What a plant wants.

[Crazy Composer]

this is from a post I did in another thread

I thought this might be helpful to folks looking to fine tune their cannabis growing skills...

Marijuana talks to us. It talks in sign language; that is, it tells us what it needs with signs.

I believe that a plant should only be fed when it wants to be.

So, knowing that anything happening to my plants IS NOT a result of overfeeding (because I don't feed them until they ask for it), I know that when reddening begins in the leaf stems and veins, they are asking for something to eat.

About the picture...
This picture will help you identify the point at which plant is asking for food.

The YELLOW ARROWS point to stems and veins that AREN'T asking for food.
The ORANGE ARROWS point to stems and veins that ARE asking for food.

The reason both signs (hungry and not hungry) appear on the same plant is that this plant was sprayed with a light fertilizer a couple days ago, therefore the newer growth (top leaf) is not showing as hungry as that older leaf with red veins and stems. Once a leaf vein/stem has gone red, it will always be red, no matter how much you feed after you notice it. Only the growth occuring after the feeding will grow green.

There are some strains with red/purple stems, so here's a good tip for those... Note how red they are when they're happy, and that way you know that any further darkening in the color is the sign to feed.

 

[LIME-diesel]

nice bit of reading there thanks

 

[Jah-Jah]

thanks alot, great info

 

[Fire]

Hello CC,

I have always had a problem with reddening stems. How can I keep my stuff nice and green? Is it a P or K problem, or nute lockout?? Do I need more or less? Just as you have said, when I see it, I give more nutes and always cause burns. help

*notice severe reddening of the stems*

 

[Guest]

P

P

P

as stated by CC red stems can be a genetic trait tho so don't overfert Phosphorous as it can lead to the locking out of one or more secondary elements...

hope this helps
cj

 

[Fire]

CaptainJack,

In my room with 4 different strains going/12 plants, most of them exhibited reddening stems. So I think its my Soil mixture (70% Foxfarm OF soil, 30% perlite) or my nutrient regimen. I've just always wondered how to keep all my stuff nice and green without any red veining or reddening stems.

nutes I've tried in the past
Full Foxfarm line
PureBlend Pro & Pureblend Original lines
GH 3 part with additives

 

[Crazy Composer]

Fire, they look absolutely gorgeous! Keep doing what you're doing. I like red stems, because I like to feed them only when they ask for it. I call it 'chasing nitrogen'.

Nitrogen is the first of the elements to dissapear from the soil. It evaporates from moist soil as time goes on. So, if the plant didn't use up the N you fed it, it will eventually evaporate.

Right. So... This leaves the other stuff, the stuff that DOESN'T evaporate (P, K, and a lot of other elements). We need to remember these elements are still in the soil the next time your plant wants N. The reddening stems are actually an expression of N deficiency, in otherwise healthy plants. N is the most common deficiency in my garden, because I use a clean, soiless mix. The only food my plants EVER see is the food I mix up and serve them via waterings - so I know exactly what's in that soil at all times.

I feed with Earth Juice. The Earth Juice solution impregnates my soiless mix, and is the only source of food to my plants, besides a touch of organic Thrive Alive B-1, from time to time. This puts me in full control of their diets. If I see red stems starting, I give more Earth Juice Grow then Earth Juice Bloom. More N then anything else - the other stuff is usually in good supply with regular, light feedings. N is what we chase, and in so doing, many folks make the mistake of adding N, and the other stuff that comes along with it, eventually leading to an excess of the stuff that won't evaporate, (P, K, micros, etc). Toxicity sets in. We have trouble. We must flush, we worry, we wonder what went wrong THIS TIME, it's not good... I say - starve em, then feed them slightly more every time until you get it right. That way you can sleep well at night, KNOWING that whatever problems that pop up now are NOT from overfeeding.

To answer your question though... to keep them green all the time? Feed them more than they will ever need, without burning them. And of course, this is almost impossible unless you've dialed that plant in, as I said up there somewhere ^

My suggestion is to underfeed at first, and gradually bump the amount up. Eventually you'll be able to dose most plants correctly the first time. It's better to underfeed and go upward, than to overfeed, then try to down-dose. Building heavy organics into the soil - organics that won't be fully expended by harvest time - makes it nearly impossible to feed the way I do. I work with the lowest possible denominator when it comes to feeding. The results is some damn powerful herb that burns incredibly well, clean.

How's that for a reply? Damn, must be the pot cookie I ate a while back. cc

 

[Fire]

lol

Thank you very much for the advice, when I begin mid-flowering I give nothing with high N to my nute mix, I will surely try to give low doeses of N next time.

great info!

 

[Guest]

surely those plants are NOT asking for N, hence my hasty reply. I'm sorry guys

surely those plants are NOT asking for N, hence my hasty reply. I'm sorry guys

thanks for the enlightenment CC!! I've just made the switch to str8 promix+perlite, good information there, thank you.you should eat more brownies

fire, sorry i couldn't be of more help, i not only am not as advanced a grower as CC, but i've never used those liquid nutes in flower so figured i'd wait for the big guy to weigh in... your plants do indeed look near perfect, not familiar with HDF but it looks to be a great strain, good growing, fire

red stems are ambiguous

cj

 

[Crazy Composer]

There are a million different tips like this that can eventually form a much clearer picture of how we grow here at symphony hall. The results of NOT overfeeding are self-evident.

 

[Guest]

Jeezes! That last pic is wild! Definetly one of the prettiest plants I've seen in a while!

You got it goin' on, dontcha CC! :smokin:

 

[Guest]

Saved as PDF and archived for future reading. Great info CC thanx for sharing.

Mo,

 

[Alex-F]

Info like this is why I loce IC :wink: