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[MEGA]Community Growing advice, tips, tricks, & experiences Part 4

PsychicBuBBLe said:
Ok so... when will I know to feed again?

I also heard that I should stop feeding 2 weeks prior to harvest... is this true?
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Not if it's an organic nutrient. I think you said it was, so I don't think this should be done, and if you do do it unecessarily you'll possibly reduce floral production a bit.

If it's not organic, as wise says yes you need to flush. But why one would be using a synthetic non-organic in compost I do not know.


PsychicBuBBLe said:
^ Well that is exactly my point. My leaves are yellow right now but we fed just 2 days ago. It takes about a week for them to turn green again so how do I know if they are fed enough? You see what I'm saying?

Also - What is the signal for stopping the feed? What should the buds look like? I want to know because not all flowering takes the same amount of time so I'd like to know what to look for to know when to stop.
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Not wishing to sound pedantic, if you'll go back to my the point where I gave you the advice, you'll see I said a couple of days up to a week, not a week. Slight deficiencies = fixed in 1-2 days; serious deficiencies = up to a week.

Wise says adjust the pH to 6.5, but I disagree with that with such a grow if your tapwater is fine. I've never in all my growing career ever had to adjust pH ever, since the compost itself buffers the pH. I think this is a personally think this is a hydro principle growers have moved over to soil growing. I've also noticed a lot of growers adjusting pH having problems (whether their problems are related to this I don't know, but it's just an observation I've made). Gardeners and farmers haven't needed to do so for thousands of years and they have never had issues. Cannabis is no different from tomatoes and if you ask a hundred randomly chosen successful tomato growers whether they've ever needed to adjust pH, most would say 'what are you talking about?'.

However Wise and I both know we disagree with each other on this issue and have, lets say, an unwritten agreement to disagree on the issue and not get into long drawn argument. We get along fine anyway despite that.

You need to up the feed, and continue with that amount of feed. Then, once a week has passed, if it was initially a serious def. make the decision to increase it further because you can say then that it hasn't been increased enough.

If it's a minor deficiency, up the feed and then assess what the next step should be after a couple of days if it's not made a difference.
 
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Your right AE, I am actually one who has never needed to adjust the pH in my tap water, so I agree with ya. The reason I mentioned checking the pH(the run off) if the water's pH is fine, is that there could be something in the soil mix that's slightly putting it out.

I have a mate whose just harvested, bout a month or so ago his girls all showed signs of deficiencys, and it wasnt till I really gave him a nudge about testing the run off did he then relise, the pH was way out around the 5.0 mark. This was put down to the coco used in his soil mix, the tap water comes out at 6.5-7.
 
That is what I'm saying... we upped the feed. Some of the leaves remained yellow or died off and others started turning green again. However, the plants look a bit cabbagy as if they were overfed.

I think you also may have missed my question about stopping the feed 2 weeks before harvest. I'd like to know what my plants will look like before I stop. I want to know exactly what to look for...

Thanks :)
 
^ The leaves go yellow during the last 2 weeks of harvesting usually because people starting flushing at this point (that is, using just plain water to leach out all the nutrients). However since you're using organic nutrients IIRC, then you shouldn't flush, or suffer much yellowing.

How long has it been since you switched to 12/12 anyway?!

edit: I'll expand on another point later when I edit this post. Got to go for now.


........


Prelude, I don't know if you're busy but when you get a chance to take a look at my posts re the FAQ can you get back to me so I can continue with it? :)

I have put writing it off until we can sort the issue out, so if you can get back to me asap that would allow things to get moving.
 
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here are my babies! one of them has been struggling for a few days now and was attacked by a slug last night!! my first grow, not looking for massive yield just enough to have for myself. anything I am doing wrong? too much water? they get plenty of sunlight and this will be a backyard grow. already know to transplant when the roots start appearing. what about trimming? and when should I introduce feed? also best way to stop the slugs attacking, I keep them in this nice little dish with water and would like a good defense mechanism.

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^ you should not leave them to sit in water like that, as they'll 'drown'. If you must use a dish, pour the contents away if the peat pot and it's soil contents haven't absorbed any excess water a couple of ours after watering them. Ideally have a dish with lots of little drainage holes so the water will drain away.

No they don't need feeding and what is it that you are transplanting the into? The ground?

If you want a good defense mechanism, leave out some slug pellets (iron based organic version, not metaldehyde type) on the ground surrounding them and surround with a chicken wire cylindrical cage. Also go with very little water for a day or so, so that your piss is nice and stinky and then piss all around your plants (go wild). Either that or get a pet hedgehog and leave it on a leash next to your plants. You could take a nice dump by your plants but I think that's going a tad bit too far ;)

If you're transplanting into proper solid plastic pots when you pot up (do you know what 'potting up' is? if not, I'd google the term), the surround the top rim of the plastic pot with copper tape so slugs and snails can't pass it.
 
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kinda thought I was overwatering.. all set now.

most likely they will be transplanted into large ceramic pots as the roots would take over the delicious veggie garden we've got here.

cant really not drink water due to health problems but i'll try some of those methods!! would so get a hedgehog if I had the money, have wanted one for a while now :D

thanks & subscribed!
 
^ I have to admit I wasn't entirely being serious about the hedgehog, however I do know of one instance where a grower attached one via a leash to an enclosure and it faithfully kept the plants slug and snail free.

Normal piss is okay. Just keep pissing around the plants on a regular basis and the smell (that animals can sense) will be there.

Ceramic pots are inferior to plastic IMO. The best is the type with no bottom. Literally put the plastic ring on the ground after it's been loosened up with a trowel, fill with compost and the roots will eventually grow into the earth.
 
hedgehogs are awesome either way.

here is my slug defense system. a "moat" of salt and the dish rests on the pot. should keep the buggers at bay, this yard doesn't have many other pests. might piss in the salt for extra defense

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curious as to why the ceramics are a bad call. too porous? too cold? im sure it will end up being a plastic pot since it's cheap :D
 
CNS17 and PureBlend aren't organic... or are they?

They have been in 12/12 for exactly 4 weeks on June 29th.
 
dropsonde said:
hedgehogs are awesome either way.

here is my slug defense system. a "moat" of salt and the dish rests on the pot. should keep the buggers at bay, this yard doesn't have many other pests. might piss in the salt for extra defense

NSFW:
jkWl9.jpg


curious as to why the ceramics are a bad call. too porous? too cold? im sure it will end up being a plastic pot since it's cheap :D
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Nope I would not recommend that mate. Try again ;)

The NaCl will probably either get dissolved and washed away by the rain and/or absorbed by the potting medium by rain run off, through the drainage holes.

You want to go to the garden centre and get 'organic' snail and slug pellets. They're designed so that they actually swell in the rain and become effective, and are meant not to wash away in the rain.

If you can't/won't get to a garden centre, buy a load of dirt cheap value eggs and make a moat out of the crushed egg shells.

Or if you want, get a small plastic container and bury it so the rim is flush with the ground/earth/soil surface and fill with beer, or water with yeast and sugar dissolved in. Make a small 'roof' on top so that it doesn't fill with rain and overflow after getting diluted to the point where it doesn't work. Or... go to the garden centre and buy a slug/snail ready made beer trap if you aren't that frugal or don't like making things. But whilst you're there you may as well get the slug pellets ;)

The ceramic pots are porous and dry the soil out etc. They just cause more problems than plastic, but you do get a lot of gardeners using them successfully. I personally don't see the point when you can get cheaper, better plastic pots. If you're worried about the environment there are other materials used to make pots that are suitable that aren't made from crude oil, such as plastics derived from plants etc.

PsychicBuBBLe said:
CNS17 and PureBlend aren't organic... or are they?

They have been in 12/12 for exactly 4 weeks on June 29th.
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Then I would choose another brand in future if it were me. The bud will end up tasting better.

I'm not familiar with those nutrients so I don't know, because I'm not sure they're both available where I live in the UK and even if they were, they would not be what I would choose at all with what's available over here.

Don't mean to criticize - I'm just being honest about how I would go about my grow personally.
 
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No, it's ok. I still would like to know what to look for in my plants to know when to stop feeding. Are there signs?
 
^You should look for yellowing. It really couldn't be simpler ;)

You've seen what your plants look like when green, lush and healthy so when you start seeing chlorosis (yellowing), you will know when it's time to feed.

I'm a bit confused about what it is you're unsure about.
 
No no no! lol. Ok. I want to know when to flush/NOT feed them. The last 2 weeks before harvest they should be fed no nutrients. Since I don't know exactly when the last 2 weeks are (since all plants flowering cycles are different) I'd like to know what to look for so I know they are in their final 2 weeks.

:)
 
When you said 'stop feeding them' and asked 'for any signs' I assumed you were talking about feeding too much like you were asking about before. Misunderstanding then.

Basically there are no signs, apart from the fact that the date which you plan to harvest is approaching (depending on the date you switched to 12/12, which you should have marked on your calender or something). Forget the dogma about flushing with plain water for the last 2 weeks prior to harvest, as IMO that's a simplistic method that's only used a lot because it works satisfactorily and more importantly everyone else is doing it (no offense to anyone that does, if you've not experimented with other techniques apart from continuing to fertilize at full strength you've no choice but to follow the apparent general 'consensus' among online growers on message boards or online guides).

I would recommend reducing the dosage (that keeps them nicely healthy) by about 22% for the first three to four days of the 2 week period prior to harvest date, continue and then reduce this lower dose from day #11 or a day later and up until harvest by around 29% until there's only a week left (day #7 until harvest).

IMO it's best not to starve them for a whole two weeks when they're in their prime right before harvest. I'm sure you could alter the figures however I saw no reason to round up the percentages for simplicity's sake to just one significant figure when I'm using figures based on empirical experimentation that's worked well for others and myself.

You can continue with the final dose reduction until there are signs that it's in fact time to actually harvest though. The expected harvest tie is quite often in the real world either before or after the estimated times given by the breeder, since plants are variable in general. If they're all clones they should be ready roughly all at around the same time (in theory).
 
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*UPDATE*

We just checked them and we are still seeing yellowing. The following is our feeding schedule:

1.) We started to see yellowing so we fed them 10ml/g (the recommended dose is 25ml/g)

2.) Two days later we noticed the yellowing was persisting so we fed them 20ml/g

3.) Two days later the same thing. We upped it to 25ml/g.

4. Two days later the same thing. We upped it to 30ml/g.

5.) We just checked them and the yellowing is still present. Even more leaves than before. I guess we should just keep upping the dosage. I guess next will be 40ml/g. The top of the plants and buds look beautiful but these lower leaves are really yellow. Some are dying off.

6.) *2nd Update* More and More leaves are dying and falling off. I really need to up the feed dramatically it seems. Perhaps feed them daily instead of every other day.

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Miscarriages ever-which-a-way

Bluelihgt community, i relly need your help here...for the love of god i need your help!
SO basically planted some seedlings in the woods as a guerrilla type grow....they did not grow even tho i kept em watered.
So my new plan which started today june 29 appx 12:00pm is:
1.Put 5 seeds each in cups to let germinate(which i did NOT do last time)
2. so right now they are on my deck. no sprouts yet. watered and everything.
WHAT IM TRYING TO ACCOMPLISH is:
SInce im way late i want buds in a hurry right? so im thinking hopefully in another month and a half or 2, they SHOULD be about atleast 1 or 2 feet tall right??
WHEN they get that tall i plan to top them, and let them flower only being like 2 ft tall.
IS IT CRAZY ENOUGH TO WORK.....YOU DECIDE SAN DEIGO...you decide.
Thanks in advance for any advise
 
PsychicBuBBLe said:
*UPDATE*

We just checked them and we are still seeing yellowing. The following is our feeding schedule:

1.) We started to see yellowing so we fed them 10ml/g (the recommended dose is 25ml/g)

2.) Two days later we noticed the yellowing was persisting so we fed them 20ml/g

3.) Two days later the same thing. We upped it to 25ml/g.

4. Two days later the same thing. We upped it to 30ml/g.

5.) We just checked them and the yellowing is still present. Even more leaves than before. I guess we should just keep upping the dosage. I guess next will be 40ml/g. The top of the plants and buds look beautiful but these lower leaves are really yellow. Some are dying off.

6.) *2nd Update* More and More leaves are dying and falling off. I really need to up the feed dramatically it seems. Perhaps feed them daily instead of every other day.

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Try feeding every day for a couple of days. If things dont change, IMO it's well worth checking your pH.
 
I will try that. we are upping the feed from 30ml/g to 40ml/g. I'm concerned though... the middle leaves are yellowing and dying off. The tops are fine... but I'm still worried :(
 
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