Diary PCBuds mini-grow

[PCBuds]

I have 3 square feet of ceiling and my overhead lights are running at ~52 Watts.

I can turn them up a bit because they are at 44°C with a max of 85°C.

 

[PCBuds]

My digital PH meter came yesterday so I calibrated it and tested the water at the bottom of my cooler and got 5.8.

So, that's not good.

I'm going to measure my nute solution and flush the plant.

 

[PCBuds]

My degassed tap water is reading 7.9.
The water straight from the tap is reading 7.3.

And the nute solution is reading 6.1.

I don't know what to make of all that?


I flushed it with 1/2 a gallon of nute solution then a gallon of tap water and the runoff was reading 7.2.

I really don't know what to think?

 

[Maple_Flail]

So, I'm going to ditch the cooler and go with another milk crate with coco coir and perlite when this plant is done.

Can I just water it daily until I get runoff instead of timers and pumps and stuff?

Will I have to start PHing my nute solution?

yes you can water it til run off, and it won't be daily until middle of flower, unless you have greater than 50% airation.

I advise holding off the pumps and timers until you've got a good idea of what plants in your set up drink. personaly in veg mine in 3g cloth bots drnk just under 2 litres ever 2 or 3 days depending on heat. in bloom it almost doubles and become more frequent. so there is a wide variablitiy.

gravity blumats > pumps and timers for this sorta thing.

or maybe look into low GPH/LPH drippers.

yes you should be Phing your solution.

tap water seems to be testing right, what was the PH of your nute and tap water mixture?

the idea for checking PH, is to note the PH (and preferably ppm/ec) inputs and compare it against the "run off" this is your water soluable PH of the soil. to get the wholistic idea you need to 1:1 slurry your soil (ie cup of soil to a cup to phed water) slurry it real good then let it settle 15 mins, slurry (stir) it again, wait 15 mins and then test the water.

why? because you are using bacterias and salts.. little bit of a hybrid approach.

https://forum.growersnetwork.org/up...4618b3419e50083d203afed2789668cf944618ad.jpeg

lock out chart...

 

[Maple_Flail]

come to think of it... you could... even do a SIP flood system.

have a raised drain so when your flooding it only gets to a certain height, and then have a high GPH/LPH drippers feeding back to the rez so that flood plain empties and you get air to your roots.

 

[indagroove]

So, I'm going to ditch the cooler and go with another milk crate with coco coir and perlite when this plant is done.

Can I just water it daily until I get runoff instead of timers and pumps and stuff?

Will I have to start PHing my nute solution?

Yes, you can water by hand. In my experience you get better yields and healthier plants with multiple daily feeds in coco, but hand watering once a day is ok. Coco likes extra calmag, so consider that in your feed. I use reverse osmosis water (I suggest getting a small RO filter for plants and for your drinking water too!), and use nutrients which put the feed in the ideal Ph range. Veg+Bloom makes a good power nute that works well with hard water, and buffers it to keep in the proper range.

 

[PCBuds]

I have a TDS meter so I stirred up another half gallon of nute solution (1/2 tsp. of MaxiBloom) and PHed it to 6.5, then I got a PPM of 821.

Then I poured it in my planter.

I think making a slurry may not be accurate because the soil at the top could be quite different than at the bottom, and I can't get to the bottom soil right now.


If I were to use coco coir and perlite, is that PH neutral?

With no bacteria or molasses.

If I could water every day out of habit, that would help me out. And PHing my nute solution isn't that difficult.

Can I use Ammonia for PH up?
Or maybe something from the pet store for aquariums?

PH up and down are expensive.

 

[PCBuds]

Yes, you can water by hand. In my experience you get better yields and healthier plants with multiple daily feeds in coco, but hand watering once a day is ok.

That's good. I can even water a few times a day.
I check the closet countless times a day.

Coco likes extra calmag, so consider that in your feed.

Okay, I've got some.

I use reverse osmosis water (I suggest getting a small RO filter for plants and for your drinking water too!),

What about a Britta filter?

Veg+Bloom makes a good power nute that works well with hard water, and buffers it to keep in the proper range.

I can mix the two, 1/4 tsp. of each.

 

[PCBuds]

How much perlite do I mix in with the coco?

Half and half?

 

[PCBuds]

My tap water us reading 122 PPM.

 

[Sunshineinabag]

I miss my TDS meter.....I lost it sumwhere

 

[PCBuds]

I miss my TDS meter.....I lost it sumwhere

Ten bucks on eBay or Amazon.


I was hoping to avoid using mine as well as the PH meter but my plant is sucking so I think I need to do something different.


The last plant did pretty much the same thing.
After I translated it, half the leaves turned yellow and I plucked them off.

 

[indagroove]

What about a Britta filter?

Naw, those are pretty useless. A small Hydrologic RO filter is around $120.

How much perlite do I mix in with the coco?

Half and half?

I do 2 parts coco to 1 part perlite.

My tap water us reading 122 PPM.

That's not bad, but who knows what those PPMs are.

 

[Chevy cHaze]

Ten bucks on eBay or Amazon.


I was hoping to avoid using mine as well as the PH meter but my plant is sucking so I think I need to do something different.


The last plant did pretty much the same thing.
After I translated it, half the leaves turned yellow and I plucked them off.

PC I have a sneaky feeling it has something to do with your tub and snorkel. If I got the principle right, it's a bit like a hempy bucket but no overflow, meaning that things at the bottom can get a bit messy and little to no oxygen?
Maybe not, but I can't see what else could cause you these problems...
All the best of luck and keep it up!!!
CC

 

[PCBuds]

Naw, those are pretty useless. A small Hydrologic RO filter is around $120.

Okay, I'm looking into it...
I found this...

I do 2 parts coco to 1 part perlite.

Okay.
Is that enough to give enough drainage so I won't overwater?

The bottom of the milk crate will have lots of drainage.

That's not bad, but who knows what those PPMs are.

Yeah, and apparently, there's not much calcium or magnesium in it.

 

[PCBuds]

... it's a bit like a hempy bucket but no overflow, meaning that things at the bottom can get a bit messy and little to no oxygen?

There may well be no oxygen at all.
That tube/snorkel is pretty much sealed.
The only real oxygen that gets to the bottom has to propagate down from the top.

I was hoping that the anaerobic bacteria would balance things out but something is really wrong right now.

All the best of luck and keep it up!!!
CC

Thanks.
I'm not giving up. (but I do kinda feel like ripping it out of the ground though. Lol)


I tend to learn the hard way and spend a lot of time learning. Lol

 

[PCBuds]

On the other hand, my window plant is looking great!!



















And the roots...









I know that I'm doing all kinds of wrong with this plant too but she seems okay with it.

She's got a few yellowing leaves towards the bottom but overall, she appears quite happy.

 

[PCBuds]

My digital PH meter came yesterday so I calibrated it and tested the water at the bottom of my cooler and got 5.8.

I'm finding this a little hard to read.








I've also got this one and it looks like I have nute lockout.











But it is a SIP container so it could need more of a hydro PH?? Then it would be dead on.

I could also have different PH values throughout the soil.

It's not really soil either. It's coco and perlite (and some worm turds), I don't know what difference that makes?

 

[PCBuds]

She's still doing OK.

I might only get 1/4 gram/watt but thats fine.

 

[PCBuds]