Tips & Tricks for a Multi-Strain Grow

[outwest]

This was a thread that was lost in the transition, and people seemed to appreciate it, so I figure I would start it up again. While things are a bit easier managing a single strain, variety is the spice of life. How else do you stave off the mono effect?

I'm pretty junior around here, so don't have many tips to offer in this regard. However, my next grow will use a heavily amended soil in a water only approach. As I understand it since the plants will only take what they need it can be highly effective in a multi-strain garden.

What are you tips & tricks for a multi-strain garden?

outwest

 

[Dr. Detroit]

Pairing similar-needs plants helps. Heavy feeders with heavy feeders, etc.

 

[dadsautomotive]

Im doing a 7 strain grow in one building now, all I can say is no more than 2 per building next time.

 

[outwest]

Im doing a 7 strain grow in one building now, all I can say is no more than 2 per building next time.

With 6 plants I usually run 3 strains at a time. It's been good overall, but not optimal.

outwest

 

[dadsautomotive]

With 6 plants I usually run 3 strains at a time. It's been good overall, but not optimal.

outwest

Im running 3 of each this time. I think 2 maybe 3 is fine but 7 what the hell was I thinking oh and did I mention Ive never done this before

 

[deep buddy]

i usually arrange them by height and finishing time . amended soil should be the easiest way by far. i do like to try to keep one strain per light, and table when possible. if i cant i hand feed to augment my drip feed strength(low) for heavy feeders.

 

[ttystikk]

I stepped in it deep with mine; I've run as many as a half dozen strains at once of wildly differing types- and needs. Needless to say, it was not a huge yielding run! It was fun, though...

I'm rockin' the Jacks Professional hydroponic mix, and it seems to do a pretty good job of feeding everyone's needs at the moment.

Just for variety's sake, I might do a single strain run one of these days, lol.

 

[Mississip Hip]

Keep the bennies healthy and happy.

Dont try to brew a bunch of different ACTs.

Every other feeding water in CAPs bennies,, molasses and EWC...make a slurry soup. Pour about a cup at the root base.

When you start chasing deficiencies...just try it.

 

[ttystikk]

Keep the bennies healthy and happy.

Dont try to brew a bunch of different ACTs.

Every other feeding water in CAPs bennies,, molasses and EWC...make a slurry soup. Pour about a cup at the root base.

When you start chasing deficiencies...just try it.

What kind of system is this recipe for? I wouldn't put molasses into my RDWC on a bet. You put that in with the bennies at brewing time, not into the system, or you'll wind up feeding the enemy...

 

[Mississip Hip]

He didnt say RDWC...did I miss it?

I use this in soil.

What do you use for carbs in a RDWC? Sub that and strain the EWC and I would rock it.

1 cup is kinda like a steroid shot at the root base.

 

[420alldaze]

whats up brother, pay attention to your plants. and i pretty much always do a few plants of something new on the side so to speak to see what they do. then youll know where theyre at compared to what your running already. right now im doin sour d, vics high, dawg daze sage, avalanche,cheese s1, and jack herer. bam lol its tricky though at first . got some stretchers in there but its acheivable. its all about how much time you have to offer your garden as well. hope this helps. peacentreez 42o

 

[ttystikk]

whats up brother, pay attention to your plants. and i pretty much always do a few plants of something new on the side so to speak to see what they do. then youll know where theyre at compared to what your running already. right now im doin sour d, vics high, dawg daze sage, avalanche,cheese s1, and jack herer. bam lol its tricky though at first . got some stretchers in there but its acheivable. its all about how much time you have to offer your garden as well. hope this helps. peacentreez 42o

This is a great reason to add a few of a different variety, especially if you're not familiar with its growth characteristics. I wouldn't recommend my approach, as it leads to too much running around trying to keep up with issues and not enough time to learn what's going on... which is why I'm getting out of the habit of salad grows.

 

[420alldaze]

I stepped in it deep with mine; I've run as many as a half dozen strains at once of wildly differing types- and needs. Needless to say, it was not a huge yielding run! It was fun, though...

I'm rockin' the Jacks Professional hydroponic mix, and it seems to do a pretty good job of feeding everyone's needs at the moment.

Just for variety's sake, I might do a single strain run one of these days, lol.

hey bro, do you ever grow out a couple first without topping etc to see what they do untouched? 42o

 

[ttystikk]

hey bro, do you ever grow out a couple first without topping etc to see what they do untouched? 42o

Good question. I confess I haven't, Ive been trying to dial in the growing environment and trying to get the plants to work within it. I would try this if I had someplace to grow these strains outdoors, but I do not.

At a guess, I'd bet this would not be a very useful approach in terms of quality or yield maximization because these plants, like all others, have been genetically selecting for outdoor conditions for millions of years. The indoor environment is just too different for that switch to have been made as yet. Some of these strains have been bred to be more 'bushy', but even that is a compromise that can still easily be beaten by good topping and training techniques.

Think about it this way; how the heck could you get a plant to 'know' when it's getting too close to a light bulb, and to stop growing towards it?

 

[420alldaze]

that is a very good statement and point. all you can do is provide the closest to an outside environment inside. i like the daily challenges my plants have to offer me. and i love a variety that suits me at different times. 42o

 

[ttystikk]

He didnt say RDWC...did I miss it?

I use this in soil.

What do you use for carbs in a RDWC? Sub that and strain the EWC and I would rock it.

1 cup is kinda like a steroid shot at the root base.

He didn't, but the point I was making is that a good answer for one style of growing can be disastrous in another.

Even in soil, brewing the mix for awhile will lead to even better results.

You DON'T put free carbs in an RDWC, unless you're cultivating pathogens, lol. The trouble is that in a pure water environment there is no place for bennies to live. I'm looking into some options to create microenvironments where beneficial bacteria could reside and multiply and perhaps then float around the system. In this case it might make sense to add carbs.

The widely accepted method for inoculating bennies into RDWC is to make a mix as you describe, let it brew for a few days to grow into large numbers- and importantly to use up the available carbs- then introduce this brewed tea into the water repeatedly every few days, as it will die soon after it's placed in the water. Capulator is the local guru on this subject, he'd be glad to fill you in on the finer points.

 

[ttystikk]

that is a very good statement and point. all you can do is provide the closest to an outside environment inside. i like the daily challenges my plants have to offer me. and i love a variety that suits me at different times. 42o

what I'm trying to do is provide an ideal environment inside, rather than just trying to copy the outdoors. I don't know of any place outside where the temps are always right, the humidity is always perfect, the nutes are always spot on, and the CO2 level is consistently four times what it is on the rest of the planet.

I too enjoy the challenge, the rewards of getting it right, and sometimes even the education when I don't, lol.

Gotta have my variety, so I'll probably never go fully monocrop. That would get boring.

 

[outwest]

Every other feeding water in CAPs bennies,, molasses and EWC...make a slurry soup. Pour about a cup at the root base.

Do you brew that or just mix and feed? I've got Cap's mix brewing right now. I subbed Earth Recharge biodynamic humus for the EWC.

outwest

 

[Mississip Hip]

Just mix and pour.

My logic at this point is that the bennies can "brew" more successfully in the soil than a 5 gallon bucket....if you cant watch whats happening in the bucket.

I dont have a scope.

 

[ttystikk]

Just mix and pour.

My logic at this point is that the bennies can "brew" more successfully in the soil than a 5 gallon bucket....if you cant watch whats happening in the bucket.

I dont have a scope.

You have any evidence for this assertion, or is it just your gut feeling? Capulator is a resident expert on beneficial microbiology as it pertains to our hobby. He's telling everyone, soil and hydro growers both, to brew their bennies up to increase their numbers and therefore their beneficial effects.

I'm not saying you're full of it, but when you say something that goes against what many others are doing- with positive results- it's kinda on you to step up with some supporting evidence.