@Lostgirl
Does the rainwater that you collect from your roof have a yellowish tinge color to it?
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Sometimes if it’s a small amount it’s cloudy. Larger amounts seem clear.
If you’re collecting from your roof and it hasn’t rained in a while then I can see a yellow tint from pollen being present
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Rain can collect lots of atmospheric particles that may discolor or stain the rain.
Have tested rain with TDS pan, ppm vary.
I do know that running rain water through my 5 stage zero water filter brings its down to less than 2 ppm with current filter.
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@Lostgirl
I’m working on getting everything I need to do this grow. I need 45 things and I have acquired 39 of them so far. Then I decided to buy a really nice water tester for testing swimming pools. It tests TDS-PPM, TDS-PPT, EC-US, EC-MS, SALT-SG, SALT-PPM, SALT-PERCENTAGE, PH, TEMP. So now I have tested Spring Water, Distilled Water, Gym water fresh, Gym water 2 weeks old, house tap water, purified water, rain water off a roof, and I just now scored some rain water straight into a bucket. So I guess I need to ask you ’ what do I need the numbers to read to grow weed?, or do I need to take water with nothing in it and make it read what you suggest it should read?. Also I got bottle of liquid seaweed as you suggested. And also got 3 pounds of Calmag, and you already know the nutrients I’ll be using. The rainwater that I just got that was straight into a bucket is clear with a PH of 4.6 which I noticed is way way less than all other water ph I tested.
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@Lostgirl
Another question. I understand everybody’s situation is different. But for months now everywhere I look I see that the consensus is it takes 6 gallons of water a day for a plant. And then the other consensus is water every other day. I couldn’t even fathom watering my 2 indoor godfather og plants 6 gallons a day each when they will be in a enclosed insulated room in 7 gallon grow bags with a vivosun 4000 grow light with a maximum height of maybe 4 feet tall. I never inquire about anything that I read anywhere else. I only ask questions to this forum. And I will only continue to use this forum. So am I missing something here. Because it would seem that people would be watering plants all day long at 6 gallons a plant.
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Mediums decide pH. Coco/hydro is 5.5 to 6.2 with 5.8 being ideal.
Soils happy zone is 6.5 to 6.8 being ideal.
Seedlings, clones, veg and flower have ideal ppm, parts per million to be fed. Some strains eat more.
Always mix nutrition, nutes, first, then adjust the pH prior to feeding.
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6 gallons? Factors might have dictated that on a grow with huge pot. A 5 gal fabric pot should not ever need 6 gallons of nutes at one time. A grower flushing might use more pHed water to flush .
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For someone just starting out like yourself I strongly suggest starting with a pre-charged nutrient enriched soil. Happy Frog by Fox farms is a very good soil to start with as you will only have to water it for the first 30 to 40 days no nutrients will be required in that time. That gives you a little time to learn your plant without using nutrients.
I feed my plants by checking the runoff EC (electroconductivity) it’s basically going to tell you what nutrients you have at that time in your soil. Did I feed the plant accordingly.
As to your water question. Think of it like this your plant takes water and nutrients combined feed your plant. That combined water and nutrients once mixed has a EC (electroconductivity) number. Currently I’m feeding my plants at 900EC
So if you use a water like RO/Distilled/Rainwater these three typewriters have a EC number of less than 15 EC so if I had a gallon of water at 15 EC and my plant needs 900 EC that means I can mix 885EC worth of good solid nutrients. If you were to use tap water or water fountain water that has a EC of 380 this means I can only utilize 520EC of good nutrient mix because I have 380 EC of God only knows what in my initial water.
The lower the EC of the water the better.
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As @Mosca said, you’re never going to use 6 gallons of water on one of your plants. I use 3 gallon bags to grow my auto flowers. When the plant eats at its fullest appetite I only water one gallon every other day. 1 gallon of water feeds my plant happily and gives me 15% run off so I can check my EC and pH levels.
I do not recommend that you look for or use a watering schedule this will get you in trouble your plant will tell you when it’s time to eat and how much.
I use what’s called the loaf of bread technique. When I lift my pot and it feels like I’m holding a loaf of bread it’s time to feed. Feel anything heavier I’ll wait. Water retains a weight in soil you’ll get the hang of it when lifting your plant before and after watering that is a better way to feed your plants other than using a watering schedule that might tell you the water every single day.
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Very nice explanation, for just “starting out” you are getting this down and able to pass the info pretty easy IMO.
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Thank you Big Ben 
we listened, we practice, we learn. Retaining the information is challenging for some. We break it down in layman’s terms and pass it on. That’s all we can do
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The most ive ever watered a 5 gal pot full was 1.5 gallons. Theyll go through that in a day while in flower
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The lift and water method was how we started. We havent lost or come close to losing a plant with this practice.
A gallon of water or milk weighs approx. 8lbs.
Huge difference in a loaf of bread and half gal at 4lbs.
Even with a plant 4 ft tall with 5 ozs of bud loaded feels like a loaf of bread, just alittle top heavy now when dry
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^^^^^^^ same…
By week 3 of flower i can tell when theyre about empty just by looking at em…
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I think they talk more when using lift method.
They say its bed time snd when its time to be fed., and lights out.
30 day old plant maybe eating every 3 days, i didnt and dont do water for runoff.
You can tell when your plants arent well fast.
@Lostgirl
Thanks for the info. The lower the EC the better the water is definitely something I will always retain.
Something else I constantly read elsewhere about watering weed in places is. ’ if you stick your finger in the soil three inches and there is nothing on your finger when you pull it out, it’s time to water, because don’t want those top roots to get dry’
That sounds like radish watering to me.
But I’ll be growing in Happy Frog soil. And y’all say no need to add anything but water for 30 days.
But if my math is correct “technically” that means 58 days nothing but water (except seedling fertilizer)
Clear tiny cup for seedling for 7 days.
Transplant to 1 gallon grow bag for 21 days.
Transplant to 7 gallon grow bag where just need water for 30 days.
58 days.
Do I have it right.
Thank you for your indepth explanation you gave me.
Hope I can get this weed grown before my vascular dementia engages full force.
Talk about complicating simple topics y’all…this just isn’t rocket science.
Water when they are thirsty. Stick your finger in, lift the pot, look at the plant…it’s simple to tell when they need hydration. Spend a lot of time with your plants…observing.
Feed when they are hungry. Start with a loose feeding schedule knowing full well you’ll drift from that schedule based on garden conditions and plant observations. Two plants from the same seed pack may exhibit wildly different appetities.
Transplant when they outgrow their current containers. They will start to show you they are ready by requiring daily hydration, and a little fade if you let them go too long before transplant.
Rain water is an excellent source of free hydration. Like all other water…check the ppms in your rainwater and adjust accordingly. If you want full control over exactly what your ppms are comprised of, run your rainwater through an R/O filter before mixing your nutrients…not necessary in my experience however.
This is an insanely rewarding hobby with many ups and downs! It takes a lot of time and dedication, i hope you stick with it and best of luck!
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This is a nice start for the OP. Some very good advice being given. I remember how confusing it was starting out when reading how to grow. There are so many various techniques people use and sorting out which are critical and which are less important was hard. For instance using 6 gallons a day could very well be a good technique. If the plant was outside in the ground. Or in a very large container outside and the grower wanted to keep the root zone clean and in coco then I can see it being a good way to water. I could go on but you get the point. Everyone’s grow has variations and there is no “One” exact way to grow. I will offer @anon52654037 a bit of advice from experience. Once you get ready to start your first grow you should begin a single new topic as a grow journal. Name it something like “GodfatherOGs first time grow” and stick with that thread and don’t start new ones every time something comes up. We need a history of the grow to offer good advice and it makes it easy to find the info on your grow. Just tag in others as needed. If you have trouble finding your thread just look at your activity history.
The best advice I can offer is dont panic and dont overreact. Cannabis is very resilient. I started a seed in moist Happy Frog soil and for a test did not water it until it wilted severely. It took 21 days before it looked sick. You will do more harm by trying to fix things than if you just wait. Cannabis will have spotty leaves, grow wonky looking leaves, wilt, turn yellow and none of that is unusual or a major cause for concern. Most of the time you can simply ignore those things and go on. Post pictures and let the community help. But dont try to fix every little issue. They are a product of nature and prone to have natural blemishes.
Have fun and remember…
"Its not rocket science unless you want it to be. "
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Spiney, whats up… hope your doing well. I just started my 2nd run… its going good thanks to you and ILGM and everyone else here…
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You say you’re going to use Happy Frog soil and that’s great. However me “personally”, would not use any seedling fertilizer as your soil has adequate nutrients to take care of that. The seedling stage is the 100% most important stage to get through without error. This will set the stone of how your plant will continue to grow. Using fertilizer could only make things worse.
When I use Happy Frog the only thing I use all the way through the first 30 days is kelp seaweed extract as it does not raise the EC too much to you’re already charged soil.
I don’t know if you’re growing photo . Or Auto flowers. If you’re growing autoflowers I would not do two and three transplants personally. I personally start in Solo cups after 10 days I go to its final pot.
If you’re growing photos you might be able to get away with it without consequence but I would check with someone to be sure as I don’t grow photos and don’t want to lead you down the wrong path.
Good luck
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