My first grow: Valley OG in Coco w/Canna + other nutes

[sycboy]

Dude nice one for posting this thread, I am trying out a coco grow and have learnt much from this thread. Post some pictures of the nugs....please!! I want to see what mine might turn out like! Enjoy your harvest, nice work

 

[bloads]

http://img26.invalid.com/img26/4434/001rtl.jpg

Next project: shelves.

 

[bloads]

Black Domina @ 28 days of 12/12

http://img130.invalid.com/img130/9094/002hmlo.jpg

http://img851.invalid.com/img851/6430/001qf.jpg

Frosty as hell. Stems are ridiculously strong. Smells like rotten tropical fruit.

 

[bloads]

Made some feed charts so my roomate can help water when I'm working. Figured I'd post them here, and explain a few parts of them.


Also, not listed on the feeding chart is Great White, which I'll add from time to time. It's all beneficial life, so if my coco dries out too much, I'll water with a full dose next time for sure.

You'll notice I'm starting to use H&G and Canna for my base nutes. I use H&G from veg until end of stretch, the same timing that I use silica. Botanicare Silica + H&G A&B + RO water = 5.8 ph. Perfect. At the end of stretch, silica really isn't needed anymore, so I go to canna. Canna A&B + RO water = 5.8 ph. Perfect again.

From reading on this site, I learned that flowering plants don't need calcium after a few weeks into 12/12. It can actually build up and lead to problems, if you continute to use it. People substitute epsom salt for cal mag, since epsom salt is mag, no cal, but epsom salt has sulfur. Too much sulfur buildup will cause problems as well. From what I've read, the answer is to get Huvega, botanicare's pure magnesium additive. Also, from reading here, I *think* you want to cut out your mag 3-4 weeks before harvest to cut down on harshness.

Also, I forgot to mention this on my charts, but I'll be using only 1/2 strength of canna A, while full strength B (to cut down on nitrogen, reducing leafiness of buds hopefully)

http://img825.invalid.com/img825/1186/vegfeed.jpg

http://img824.invalid.com/img824/896/feed50.jpg

http://img192.invalid.com/img192/8918/feed70.jpg

Where it says PH check... I add everything above this first, then PH check, then add the drip clean, roots excelurator, and great white.

 

[mittenmedgrow]

I'm glad you found a system that's working well for you. Looking good man.

 

[Snow Crash]

Watch that EC in weeks 5/6. The 11ml of your A+B, 5-6ml of PK 13/14, and ~4ml of BudXL with 15ml of Huvega is going to be really effing high. I cannot say for certain, but probably in the neighborhood of 2.5 to 3.0 depending on your water starting point.

I ran huvega in EXACTLY the way you are looking to now with DISASTEROUS results. There's actually more sodium in Huvega than there is magnesium... believe it or not.

I was a little "escared" of Epsom Salts before this current grow I am in. The key is to use not too much. Maybe 1/2 a tsp in 5 gallons. I try to add about 50 uS/cm (~25ppm) of Mg2SO4. I know that the SO4 is really mostly just Oxygen, and the Mg2 you get out of the salt contributes to the majority of the actual reading. Just keep the supplementation minimal as you really don't need that much Mg.

If you're having some issues with Mg uptake it might be better to reduce the use of other Cations like Ca++ and K+. These elements compete for uptake with Mg. An extra 15 to 20ppm of Mg is usually all it takes to balance out the system so long as you cut back just a bit on the Ca and K.

I also tried Humboldt Nutrients SeaMag but it acted as a growth inhibitor as well (kelp extracts...) and really reduced my harvest when used during later flowering.

I actually like to use a Carb/Mag supplement like Bud Candy, Flora Nectar, or Sweet at recommended levels PLUS that extra 50uS/cm of Epsom Salt from week 4 through the end of week 7. This has been the best method I've found to achieve a good balance of Mg when pushing a lot of PK.

Another supplement to consider should be GH Liquid KoolBloom as a replacement for your PK 13/14 (I have a liter of PK I'll never finish...). The LKB utilizes Magnesium Phosphate which can help balance the system during that stage. The PK 13/14 just lists Potassium Phosphate... just water, and potassium phosphate... I think you can do a little more during that phase to assist growth by using something like Liquid KoolBloom or Botanicare Hydroplex (dollar for dollar).

I do the same thing you do with the scheduling :)

 

[bloads]

Thanks for that heads up on the huvega, and all the followup. It's something I just changed to, so I'll make sure and keep it light until I get a better source of mag-only.