PPM. How important is it?

[AndyBoi]

Buenos dias amigos!
First time grower AndyBoi here. I do not use a PPM meter. I use a PH meter to test my feed and my 20% run off. I have faced a few deficiencies along the way, all easily resolved. My plants seem healthy and happy. My water source is from the mountains of western British Columbia (a relatively soft water source).

Would measuring my PPM benefit my grow?

 

[beluga]

Basically, it's not important until it is.
I, too, don't use (nor even own) a PPM meter. Hell, I only checked the pH of my tap water once and I run an LP Aeroponics system.
I use water from a dehumidifier or from my tap (municipal water). I use 1/4 - 3/4 the recommended dose of Botanicare CNS17. It's never given me an issue and I've been using it through probably 6 different water sources.
But!
I know that when an issue inevitably does arise that having had monitored more things will have either prevented or will aid me in identifying the vector of said issue.
Without those monitors, you're just shooting in the dark.

 

[AndyBoi]

Basically, it's not important until it is.
I, too, don't use (nor even own) a PPM meter. Hell, I only checked the pH of my tap water once and I run an LP Aeroponics system.
I use water from a dehumidifier or from my tap (municipal water). I use 1/4 - 3/4 the recommended dose of Botanicare CNS17. It's never given me an issue and I've been using it through probably 6 different water sources.
But!
I know that when an issue inevitably does arise that having had monitored more things will have either prevented or will aid me in identifying the vector of said issue.
Without those monitors, you're just shooting in the dark.

Glad to know im not the only one. Thank you

 

[beluga]

Would measuring my PPM benefit my grow?

Oh, and to address this part of your post... I would say yes.
You'll probably get better, quicker yields by more specifically catering the nutrients to your plant's needs. Otherwise, they're unnecessarily stressed or underfed, etc.

That can be achieved by 'feel', but you then need to learn how to touch.

 

[JWM2]

Well ppm can be tricky. It’s good to know the value but the value alone doesn’t tell you too much. Other than there’s either no, little or a lot of something in your input solution/water. Take for example Epsom salt. 1 tsp of Epsom salt will raise your ppm significantly in a gallon of water. But this same solution is devoid of all other macro and micro nutrients so it’s of little use unless all you need is magnesium. This is also why you’d add something like Epsom salt last. But it is handy to know and is useful to an extent.

 

[Beachwalker]

Buenos dias amigos!

Would measuring my PPM benefit my grow?

Yes. I use mine probably 25 to 1 over the pH drops

 

[RR1]

Yes. I use mine probably 25 to 1 over the pH drops

I also do not use a meter, but I know my water inside and out. I am a water/wastewater SME, so I do have an idea how things work. If I was going in with little real knowledge about water chemistry, I probably would. It will shorten your learning curve about YOUR water. After a while you won't really need it, IMHO.
RR1

 

[AndyBoi]

Oh, and to address this part of your post... I would say yes.
You'll probably get better, quicker yields by more specifically catering the nutrients to your plant's needs. Otherwise, they're unnecessarily stressed or underfed, etc.

That can be achieved by 'feel', but you then need to learn how to touch.

Does this apply to a soil grow?

 

[AndyBoi]

Oh, and to address this part of your post... I would say yes.
You'll probably get better, quicker yields by more specifically catering the nutrients to your plant's needs. Otherwise, they're unnecessarily stressed or underfed, etc.

That can be achieved by 'feel', but you then need to learn how to touch.

2 things have me intrigued here. Your saying that plants can potentially be stressed or underfed (possibly PPM neglect) and not show visible physical signs.

Nutrients can be adjusted based on PPM as opposed to a ratio of volume?

 

[JTShakes]

Nutrients can be adjusted based on PPM as opposed to a ratio of volume?

PPM is your ratio. Parts per million. Most of the time it's measured with EC or electrical conductivity. Like @JWM2 said, PPM only gives you one data point. It won't tell you if your nutes are balanced as far as N, P, K, etc., but it will tell you how much 'other stuff' is in your H2O. It will also tell you how much 'other stuff' is in your runoff, which can help show you how much the plant is feeding or if there's buildup. (600ppm in 200ppm out vs. 600ppm in 800ppm out)

I grew for years without one. I initially bought mine just to see what the ppm of the tap water was at my new house so I knew what I was working with.

I use a PPM meter to measure my nutrient solution and runoff. It's mostly used as a check on my mixing abilities. I mix multiple jugs at the same time and it's nice to have a number to reference just to make sure all the jugs are mixed at about the same level.

In my opinion, pH is way more important to keep an eye on. That said, additional data doesn't hurt :)

Hope this helps!
-JT

 

[AndyBoi]

PPM is your ratio. Parts per million. Most of the time it's measured with EC or electrical conductivity. Like @JWM2 said, PPM only gives you one data point. It won't tell you if your nutes are balanced as far as N, P, K, etc., but it will tell you how much 'other stuff' is in your H2O. It will also tell you how much 'other stuff' is in your runoff, which can help show you how much the plant is feeding or if there's buildup. (600ppm in 200ppm out vs. 600ppm in 800ppm out)

I grew for years without one. I initially bought mine just to see what the ppm of the tap water at my new house was so I knew what I was working with.

I use my PPM meter to measure my nutrient solution and my runoff. It's mostly used as a check on my mixing abilities. I mix multiple jugs at the same time and it's nice to have a number to reference just to make sure all the jugs are mixed at about the same level.

In my opinion, pH is way more important to keep an eye on. That said, more data doesn't hurt :)

Hope this helps!
-JT

Thank you!

 

[Dirtbag]

Is nobody going to mention the polyploid bud in the last photo!?!? Thats a pretty rare mutation youve got there. Very cool.

 

[AndyBoi]

Is nobody going to mention the polyploid bud in the last photo!?!? Thats a pretty rare mutation youve got there. Very cool.

thank you! Thats my number 4, haha. She has certainly been the strange one of the crop. Right from the second node she split on her own and has produced some unique leaves. She might still have a few more surprises for me. Ill try to find some pictures of her unique productions.

first one might be a deficiency

 

[Flexnerb]

thank you! Thats my number 4, haha. She has certainly been the strange one of the crop. Right from the second node she split on her own and has produced some unique leaves. She might still have a few more surprises for me. Ill try to find some pictures of her unique productions.

first one might be a deficiency

Top pic could be variegnation (if i spelled that word wrong...lol)

If you are a smoker or one has touched your plants could be tmv too

 

[JTShakes]

Is nobody going to mention the polyploid bud in the last photo!?!? Thats a pretty rare mutation youve got there. Very cool.

I didn't even notice that! Very cool indeed!

 

[purpleberry]

Mutant leaf, variegation and a crested top..nice. What’s the strain?

 

[AndyBoi]

Mutant leaf, variegation and a crested top..nice. What’s the strain?

This is white widow feminized from crop king seeds

 

[Tommy57]

PPM is your ratio. Parts per million. Most of the time it's measured with EC or electrical conductivity. Like @JWM2 said, PPM only gives you one data point. It won't tell you if your nutes are balanced as far as N, P, K, etc., but it will tell you how much 'other stuff' is in your H2O. It will also tell you how much 'other stuff' is in your runoff, which can help show you how much the plant is feeding or if there's buildup. (600ppm in 200ppm out vs. 600ppm in 800ppm out)

I grew for years without one. I initially bought mine just to see what the ppm of the tap water was at my new house so I knew what I was working with.

I use a PPM meter to measure my nutrient solution and runoff. It's mostly used as a check on my mixing abilities. I mix multiple jugs at the same time and it's nice to have a number to reference just to make sure all the jugs are mixed at about the same level.

In my opinion, pH is way more important to keep an eye on. That said, additional data doesn't hurt :)

Hope this helps!
-JT

I was wondering if you could help me out real quick regarding whether the plant is feeding or there is buildup? 600PPM in and 200PPM out means its feeding correct? And 600PPM in 800PPM out means there's other stuff in there or buildup?

I watered 2 plants today. I have them in FF Frog. My filtered water was 116PPM

P1 - 569 PPM in 850 PPM out.
P2 - 569 PPM in 1234 PPM out.

Do I have a buildup of nutrients? Or is the soils nutes keeping the runoff high? I'm not using much of the GH nutes and just used water several times.

Am I reading the PPMs on my plants correctly?

 

[AndyBoi]

I was wondering if you could help me out real quick regarding whether the plant is feeding or there is buildup? 600PPM in and 200PPM out means its feeding correct? And 600PPM in 800PPM out means there's other stuff in there or buildup?

I watered 2 plants today. I have them in FF Frog. My filtered water was 116PPM

P1 - 569 PPM in 850 PPM out.
P2 - 569 PPM in 1234 PPM out.

Do I have a buildup of nutrients? Or is the soils nutes keeping the runoff high? I'm not using much of the GH nutes and just used water several times.

Am I reading the PPMs on my plants correctly?

I know very little about PPM. But i have heard about this same issue in fox farm soil. Based on logical deduction, i would assume you have a build up.
How are your plants looking?
What stage are your plants in?

 

[tobh]

Sorry amigo, not trying to hijack your post. The following quote caught my attention, so going on a personal endeavor for a moment.

I also do not use a meter, but I know my water inside and out. I am a water/wastewater SME, so I do have an idea how things work. If I was going in with little real knowledge about water chemistry, I probably would. It will shorten your learning curve about YOUR water. After a while you won't really need it, IMHO.
RR1

So, @RR1, if one was to send you a water report (super generalized as to be expected from a utility provider) would you be able to clarify wtf is actually being said?

@AndyBoi yes, measure your PPMs. As was said, if nothing else, it helps set a baseline when troubleshooting issues.

I'm a software developer by trade. I don't push any code into production that isn't logging in some manner. Why? Because when it comes to the next bug report, I'll be able to know what is and what isn't. Sure, 90% of it is useless, but the more variables you know, the better when the inevitable happens.