Wanted to copy this over here from DJM on multifeeding.
Quote:
Originally Posted by stoned40yrs
Best root porn I've seen on here! I find it amazing you can feed them 850ppm/6 times a day with no runoff and not get salt buildup. Do you use drip clean?
thanks man..no, im not a fan of drip clean..i used it before but don't dig it..im ocd when it comes to monitoring and testing ingoing water and run off..that has gave me a very confident understanding of how to counter act salt build up in my medium..imo DC is just a bandage for improper feeding, watering techniques and monitoring .. there is no substitute for understanding your medium, what goes it and what comes out
yeah it may sound crazy that feeding 6 times a day will create no salt build up ...seems counter intuitive ,but ill explain why that is the case...when water travels through the medium, its contained in its vessel of water..as that water dries within the medium, the salt looses its vessel of water and becomes trapped in the medium, leading to salt build up...allowing the medium to try out even slighty, creates spikes of ec/ppm in the medium...keeping the medium moist at all times does not...the first grow I posted, I feed the same amount of water to each plant, except I did 3-4 times a day..with this the medium did dry out slighty, making salt build up an issue and run off necessary...however when bumping the feedings up to 6x a day, the medium is always wet and salt build up is not an issue as the nutrients are always contained it that vessel of water...ive been monitoring the run off every 3 weeks, pouring extra feed through one of the pots to give me just enough run off to test..after week 5 of feeding 6x a day, my runoff tested at 925ppms, when it had never seen higher than 850ppms..last week the reading was 928..so only 75ppms of build up after 42 days of flower and a 3 week pre veg...that amount is a non issue...I aim to keep run off under 1000ppms in any medium or scenario..by flush im expecting it to be in the high 900s
its all about keeping the medium wet...when I grew in wool I used wet and dry cycles and only fed at 700ppms..salt build up would spike during each dry cycle and rise as much as 300ppms per week..i gave plain phd water every 4th feed to counter act that spike..feed strength, run off, water to air ratio in the medium all play crucial parts in a stable medium and the presence of salt build up..i wouldn't feed at 850 ppms if I was letting my medium dry, in that scenario id max out at 700 like I use to...its a delicate dance playing all the elements against eachother...people cant feed high successfully in coco because they are letting the medium dry out.. a lot of hearsay around the subject, some say dry it , some say don't.. I trust my eyes and meters...and imo if you are not feeding coco atleast 4 times a day, you are not unlocking the true capablitites in coco..the more you feed the wetter the medium..wetter the medium the higher you can feed and more nutrients they can absorb, leading to faster growth and a much more stable medium,,,ive tried water every other day, everyday, twice a day, 3, 4, 5, 6...the more I feed, the better results..so much so that i may go up to one feed every hour next run
with that said, multifeeds only work with A. an undersized rootbound pot and B. a thriving and thick root mass...if you throw and under developed root system in too big of a pot and try it , its a recipe for disaster...roots need dry cycles to thrive and expand...once root bound is when you want to start multifeeding...during early veg I use a wet and dry cycle and only start muti feeds in the final container...I do this to encourage dense roots mass as the dry cycle make the roots branch out in search of water...keeping them wet early on will not and will retard root growth ..once in final containers I start 2x a day and bump up as necessary to keep the medium wet...by flip im running 6x a day...this is with pure coco..if cut with enough perlite, once could multifeed from the jump with similar results
a lot more than what you asked but wanting to address the subject and variables for others interested..hope that helps some people out there get a better understanding of their medium and the elements that effect its stability
Mikedin’s garden center, Let’s grow!
Male and female plant in one
Leaves curling with a yellowish and glossy looking tint