Pot Size

[plm]

I just decided to grow 6 autos in 3 gal pots under that 600W hps cuz I'm a bit restrained by time, I think they will fit nicely in that 4x4 just cuz autos and tend to stay shorter and easy to manage, but for my next grow I will definitely go 4 plants 5 gal pots with training + scrog, otherwise I don't see any option here to maximize my space and use the light efficiently, but in the near future I will consider investing in a hydro setup.

 

[Organikz]

@brazel has given fine advice. Scrog can be done no problem in no till even. I use blumat sensors and a tensiometer at the front of my beds. We only have holes in the pots for aeration, not runoff. Runoff in organics is bad.

 

[brazel]

A majority of growers on these forums know everything... that the bottle of nutes they bought told them!
And the minute you try to drop some knowledge they attack but if I put it on a label and stuck it on a bottle they'd praise it!
And those bottles of nutes... Ha
You can make your own for pennies on the dollar that are far superior!

You got your veg nutes and whatever the other six bottles are that go with it and the same for flowering then after you do that you gotta flush it all out!
I was fooled too back in the nineties until I questioned why!

Knowledge is key not ignorance

 

[Organikz]

A majority of growers on these forums know everything... that the bottle of nutes they bought told them!
And the minute you try to drop some knowledge they attack but if I put it on a label and stuck it on a bottle they'd praise it!
And those bottles of nutes... Ha
You can make your own for pennies on the dollar that are far superior!

You got your veg nutes and whatever the other six bottles are that go with it and the same for flowering then after you do that you gotta flush it all out!
I was fooled too back in the nineties until I questioned why!

Knowledge is key not ignorance

Saying 1 bottled nutes is better than another is pure conjecture. Ammonium nitrate is ammonium nitrate. All bottled nutrients companies use the same formula. They just put different ratios in microns vs macros so people can think they've done something fancy.
My bottle of nutes is a bag of malted barley. Where's the feed chart...dont need one. I can top dress 1/4 cup to 3 cups...uptake pathways...if I start talking about uptake pathways some heads might explode.

 

[brazel]

That'd be great if just a carbon filter would purify my water enough but it doesn't. Have a huge mineral load in the water here. Couldn't control my PH regardless of a KDF-85 carbon filter that is made especially for taking out heavy metals and chloramines. Went to RO, never had problems since.

I use the kdh and love it! I don't do any PH so I can't relate to that.
It could be the product your adding has the elements your RO takes out, so by adding it to the kdf filtered water you're overloading it?

 

[brazel]

Cause super fine water mist easily spreads around a grow room.

Never had that problem

 

[King Julien]

Leaves that develop during heat and light stress never repair. Nothing to worry about. Your plants have many moons before flip. They will grow lots more leaves.

I use the kdh and love it! I don't do any PH so I can't relate to that.
It could be the product your adding has the elements your RO takes out, so by adding it to the kdf filtered water you're overloading it?

Nah, I did a lot of poor mans on site testing back then just to figure out what the hell was wrong with my water.

It would swing PH with no nutes in it just sitting there with air running through it, no air running through it, any amount of any nute in it. It didn't matter. I'm talking by 2-3 points overnight or even faster. It was awful. Ruined my very first crop with it almost out of the gate.

 

[Organikz]

Nah, I did a lot of poor mans on site testing back then just to figure out what the hell was wrong with my water.

It would swing PH with no nutes in it just sitting there with air running through it, no air running through it, any amount of any nute in it. It didn't matter. I'm talking by 2-3 points overnight or even faster. It was awful. Ruined my very first crop with it almost out of the gate.

It sounds like you have a lot of nitrates or VOC (volatile organic compounds) in your water. As you brew a compost tea the pH drops. You might have to use an RO. I know a guy that has to use RO for LOS because his water is so full of nitrates.

 

[plm]

I just use a plain NPK nute, some nettle juice, spirulina, a pk booster, and blackstrap molasses, but I have a good mix of soil, with beneficial bacteria and fungi, trichoderma, mychorizzae etc.

 

[brazel]

I just decided to grow 6 autos in 3 gal pots under that 600W hps cuz I'm a bit restrained by time, I think they will fit nicely in that 4x4 just cuz autos and tend to stay shorter and easy to manage, but for my next grow I will definitely go 4 plants 5 gal pots with training + scrog, otherwise I don't see any option here to maximize my space and use the light efficiently, but in the near future I will consider investing in a hydro setup.

I'd do autos in five gallons and never transplant. Skip the hydro, build your soil, no more spending hundreds of dollars on shit like bud candy!? get four 20 gallon geopots, scrog, don't cut or trim anything till the buds ready to be cut. A 4x4 tent six feet or taller will be efficient for any grow unless it's a pure sativa and even then you can train them to grow the way you want.

If you also have a metal halide run that the full cycle and compare that to your HPS grow, I think you'd be surprised! I believe the sweet spot is 4000k

 

[King Julien]

I just use maxibloom, calmag, a silicone supplement, liquid and dry koolbloom. Grow in sterile DWC using smooth river rocks as my grow medium.

Not saying it's better, not saying organic soil won't produce better meds. I'm saying that pound for pound mine takes almost no effort or thought comparatively and I've got no complaints about it over organic stuff I have had plenty of in the past. I don't even PH.

I replace nuted water as it runs out and simply replace water every 2-4 weeks during flower depending on how fast they're drinking it. I don't monitor PPM either. I just pay attention to how fast they are drinking their water and how stout the nutes were in the first place. Flush the last week or two depending on how the plant looks and blamo, done.

Initial cost is the worst but most of that is equipment, not nutes. A full 10+ grow supply of my nutes costs maybe 150 bucks.

 

[plm]

I think I'll just stick to 6 auto plants in 3gal pots, I think it's enough space for them to thrive and fill that 4x4 just nice. I'm afraid of 5 gal pots, cuz it will get crowded like hell, and end up like my last grow, 9 plants in 4x4 all fighting each other for light, space, air etc.

Start them all in final 3 gal pots, do some light LST, like a little bending of the main stem to keep them a bit shorter, I know you aren't supposed to train autos, due to stressing to easy and get stunted, but I think a little LST won't hurt right?

 

[King Julien]

I've never had it cause hermies but I've also never grown autos so couldn't tell you for sure.

 

[brazel]

I just use a plain NPK nute, some nettle juice, spirulina, a pk booster, and blackstrap molasses, but I have a good mix of soil, with beneficial bacteria and fungi, trichoderma, mychorizzae etc.

Not sure what nettle juice is but I'm thinking it revolves around stinging nettle which is a dynamic accumulator. It'd be better just to go pick some stinging nettle and powder it up and add it to the soil... wear gloves! I'd ditch the spirulina and the molasses. Not sure what pk booster is but I'd ditch that with the npk. But that's just me, not trying to put your process down be rude or disencourage anyone

 

[Organikz]

I think I'll just stick to 6 auto plants in 3gal pots, I think it's enough space for them to thrive and fill that 4x4 just nice. I'm afraid of 5 gal pots, cuz it will get crowded like hell, and end up like my last grow, 9 plants in 4x4 all fighting each other for light, space, air etc.

Start them all in final 3 gal pots, do some light LST, like a little bending of the main stem to keep them a bit shorter, I know you aren't supposed to train autos, due to stressing to easy and get stunted, but I think a little LST won't hurt right?

You can go with 3g if you're using bottled nutes but I would use a smart pot so you don't get rootbound and you will be able to get more dry outs so you can get more feedings in.

 

[plm]

I'm restrained by time, I only got 3 months on my hands, after that I don't think I will be able to grow anything for some time, and I think another grow but with autos this time will be fine.

 

[plm]

Nettle Tea: I go in the woods I gather nettles, I take a 2 litre plastic bottle, stuff it full of chopped nettles, add a little bit of water (100ml will do) and replace the cap.

Drill a tiny hole in the cap.

Sit bottle upside down in a container, a bucket will do.

After 3-4 days the plant material will start to break down and a thick, dark green liquid will start to drip out of the bottle, within 8-10 days I will have about a litre of concentrated nettle juice. Dilute 1:10 and use.

 

[brazel]

I just use maxibloom, calmag, a silicone supplement, liquid and dry koolbloom. Grow in sterile DWC using smooth river rocks as my grow medium.

Not saying it's better, not saying organic soil won't produce better meds. I'm saying that pound for pound mine takes almost no effort or thought comparatively and I've got no complaints about it over organic stuff I have had plenty of in the past. I don't even PH.

I replace nuted water as it runs out and simply replace water every 2-4 weeks during flower depending on how fast they're drinking it. I don't monitor PPM either. I just pay attention to how fast they are drinking their water and how stout the nutes were in the first place. Flush the last week or two depending on how the plant looks and blamo, done.

Initial cost is the worst but most of that is equipment, not nutes. A full 10+ grow supply of my nutes costs maybe 150 bucks.

I used to dwc many years ago. I'm not about one way is better than the other way, to each is their own. I'm about bs ass companies with their bs ass product and making false claims! Grow on

 

[plm]

Yeah, especially seed breeders, claiming 7-8 weeks of flowering time when in reality it's like 9-10, anyway I always harvest judging by color of the trichomes.

 

[plm]

Spirulina powder during veg, accelerates growth, supplying all the enzymes the soil needs during first weeks of life.

I go to organic foods etc shop, I buy 200g ziplock bag of spirulina powder, for 4$, I take 1 table spoon and add to 1 gal of water.

Spirulina has high amounts of Mg and Ca as well as all the elements in the periodic table, and this way I won't be needing to pay huge $$ for watered down calmag formulas and such, when I have Spirulina which also feeds the beneficial microrganism in the soil, resulting for a fast nutrient up take.