Grow Dots and Recharge for the Real Growers Challenge 2022

[ExNavyInSTL]

Day 24 (DG) & Day 28 (SS) - More Realistic Photos

These photos are more realistic for checking for deficiencies.

 

[ExNavyInSTL]

Just for Shits and Giggles:

Let's take a look at the Super Skunk growing patterns.

What a difference 5 days makes.

 

[ExNavyInSTL]

Day 29 - Week 5 Begins

Today was Recharge Day.

I made up a batch of about 1.5 liters of the following goodies:

1. Recharge
2. SLF-100 (enzymes)
3. Front Row SI (mono-silicic acid)
4. Fulvic Acid (90% before dilution)
5. Calcium EDTA 9.7% (approx. 100ppm)
6. Humboldt Plant Enzymes
7. Natural Wet (Yucca Sufactant)
8. pH'd to 6.02

• I was going to let the valve area of the AutoPots dry down and then add the mixture for bottom uptake.
• However, I decided to apply from the top in 2 circles, one far edge and one about 3 inches from the stem base.
• My guess is that each plant got around 650 ml in the top, and the balance was split into the valve chambers.

 

[ExNavyInSTL]

Someone on another website was poking (light heartily) fun at my tiny plants. Even went as far as to say, "Thanks (for the product list), I know what I am not going to use."

Then posted their 28-day growth pictures ... and they did look really good. Tall and full ... just beautiful.

This got me courious, I know I really hurt mine early on, and it had nothing to do with the nutrients and supplements I'm using on this grow. As I said before, it was drowing the seeds in solo cups and burning the shit out of them with too much LED. I took my foot off the gas and shit happened. They are doing great now, but look more like a 2-week-old plant more than ones going into their 5th week.

Here's a look at Super Skunk Autos at what others posted on their grow diaries inside the 4th Week tab. Below is my response on the other site.

Speaking of Stunting Your Grow​

Just to make the pain more obvious. I went out to Grow Diaries and pulled a photo mix of Super Skunk Autos at "4 Weeks" to compare what the average plant looks like at at this point. I see I am not the only one who stunted. However most folks are way taller and fuller than mine.

All I can do now is just love and treat mine with respect. I have no regrets, because I learn something from these adverse situations.

Now let me get back in my rocking-fetal position while I keep muttering, "no regrets."

 

[Aqua Man]

Someone on another website was poking (light heartily) fun at my tiny plants. Even went as far as to say, "Thanks (for the product list), I know what I am not going to use."

Then posted their 28-day growth pictures ... and they did look really good. Tall and full ... just beautiful.

This got me courious, I know I really hurt mine early on, and it had nothing to do with the nutrients and supplements I'm using on this grow. As I said before, it was drowing the seeds in solo cups and burning the shit out of them with too much LED. I took my foot off the gas and shit happened. They are doing great now, but look more like a 2-week-old plant more than ones going into their 5th week.

Here's a look at Super Skunk Autos at what others posted on their grow diaries inside the 4th Week tab. Below is my response on the other site.

Speaking of Stunting Your Grow​

Just to make the pain more obvious. I went out to Grow Diaries and pulled a photo mix of Super Skunk Autos at "4 Weeks" to compare what the average plant looks like at at this point. I see I am not the only one who stunted. However most folks are way taller and fuller than mine.

All I can do now is just love and treat mine with respect. I have no regrets, because I learn something from these adverse situations.

Now let me get back in my rocking-fetal position while I keep muttering, "no regrets."

View attachment 1268336

Ignore all that bullshit brother… what you will take away from this grow is far more valuable than and dickheads opinion and thats knowledge.

You dont learn from doing things perfect…. The best growers i kniw are the ones not afraid to fuck up and learn.

If they dont like your grow fuck them. Anyone can follow directions but those who fail, test and learn on their own are the ones who have the most knowledge in the end.

Of course you want to try to learn from others but NOTHING is better than first hand issues that you work out and learn from.

Its only a mistake if you dont learn from it and every mistake is a gifted chance to learn…. Head high and keep learning

 

[ExNavyInSTL]

Thank you Aqua Man.

Honestly, I took it as good-hearted ribbing. But sure, it could have been passive-aggressive trolling.

Either way, I live by the creed you spelled out. I freely and openly admit my mistakes and then I take pictures ... to lock those failures into history. lol

Plus, the mistakes are fun too because they are interesting to photograph.

It never fails, if you walk around with your ass hanging out, someone is sure to make fun of your ass. Hey, that was pretty good, could be a future signature.

Stick around tonight ... pics to follow.

Ignore all that bullshit brother… what you will take away from this grow is far more valuable than and dickheads opinion and thats knowledge.

You dont learn from doing things perfect…. The best growers i kniw are the ones not afraid to fuck up and learn.

If they dont like your grow fuck them. Anyone can follow directions but those who fail, test and learn on their own are the ones who have the most knowledge in the end.

Of course you want to try to learn from others but NOTHING is better than first hand issues that you work out and learn from.

Its only a mistake if you dont learn from it and every mistake is a gifted chance to learn…. Head high and keep learning

 

[ExNavyInSTL]

Day 29 - Photos

 

[ExNavyInSTL]

 

[ExNavyInSTL]

And now ... more Opus Dei style self-flagellation​

Yesterday, I posted a series of photos comparing my 28/29-day-old Super Skunk Auto to other grows on Grow Diary, Well today, let's take a look at my "reduced-sized" Double Grape.

As a reminder, let's start with my plant:

Now, let's have a look at a few other Double Grapes around the same age:

 

[Frostie069]

Hey man, Just caught up, great thread! loving all the info.

the natural photos you started taking are so much better IMO.

Looking forward to see how it turns out

 

[ExNavyInSTL]

Thanks, Frostie:

About the gussied-up pics, I know. You can wear too much makeup when you are trying to hide ugly. lol

I just finished a grow where I was taking pictures of flowers, where there are colors to bring out. When there is nothing but green it is a waste of processing. You end up with harsh pictures, which can make it look likes toxicities and deficiencies.

Taking a photo break day. Tomorrow, I'll get in there with the ruler and check the growth.

the natural photos you started taking are so much better IMO.

 

[ExNavyInSTL]

Day 31 - Stats & Notes

Things are still cruising along. Each plant is creating biomass at a normal rate now.

I turned the reservoir back on after the Recharge treatment.

Even though the chart below shows "High / Ok" for VPD, I am not worried. Most of the time, the 1.2 VPD is right next to the green "Perfect" category.

 

[ExNavyInSTL]

Day 31 Photos

Notables:

Day 31 Super Skunk is now 9-1/8" (23.18 cm) ... on Day 29 it was 7.0" (17.78 cm) or about 23.3% increase

Day 26 Double Grape is now 6-7/16" (16.35 cm) ... on Day 5-5/8" (14.29 cm) or about 12.6% increase

 

[Blastfact]

Heres my Recharge and Gaia Green grow. It went ultra high on the nitrogen and turned the leaves so dark green they almost went black. Had to flush them hard to save the grow. But they survived and are getting better by the hour. There 23 days today from helmet heads. I had to go back and look at all the picture dates. I had them at a week or better older than they really are. They are a very early and unstable cross. Looks like two of the four are going to be good plants. Pic taken with iPhone 13 Pro Max all auto settings no editing.

 

[ExNavyInSTL]

Mine plants are finally taking off. Tonight, I ordered one of those mushroom/CO2 bags tonight to help them catch up (if possible).

As for Gaia Green, eventually, I'll try an "organic" grow. I just like the science behind feeding these plants right from the Periodic Table. I don't want to depend on a microbe to take a poop.

I'm just messing around. Both techniques work and work well for most folks.

My problem is I have so many problems with allergies that I never seem to have my full sense of smell, so the nuances from organic growth would be lost on me.

If I were being totally honest, all the awesome weed I have been growing for the past year, all tastes and smells just like it did when I was a kid, which I kind of like. It's nostalgic to me. Fruity, gassy, diesel, etc. or lost on my nose. I just smell the same weed I remember as a kid.

Heres my Recharge and Gaia Green grow. It went ultra high on the nitrogen and turned the leaves so dark green they almost went black. Had to flush them hard to save the grow. But they survived and are getting better by the hour. There 23 days today from helmet heads. I had to go back and look at all the picture dates. I had them at a week or better older than they really are. They are a very early and unstable cross. Looks like two of the four are going to be good plants. Pic taken with iPhone 13 Pro Max all auto settings no editing.

View attachment 1269027

 

[ExNavyInSTL]

​

 

[Peat_Phreak]

Have you used Ca EDTA like this before? It works well as a foliar, but using it to feed the roots is supposedly not a great idea. It's 10% sodium and reacts with other nutes to form insoluble salts.

 

[Peat_Phreak]

When adding Ca EDTA we are actually adding four things, a little water, Ca, EDTA and Na. Most importantly Ca EDTA is in reality 12.15% sodium, meaning you’re adding more Na than you’re adding Ca when you use it.

Because of the above, thinking about Ca EDTA as any significant portion of a plants Ca nutrition is going to be a problem. Adding 100 ppm of Ca through this chemical would imply adding more than 100 ppm of Na. This addition of sodium can start to be heavily detrimental to plants as higher and higher values are reached

Although there is not much in the way of scientific literature using Ca EDTA, we do find some reports talking about heavy toxic effects at concentrations near 2.5 mM (940.7 ppm), which would contribute around 90 ppm of Ca to a solution.

Taken from here:

Calcium EDTA and its problems in hydroponics – Science in Hydroponics

scienceinhydroponics.com

 

[ExNavyInSTL]

Yikes … thanks for that. I just assumed it was a better choice than using calcium nitrate if I didn’t want to get extra nitrogen into the mix ...Ca/Mg if I didn't want the extra magnesium. But it sounds like nitrogen and Mg are a lot better than sodium. I’ll keep it as a foliar for sure.

Here is the product I am using and the label (one pic is just the far edge of the label).

It seems they should have to put any extra item from the periodic table onto a lable if they are going to label any of the elements. : (

Thanks again. This is exactly one of the main reason for having grow diaries in public forums.

When adding Ca EDTA we are actually adding four things, a little water, Ca, EDTA and Na. Most importantly Ca EDTA is in reality 12.15% sodium, meaning you’re adding more Na than you’re adding Ca when you use it.

Because of the above, thinking about Ca EDTA as any significant portion of a plants Ca nutrition is going to be a problem. Adding 100 ppm of Ca through this chemical would imply adding more than 100 ppm of Na. This addition of sodium can start to be heavily detrimental to plants as higher and higher values are reached

Although there is not much in the way of scientific literature using Ca EDTA, we do find some reports talking about heavy toxic effects at concentrations near 2.5 mM (940.7 ppm), which would contribute around 90 ppm of Ca to a solution.

Taken from here:

Calcium EDTA and its problems in hydroponics – Science in Hydroponics

scienceinhydroponics.com

 

[Peat_Phreak]

I have the same Ca EDTA from the same shop. Save it for foliar. It can correct a Ca deficiency quickly.

If you don't want more N, and want Ca, then you can use CaSO4. I have no idea what are in the magic grow dots you are running, so I don't know what to suggest. But if you want Ca without N, try CaSO4.