DIY and other hydroponic formulas.

[CannaT]

You make a good point CANNA and most people would do that to avoid excess salt build-up. Here's the key to using this method, I keep the cation intake available with every watering at a low ppm. The organic root mass core has a negative charge and acts as a magnet, so it's important at this point to have fresh new cations there with every watering. The plants are going into flowering and the low dose ppms will make the nutrient transition much easier too. I allow run-off with every watering for fresh nutrients and oxygen in the roots and get an EC and pH reading. Thanks for the importaint tip CANNA

I dont get it what you say ?

What I know that cations and anions are nutrients for example potassium,magnesium,calcium are cations, and nitrogen and phosporous are anions.

I think that is very hard to ''control'' soil like that...soil is in constant fight between elements + and - its alomst as living creature....thats what i think about it...how quality soil you have that quality will be end product...and is almost imposible to have perfect soil and to know what is missing at the moment to the plants. In soil you need 5-7 days to see that plant have some defficinecy or toxicity while in hidro it apears in 24-48 hours....so when plants ''suffer'' 30 hours or 6 days make big difference.

Im not that in to soil and I prefere hidro way much over soil...cuz with good exuipment and sealed grow room...you have 98% control over entire life of a plant.
What I am trying to say that no mather what small amonut of nutrients you give you every time make some disabalance in soil root eat something and go back to previous state of balnce..but like everything in life recover is not 100% by giving food every day in soil you are riskink of storing some kind of food if its stored to much it will make trouble to whole other foods. So thats why is good to give no foods for few days if you grow in soil...thats what i think.....all things in world are simple.....we just make it complex.

 

[Creeperpark]

This is a soil-less mix and has to be fed bottle nutrients, and is considered to be hydroponic. The soil core I put in the center is organic, and because the negative charge or high CEC is there only to attract nutrients. Controlling nutrients may be easier than you think This may help, check the 2nd paragraph on this https://www.extension.purdue.edu/ext...ay/ay-238.html

 

[CannaT]

I thought it is all soil....you didnt mesure your experiment but what i think it is simple....you use soiless mix and thats why plants grow better...soil has nothing to do with it.
Try in pure coco it will grow way faster...then soiless mix,try hydroponics even more faster than coco....

And why do you think that you control somethin , 40 day if you flush soil it will have no nutrients or very small amount and it is behave in your sistem just ar rockwool cube or something like that...and when roots go in coco you feed it.it is basicaly hydroponics...and plant start to grow fast....in hydroponic way much faster than first 30 days in soil....i dont get it what is so special and what cations have to do....with it.... some parts of soil are positive some negative in you case after 30 days-40 days its just medium with small amount of nutrients....sry but we agree to not disagree...

''Cation exchange capacity is usually measured in soil testing labs. Since I don't have the testing resources, I have to use the plants' growth as a gauge for testing.''

You didnt test nothing if you didnt test it is just theory man....practice,practice....only real tool for knowladge....

 

[Creeperpark]

"All science is a theory"! Strictly by definition, CEC is a measure of how many cations can be retained on soil particle surfaces. In other words, some soils are good at holding water and nutrients in place, while others are poor.
Coco coir has a CEC range of 30-100 meq/100 g. with30-40 being most common. Substrates with very low CEC are more likely to develop deficiencies of the major cations, while higher CEC substrates will have less leaching of nutrients.
On every grow, I do testing using different factors and have come up with a pretty good result. Not yet as good as you CANNA, but working hard in that direction.

 

[CannaT]

"All science is a theory"! Strictly by definition, CEC is a measure of how many cations can be retained on soil particle surfaces. In other words, some soils are good at holding water and nutrients in place, while others are poor.
Coco coir has a CEC range of 30-100 meq/100 g. with30-40 being most common. Substrates with very low CEC are more likely to develop deficiencies of the major cations, while higher CEC substrates will have less leaching of nutrients.
On every grow, I do testing using different factors and have come up with a pretty good result. Not yet as good as you CANNA, but working hard in that direction.

Sry if I say something wrong,but im not soil expert as i sad few times...i need to read more about it cuz fro years im only hydro runs....I just wrote what i think about my knowladge based on soil I start read and im interest in Biodynamic agriculture by Rudolf Steiner.....i like misticism and those things...XD.

 

[Creeperpark]

Your cool bro. I appreciate your information, you are very helpful to me. These plants only had 169 ppm or 0.3 EC of fertilizer 3 times. Here are today's photos....

 

[Creeperpark]

Two days later I had to band a few tops to keep the lights the same height. It's important to only tie your tops the day after a good watering for flexibility. If you tie them when the plants are dry they will break or crease causing problems.

 

[Creeperpark]

Plants have a defined biological sequence of nutrient uptake. It's very important to respect the sequence and order in which plants or fed. . . The sequence is more important than the quantity or amount of nutrients. Today photos

 

[Creeperpark]

A few weeks ago I moved some plants outdoors to see how this method works with outdoor growing. One problem I had was keeping the heat out of the pots because the heat was drying them out in one day. The plants have stayed somewhat shorter but started budding much quicker. I use greenhouse shade clothe to wrap the pots and keep roots cool. I'm giving them only 160 ppm or 0.3 EC of fertilizer with every watering too. Here are some photos from yesterday.

 

[Creeperpark]

The biological sequence of nutrient uptake​

The sequence starts with Boron, which activates 2. Silicon, which carries all other nutrients starting with 3. Calcium, which binds 4. Nitrogen to form amino acids, DNA and cell division. Amino acids form proteins such as chlorophyll and tag trace elements, especially 5. Magnesium, which transfers energy via 6. Phosphorus to 7. Carbon to form sugars, which go where 8. Potassium carries them. This is the basis of plant growth. I'm learning it's more important to watch the purity of the nutrients and nutrient sequence over the quantity of any fertilizer mixes.

 

[Creeperpark]

When following the nutrient sequence above, the purity of water is the most important. If you have a lot of unknown stuff in the water the sequence is easily broken. Pure water must be slightly buffered in order to complete the nutrient sequence.

 

[Creeperpark]

If a cannabis plant is given a "set in place" constant nutrient regimen it will adapt and set receptors in place and develop a memory of that nutrient chemistry. The plant knows what to do with the nutrients if it's given a consistent supply it can count on, even if it's a low EC. I've only watered 9 times with 160 ppm fertilizer and that adds up to only 1440 ppm total this grow cycle.

 

[Creeperpark]

Important Note! I’m using 7 & 1/2 gallons of feed water on the third day and that time is decreasing due to transpiration. I leave my leaves on the plants for this reason. These plants can move feed-water very fast through their system because of the millions of stomata’s transpiring moisture from the roots to the leaves. If I would have removed the leaves the water transpiration would have slowed and nutrient absorption would have declined and plants would lose their vigor.

 

[Creeperpark]

Reviewing the Cation numbers below you can see why there's no need for excess fertilizer when the substrate CEC is high. The lower the CEC the higher the concentration of nutrients for plant growth. Using the last 4 ingredients in the soil core inserted in a soil-less mix can boost the exchange 200% to 400%! These plants are getting only 160 ppm or 0.3 EC of 3 pt GH fertilizer every 3 days..

Cation Exchange---CEC, cmol(+) /kg*
Rockwool 0-0
perlite 0-3
kaolinite clay 3-15
illite clay 20-40
coco coir 30-40
montmorillonite clay 60-100
sphagnum peat 100-120
vermiculite 150+
soil organic matter humus, etc. 100-300

 

[Creeperpark]

I introduce the plant to an organic core very slowly by germinating the seed in a high EC organic mix. The starting EC is usually above 4000 ppm and so careful attention to watering, in the beginning, is important. The addition of montmorillonite clay less than 10% of the volume of organic matter is one way to boost the CEC. There are a lot of ways and methods for boosting CEC. Vermiculite works well too but holds too much water mixed with organic matter as a core. Pro-mix bx with vermiculite works best with an organic core placed in the center but takes much less watering.

I grow the plant in a one-gallon pot of core mix for 30 days or until I can identify what its sex is. I take the one-gallon core and place it in a large pot with a soil-less substrate (Pro-mix hp) and start the low ppm feedings with every watering. I never flood or saturate the container when I water, I keep the water off the inner core and only water the outer soil-less mix... I always allow for discharge out the bottom but never let the pots set in the discharge.

 

[Creeperpark]

Since the stretch is over, I released all the ties and because I use mixed lighting I rotate the plants with every watering. Even though I’m using a minimum amount of fertilizer, I follow the manufacture’s sequence exactly as they recommend. When they say one gallon, I use 3 gallons instead of one gallon of pure clean fortified water, but I keep their sequence and maintain a steady EC. When they recommend up the P and lower or drop the N, I follow their weekly schedule to the tee, just watered down. It’s so easy with just two visits a week..

 

[Creeperpark]

Here's today

 

[CannaT]

Do you left your supstrate to dry or it is always wet ? If its drying it can lead to salt bild up.

 

[Creeperpark]

Not all the way dry, I let it get pretty light weight before watering, and when I water I allow a little dis-charge out the bottom to keep salt build-up down.

 

[Creeperpark]

There's not much to do but wait at this point. I may just post weekly now, here are some green photos