The Mega Crop Thread

[FatBeaverBuds]

So many great looking gardens out there!!!

So 18 days from seed here are my Birthday Cake. They really took off when I upped to 3g and still look hungry. This weekend I'll do a rezzy change and up it to 4g. Those big leaves are 8-9" across.



My Biscotti finally started to reveg!!! 3 weeks since I threw it back into veg.

Hopefully be pulling clones in a few weeks. I've been feeding it 2g per gallon during the reveg.

 

[Jack420]

Some pictures guys Enjoy. Happy Valentine’s Day

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• Jack420
• Feb 14, 2020

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• Jack420
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• Feb 14, 2020

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• Feb 14, 2020

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• Feb 14, 2020

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• Jack420
• Feb 14, 2020

 

[mkono87]

My next grow will be first time with autos and also first time with MC. I have half a bale of sunshine mix 4 so I want to use that again. For my current grow with photos im using it with liquid nutes (green plant duel fuel) and ph at 6.3. Its been great so far. With MC, would I be keeping to the same as what im doing now? Since they are autos and im not familiar with them, when do you guys actually start feeding? Im guessing 3-4 weeks?

 

[THC Onlyfans]

People presoak there soil with mc. With auto i started feeding 3 to 4 days in...some do it right when it breaks soil

 

[farside05]

My next grow will be first time with autos and also first time with MC. I have half a bale of sunshine mix 4 so I want to use that again. For my current grow with photos im using it with liquid nutes (green plant duel fuel) and ph at 6.3. Its been great so far. With MC, would I be keeping to the same as what im doing now? Since they are autos and im not familiar with them, when do you guys actually start feeding? Im guessing 3-4 weeks?

I treat my autos and photos the same. There's no real nutrition in Sunshine Mix. Feed from the beginning. I sprout seeds and feed seedlings 1g of Mega Crop a gallon and then increase the dosage every 5-7 days by a gram.

 

[bluter]

I treat my autos and photos the same. There's no real nutrition in Sunshine Mix. Feed from the beginning. I sprout seeds and feed seedlings 1g of Mega Crop a gallon and then increase the dosage every 5-7 days by a gram.

hi farside - you got anything for clones ? i do similar to you for seed in hempy, and follow the same mix for clones. i'm getting busted on the clones. super terrible run, but my own fault, got something gone bad..

also wanna ask about your spreadsheet for the primer ... would like to include it, will probably reach out in a dm

 

[Hydroholic]

I am 11 plants flowered and 8 in veg right now on MC. If anyone thinks increasing MC a 1/2 g or 1 gm each watering or every 2 watering until the end is the way to run this stuff in soil is sadly mistaken. My first run I bought the hype and ran into issues of overdosing. This stuff isn’t magic fairy dust that you don’t actually having to read your grow. Read your plants and don’t fall into “I must feed because they said.” This whole thread needs to get out of the habit of that advice. I’ve included a feed sheet for the last month on an auto flower, I’m not increasing .5 or 1 mg each time. I also believe lock out is more prominent than under feeding with MC. I have always grown on a ppm/Ec scale and am finding the numbers are fairly close to what I ran in DWC with AN nutrients. I don’t believe the add more to fix a issue is correct either. I have seen more people bring crops back from reducing the MC than adding. These are my thoughts on MC. Take it for what it is.

 

[bluter]

This stuff isn’t magic fairy dust that you don’t actually having to read your grow. Read your plants and don’t fall into “I must feed because they said.”

not sure who they are but i totally agree on learning to read.
frankly, the schtick behind MC is the way it teaches a simple read from the very beginning ...

I also believe lock out is more prominent than under feeding with MC. I have always grown on a ppm/Ec scale and am finding the numbers are fairly close to what I ran in DWC with AN nutrients.

i have to agree that less experienced folk are often over feeding. there have been a number of instances where i have seen members advise others to pull back. there are also too many folk jumping in and adding crap before getting the nute dialed by itself. ran AN as well and found the same on ppm / tds.

there is an issue i have noted with MC in early to mid flower too. don't want to muddy the water here, if i find there is something to it i'll report.

I don’t believe the add more to fix a issue is correct either. I have seen more people bring crops back from reducing the MC than adding. These are my thoughts on MC. Take it for what it is.

i believe the add add add comes from the constant ramping in veg. increasing at early stages is often the answer. later in veg or going in to flower the game changes.

this all goes back to your first point as far as i'm concerned. the best thing to do is learn the read on your plants, and feed by that.


edit: btw i like your feed schedule tracker... may just use it as an example if ok

 

[Hydroholic]

not sure who they are but i totally agree on learning to read.
frankly, the schtick behind MC is the way it teaches a simple read from the very beginning ...





i have to agree that less experienced folk are often over feeding. there have been a number of instances where i have seen members advise others to pull back. there are also too many folk jumping in and adding crap before getting the nute dialed by itself. ran AN as well and found the same on ppm / tds.

there is an issue i have noted with MC in early to mid flower too. don't want to muddy the water here, if i find there is something to it i'll report.





i believe the add add add comes from the constant ramping in veg. increasing at early stages is often the answer. later in veg or going in to flower the game changes.

this all goes back to your first point as far as i'm concerned. the best thing to do is learn the read on your plants, and feed by that.

I WAS one of those they, I mentioned, at one point. This is because I wasn’t seeing any issues until flower. When I first started to run this I posted I was nervous about the ppm numbers I was seeing. Blindly I sailed off into the sunset with a hole in the boat. I live by pretty consistent ppm numbers on my grows. At 3gm I am at 1010 so roughly 280-310ppm per gram with my water. At 6gm that puts me at over 2000ppm. That is over the higher end on my numbers for late flower. Read your plants should be the advice not increase by this much at this point.

 

[bluter]

I WAS one of those they, I mentioned, at one point. This is because I wasn’t seeing any issues until flower. When I first started to run this I posted I was nervous about the ppm numbers I was seeing. Blindly I sailed off into the sunset with a hole in the boat. I live by pretty consistent ppm numbers on my grows. At 3gm I am at 1010 so roughly 280-310ppm per gram with my water. At 6gm that puts me at over 2000ppm. That is over the higher end on my numbers for late flower. Read your plants should be the advice not increase by this much at this point.

i'm metric and just a hair under the 6g in flower right now -- we are running closer to 800 - 1000 ppm. not sure but something seems off on those numbers.. you sent me running to see what scale i'm on too lol

ftr i lived by ppm when i ran AN. i go entirely by read now.

 

[farside05]

hi farside - you got anything for clones ? i do similar to you for seed in hempy, and follow the same mix for clones. i'm getting busted on the clones. super terrible run, but my own fault, got something gone bad..

also wanna ask about your spreadsheet for the primer ... would like to include it, will probably reach out in a dm

I've never done clones, my limited space doesn't really allow me that opportunity. @InTheShed does plenty of clones and would probably be a better resource.

The powers that be aren't fans of Excel files linked in posts. They have concerns that it's a way to spread viruses. They're more tolerant of it in private messages figuring that the recipient asked for the file to begin with. Output pages of calculations and schedules are fine. Whatever you'd like to post I'm sure we can figure something out, or anyone wanting the link to the the actual file on Google Drive so they can make their own calculations can contact me via PM and I'll send the link.

 

[Hydroholic]

i'm metric and just a hair under the 6g in flower right now -- we are running closer to 800 - 1000 ppm. not sure but something seems off on those numbers.. you sent me running to see what scale i'm on too lol

ftr i lived by ppm when i ran AN. i go entirely by read now.

This is on my well water that is 340-360 ppm. At 3.5 I am at 1000-1010. I keep track of ppm because it’s a safety net if my scale gets off,mix stays consistent over a few watering or I’m too stoned.

 

[bluter]

I've never done clones, my limited space doesn't really allow me that opportunity. @InTheShed does plenty of clones and would probably be a better resource.

The powers that be aren't fans of Excel files linked in posts. They have concerns that it's a way to spread viruses. They're more tolerant of it in private messages figuring that the recipient asked for the file to begin with. Output pages of calculations and schedules are fine. Whatever you'd like to post I'm sure we can figure something out, or anyone wanting the link to the the actual file on Google Drive so they can make their own calculations can contact me via PM and I'll send the link.

ding ding ding ... somehow i knew that.

i honestly think that spreadsheet is the best idea if you are gonna mix stuff. it incorporates the elemental MC calculator and takes it to the next better level. frankly feel greenleaf should have a similar resource.

This is on my well water that is 340-360 ppm. At 3.5 I am at 1000-1010. I keep track of ppm because it’s a safety net if my scale gets off,mix stays consistent over a few watering or I’m too stoned.

so i'm not nuts. may use you as an example of folk using tap. most bottle nutes can't run on tap higher than 120ppm. 340 - 360 is huge lol. probably even for MC.

 

[Hydroholic]

so i'm not nuts. may use you as an example of folk using tap. most bottle nutes can't run on tap higher than 120ppm. 340 - 360 is huge lol. probably even for MC.
[/QUOTE]
I believe RO water in soil is counterproductive after trying it. I was having to add so much Potash to get the PH up that I believe it was worse on my plants than the high ppm in my water. I will try both on my next grow. I should be back in water after this grow.

 

[bluter]

so i'm not nuts. may use you as an example of folk using tap. most bottle nutes can't run on tap higher than 120ppm. 340 - 360 is huge lol. probably even for MC.

I believe RO water in soil is counterproductive after trying it. I was having to add so much Potash to get the PH up that I believe it was worse on my plants than the high ppm in my water. I will try both on my next grow. I should be back in water after this grow.

i see. your conditions are a bit unique then. most RO from municipal sources winds up neutral - 7.0 ph. there are exceptions, but that will be the most common.

 

[multiVortex]

My next grow will be first time with autos and also first time with MC. I have half a bale of sunshine mix 4 so I want to use that again. For my current grow with photos im using it with liquid nutes (green plant duel fuel) and ph at 6.3. Its been great so far. With MC, would I be keeping to the same as what im doing now? Since they are autos and im not familiar with them, when do you guys actually start feeding? Im guessing 3-4 weeks?

The following chart, courtesy of mr @farside05 whom responded above, will give you a great guideline to go by.

This is an excellent start, and dialed in great for your grow. Sunshine, promix, basically the same thing. My recommendation is 5gal (or 7gal) fabric pots. The 7gal can take a tick longer to dry out.

Pop the seeds in a rapid rooter or peat pellet, etc (using a water bath before to get a tail is fine) and then after a few days put that into the final pot. Water carefully while she's small. I'm sure you've read up on autos, so I'll skip most of that for now. Just remember that a small plant in a big pot like that and you won't need to drench the whole pot.

The overall gist of it is to start feeding from day 1. 1g/gal from the start, and increase 1g/gal every 6-7 days. Auto go fast, and will be hungry. One day 4g/gal might be just a tick much, but 2 days later they would take 4.5.

This is on my well water that is 340-360 ppm. At 3.5 I am at 1000-1010. I keep track of ppm because it’s a safety net if my scale gets off,mix stays consistent over a few watering or I’m too stoned.

My tap is like that. The pH is about 8.3ish on average. It also likes to raise its pH, even when you use down. I had to move to RO. Picked up a 75GPD for about $100, and a 55gal barrel from the farm supply store for $45. End result is from what I would have been spending on pH down, it starts saving money after about 3 months. (First batch I whipped up with tap for my 50gal RDWC took an 8oz bottle to pH down to keep it in hydro range. So yeah, no bueno. )

Your PPM is 1000 for 3.5g/gal, and as a comparison, mine is 1200 for 5.5g/gal (with 1ml/gal of calmag) in my RDWC.

 

[mkono87]

The following chart, courtesy of mr @farside05 whom responded above, will give you a great guideline to go by.

This is an excellent start, and dialed in great for your grow. Sunshine, promix, basically the same thing. My recommendation is 5gal (or 7gal) fabric pots. The 7gal can take a tick longer to dry out.

Pop the seeds in a rapid rooter or peat pellet, etc (using a water bath before to get a tail is fine) and then after a few days put that into the final pot. Water carefully while she's small. I'm sure you've read up on autos, so I'll skip most of that for now. Just remember that a small plant in a big pot like that and you won't need to drench the whole pot.

The overall gist of it is to start feeding from day 1. 1g/gal from the start, and increase 1g/gal every 6-7 days. Auto go fast, and will be hungry. One day 4g/gal might be just a tick much, but 2 days later they would take 4.5.







My tap is like that. The pH is about 8.3ish on average. It also likes to raise its pH, even when you use down. I had to move to RO. Picked up a 75GPD for about $100, and a 55gal barrel from the farm supply store for $45. End result is from what I would have been spending on pH down, it starts saving money after about 3 months. (First batch I whipped up with tap for my 50gal RDWC took an 8oz bottle to pH down to keep it in hydro range. So yeah, no bueno. )

Your PPM is 1000 for 3.5g/gal, and as a comparison, mine is 1200 for 5.5g/gal (with 1ml/gal of calmag) in my RDWC.

Hey thanks for that, appreciate it. So do people premix in lets say gallon jugs so its already premixed? Is that a thing?

 

[multiVortex]

Hey thanks for that, appreciate it. So do people premix in lets say gallon jugs so its already premixed? Is that a thing?

Absolutely. I have a couple half-gallon jugs, as well as a half dozen gallon jugs. Fill the jug, add MC, then get your "shake weight" action on.

Once I get to where I'm using more, I'll mix it in a 5gal black bucket with a drill paddle. While you won't need to really worry about pH with sunshine/promix stuff, it isn't a bad idea to at least know what your initial water and final mix pH's are. My brother is using distilled water as his base, and after he's mixed up his is a bit low (5.5ish) for promix. Soil, along with promix (and sunshine, etc) should buffer your pH for you, but it isn't a bad idea to make sure it's close.

I ran into that problem, but mine was too high (like 8.4 after mixing it all up) so I hit up the store for the RO. Just because you shouldn't need to adjust it, doesn't also mean you should fly completely blind, either.

MegaCrop on its own is really very, very simple to use. Follow the general schedule, feed your plants, read the leaves. If they are light green, increase strength. If they are dark green, decrease strength. If they are that pretty, grass green.... bingo!

You may need to supplement calmag a little bit if you use RO water, are running good LED lights, or both. I am, and I do supplement with calmag. For soilless mixes, like what you're using, I use basic calmag (calimagic from gen hydro, or calmag+ from botanicare.) I use those because they have a little nitrogen in them. (1-0-0, and 2-0-0 respectively.) This works perfect because I also wanted to add a little more silica to the mix. As the silica (dyna grow's Protekt) is a 0-0-3 NPK, the nitrogen from the calmag offsets the potassium in the Protekt to keep the N:K ratio under 1:3 (1 part nitrogen to 3 parts potassium.) With the calmag+ and the protekt, that puts me well within the ratio.

The schedule from Farside that I posted above has that information on it, and for soilless mixes it's what I follow to the letter. The schedule is also great because even though the calmag was intended as the balance to the silica, it can work the other way too. If you need calmag, you still need to keep that balance. Thus, you can then add a little silica and you're in balance.

If someone needed/wanted just the calmag, but was worried about nitrogen and didn't want to add silica, True Plant Science makes an organic calmag that has no nitrogen. I use this in my RDWC setup and it's great.

 

[mkono87]

Absolutely. I have a couple half-gallon jugs, as well as a half dozen gallon jugs. Fill the jug, add MC, then get your "shake weight" action on.

Once I get to where I'm using more, I'll mix it in a 5gal black bucket with a drill paddle. While you won't need to really worry about pH with sunshine/promix stuff, it isn't a bad idea to at least know what your initial water and final mix pH's are. My brother is using distilled water as his base, and after he's mixed up his is a bit low (5.5ish) for promix. Soil, along with promix (and sunshine, etc) should buffer your pH for you, but it isn't a bad idea to make sure it's close.

I ran into that problem, but mine was too high (like 8.4 after mixing it all up) so I hit up the store for the RO. Just because you shouldn't need to adjust it, doesn't also mean you should fly completely blind, either.

MegaCrop on its own is really very, very simple to use. Follow the general schedule, feed your plants, read the leaves. If they are light green, increase strength. If they are dark green, decrease strength. If they are that pretty, grass green.... bingo!

You may need to supplement calmag a little bit if you use RO water, are running good LED lights, or both. I am, and I do supplement with calmag. For soilless mixes, like what you're using, I use basic calmag (calimagic from gen hydro, or calmag+ from botanicare.) I use those because they have a little nitrogen in them. (1-0-0, and 2-0-0 respectively.) This works perfect because I also wanted to add a little more silica to the mix. As the silica (dyna grow's Protekt) is a 0-0-3 NPK, the nitrogen from the calmag offsets the potassium in the Protekt to keep the N:K ratio under 1:3 (1 part nitrogen to 3 parts potassium.) With the calmag+ and the protekt, that puts me well within the ratio.

The schedule from Farside that I posted above has that information on it, and for soilless mixes it's what I follow to the letter. The schedule is also great because even though the calmag was intended as the balance to the silica, it can work the other way too. If you need calmag, you still need to keep that balance. Thus, you can then add a little silica and you're in balance.

If someone needed/wanted just the calmag, but was worried about nitrogen and didn't want to add silica, True Plant Science makes an organic calmag that has no nitrogen. I use this in my RDWC setup and it's great.

So how much would you add in the gallon jug? I have some math to do.

 

[bluter]

hi guys ... been a few days, gonna bang out another edition of ...


The Mega Crop Primer ..... buried in the thread .... pt.4


at last ... what's up ? ... you were gonna tackle ph ..

i been putting it off i know.

ph is one of those things that carries a bit of controversy in the MC thread, and greenleaf itself is no bueno helpful. it gets a passing mention buried as an answer to something else in an faq on the MC website.

we'll put it to rest right now. oh boy.

in keeping with the theme of this primer, we're gonna simplify a whole bunch of science.
slide rule folk may be disgruntled. oh well.

in nature, god does the ph. rain falls from the sky, the rest is done organically in the ground. when indoor, you are god.
yeah i know - brush up on your benevolent deity stuff ....

turns out, the ph rules most of us learned and live by, is mmmostly for the bottle nute types we use indoor. it all goes back to the chelation thing and how that works. it happens better for individual nutes at certain ph levels, and changes depending on hydro-media type.


sweet ... so MC = diff chelation = no ph ness worries, right ?


wrong. oh holy mary wrong.

ph still counts. will be simple..

if you are :

passive hydro - like coco or hempy
dwc - great big bubble bucket
rdwc - great big bubble bucket with auto water system.
flood and drain - hydro mimicking a rice paddy

ph your feed / water mix to 5.8.

carve it in a large stone. put that stone in front of your grow space blocking the entrance.
do not move that stone until understood.


if you are :

soil-less soils - like hp pro-mix and sunshine #4

ph your feed / water mix to 6.5

get a pretty big rock and a sharpie. write it down on the rock, and place the rock so you almost always trip over it on the way to the grow space .....

will explain the difference in moment ...

first, the following is for all first time growers in particular :

pH chart

• KingJohnC
• May 24, 2013

pH chart

fantastic ph chart. great resource on this board. another reason to be here.
the soil side of the graph = soil-less soils referenced in this primer. bookmark that chart.


so to re-cap : soil-less soils - - ph to 6.5. everything else hydro - - ph to 5.8.


ok grumpster .. got it ... why the fuss ?

now i'm gonna change all that...

note the ranges that individual nutes are available on the chart. they are media and ph related ... the chart itself is also biased for bottle nutes.

due to the type of chelation process MC employs, the ranges that individual nutes are available, may May MAY, be wider than the what the chart portrays.

there are other environmental factors which will slightly affect this range as well. because of this, it is harder to set a complete hard and fast rule. those factors can also change under individual circumstances.

as well, in the experience of the board, ph rules are slightly less strict for soil-less soil, than they are for other hydro media, due to the added buffering it provides. hence the stone and sharpie.

that's it really, nothing more.
the safest course of action is to follow the ph rules for hydro as outlined by the chart.




next i think we'll move on to water ppm... but will post this now . wanna try a journal update this wkend as well..

in the meantime ..