Those ribs look great. A good alternative to tap water is rain water. Its free RO water. Ive got 2 giant tubs i keep out back when its going to rain. I can get anywhere from 4 to 16 gallons free after a good storm lol
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Ex what is rain? Ive heard of it before. Is that the stuff that makes your windshield muddy when it falls from the sky occasionally? The Barrels in plastic become brittle when exposed to the UV here after awhile. Fricking Wind is crazy here, too.
I was looking at my semi new shower hose, BTW my weed laboratory also serves as a dual purpose person shower.
RUST.
Now the stainless fake hose is still only 2 years old, but not top of the line fake chrome either, but even the Brand names are cheap now. I was surprised somewhat. Water is a bad MFâer.
I need a water softener and RO is just how you roll here. I donât have a softener, yet.
Going to attempt #1 soak it in White Vinegar and Hot water. I think I got a old Folgers can somewhere.
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If that doesnât work try CLR. It devours calcium and water crud. The ribs makes me miss the BBQ place (real outdoor smoker) where I would pick up ribs, shoulder all sorts of good stuff.
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Ahh that sucks man. I dont know how accuratw it is, but from what i read, plants cant absorb rust, so if thats true at least ya aint gotta worry about ut getting up into your plants.
I have a whole house softener but i still worry about using it lol
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Softeners add salt and make the water feel slippery, but then you take that output to the house and run it thru a triple filter under sink RO system. Those things generate RO pretty fast. That cheap RO system will get you below drinking water PPM you buy. I think my dishwasher and washer are destined for a shorter life without a softener. My tap is 900 ppm of bad with 8PH with chloramine.
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Update 30 OCT (Day 63 Above Dirt post 2 of 2)
Week 10 Starts 1 November, Monday (6th week of flower). Target run off according to flora chart 1050-1400 PPM. I think I got another 30 days to go on these approx. Buds are getting fatter and I see the hairs starting to turn color.
I think I need to also do a better job of watering proper amount to the specific plant as they vary trying to achieve a 20 % run off exactly so it is not watered down run off reading skewing my output data.
Today the new dirt did not require as much to achieve run off, as I want the measured input amount 140 oz to 160 oz/20%= Output ammount 28 to 32 oz range.
Looking at the Input numbers trying to make sense of it more when I see what happens to the plant tomorrow morning.
(RO/47ppm) (Epsom Salts/195ppm) (Full Label / 1098 ppm) total input 1340 ppm
Note: After I added all the Flora Trio and ES it had brought my water to 5.7 PH. Took approx. 6 ml of the blue PH up to bring it to 6.5 PH so I could use it on the plants. All that PH up only brought the 4.5 gallon of feed 40 ppm (1300 ppm before blueâ1340 ppm After)
Comments. Ideas?
@meeasy @beardless @hellraiser
I will look in the AM see what this Full Label did to the plants.
I am totally done with any of this tap water, period. Still asking myself why I was adding it?
Actually it brought my PH down from 8 to 6.5 PH and another thing about the Blue PH I was freaking out how Blue PH seemed to not work. Takes alot of Blue PH I find, and others agree. Still I would rather have the PPM from that blue PH than what is in my water from tap untreated.
Todayâs Numbers and Previous Run Off and observations of the three plants:
Old Dirt Bag 1: Fed 1.0% Full Label on bottle following the âBloom and Ripeningâ Line on the bottle.
Start Solution PPM (RO + Tap): 48 PPM (Added 9 Gram) of Epsom Salt to 4.5 Gal of Solution). Epsom Brought it up to 242 PPM
Feed solution PPM with Flora Trio Nutes, and Epsom Salt, No Cal Mag: 1340 PPM
PH In: 6.5 After - Lots of Blue PH Up maybe 6 ml to bring up from 5.7 which was initial reading.
PH Measured Output: 6.3
Run Off: 144 FL Oz Run off caught at 2.5 cups of Fluid
Today Run Off: 2030 PPM
Previous Fluid Event Run Off: 1520 PPM
Notes: Old dirt is like cocoâŚwater runs thru it with ease. Best Plant of the three I got Growing leaf color. Slightly shorter couple inches
New Dirt Bag 2: Fed 1.0% Full Label on bottle following the âBloom and Ripeningâ Line on the bottle.
Start Solution PPM (RO + Tap): 48 PPM (Added 9 Gram) of Epsom Salt to 4.5 Gal of Solution). Epsom Brought it up to 242 PPM
Feed solution PPM with Flora Trio Nutes, and Epsom Salt, No Cal Mag: 1340 PPM
PH In: 6.5 After Lots of Blue PH Up maybe 6 ml to bring up from 5.7 which was initial reading.
PH Measured Output: 6.0
Run Off: 160 FL Oz Run off caught at 3.0 cups of Fluid
Today Run Off: 2140 PPM
Previous Fluid Event Run Off: 1750 PPM
Notes: Leaf problems. Lack of light, Dull looking green. Light penetration possible lower leaves on sucker buds turning yellow.
New Dirt Bag 3: Fed 1.0% Full Label on bottle following the âBloom and Ripeningâ Line on the bottle.
Start Solution PPM (RO + Tap): 48 PPM (Added 9 Gram) of Epsom Salt to 4.5 Gal of Solution). Epsom Brought it up to 242 PPM
Feed solution PPM with Flora Trio Nutes, and Epsom Salt, No Cal Mag: 1340 PPM
PH In: 6.5 After lots of Blue PH Up maybe 6 ml to bring up from 5.7 which was initial reading.
PH Measured Output: 6.0
Run Off: 160 FL Oz Run off caught at 4.5 cups of Fluid
Today Run Off: 1750 PPM
Previous Fluid Event Run Off: 1820 PPM
Notes: Leaf problems. Lack of light, Dull looking green
Notes: Light penetration possible lower leaves on sucker buds turning yellow.
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Plants are looking good. I spy a pup in the background of a pic. What strain are you growing?
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These are ILGM Wedding Cake. Trying to put it all together this time. Got some issues but got too much weed for the space as I have never attempted 3.
Yes that is my boy laying down on the job. He ended up putting all the work off on me.
Prior to me taking the pic he had been laying in his normal AM position which is his face near the 4" intake pipe to the grow closet. Heâs my Bud. My 84 + year old Stoner.
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Update 31 OCT (Day 64 Above Dirt)
Boo. Hope I did not scare you.
I got that 0420 hr toke of the stuffed 16 mm Grav bowl out of the way. BTW I love brushing my teeth and getting Stoned right out of the sack, anybody else? That is the best judge if my weed is any good. My weed is good. Good enough for this old stoner anyway. I like GRAV 16mm glassware? Cheap and easy to clean. Really Prefer a Bong with water but too much waste that donât burn. Opinions? any nice easy to clean pipes you all use?
Pics I included below are from today and named to make sense. Quality of the pics is lacking.
Order of the 4 PicsâŚâŚGroup, 1 old dirty Bastard, 2 new, 3 new.
From a couple other previous Grow outs with this ILGM Wedding Cake Auto I am looking at 7 Dec the 100 day above the Ground mark for a potential earliest chop down date. That is my guess right now.
This Grow I have plant Space competition (Extra Plant) jammed in the box. My leaves are suffering and probably I might have them all looking like Old Yeller a plant I seen somebody growing out here on the forum. I hope the guy did not trade mark Old Yeller, cause I may have 3 of them needing a name change before this is over. Hopefully I am not left to tears with my triplets like the Old Yeller movie made cry. I have only tried growing two in this same box before. I am proud to say right now I am chasing numbers, but achieving and maintaining Self Reliance more than anything. Too old to play weed game. Too old for sharing my grow with real people I can see anyway. Virtual is the only way to share this stuff in my eye. Hope this VPN donât let me down either. Not-LOL.
I am going to judge the chop by the naked eyeball average of 3 plants. I will cut them all down same day. Far too dangerous here to be gambling on Reek wafting smells and pungent odors.
OK back to the plants,âŚ
My thoughts / Guesses:
Too many 1970s old school Flora chemicals? I have never lowered the light below 20â but been hitting them with 168w steady for quite awhile. Regulated temps have been really steady 78-80F max for 99% of the time.
I think this leaf mess could still be lingering side effects from when I was using approximately 8 oz of tap water per gallon to knock the tap 8 PH down close to 6.5 and Raise my PPM. My water has Chloramine in it. The Tap + RO to raise PPM was a Fd Up strategy I used, but I learned a lesson. The reason for the âTap Waterâ, in my mind was to go above 100PPM for a start off solution so the PH pen will lock on for accurate reading. I went thru 2 yellow and black PH pens before Spanky pointed out the facts I was PHing a solution with no Ions in the water under 100 ppm. That Plus I was mixing the chems out of proper order. Learned to PH Last, right before application another valuable lesson, the hard way, but that is how I learn. I donât touch hot stoves anymore either I can assure you.
I decided any tap water that starts off 900 ppm and a PH of 8+, with chloramine was stupid about a week ago. I donât need use tap with the all other chems I use. If I need to raise chems on a water day I will add just enough Epsom Salts to slightly Raise the solution to 100+ PPM so my PH pen can lock on to it.
I am also thinking about using Epson Salts and scrap the Cal Mag all together next time as the Magnesium will come from the salts? I am sure those bottles of Flora got that other âCalâ shxt Calcium? LOL. covered down somewhere, I hope⌠Any opinion on using Epsom Salts exclusively?
So Next Grow I think I am leaning towards.
Starting to use Epsom Salt earlier and NO, None Zero Tap / Crap Water. 100% RO. I may see what running the numbers closer to 1000 ppm also in line with the Flora Charts. I am really beginning to think with these Autos and growing in FFHF the in the bag nutrients will get you almost to the finish line by adding good PHd water RO water at Epsom/Cal adjusting to the Flora Chart would be minimal chem applications with Autos. Just add water and Presto. You got fast buds in your stash can.
I donât know exactly what I will do next time. Fishing for opinions from the Grow crew or others?
@caligurl @meeasy @beardless @spankyjr1 @hellraiser @capt.Cola @exofly @Ruthiej7 @CooterJuice @dennis62
Today when I look at the plants, I see bad, but Old Dirty Bastard Plant #1 looking the best of the all, LOL.
The benefit to me for growing Autos, is I can put over 6 months stash of smoke in the can and suspend Grow operations for awhile. Some of us are growing in non ideal environments.
I did have to warn my boy about sleeping on the job. That is 2 days in a row. Old weed head.
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The last overhead shot of the plants is most informative. Made me go back and look at ALL of your numbers again.
I donât like seeing pH drop from 6.5 to 6.0
Also it looks like calcium deficiencies in the leaves
If you have been giving calmag, then a deficiency might not make sense unless it is caused by pH imbalance causing lockout.
Hopefully someone else can add or correct my observations. I am not a good plant doctor.
In soil I would increase intake pH to 6.7 - 6.8
Epsom provides only magnesium. The other nutrients needs to add calcium.
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Fox Farm soils wonât quite get ya to the finish line. My current ILGM Sour Diesels in 5 gal fabric pots I mixed Ocean Forest and Strawberry Fields 50/50 with some added perlite. Then made a large Wendyâs cup size hole in middle of pot and filled with Happy Frog. The soil mixture did get me 6 weeks with only adding beneficials SOUR DIESEL AUTO SOIL GROW My journal for that grow if ya wanna check it out.
What options you have for next grow?
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You may be on to something. To answer your questions. No I have rarely used CAL Mag this entire grow becuase I had been continually micro dosing the plants with the Flora Trio all along. I guess I got keyed in on reading only use Cal mag on watering days only and I said F it when I micro dosed. Might have guessed wrong.
I got paranoid about the dull leaves and BTW really I just learned about Epsom Salts (Natural Mag) this grow so I used that lately with the Trio nutes with fingers crossed hoping to get the dull leaves back more green. I deviated from my initial plan of Water/Feed/Water schedule. It has been along time since I used Cal mag this grow
CJ,
I think I may try and grow out 2 Blue Dream Auto I have on hand. I ordered a bunch of Autos when I first started out and now I am going to grow them out. choices all Auto (Z-Kittle, Wedding Cake, Gold leaf, Blue Dream), Definitley getting rid of any trace of Tap in my Start solution.
I may some day try 1 photo. I want to try a critical Kush strain I seen Spanky grow out. I have to be way beyond weed poor to try and invest a All or Nothing Grow on one plant. Growing this shit is like watching paint dry, so I have to maximize my output when i risk doing a home grow out of my location.
I laugh everytime I see your handle⌠I guess I will never grow upâŚmentallyâŚLOL
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I agree could be calcium deficiency or a swing in ph. 6 is pretty low for soil and some nutrients donât get taken up as well.
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I am using old school salts. I am amazed how the Old Dirty Bastard Bag 1 Old Dirt seems to be out performing the brand new FFHF dirt I used. Rookie error. Have enough dirt on hand. Old dirty bastard is FFHF used the previous grow I saved from a previous grow for tomatoesâŚLOL. Luckily I did not bring in bugsâŚKnock wood.
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Lol, yea is why I made my handle what it is, for all of us with that little bit of a immature mind!! Blue Dream is nice!! Smoked it, have never grown it, yet. Blue Dream and Gold Leaf our on my list to grow, sometime. I have waaaay to many seeds on hand atm, lol.
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I hear you Brother FF will not get you to the finish line but they can get you close. A good lamp and a PH pen is a great start.
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Blue dream in my opinion is one of the best day smokes. Grew two in a previous run and both got big fat buds with great taste. Actually smoking blue dream today! Gold leaf I have growing now. Looking forward to another great relaxing smoke.
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I dont know anything about soil growing, so no advice/suggestions, but they are looking great man.
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