Should I be adding suppliments?

[nomi]

I'm about 2 1/2 weeks into my first grow ever. Started from bag seed in a medium sized indoor cabinet. I'm using GH flora nutes 3 part. I've been pretty much following the GH chart so far. I wasn't sure though how strong or weak to make my nutrient solution. I'm still not sure. I started it out at about 350ppm. At this point I've changed the tubs twice and I've pushed my way up to about 950 at this point with no visible signs of over fert or nute burn.

All I'm using is the 3 parts Gro, Micro, and Bloom together with Diamond Nector. Should I be using other suppliments? How important are all these other suppliments?

I'm thinking of going to 12/12 early.... like next week maybe. I mean it's bag seed. I have no idea if I have girls or not. And it's really just kind of my test run before I hit up a seed bank. But I still want to get the best possible smoke from this first run. What other additives should I be adding when I switch to flower? And in what quantities?

What should my ppm levels really be? I've done my homework, I promise. I've read and read and read but this subject seems to have the most vague answers of any other subject out there when it comes to growing grass. Some say they can't push their ppm's above 500 or 600. While some claim to run ppm as much as 1600 or so. So, where should I be.

Any comments or suggestions are greatly appreciated. And here's another thread with pics and stuff. Thanks@

https://www.icmag.com/ic/showthread.php?t=179530

 

[FreezerBoy]

For a first time grower GH Micro and Bloom is all you need. The FloraGrow (green bottle) is useless. It's the 0 in lucas 0-8-16 formula. I haven't bought the green stuff in 15 years or so. Personally, I'd stick to Micro, Bloom and pH down for the first grow or three. Less chance of doing harm and now you'll be able to see if adding supplements is worthwhile or a waste of money.

There's no such thing as PPM. That takes a chemical analysis these meters can't provide. All they can do is measure Electrical Conductivity or EC. Your "PPM" meter measures EC and EC only and then hides EC in favor of babel using one of at least 9 different scales. Your 500ppm solution may, or may not be, equal to, more than or less than your friends 1600ppm solution.

Don't use EC to compare against a chart or another grower. Use it to compare against your EC readings the day before and the day before that. EC up, pH down is too lean. EC down, pH up is too rich. This is because nutes are acidic and the more nutes the more acid and the lower pH.

Start with 1/2 what the bottle asks for, chart your readings and see what happens.

What you haven't asked about is pH. pH controls what the plant will or will not eat. Bad pH essentially wires the plants mouth shut causing it to starve while surrounded by food. The old wisdom was pH 5.8 ± 0.2. Some folks are discussing a much lower range here

 

[nomi]

Thanks for your wisdom FreezerBoy. I didn't know about this Lucas method until I had already begun all this, but I think in my next res change I'll go to that method and leave out the FloraGrow and see what happens. Or actually I may just mix a couple gallons of it and phase it into the mix by using it to top off.

As for pH, every drop of water that goes in is being balanced as close to 5.8 as possible. I was told right off the bat that this is the most important factor to monitor in dwc, particularly for new inexperienced growers so I've been watching this as often as twice a day so far. My tap water is slightly too high. But I've been lowering it accordingly. I think my uptake is on point. My plants seem really healthy so far. They're drinking like mad though. Is that normal? My tubs hold a gallon each and if I didn't top them off daily I'm afraid the water levels would go below the pots in a matter of a couple days. Is there anything that can be done about that? I sometimes have to go out of town for 3 or 4 days at a time and I'm afraid that's going to be problematic.

 

[FreezerBoy]

The smaller the tub the faster the disaster. As long as you're there every day, no problem. I'd start experimenting now with how long they can go unattended so you'll know when the time comes. I've got a single plant in an 18 gal tub with 12 gal of nutes. I can leave for a week with no notice. With 10-15 minutes of prep, I can leave for 3 weeks but, my plants will certainly show signs of stress when I return.

Unless there's space limitations of which I'm unaware, I'd at least go with 5 gal tubs (about 3 gal nutes each) A 1 gal tub will be lucky to hold 1/2 gal of nutes. I've never experienced it but, some growers talk of plants drinking multiple gallons per day