Do Not Ruin Your Plants, Buy A Ppm Meter

[xinobyte]

I'm on my third grow, started out in soil with lucas formula and some protekt silica.
It all looked so easy, 7g of maxibloom all the way to the end they said.

Obviously, things went to shit really quick. I'd start out with 1/4 strength after 2 weeks, 1/2 strength until veg and then full strength from veg to harvest. I always wondered why my plants looked great as seedling and became very sick in veg.

Well, turns out i was following bad advices from people who should know better.
After testing each solutions, i realized i was feeding my girl 1100 ppm in veg, more than double the recommended dose. No wonder everything was burnt to a crisp by the time flowering arrived.

Moral of the story, don't be an idiot like me and spend $20 on a PPM meter.

 

[JWM2]

Whose advice were you following?

 

[xinobyte]

The website doesn't exist anymore but it's still archived here : https://web.archive.org/web/20160304204742/http://lucasformula.com/

 

[JWM2]

Sounds like you were following a rigid feeding regimen. The number 1 rule is to listen to what your plants are telling you.

 

[oldskol4evr]

i use a ppm meter more than a ph meter,i ferment and ph is near impossible when the dinner plate is alchols,lol,ppm is a sure bet in these cases,outdoor garden gets tested too o n feed days,once every 2 weeks,i ran a ph test several times ,by the time ph was perfect ppm was at the levels you speek,so dont think they all that bad imo,i go by the hannah scale on my medicine,outside i run every thing around 800 ppm all the way and just top dress kelp and sea bird now and then

 

[Burned Haze]

Check your run off every time you water on 1-2 plants at 15%+ and if you monitor that and make sure to not overfeed based on that or have salt/ph issues. that in turn will help you cause so many people only start checking run-off in till they see their plants looking funky or having ph issues or have deficiency .

 

[heisen]

Never checked a dirt plant in my life they wanna live.start low work up dont over water and dont over feed.growing in a dirt pot is as easy as taking a piss.
Save the meters for coco and hydro.
Feed about 1/4 strength every water with about 15 percent runoff to flush out old salts with tap water
Feed water water creates issues in soil pots.just feed light every time you water and watch the plants.they tell you what they want

 

[JWM2]

The website doesn't exist anymore but it's still archived here : https://web.archive.org/web/20160304204742/http://lucasformula.com/

I don't like using salt based ferts like GH in my soil, but that's me. I like organic ferts personally and with that there's some wiggle room but also results aren't always immediately obvious. Many organic ferts need time to break down to be assimilated into usable nutrients the plant can uptake and utilize.

Play around and see what works for you. The plant is easy to grow, but also easy to mess up. Find your sweet spot and go from there. Start with a good base soil mix or growing medium and build on that foundation.

Until you know what to look for and what your plants respond to, you're flying blind and it may be frustrating at times. But we are here to help you out so feel free to ask questions as needed.

 

[xinobyte]

Thanks for the replies, lots of good advice.

I should've mentioned that my plants are only 4 days old, in 100% canna coco and not in danger.
The runoff is at 5.8PH and 310 PPM (165 PPM tap). I've been giving them only calmag and silica every 2 days and planning to do so until they've got their first set of leaves. Temperature is sitting at a nice 71F and my humidifier is set to 70% for now.

Like suggested, i plan on only feeding when they're hungry. I've read that if what comes out is lower than what you've put in (PPM) it's time to feed more. Everything seems to be dialed in so far but feel free to comment if I'm doing something wrong.

 

[PhatNuggz]

Make sure to calibrate your pH pen weekly!

 

[sturgis]

Thanks for the replies, lots of good advice.

I should've mentioned that my plants are only 4 days old, in 100% canna coco and not in danger.
The runoff is at 5.8PH and 310 PPM (165 PPM tap). I've been giving them only calmag and silica every 2 days and planning to do so until they've got their first set of leaves. Temperature is sitting at a nice 71F and my humidifier is set to 70% for now.

Like suggested, i plan on only feeding when they're hungry. I've read that if what comes out is lower than what you've put in (PPM) it's time to feed more. Everything seems to be dialed in so far but feel free to comment if I'm doing something wrong.

.....New member so I shouldn't be giving advice but....I am a coco grower ...just my .02.....find some good water...at least for young plants...R/O water or collect rain water if you can.......that was the #1 thing that made my plants go from struggling to crazy growth.....Your feeding 310ppm and 165ppm, [over 50%]...of your nutrient mix.. is anti foam agents, PH boosters, and other things to kill living organisms......Coco is a great media, ....just my preference...I mix it 70/30 coco/perlite......so it drains faster......which means I can water/feed more often, which makes bigger plants........I wish you luck with your grow....