The Girl Scout Cookies have been in the RDWC for 2 weeks today. They’re looking great everyday but now it’s time for a reservoir change.
I’m using General Hydroponics flora trio and the first week I only have 1/4 tsp per gallon of water. The second week they were dead in the water so I upped the nutes to what I thought was 1/2 tsp per gallon but I must’ve been high cause I actually used 1 tsp per gallon of each flora micro, grow and bloom.
My question is with the GSC from Cali Connection, what’s a good schedule to follow. I read that I shouldn’t follow GH recommendations for feeding and instead was going by the “grow weed easy” chart.
I’ve been putting this reservoir change off for a few days now cause I’m a little skeert I’m gonna burn the 2 plants up or make them deficient. First time ever trying to grow hydro and doing good so far, hate to screw up since these seeds popped on Christmas Day.
The TDS of the reservoir is 280 and I’m using distilled water as my well water has around 750ppm. The feeding chart I was going to use was the one on “grow weed easy” but I’ll try and post it.
I’m also using 3” net pots and clay pebbles. Also using 1 tsp per gallon of Calimagic from GH. I’ve been using a very light Foliar spraying as well and they really respond to the spraying a few times a day.
If you have good looking root production you could probably up it to the week 3 schedule and see what your tds is there. I don’t see any issues except to remind you to monitor the ph over time.
I’ve been keeping the ph between 5.7-6.2 for the most part. Never above 6.4 or under 5.7. The TDS is what’s got me. I’ve read that ppm should be between 400-1000 once nutes are added. I’ve been running 260-280 ppm.
My roots are growing like crazy.
Like I already stated about screwing up and adding 4 times the amount of nutes after being in the system with slow growth. I mistakenly added the equivalent of 1 tsp per gallon of the flora series to the reservoir when it only had 1/4 tsp per gallon before the mistake.
I wonder what’s gonna happen going from 1 tsp per gallon to 1/2 tsp per gallon. Maybe GH chart is on point for this strain?
I use an undercurrent recirculating system and I use general hydroponics Flora, but I get rid of the grow and only use the micro and bloom in a 1/2 Lucas formula.
I rarely let my ppms exceed 1000 even in the middle of flower, which I believe that’s an EC of 2???
2 weeks in, I would probably be around 500-600 ppm about now. That’s just how I grow, others might do it different
Ya, I’ve gone higher but the plant doesn’t seem to be all that cool with it.
I don’t really have a ppm chart that I follow over the course of the plants life, I just try to stick to this
Veg = less than 800ppm
Flower = less than 1200 ppm
If I stick to this for the most part the plant stays happy
Some of these strains nowadays though, they are being engineered for specific PH for it’s whole life so some strains there is no telling what you can take ppms to
After all, GH is not in the business of CONSERVING nutrients haha! I’m not interested in pushing these to 250 mph: much prefer quality over quantity (but quantity is good too ).
I use that exact chart - the Grow Weed Easy GH chart for about the first four weeks. At that point I let the plant tell me. For example right now I am feeding way less than what that chart recommends for week 5 of flower on my Gold Leaf. But I’m pretty close to it on my Super Silver Haze.
Thanks for all the useful info fellas. I’m gonna change the reservoir in the morning early so I can keep an eye on things all day in case I need to adjust. It makes me feel easier about it now that I see what others are doing.
I’m doing an EBB and flow system and I use GH nutes and go by this chart. I keep my PPM’s at the low end of the scale. I’m on early growth week right now and my PPM’s are at 1050. I don’t think I’m ever over 1150.
Is that number up top the ppm number they want you to be at in early growth??? 1050 - 1350??? Wowzers!
Been a long time since I looked closely at one of these charts. I think I pushed some of these numbers in my soil grows but I’ve never gotten that high hydroponically
Oh I believe it!! @NTMAREMACH But I never worried quite as much in soil because I had that buffer to work with. A couple of waterings with no nutes in it would take me right back to square one.
In hydro I’m afraid to work at numbers like that because I experience nutrient burn fast lol. I’ve grown quite comfy using the Lucas. I just stick to the 1/2 ratio and I find I can really tweak allot of my nutrient mixtures if I’m using Cal/mag or Epsom salts I’m conjunction with.
A normal mid flower mixture for me I will use a 7ml micro/gal and 14ml bloom/gal which will put me a tad under 800ppms normally. From there I will try and make up 100ppms in Cal/mag and another 100ppms in Epsom salts for a total of 1000ppms, or a little more sometimes lol depending on the day. Of course all I’m doing is finding ways to sneak in extra magnesium when I do this I find these levels safe in case I have an increase in PPM over the course of several days in my reservoir, that way it doesn’t exceed 1200. I’m afraid if I set my reservoir at 1200 and didn’t tend to it for a couple of days, it might Spike to 14 or 1500 which I don’t want.
I would never tell you those guys charts are wrong, there is a reason that is what they are telling people to use and I think your plants look fantastic, they are a perfect green. I myself have just found more stability in this range.
Well I changed the reservoir this morning and tds at 650 and pH at 6.2. I checked again this evening and all is well so far. The plants seemed like they liked the new bath water. I’ll see how it looks tomorrow.
I went with 1/2 tsp per gallon of the trio and 1 tsp per gallon of Cali magic. I went from 8 gallons down to 7 as well to give a little more of an air gap on those roots. I’ve got some serious roots for such young plants and they are short little fat bushes and we’re just placed in the system on 13/30/17.
Here’s some pics from the day prior to changing out the water.
).
I find these levels safe in case I have an increase in PPM over the course of several days in my reservoir, that way it doesn’t exceed 1200. I’m afraid if I set my reservoir at 1200 and didn’t tend to it for a couple of days, it might Spike to 14 or 1500 which I don’t want.
