Need help finishing up my second grow before I completed screw it up I can give all details needed but I would like the one on one cos some of my questions might be dumb or the problems that are in my grow I have no idea how to solve
You had another thread
here. (<<link) You received a lot of advice, and said you were waiting for a new ph meter and would update when it comes in. From that thread:
- You're using Black Gold Organic potting mix with added perlite (from the video you posted there, I don't think you added nearly enough. I would have done 50%.).
- You said you put "regular potting mix" in the bottom of the 7gal pot to bring the 2gal pot flush to the top of the 7gal pot, and filled around with the Black Gold?
- What is the "regular potting mix?"
- You're feeding Fox Farms "trio." But, only fed twice during the life of the plant ?
- Runof ppms are 300.
- You have high runoff ph (but were waiting for a new ph meter because you didn't trust the one you had at that time).
- You were suggested to do a NCSU runoff and/or slurry ph test.
- I don't recall if we talked about water quality (if your tap water is optimal, or would benefit from being mixed with RO water to get 150ppm before adding nutrients). You can check this with your TDS pen. But, your water provider should have a water-quality report you can request. It may be online. (If you use well water, the local water company should have an idea what the local ground water is like.).
- Based on Black Gold Organic potting mix being low in nutrients, and your runoff ppms being so low, and your runoff ph being so high: you're not feeding enough. (But, the "regular potting mix" which you used in the bottom of the 7gal pot might confuse that topic?).
If you wanted to follow something that works, I've documented most of what I do
here. (<<link). Soil, water & nutrients (my Grow More - Sea Grow feeding schedule). There's always other factors like temp/humidity, lights, pests, air ventilation/circulation. But, soil, water & nutrients are the critical things to dial in. Once those are right, the rest is easy to work out.
For lights: I use T5HO @ 40w/sq ft (I add some LED lightbulbs in mid to late flower for sidelighting, bring it to 45w/sq ft). That's for a 4' tall space. In a 7' tall space, I use CMH at 35w/sq ft (more like 38 counting the ballast). I sidelight that too in late lower.
But, you can see in the lighting directory that LED lightbulbs work well for the entire grow. For any light, it's just a matter of having enough w/sq ft (which can vary depending upon the light used, its quality.). I can do 20w/sq ft with household LED lightbulbs. But, it's a lot of work juggling a dozen lightbulbs, covering the plant all around from a close distance. Some inexpensive LED fixtures (3-4 years ago, anyway) needed 50w/sq ft. Getting the right light dialed in with the right coverage/intensity can take some thought/practice. Everyone starts out thinking "light is light." But, it depends on the type of light (HPS, CMH, LED, flourescent), how distant it has to be due to intensity (versus close and better coverage with more light sources).
I'd be happy to coach you through that stuff next time. I know the soil/nutrients work. To me, that's the biggest variable. If that stuff is dialed in already, the rest is much easier. I think where new growers go wrong is they do something entirely new (soil and nutrient-amount & usage). I don't think there's anything special about my soil or nutrients. If someone else documented how they grow, I'm sure that would work too.
