Excess calcium and magnesium taste really bad in weed. In the end, I try to get all the stuff out of the plant and use only base flowering nutrients for extra resin. 
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DIY and other hydroponic formulas.
- Thread starter CannaT
- Start date
How would your end feed recipe look and how long you use it before the end? I see so many diferent opinions and products on this, with wildly diferent elements fed or not fed during senescence and late flower, that I supose part of that "knowledge" is bullshit.
You are right exploz and it's hard to know what's best for the plants. Right now I'm only using 329 ppm base GH fora series fertilizer @ 8ml Micro, and 16ml Bloom in 2 &1/2 to 3 gallons of pure rainwater. NO need for any acid with this mix. The pH is between 6.2 and 6.5. Now I'm reducing the water feed intake by about 50%. No cal-mag at all now, I just double the low ppm from 160 to 330 GH nutrients. I'm getting them ready to finish with pure water only.
The difference between high-wattage LEDs and low-wattage HPS is the need for calcium consumption. The last week before switching to pure water, I double the amount of micro & bloom fertilizer I give the plants. Plus, I hold the water without discharge to reach a higher EC. The only calcium that's left in the root zone is what the plant has to live on between now and the end.
Lastly, I try to maintain a steady EC from the first feeding to the last. The nutrients change but the ppm stays the same. The intake of the nutrients being the same ppm assures the plant a steady supply and an unbroken sequence of nutrients. I'm talking about using a low wattage 400 HPS for this and the above posts.
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There's so much bull shit in the marketplace about products being special or amazing. In my opinion, it's all bull shit. Anything you see on the internet just wants your money and they will give you a bunch of reasons to give it to them. I have found that when I keep it simple and don't try to magnify or make it bigger or best, I'm almost always better off. When you add something to a plant it will take many days for that to work and it's easy to overdo it with impatience. More light, more fertilizer, more more more, makes for more problems in end.
There are basic horticulture principles without a bunch of bull shit that was around long before the Internet and cannabis culture. They didn't have all the shit you see on the market then because it wasn't needed. If you follow the basic nutrient sequence without breaking it, there won't be any problems, and that's the same in all substrates. All those additives, hormones, stabilizers, carbohydrates, and proteins are clever ways the internet uses to get your money.
The tried and true professional methods in large greenhouses and indoor growing used today are not the same as home grows. Those professional people have the science and money to tweak their environments. A lot of home growers spend a lot of extra money when it's not needed..
There are basic horticulture principles without a bunch of bull shit that was around long before the Internet and cannabis culture. They didn't have all the shit you see on the market then because it wasn't needed. If you follow the basic nutrient sequence without breaking it, there won't be any problems, and that's the same in all substrates. All those additives, hormones, stabilizers, carbohydrates, and proteins are clever ways the internet uses to get your money.
The tried and true professional methods in large greenhouses and indoor growing used today are not the same as home grows. Those professional people have the science and money to tweak their environments. A lot of home growers spend a lot of extra money when it's not needed..
True story. A long time ago, a traveling salesman came to town and his business card titled Pecan Tree Pediatrics. He came to town with good news telling everyone that he had the best and the most amazing food for pecan trees. Being in the South almost everyone had pecan trees. The miracle food was in fancy bottles, the liquid color was blue, and a $1 dollar bottle. He said all you got do is add 2 caps of the food to a gallon of water and pour it around the tree every two weeks during the growing season. Now you have to water the tree well after putting the plant food out or the plant food won't work. On the bottle, the instructions clearly stated this product will only work if you water the tree after using it and repeat it every 2 weeks. The pecan trees grew like crazy and you could see the difference in one year and most especially on younger trees. He couldn't fill the orders fast enough and became a very rich man.
Fifty years later on the death bed of the traveling salesman, he stated that the plant food was only blue dye and was a fake. He said he was so sorry for lying all those years and to all the people and taking their money. His oldest son asked him why did those pecan trees grow big and into giant pecan trees. The salesman said it was because he got everyone to water their pecan trees every two weeks during the growing season.
If it sounds really good and has something to do with your weed watch out people.
Fifty years later on the death bed of the traveling salesman, he stated that the plant food was only blue dye and was a fake. He said he was so sorry for lying all those years and to all the people and taking their money. His oldest son asked him why did those pecan trees grow big and into giant pecan trees. The salesman said it was because he got everyone to water their pecan trees every two weeks during the growing season.
If it sounds really good and has something to do with your weed watch out people.
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Totally! Water does wonders to trees, being them cannabis or other kinds of trees! I had 500-1000 gr plants outdoors just with 3 doses of general fertilizer in the veg time and plenty of water, like an average of a bucket of day in the dry hot season. It will do wonders! Much more than nutes can at that point!
The point of the story is, that he ripped everyone off and became rich off of people's ingorance.
Three Berries
Active member
Ha I switched from CaCl2 as a top dressing to MgCl2 for the flowering ones. And went full outdoor strength on my Miracle Grow BloomBuster.
Simplicity is the earmark of truth. The same goes for the truth that applies in Horticulture. Keeping it simple is the best management for growing.
Today is "60 days of flowering",after a 45 day veg. However, as you can see they're not ready. Under a 400w HPS only without any supplemental lighting, I"m trying to mimic Mother Nature. . The plants are entering the last phase of life and are freaking out because still no pollen or sex. As hopelessness sets in, the last days the calyx swells larger but still empty without seed. After it swells it tries to protect the empty bract with clear trichomes. As the plant nears its natural death in the last phase of its life, it will poison the trichomes or resin with toxic cannabinoids. The conversion to THC is a survival instinct to save the empty calyx from harm whiles she's dying. If you get your weed before this happens you may not be getting all she can give. Heres today
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NO cal-mag at all and doubled the micro and bloom in rainwater, 326 ppm total, and holding the run-off to raise the EC.
Recap for new people. I keep my ppm at 300 or less throughout the grow using pure water. The nutrients change a little but the amount of ppm pretty much stays the same in all phases of the grow. I use only base nutrients and rainwater without any additives. Every grow from 4400 watts to 400 watts and all outdoor container plants live on this low ppm formula. No need for acid using this method just base nutrients. General Hydroponics Flora Series 3 part nutrients only.
The two plants above are under a low watt 400 HPS. Using HPS it's a good idea to keep the light far away from the tops of the plants. I use to keep the HPS close as I could to the plants using the back of my hand as a gauge, but I've found that's not good. Now I keep the light "way away" from the plant canopy for better resin production and resin preservation.
The two plants above are under a low watt 400 HPS. Using HPS it's a good idea to keep the light far away from the tops of the plants. I use to keep the HPS close as I could to the plants using the back of my hand as a gauge, but I've found that's not good. Now I keep the light "way away" from the plant canopy for better resin production and resin preservation.
One of the coolest things about using low ppm with every watering is in the end I can stack the nutrients and raise the ppm to 1200 in just 4 waterings. "NOT allowing discharge" will cause the nutrients to multiply in the container with every watering. Or I can drop the ppm using the same feed water by allowing discharge out the bottom of the pot. I never ever use plain water to flush any plant and don't recommend doing that. If a plant has a disorder then I recommend only using the feed water with discharge as a flush. The amount of discharge will determine the amount of nutrient leaching. If you use a low ppm you should never have to flush anyway!
Today is day 70 of flowering, and the last feed day before giving only pure rainwater. Running these plants at 300 ppm of feed water with every watering and without dis-charge has raised the EC to an optimum range for dense buds. The stems are starting to sag with heavy bud weight. If you look at the photo from 10 days ago with a soda can in it, you can see how much the buds have swollen today.
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Green shots of the plants above. I have a little leaf bronzing on one. Heres Today
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These plants are in the tricky stage now, and I have to be very careful at this point on. The tops are very dense and the plants want more water. If I give them the regular amounts of pure rainwater that I was given with nutrients in the past few weeks, these plants would fail. Here's why!
The plants can't move water up to the top of the stem and through the tops into the open air when the tops are dense. They can't transpire water through the buds because they "lack stomata's"! However, if you reduce the amount of water allowed to be pushed to the top of the plant and only give enough water to keep the plant's turgor you can get by with growing big fat heavy buds..
The plants can't move water up to the top of the stem and through the tops into the open air when the tops are dense. They can't transpire water through the buds because they "lack stomata's"! However, if you reduce the amount of water allowed to be pushed to the top of the plant and only give enough water to keep the plant's turgor you can get by with growing big fat heavy buds..
