 15 until I was 45, I smoked weed recreationally ... my friends and I got high all the time. Weed was plentiful and you could get oz for $10, then $20, then $100...it just kept going up. Eventually I made the choice to give it up, but I can tell you I really miss the euphoric highs I used to enjoy all the time. I went from smoking 3-5 joints per day to now I may smoke 3 joints in a year. But as I get older and ... joint pain ... no pun intended ... takes hold of me, I have honestly found that getting high on good weed not only gives me that young, party down feeling again, but it really does relieve joint pain. So I'm doing this grow to find out if I can start my own supply for the good times and relief of pain. If I can make a nice setup in that room, without attracting too much attention and it works to grow high quality weed, of which I will need at least 1 oz per month...okay 2 oz per month, okay, okay, 4 oz per month...but that's it. I hope I can make this work...and then I have to hope that they finally legalize weed in America. Even if I get this going, I still have to be concerned with my work...where I could at any time be asked to pee in the cup. I'm working towards the day when retirement will relieve me of having to answer to anyone else about my personal choices in life.

 

[KingJohnC]

subscribed

 

[stealthgrow]

I'm subscribed Old timer. Just kidding around.
Your definitely on your way and already have some quality growers following your thread, Your in a good spot for lots of advise and help, if required. As far as lights are concerned, I would suggest LED's they are the future of grows--cost a littler more upfront but in the end will save on electricity and the heat issues alone make it worth while. No heat on LED's compared to HPS/MH. Take a look at the site sponsor list, there are some good deals around on LED's. I'm personally looking into getting one of these but they come in different sizes.

180x5w - $505.40 : TOPLEDGROWLIGH, Solutions Limited,LED GROWLIGHT,LED BULB,LED TUBE,grow lights,t5 grow light,hps grow light,fluorescent grow light,grow light bulb,grow light bulbs,marijuana grow light,growing light,cfl grow light,indoor grow light,


Whatever you decide on good luck with your grow.

 

[AfricanGrower]

Welcome to the Forums Older! Glad to have you here and I am sure you will gain a wealth of knowledge from all the experience that has gathered around this journal. As someone once said to me, you are gaining alot of attention with the right people in this grow, so the need to worry should lessen with the thought and maybe a joint or 2

Good Luck with your decisions on upgrading your grow room, and whatever you choose I'll be sure to lend you my advice however I can. Happy Trails! AG

 

[OlderStoner]

Thanks again everyone. I am getting more into this grow with each day. I let the babies out in the direct sunshine for 12 hours today. They are back under the fluoros for the rest of the night. I'm going to let them have 24 hours of light until next weekend when I will cut it back to 18/6 cycle for veg stage.

I picked up a Mosser Lee Soil Master test kit today at the local home store. Ran all the tests and it confirmed what I think I already knew. ph was 7, which I will try to lower a little using lemon juice. Nitrogen was low, Phosphorus was low. I did not do the Potash test because I ran low on the test water. Will test again next weekend. With these results, and still leery about using too much ferts, I added 1/4 tsp of the MG 24-16-8 to 20 oz of rain water. This time the water had a blueish tint to it. I sprinkled a little blood meal on top of the soil and then watered away on all seven plants. Being out in the sun all day, temps were in the mid 80's F. The plants seem to really like sunshine...duh! Two of the White Widow feminized plants are showing very slow growth. The White Widow X's which were 24 hours ahead of all the others to germinate continue to really take off in height. I can't say they are reaching because the distance between the nodes is only about 1.125" or so. They are head and shoulders taller than all the other plants though and are on their 5th set of leaves. One of the White Widow feminized is really slow. Its nice and green but it's only barely on its 3rd set of leaves. The Cotton Candy is moving along but still way behind the big X's in height. The leaves on the Cotton Candy are much broader than the others. It seems to respond well to the sunshine. But alas, tomorrow is back to work day. I don't feel comfortable at all leaving them outside on work days because its the rainy season here and torrential showers come out of no where without any warning. And there are bugs galore in my area so it's inside under the fluoros for the next five days.

I'm still concerned on the nutes. I found a local supplier which carries the Fox Farm line and will get by there tomorrow. I'm adding it nutes in very low concentrations not wanting to over-feed and harm the plants. I mentioned the blueish tint to the water above because one of the videos I watched the grower who had some very healthy plants was watering them with a solution which looked very much like the blueish tint I saw today in my water. In the previous fert adds to the water I did, there was almost no blueish tint to the water at all and I was thinking that was good. But apparently I'm not getting enough N or P in the mix. I could use more advice on this topic.

I think one more week and I should be able to start cloning the X's. A few weeks after than and I should be able to clone the others.

 

[KingJohnC]

there is a section on how to use Miracle Gro fertilizer in this guide that may help you.

Nutes - What To Use & How To Use Them - Tutorial

 

[OlderStoner]

Thanks for the tips there KingJohnC. I was at a state where the ferts were so low in the soil anyway. I did not use MG soil but instead used a product called Just Natural Potting Soil. IT claims it's all natural and list the following regional ingredients for my area:
Canadian sphagnum peat moss
processed pine bark
composted forest products
reed-sedge peat
ground dolomitic limestone

I stayed low on the ferts until yesterday when I have them a added dose of the MG 24-16-8. But as per your advice that's the last of the MG I will use for them. I found a couple of local retailers who carry the Fox Farm brand and as soon as I can get by there I will make purchases outlined in that post.

Now, I let them sit out in the sunshine again today. The weather was perfect. Partly cloudy, highs around 85° F and humidity was high. Clouds moved in late in the afternoon but they got lots of natural sunshine and they are definitely responding to it. The yellow leaves are a little more greenish but it's really only the lowest two leaves that had any yellowing to them. And by the lowest I don't mean the two leaflets which surrounded the seed pod as it came out of the ground. But these leaves are still present on all the plants. Usually by now, the 17th day of growth, these would have fallen off. The Cotton Candy is definitely showing signs of strength now but it's still smaller than the others. And the leaves on it are noticeable wider than the White Widows. Now speaking of the White Widows, as I heard it, the White Widow X's are a new strain...maybe that's true, but these two freebies I got from Herbies were not only the first to germinate, they are head and shoulders above all the rest of the plants. They are on their 5th set of leaves and some of the smaller White Widow feminized are only on their 3rd set.

I want to clone these two X's but would like to wait until they are at least one more node higher. I then plan to top them so they will go into twin colas and I will take additional clones from them later. I certainly want to clone the Cotton Candy...just because of it's name. In fact, I plan on taking cuttings from all seven of these. If I end up with 21 clones growing in a separate area, I think I can stretch these seven seeds well into next year. And when I consider that the first smoke probably won't be available until late in December of January of next year.

 

[KingJohnC]

your natural potting soil sounds just like peat moss with limestone added for calcium and should work well. I would add perlite, vermiculite and mycorrhizae to complete it.

 

[TanR]

Hi again OlderStoner.

Just wanted to add a consideration regarding your soil. As KJC stated, with the addition of a little perlite and/or vermiculite and a little mychorrizae this medium should serve you well. In your testing of the soil, you indicate the PH is at or around 7 which isn't to far outside the ideal 6.3 to 6.8 range. I note that your soil contents list two different kinds of peat and both from experience and some reading to confirm, I have learned peat will acidify some as it ages and begins to break down.

I use a peat heavy medium, and I have begun mixing (think composting) my medium several months ahead of use in a large plastic container,keeping it slightly damp the entire time, and introducing some beneficial bacteria and other amendments just to encourage this acidification process. During the "cooking" time, I monitor the soil and introduce some fast acting lime (Calcium Carbonate- CaCo3) to offset the increase in acidity and act as a buffer for later. By the time I use the soil, I have found the PH will remain relatively stable within the desired range.

I offer this info as a caution regarding use of lemon juice to reduce the PH. It will most certainly work to lower your PH, however as those peat moss's break down the soil will become more acidic on it's own and I fear you might overshoot your target range and begin playing a game of PH up, PH down, PH up....Been there done that, it wasn't good! LOL

I also wanted to add a quick thought to a concern you expressed in an earlier post regarding not getting carried away with initial purchases. Your completely correct in thinking you can drop a bundle on equipment if your not careful. However, much of the equipment purchased can and will be used over and over for several grows and/or multiple years. LED lights for example have improved Dramatically in both price and quality in just the last (very) few years, as many LED manufacturers have begun to realize there is a huge submarket for indoor gardeners. However, I routinely read journals on this site of growers using LED's that are 4 and 5 years old and still going strong and turning out good/great (I'm taking their word for it ) quality and quantity produce. So even this older generation of equipment prior to the recent improvements is still paying for the initial investment.

I look forward to your future updates and watching the progress of both your plants and the development of your grow room and growing preferences. I think I can safely assure of no more "headache weed" in your future!

 

[OlderStoner]

Thanks again for the replies. I followed the advice above and picked up those Fox Farm products at a local supplier. I mixed the ratios in some rain water and gave all the plants a nice drink as they set out in the sunshine again today. I'm really seeing some response to these long sessions in the sun. Will post some additional photos this weekend when there will be noticeable difference in height and amount of foliage.

While I was at the hydro shop today I was shown an indoor tent setup with two 1000w lights and all the ventilation ducts and fans...wow did I get the urge to splurge. The tent alone was $400...so that stopped me in mid sentence. But I can see how that would work well in my setup. Perhaps I could build something much cheaper. Will keep examining that option. Because soon I've got to move these plants into some serious light besides the sun. While they are small enough now not to draw attention the time will soon come when they will start to attract unwanted attention from others. And I don't want to waste this grow under fluoros.

Will examine them again tonight when I get back home. The yellowing seems to have stopped. Oh yes, the total purchase price for the nutes today was $125. For that I got Grow Big, Big Bloom, Tiger Bloom, Open Seseme and ChaChing. I priced their lights and wow, that's going to be tough to budget. I also noticed of the two shops I visited today when I asked them about LED's the sales people seemed disappointed that a) I was interested in them over the products they had in stock, and b) that they didn't carry any of them.

 

[danklover79]

Thanks again for the replies. I followed the advice above and picked up those Fox Farm products at a local supplier. I mixed the ratios in some rain water and gave all the plants a nice drink as they set out in the sunshine again today. I'm really seeing some response to these long sessions in the sun. Will post some additional photos this weekend when there will be noticeable difference in height and amount of foliage.

While I was at the hydro shop today I was shown an indoor tent setup with two 1000w lights and all the ventilation ducts and fans...wow did I get the urge to splurge. The tent alone was $400...so that stopped me in mid sentence. But I can see how that would work well in my setup. Perhaps I could build something much cheaper. Will keep examining that option. Because soon I've got to move these plants into some serious light besides the sun. While they are small enough now not to draw attention the time will soon come when they will start to attract unwanted attention from others. And I don't want to waste this grow under fluoros.

Will examine them again tonight when I get back home. The yellowing seems to have stopped. Oh yes, the total purchase price for the nutes today was $125. For that I got Grow Big, Big Bloom, Tiger Bloom, Open Seseme and ChaChing. I priced their lights and wow, that's going to be tough to budget. I also noticed of the two shops I visited today when I asked them about LED's the sales people seemed disappointed that a) I was interested in them over the products they had in stock, and b) that they didn't carry any of them.

You can build your own tent a lot cheaper with pvc, panda film, and some ducting, I plan to do it in the next 6 months, when I move to a bigger house.

 

[OlderStoner]

The plants are looking mighty fine. Left them out in the total sunshine again all day yesterday. Rain today kept them indoors under the fluoros. I have what appears to be a slight ph problem. I bought the Fox Farms products yesterday and as per the instructions I mixed one tsp of of Grow Big and 1 tbsp of Big Bloom in 1/2 gallon of stored rain water. Again being fearful of using too much, I added a little more of the rain water to this mix. I then gave all the plants a nice soaking with this, followed by a small amount of just rain water on top of that on each plant. Today I stuck the cheap ph meter I have in the soil of one of the bigger pots. I sunk the probes all the way in and the ph level it was reading was much closer to 8 than it had been before. This device only cost $8 and many people say they don't work but this appears to be one that does. The light meter works on it and the moisture reading definitely respond when the soil is wet as opposed to dry. But still I haven't trusted it so I did another ph test using the soil test kit. This time the color of the water was a deeper green when I tested the same soil form the pot I tested with the device. And on the chart it showed to be close to what is indicated as 8. So it does appear the ph level is going up on me. I don't understand why, because the rain water I'm using is almost pure, and I've stuck the probes from the device in it and it measure a steady 7 on the ph scale.

Okay, so how does one go about safely lowering the ph in the pots. I don't want to think this Fox Farm stuff raised the ph levels but the readings I took with that device showed lower than it is now and the soil tests I did this last weekend showed a much lighter color, closer to 7 on the chart.

The White Widow X's are running away in height. The nodes are still close together but I thought the bigger growth was due to the fact that these two were the first to germinate and sprout through the top of the soil. But they are now about 7-1/4" in height. The others are barley half that height and one of the WW feminized seems to have poor genes or is sick. It's barely 1-1/2" tall and is only showing small leaves in it's 3rd set. It's nice and green and is growing but much slower than the others. The soil is the same in all the pots, came from the same bag and all pots have received the same treatments, lighting, ferts, temp, humidity.

Any advice on what to do about this ph level would be helpful.

 

[AfricanGrower]

Hey OlderStoner, I hope everything is going well with your ladies. I have a few thoughts about your post above.

>>>It's barely 1-1/2" tall and is only showing small leaves in it's 3rd set. It's nice and green and is growing but much slower than the others. The soil is the same in all the pots, came from the same bag and all pots have received the same treatments, lighting, ferts, temp, humidity.

This most likely is due to genetics of the strain. It may be less of a vigorous grower and more susceptible to pH imbalance than the other two. These seed genetics, as I have come to learn, are not always stable from bean to bean!

>>>I don't understand why, because the rain water I'm using is almost pure, and I've stuck the probes from the device in it and it measure a steady 7 on the ph scale.

Now this depends on what kind of pH probe you are using for this. I am sure a soil probe would not accurately measure the pH of any type of liquid as it is meant for testing soil and other substances similar. I would recommend getting a fairly inexpensive pH 'Pen' for around $10-$20 on the online markets

With this in mind, I would also like to suggest that 'pure' rainwater that we were all used to having a steady pH of 7 is no longer in most areas I have lived in at least (the PPM should still be fairly low). I have tested rain water lower than 6.0 (quite acidic). Quite frankly, there is far more CO2 emissions in the past recent decades than ever before. This most certainly detaches rain water from its 'pure' form we all know. To be sure I would get a sample of that rainwater and get your hands on one of those pH pens to test it out. Even better, you can take a sample of your rainwater to any flower shop and they can test the pH for you so you can get a better idea of where it actually stands.

>>>I don't want to think this Fox Farm stuff raised the ph levels but the readings I took with that device showed lower than it is now and the soil tests I did this last weekend showed a much lighter color, closer to 7 on the chart.

I also currently use Fox Farm line of nutrients. Although I got them for much cheaper ($68 for the trio pack & 3 other add-ons), I can say that these chemicals in fact lower your pH of your water. They are slightly more acidic so in my case for example, I use my tap water that is a pH of 7.5 and after adding my FF nutrients, the water drops to a pH of 6.8. I then add pH down to steady it at 5.8. Mind you that a pH of 5.7-6.1 is optimal in a hydroponics/soiless system and a pH of 6.5-7.0 is optimal for a soil mix.

I would start with a light feeding of FF nutrients, especially when first introducing them into your grow. It took me a week or so to finally get a perfect balance of what to feed my plants and I can say that it looks nothing like the feeding chart FF provides fore you. Someone on here once said that it must be a money-marketing scheme when these big nutrient companies put out their recommended usage charts that just end up making you use more...etc. I used about an 1/8 of the recommended dose for a hydroponics system (note that the dosages on your soil chart is higher than a hydro chart) and moved up to 1/2 strength, in which I am using now. I also used more of the Grow Big (6-4-4) during vegetative growth than the recommended Big Bloom (.01-.3-.7) because I know that a plant in a vegetative cycle need more Nitrogen than any other macro elements like Phosphorus and Potassium which are needed more in the flowering cycle.

All in all I would mix accordingly to what your plants are telling you, starting off small then gradually increasing doses. Your plants will tell you if they are being under fed or are getting burnt. But the key to controlling this, is controlling the pH (and PPM) of your nutrient water. So go get that pen

 

[danklover79]

Well put AG, let the plants tell you what they need, and respond accordingly, patience is key in this process.