customizing a feeding program

[toquer]

I too agree that yield has EVERYTHING to do with genetics!

totally agree and a bad feeding program will make yield suffer. This plant yields only 1.5oz per plant on the same feeding program that others are getting 2 to 2.3. If you look at my space and think that i harvest 74 plants a month, this is a massive difference. Granted the indica's go an additional 2 week so in a years time i am able to 2.2 more crops of this strain vs the others. Should i do the math and determine if i'm getting the same amount out of the strain?

So, on that note, if you decide you want to keep this plant, then my recommendation(s) would be to stop topping so many times, stop using boosters, tighten up your pruning tech, and switch to a medium that will give you a bigger root mass in smaller pots.

plant topping was a test we had done several times with this strain. with no topping i get a really tall christmas tree with a nice upper cola and the side branches not even getting anywhere near as close. with a single topping we have decent result but again a few christmas trees per pot. the method that gave the best results was an initial topping early in veg and a second topping a week before flower. Remove everything 2 feet below the new top and send into flower. produces a very even canopy and reduces the stretch.

tighten up your pruning tech...please give more details as to what you mean, i don't take offense, i'm seeking input.

about the medium, so we did a test... VermiFire vs Greenlight

plants look better in Greenlight, have better rootmass in Greenlight. But that was before we started using Aptus and the plants using Aptus and VermiFire are in better shape than the ones with Greenlight and Humboldt. So this is a test we will have to perform again. I have a feeling that we need a much fluffier soil for this plant. It has been my thought the entire time. Next round of this strain will be in Greenlight again.

About boosters...so just give it a simple 2 part nutrient throughout the grow cycle? kinda like deprive it of excess and let it figure it out on it's own from stored sugars in the leaf? so agree with this one as outdoors this plant exceeds anything with just the sun and a bag of dirt. hell a clone in the ground does better than we've ever done indoors.

 

[Tnelz]

im no biologist but from the massive research ive done on cal/mag, seems most have a ratio out of wack for some. Mixing your own custom blend would work better, right? And nectar of the gods is a calcium phosphate where as most companies cal/mag uses a calcium nitrate. Nitrates from what ive read is harder for some plants to break down. I think anyway. Someone correct me if im wrong. Because unless im wrong i too plan to purchase calcium phosphate instead of nitrate in next go round

Watch monster gardens explanation of calcium phosphate vs. Calcium nitrate. You are correct in your thinking. Another good calcium source is cal carb by extreme gardens. For the record I've used both and have had great results. In saying that Seamaiden is a calcium genius imo so I'd defer to her all day. Honest to God and this is sad but never realized how vital calcium was until I heard her speak on it a while ago. Listen to her bro.....

 

[Tnelz]

Tnelz, have though about going Coco but it's not cost effective for me nor is it feasible in this location without rebuilding it, and i'm not about to undo a $20K a month operation to change mediums. Plus i prefer the flavor of soil and the soil is a product we sell after it has been used to recoup our investment. certain things when they go into it, don't come out as easily and then i've just wasted a ton of money and not done much for the earth. it's bad enough i have to grow indoors.

Understood my brother. Just curious though is Coco cost prohibitive because of the work of changing the medium or versus soil bag for bag? Only asking because Coco can be reused quite a few times and imo is actually better the second and third time. Also depending how u feed I've found taste to be pretty close to stuff grown in soil. But I'm not here trying to convert you (yes I am) lol. Just asking. Whatever u do I wish u good luck and I hope u end up with what ur looking for!

Tmb

 

[toquer]

Maybe I'm wrong but doesn't coco require runoff?

I grow on the ground and have no runoff. Setting up trays and moving plants from tray to tray or moving trays just won't work. So it's rebuilding an operation that is running smoothly that is cost prohibitive.

 

[Tnelz]

Maybe I'm wrong but doesn't coco require runoff?

I grow on the ground and have no runoff. Setting up trays and moving plants from tray to tray or moving trays just won't work. So it's rebuilding an operation that is running smoothly that is cost prohibitive.

Like I said I understand bro. Coco isn't worth it for you. My thinking before I knew this was Coco would give u a better yield than soil. All day long. And without going back and checking I believe u were looking to increase ur yield. So my suggestion wouldn't work for u. But with a 20k a month op don't think u need to change anything. Seems like u r dialed way in. I'd keep it that way. I was however doing some research tonight and I found an organic soil called organic mechanics. Check it out. Organicmechanicsoil. Com. Sounds like a solid blend and something that could handle nutrients earlier than other soils. Whatever u do good luck!

 

[Seamaiden]

Maybe I'm wrong but doesn't coco require runoff?

I grow on the ground and have no runoff. Setting up trays and moving plants from tray to tray or moving trays just won't work. So it's rebuilding an operation that is running smoothly that is cost prohibitive.

IF you're using chemical salts, IF you're not alternating feed strength, then yes, you want run-off. IF you alternate heavy feeds with super-light feeds, IF you are using organic feeds instead of 'the blue stuff,' or IF you're including a clearing solution in the mix, then I don't see why you can't continue doing things the way you are.

I was told that under no uncertain terms I could NOT do flood and drain-to-waste with coir without getting really bad lock-out and nutrient burns. Well... guess who does just that whenever she feels like it? Uh huh. No burn, no lock-out. I generally don't grow inside because I find it sucks my life away, but it can be done.

Either way though, here's the thing--if it's working and you're happy with it, then there's not really a *need* to change, just fine-tune. However, that said, what Tnelz says about coir cultivation is why I do that inside, it's true, the growth is just fucking explosive. My back can only handle 1-2gal sea of green methods, so going with such a small container size means I've gotta pay close attention.

 

[toquer]

thanks for the input on this, especially Tnelz and Seamaiden, you guys helped me makes some tough decisions. So of the 8 plants I decided on the following, one of each:

feed Progress Earth compost tea the entire time but increase Ca by 100ppm
feed Progress Earth compost tea the entire time but increase Ca by 100ppm and add bloom boosters
start flower feed immediately no bloom boosters
start flower feed immediately increasing the Ca PPM by 100 for each feed
start flower feed immediately increasing the Ca PPM by 100 for each feed and use bloom booster
start flower feed at the end of week one no bloom boosters
start flower feed at the end of week one increasing the Ca PPM by 100 for each feed
start flower feed at the end of week one increasing the Ca PPM by 100 for each feed and use bloom booster

This should let me know a few things about the girls. But I tell you it's a lot of work to do a mini run and experiment. Mixing up different feeds for each one. Oh well, it's worth it in the long run...I hope!