Soil not drying out properly..

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lvstealth

lvstealth

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before you get tied up with pH i highly suggest you read this:


most people dont seem to understand pH at all.

and i really think this:


is a GREAT read. i think that once you understand how it works you will be better suited to help it all work.
 
Backyard_Boogie

Backyard_Boogie

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before you get tied up with pH i highly suggest you read this:


most people dont seem to understand pH at all.

and i really think this:


is a GREAT read. i think that once you understand how it works you will be better suited to help it all work.
I live in Southern California super hard PH and I have never PH down my water ever. I have been growing for years and my flower is bomb. Im sure if we were preparing for the High Times Cannabis Cup then this would be necessary but at this point in my life I only grow for self consumption and I have gravitated to a more simple methodology. Fucking with PH just isn't in my regiment. One thing I will comment on is the quality of the water. I think water quality is more important than the PH number itself. I have a constant drip line going through my fresh water aquariums so about 20 gallons a day overflow into a holding reservoir that I then use to water all my plants. My water holds constant PH at 7.8 however my filtration system and the Nitrate cycle leech ALL of the impurities out of the water. Nothing purifies water better than nature in my opinion. The healthy bacterial microbes in the tank/filter slowly break down everything until what you are left with is clean water. Only a small trace of dissolved organics in the form of Nitrate is left, that is the only thing still testable. No Chlorides, No Lead, No Ammonia, No Nitrites. Nothing but pure 7.8 PH water with a hint of natural nitrate. My plants absolutely LOVE this water I will never use untreated Tap water EVER. When I built this system my goal was to duplicate a water supply similar to a natural creek/stream. It works amazing natural clean water = happy plants!
 
bluedabadee

bluedabadee

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I'd like to thank everyone for helping me out grow my girls in a better way. Well, I had to send one packing to create space for my seedlings as I'm growing in a tight space (2x4)

I've read the articles that @lvstealth provided and looks like there is so much to learn.

I've been using distilled water all along as my tap water is 300ppm (ph 7.0) and always thought it's too much for anything since adding nutes will easily increase it to +500ppm.

So in order to avoid mistakes that I made for first plants (one I gave up on and other one is like a miniature tree that I'll share below) I'll hopefully not make the same watering and feeding mistakes for them.

So below I'm sharing my 2,5 week old plants (first two photos : transplanted on day 14 from solo cup to 3 gal pots and only fed a little algamic with 125 ml of water while transplanting in light soil mix) It's been 3-4 days and although I gave just a little water, they look good and pot is still heavy (I will not do finger knuckle check any more, go with pot's weight instead as Aqua also suggested) and that was my concern but @GNick55 suggested that it would sometimes take a week to dry out. The root structure was good while transplanting, unlike the plant I started the thread for. I think it would be more convenient to repot twice instead of once considering veg time and everything in my situation. Also, I will stick to fabric pots for drying purposes. Temps are 85-90F and humidity at 55-60.

So the cotyledons are already yellow and I don't know when the pot will dry out but my question is for my next watering/feed, should I use waited tap water (300ppm) or continue with 50 ppm distilled water? I may have overwatered the second plant a little as you see on the leaves. There are some discoloration on the leaves but this would also be because of windburn I guess, hopefully no gnats or mildew as I keep my tent open due to high temps.

Also, could you take a look at the last photo? 36 days veg, leaves look ok but plant is small overall, last time I watered was 2,5 weeks ago with some grow nutes at 400ppm, pot still feels heavy (4 gal pots) By the way, I will no longer check ph because of the buffered soil.

Thank you!

IMG 6371


IMG 6369


IMG 6374
 
bluedabadee

bluedabadee

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I have an intake, exhaust and osc. fan but live in a hot climate so I keep tent open, that helps a little with high temps
 
lvstealth

lvstealth

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90f is a bit high and in the first pic the light is too close or could be dimmed. not a lot though. you want the upward pointing, but when the edges do that it is just a tad too much. next the tips will turn down, just the very tips, then the tips turn brown. so you are just about perfect, but just a tad less.

you might look into co2. that allows for a higher temp. i do not use it, but you can google it.

less than two weeks old and they are doing some major root growing, then they start seriously putting on greenery. soon these will be drinking more and watering will be more often, not a lot, just more. then in flower it just cant get enough till it just stops and says im done. so watering needs will change, but the weight method will work through the entire cycle.
 

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