Vegetative Growth

[Urdedpal]

Once sprouted, the plant starts vegetative growth. This means the plant will be photosynthesizing as much as possible to grow tall and start many grow tips at each pair of leaves. A grow tip is the part that can be cloned or propagated asexually. They are located at the top of the plant, and every major internode. If you "top" the plant, it then has two grow tips at the top. If you top each of these, you will have 4 grow tips at the top of the plant. (Since it takes time for the plant to heal and recover from the trauma of being pruned, it faster to grow 4 smaller plants and not top them at all. Or grow 2 plants, and "train" them to fill the same space. Most growers find)

All plants have a vegetative stage where they are growing as fast as possible after the plant first germinates from seed. It is possible to grow plants with no dark period, and increase the speed at which they grow by 15-30&. Plants can be grown vegetatively indefinitely. It is up to the gardener to decide when to force the plant to flower. A plant can grow from 12" to 12 before being forced to flower, so there is a lot of latitude here for each gardener to manage the garden based on goals and space available.

A solution of 20-20-20 with trace minerals is used for both hydroponic and soil gardening when growing continuously under lights. Miracle Grow Patio or RapidGrow plant food is good for this. A high P plant food such as Peters 5-50-17 food is used for blooming and fruiting plants when beginning 12 hour days. Epsom salts (1tsp) should be used in the solution for magnesium and sulfur minerals. Trace minerals are needed too, if your food does not include them. Miracle Grow Patio includes these trace elements, and is highly recommended.

Keep lights on continuously for sprouts, since they require no darkness period like older plants. You will not need a timer unless you want to keep the lamps off during a certain time each day. Try to light the plants for 18 or more hours, or continuously at this point.

Bend a young plant his stem back and forth to force it to be very thick and strong. Spindly stems can not support heavy flowering growth. An internal oscillating fan will reduce humidity on the leave is stomata and improve the stem strength as well. The importance of nternal air circulation can not be stressed enough. It will excersize the plants and make them grow stronger, while reducing many hazards that could ruin your crop.

HYDROPONIC VEGATATIVE SOLUTION, per gallon:

Miracle Grow Patio (contains trace elements) 1 teaspoon

Epsom salts 1/2 teaspoon

Human Urine (OPTIONAL - may create odors indoors.) 1/4 cup

Oxygen Plus Plant Food (OPTIONAL) 1 teaspoon

This mixture will insure your plants are getting all major and minor nutrients in solution, and will also be treating your plants with oxygen for good root growth, and potassium nitrate for good burning qualities. Another good GROWTH PHASE mix is 1/4 tsp Peters 20/20/20 fertilizer per gallon of water, with trace elements and oxygen added, or fish emulsion. Fish emulsion is great in the grean-house or outdoors, where smells are not an issue, but is not recommended for indoors, due to its strong odor.

 

[skatterbrayne]

Peace,

Exactly whats needed......

Urdedpal, If you dont have the time to check this ridiculously long post its all good, but if you do.. I've got an issue in my first real grow, I've done some research, but still need your help or anybody else's.... I'll have pics as soon as I can.

6 plants, all from seeds from herb I found exceptional, growin hydro jiffy pots inserted in clay pellets and netted pots in a 15 gallon container in a 4x2x4 grow room. Right now I've got a 4ft 2 bulb 32 w flourescent with cool white bulbs. (I've got a 400 w HPS for flowering).

The lights were directly touching the plants until this past week, at which point I raised them about an inch away. (The lights are barely even warm to the back of the hand.****Cellar****

Small oscillating fan and plenty of ventilation to outside air.
Water temp is 60 degrees.
grow room temp is at a steady 68 degrees


My problem is this, about a week and a half ago, 1 week or so into vegging I added VitaGrow Hydro Nutrients (IS THIS A WEAK PRODUCT???>>Super Micro N-P-K=1-5-8 & SuperGrow 4-0-0-4(Ca) at 1/3 the recommended strength, to be safe. Prior to adding this solution I had been using General Hydroponics pH up/down, keeping the pH between 5.8 and 6.0.


At first, it seemed like the plants loved the mix..they're only a few inches tall with 4 nodes plus the tops w/ about a cm between each, and they are growing a lot wider than taller, which Im lovin.

But this past Saturday, I started noticing that one of the plants leaves were beginning to shrivel curling down and inward. They were also turning pale green,which became yellow a day or two later from the inside out. Two other plants turned pale, while the shortest 3, about 3 inches each looked green and healthy as ever.

So I flushed the whole reservoir, the pellets, and the roots of all 6 and refilled it with plain tap. Week later..The afflicted ones are definitely gaining, the greeness back, but Wisdom's shriveled leaves remain as such, even though they are slowly turning a healthy green again. one of the ther afficted plants during the same time had "rough spots, which resembled these

Though the rest of the plant appears to be recovering well and no new growth shows similar signs, these spots have now turned yellow.

I read that I may have actually cause a nutrient problem, by adjusting daily to keep a rigid pH. Also, I believe I may have erroneously caused lock-up by ignorantly mixing the two part nutrients in concentrated form in a gallon bottle half filled with water before adding that to the reservoir. Whatever the case is..The leaves seem to be greening up and recovering, but certain leaves are either shriveled or afflicted with those spots as if there's a nutrient defeciency.


(((QUESTION)))
So How do I provide the nutrients at the same time that they are recovering from being burned by em? Also, I keep seein people with 10's and 20's in their nutrient N-P-K % Is the mix described above too weak to grow properly. Im not tryin to win the cannabis cup, but I'm not tryin to half step on my first grow, either, you know what Im sayin? Will increasing the amount toxify the solution rather than raise the elements to the desired amounts?

I'm goin downstairs to add your recommended amount of epsom salt right now....


Peace.. and thanks for any help anyone may have

 

[sactown 420]

1st of all you might want to get a ppm reading and find out what that is. This will help determine if they are getting to much nutrients and also what stage are they in right now?

 

[skatterbrayne]

Peace,
Damn.....I thought I was through spending...lol.

The plants are in the 3rd week of vegging.
Alright..and I know you're exactly right too, but I was tryin to see if I could have beginner's luck judging by instinct and recommened dosages. Im takin' your advice.. They should be somewhere around 1200-1500 ppm right? But what does that reading actually mean? Is it rating the parts of solution in general or of the actual nutrients? I guess what Im askin is, does knowing your ppm let you know when your solution is too weak and should be more concentrated or have higher NPK percentages? Or is it just an indicator of when an unsafe level of solution to plain water ratio is reached?
Hope not...Cause then it seems like, I could have correct ppm, but still not be providing the nutrients in the correct amounts and not know ihow to adjust accordingly. Probably just comes down to instinct and what the plant tells you, huh...Man, IM fascinated to a hindering level with this new found hobby. I'ma neglect my girlfriend for a couple of more hours while I shop around for one of those tds meters. Know any cheap brands or models that get the job done?

Thanks alot for the help.

Peace to You and Yours