Sqwheels' Garden - Bonsai Style

[sqwheels]

re: Sqwheels' Garden - Bonsai Style

Hi Vape, How is it you don't check pH for a year? I know ro should be 7, or I thought I knew that. Yes I've calibrated my meter, but it's just a little hand held HM digital and I'm not sure it does the job. I've also read that you might not get a good reading in ro/distilled, but up to this point when getting a new bottle of water I check ppm and pH...til now it's always been 000-007ppm and 6.9-7.1 pH. I don't think my meter would all of a sudden go from that to 8.5...this new ro water supply is different

 

[sqwheels]

re: Sqwheels' Garden - Bonsai Style

Hi Corey,

No I haven't gotten a new meter yet, still unsure which to buy, they are expensive and I only want to spend that much once, haven't found the one that fits the criteria we talked about...tell me again what you use.

Yes, I did go to the hydro shop and ask them to calibrate to 4...this was after I calibrated to 7 here @ home. I don't remember you saying anything about 10. and it was after I got back from the hydro shop that I decided to check this new water, with what I thought was a properly calibrated meter. the meter jumped right to 8.3 and within a few seconds read 8.5 and stopped.

I know you said to start with pH near 7 -- for BPN to self adjust, and I was surprised to see the 5.8pH after adding 3.5ml of MGB to 1/2 gal of ro 005ppm, 8.5pH...I guess I still can't be certain my meter is working properly...after using my meter to check the new ro I also used the drops method to test against a color chart...imo the color chart showed it closer to 7--but I could be color blind...that charts colors are very close in hew/shade...the color for 7 isn't that much different than the one for 8.5 and higher

I don't have an airstone...any other ideas?

 

[Cultivator]

re: Sqwheels' Garden - Bonsai Style

hi sqwheels

I use a bluelab combo meter and they are great!!! very accurate and as long as u look after it there will be accurate readings ongoing. What i will say is that ph meters dont last forever and they do need replaced periodically. I change mine around once per year, just the probe not the whole kit. I used to go through cheap ph meters at the rate of 1 0r 2 per month! I paid £130 english so not sure what that is in dollars and they may be chaper in states. Quality lasts thats the main point, i have a pic of mine on my mother plant journal and look on amazon or ebay or google for one. Hope this helps.

 

[Cultivator]

re: Sqwheels' Garden - Bonsai Style

ps the combo meter also reads ppm and temps

 

[Mr. Krip]

re: Sqwheels' Garden - Bonsai Style

Looking great, Sqwheels!
Congrat's on POTM!!!!

 

[Vapedogg223]

re: Sqwheels' Garden - Bonsai Style

Hi Vape, How is it you don't check pH for a year? I know ro should be 7, or I thought I knew that. Yes I've calibrated my meter, but it's just a little hand held HM digital and I'm not sure it does the job. I've also read that you might not get a good reading in ro/distilled, but up to this point when getting a new bottle of water I check ppm and pH...til now it's always been 000-007ppm and 6.9-7.1 pH. I don't think my meter would all of a sudden go from that to 8.5...this new ro water supply is different

I haven't been checking pH because I've been growing in soil...Doc convinced me a long time ago that a properly constructed soil in a large enough pot is itself a powerful pH buffer, and as long as your water's total alkalinity isn't too high you'll be fine. Now that I'm growing organically with a mineralized soil geared towards high Brix, with a thriving micro herd, there's even less of reason to bother checking pH...the microbes take care of such things.

It does sound like something's up with the water...Corey's probably onto something with the dissolved gases, he would know!

 

[sqwheels]

re: Sqwheels' Garden - Bonsai Style

Hi Cultivator,

Thanks for the suggestion...I've seen that one, they want $300 for it. Thats out of my price range at the moment. I know what you mean abut quality...but I just don't have that kind of $$

Sq

 

[sqwheels]

re: Sqwheels' Garden - Bonsai Style

Mr.K,

Nice to see you.

 

[sqwheels]

re: Sqwheels' Garden - Bonsai Style

Vape,

Nice setup...lucky you

ya, Corey knows his stuff

 

[Xlr8]

re: Sqwheels' Garden - Bonsai Style

Hi Sqwheels!

Wanted to get subbed to your new journal. Call me fashionably late?

0 ppm water (or close to it) is very unstable in regards to ph as there is nothing to buffer or hold ions in place. It should be essentially 7.0 I believe, but if it's that pure, it sometimes gives the meter fits getting a stable reading (it can be nearly impossible sometimes!). At least that's been my experience. Mix in a little spring water and your ph will stabilize immensely. Makes it much easier to work with in terms of ph. Also, once you add nutrients to it, the readings should stabilize (though the ph will be affected by the nutrients). Not sure if this is your issue, and it doesn't explain good readings on other ro water per se'... Just spitballin' here...

 

[sqwheels]

re: Sqwheels' Garden - Bonsai Style

Hi X,

Good to see you...hope you're doing good as well, I'm so far behind in your journal...

Ya, I've been having some water issues---again! Dam, give a girl a break already...:surrender: and I spent the last few days researching meters and water supply...found out how clugigan makes their "drinking water" and where they get their rodi ... yadayada

In the end I bought a new meter and the old RO water supply has been fixed...so everything should go back to normal now.

I bought a blul*b pH pen...not the combo I'd really like...anyway, it came with good instructions on calib, care and cleaning and such. I'm not convinced the milwau*ee I have doesn't just need a good cleaning...I took 2 different bottles of water, that I tested here...with my meter, to the hydroshop with me and asked him to test ...they weren't that far off, .2 -- I know about the 0ppm and not getting accurate pH reads, but because the supply was new and the test was sooo different, something was up...ya know? Anyway, I'm following all the instructions to this new meter and I'm getting some fresh ro, so...off to the rodeo

Thanks X, for checking in on me, as always your full of good info and advise.


Sq

 

[BigIrishDoode]

re: Sqwheels' Garden - Bonsai Style

lol mr bid just figured out sqhweels is a miss sqwheels!! i envisioned a doode that has a muscle car and likes doing burnouts in the hydro parking lot! lol j/k silly effin bid!! anywayz! i was thinking about your clone method very cool btw, i bet you could speed it up with a cheap airstone and pump from wallys if you were so inclined, the addition of air would almost certainly make them root quicker im thinking, i figure it would be a smaller more manageable version of a bubble cloner, in fact im gonna try it i'll put pics or a vid up when i do it, i will also leave out the clone powders n gels to see how it works with plain h2o and bubbles hmm think i'll try the wwXbb and maybe chemdog, im trying to develop a 100% organic system from seed/clone to harvest, have you been following my vid journal?
im cooking some organic soil/coco medium,with microbe teas, i noticed in my last grow the bud that i did with bpn organics tasted so much better and turned out much stickier and potent, super dank, and everyone that has had a bit started raving about how great it was,really inspired me to go further into organics!
and im just flat out tired of ph woes/constant testing etc my last trip with pythium in my cloner really put me off the hydro path, i was gonna learn hydro methods just so i would know and understand it but i think its just not for me, i have been doing compost bins, worm bins and natural ferts in my outdoor garden for years now, so really its what i prefer anyway, oops im babbling in your journal again! time to put down the mic! lol

 

[sqwheels]

re: Sqwheels' Garden - Bonsai Style

Hi bid,

I'm LMAO...you don't know how close you are...Mrs Sq...with a 9.5 second dragstrip car...my honey does the driving tho, I'm the pit crew and navigator...but I'm still hoping to make a 11.0 car out of my monte one of these days.

Thanks...I'm glad you like the cloning method, I'm sure you're right about the air stone but I'm not in a hurry with any of this at the moment and space is tight, and the heat is out of control...don't need to add anything else right now...KISS is my motto

I just went to see your first vid...I didn't know you were doing them, I'm subbed now tho, so I'll be watching your experiment.

You sound nothing like I imagined..lol, isn't it funny how you get a vision in your head and how it can be so different from reality

I don't know what pythium is...sorry. doesn't sound good tho. Do what works best for you is what I think. I like the bonsai for size and hempy mix for the weight


Sq

 

[BigIrishDoode]

re: Sqwheels' Garden - Bonsai Style

i so knew there was muscle in there somewhere! lol i have posted 7 vids so far, pyth is a bacterial infection hydro growers fight its like brown boogery stuff its very nasteeeeee! so what was your imagry for me ifn ya dont mind sharing, for myself its a nice version of fat bastard from the austin powers movies! lol j/k im a big teddy bear my girl tells me with a side of nerd mad scientist! im like 6'5" 400lb totaly gorgeous
drag cars are so cool i used to have a really tricked out 66 dodge roadrunner hemi 6 pack wicked fast but hard times befell and i sold her for 1/10th her value today (sigh) now im a atv guy got a half dozen toys at present

 

[SurfBuddy]

re: Sqwheels' Garden - Bonsai Style

Looking good sqwheels! So bushy! Glad you got the pH deal sorted out.

 

[sqwheels]

re: Sqwheels' Garden - Bonsai Style

bid,

Ya, it's got muscle...850+hp and a little over 750' lbs torque...it's done 300' wheelies many, many times @ the track. He regularly trips the 60' timer with his back tires @ something like 1.4 seconds. Got a picture of it that I could sit under the oil pan you can see the entire undercarriage of the car.

Bacterial infections are never pretty...sorry for your troubles, just another reason I don't want to go there

My image of you...well for starters I expected an irish accent don't ya know, and you sound younger than I imagined...my age. I thought you might be older...not sure why. I like your girlfriends description...yours is bias.

The roadrunner...I always prefer the older cars, must be cause I'm older. I just think those cars have so much character, cars now days have no personality, nothing unique or distinguishable about them. I like my 83 monte ss cause there are so few of them still around, and of course because I can pull my w/c into the back seat and fly whenever I want to.

 

[sqwheels]

re: Sqwheels' Garden - Bonsai Style

Thanks sb, ya me too! Don't need/want any more issues.

 

[BigIrishDoode]

re: Sqwheels' Garden - Bonsai Style

thats awesome! i love cars and i agree this new stuff barre a few the prowler,viper,pt cruiser,scion xb, and the new mustang is ok, they all look alike, i had an 80 camaro,the 66,a 70 gremlin, a 73 coronet,76 cordoba, i drive an 80s era truck, looks same as all the other 80s era trucks, i dont think im as young as you think,im in my 40s but im a kid at heart, i dint smoke ciggys, and have lots of young family around that keep me up to date on all the groovey new slang!
yeah im done with my lil hydro experiment, not for me, i like my organics and such far to much, in this day and age i think we are obligated to try to reduce the old carbon footprint wherever we can, plus we owe it to ourselves to put as high a quality food ,herbs,water etc as we can manage into our bodies, with all the toxicity we are subject to,its basically a must , so i am trying your method for clones on a few clones i took yesterday question: do you have the suspended or touching the bottom, i have them in red solos and they are just sorta floating, how submerged do you keep them? and im using r o water is that cool?

 

[sqwheels]

re: Sqwheels' Garden - Bonsai Style

bid,

I've clipped them to all different lengths.. next pic update will show some new results...I think if they touch the bottom they don't root as well, that's my latest thought anyway. the ww that touched didn't root as well, but the bw top took off like a rocket and it was more or less suspended by it's leaf stems resting on the edge of the cup, the stem was really short with only one node that was barely touching the water, I had to check it every single day to make sure the stem stayed under water.

I've been using a ro/tap mix...comes to around 80-90ppm and 7.5pH...I would use tap over ro tho. they need something to feed on imo, although it would depend on your water too. My tap water is hard with a high pH 300/8-9, thats why I cut it with ro.

I love all the old cars...pretty much a chevy girl my whole life but I've driven everything. My favorites have always been the muscle cars of the 60's and 70's.

originally I thought you might be closer to 60, you write with wisdom of an older person maybe, but then I heard your voice, which btw isn't irish at all, and knew you were much younger than that...my age, actually you're probably younger than me...I'll be 49 this fall...yep the little ones keep us young. I don't feel old until I start recalling the past...then I age myself.

I'm with you on reducing the waste...a pet peeve of mine...we just this year installed our first a/c...lived in this house 20+ years now. and I recycle everything...RRR, reuse, repurpose, recycle.

Organics...as much as I like the concept, I have to keep it light weight. No balance and all, needs to be feather weight for me to lift. The 7x7 pots I use for flower are at my limits when fully in flower and wet. think a gallon of water, that's about my limit for anything more than 6" from my center of balance. If I hold both arms outstretched in from of me I fall over. You should see me folding laundry.

I'm so glad you're gonna try my cloning method...I hope you get good results.


Sq

 

[Buckshot]

re: Sqwheels' Garden - Bonsai Style

Hey Sqwheels

I got ROOTS! 9 days for the blue moonshine! The S Girls are looking rough ... but still hanging

Thank You