I ran out of my ph down actually i spilled it so i happened to have distilled water so this is what im using just for today till amazon delivers.
@Graysin so im sort of lost budd, sorry but i really new to all this, clear this up for me if possible, thanks.
I understand that distilled water is neutral but yo lost me on ppms. I was thinking that i had to measure the ph of recharge but i am not sure if it was necessary to ph it down to 6.2 to 6.5. I read somewhere that it wasn’t necessary. But just in caase i called on the professionals so i messaged you! I dont want to screw anything up.
This would have made sense to me if it was tap water and added recharge to ph because as i understood you never have to get ph from distilled. Hope im making sense.
Yeah listen to @The_Chef - you shouldn’t pH recharge.
Recharge is microbial life. It will alter pH but do not alter the pH up or down after adding Recharge. Doing so will kill the microbes you just added and makes it pointless to add.
Always in this order
Silica
CalMag
nutrients
PH up/down if needed
Microbes (including Recharge)
If you’re starting at the microbe step, you shouldn’t backtrack and try to do anything else above it.
Got it! Never ph balance recharge it will kill the microbes and it would be pointless to do so!
I got to ask!!, why am i remembering that order ?!? Apologies, didn’t understand. Please clarify, am i missing something? Or doing something out of order?? Im lost! And high! Lol!
Mix Recharge into water. Water your plant with recharge-infused water.
If you are using water with nutrients, add nutrients in the order mentioned above (only adding the nutrients you use) and then add recharge, and then water with nute and recharge infused water.
For me, my mixing order is
Silica → Jacks Part A → Epsom salts → Jack’s Part B → pH down (always) → microbes (Recharge, Tribus, garden friendly fungicide).
For others, that may vary because they use different nutrient lines.
@Graysin has would have earned his consultants fee for sure! I can’t afford him full time otherwise i would hire him in an instant! Experience and advice like his is worth its weight in some dank weed for sure!! So if you down for the get down @Graysin i can cut you in on some grow shares!!lol!! And again thanks for all your help much appreciated!!
Sooooo @Graysin wassup growmie!!! So what’s up with the grow dots. I’ve heard about them but don’t know much. How easy do they really make it. And how well do you think they would work with photos. What else would I do besides the dots. Besides recharge. I am literally searching for the easiest way and so far I’m caught between these grow dots and Promix with dry amendments. Help a brother out. How do these things work?!?!
It is as easy as adding water. I have a couple journals dedicated to Grow Dots. The Photo grow is here: Jack’s vs. Grow Dots: Rebooted
Essentially the way it works is they have a specific NPK breakdown for veg, and it naturally transitions to a bloom formula as the nutrients dissolve.
I found a mild nitrogen toxicity around week 5-6 when growing autos - I don’t recall if I encountered that with the photos but I kind of think I did.
In a clone side-by-side grow off, Dots actually yielded slightly more than Jack’s 321. The reason I don’t use them religiously is cost. I couldn’t justify the price difference for “a little more” in terms of yield. But if you want a grow where all you do is water your plants and let ‘em do their merry thing, it’s the way to grow.
Dots last probably about 16 weeks in actual practice, maybe a bit longer. I was able to finish the photoperiod plant without needing to topdress it, but I bet if you wanted a long veg period (10+ weeks), you may need to add a fresh dose around that 10 week mark to ensure she has enough to get to the finish line.
I needed to supplement with CalMag later in my grow. I understand that Real Growers adjusted the formula after my grow and added more CalMag to the recipe, so it may not be necessary anymore.
I believe @Twelve1 and one of the mods (@BobbyDigital , was it you?) uses/used the Dots as well.
@Graysin So what would be the best medium to use it with. And what could I use for the cal mag? I have the ff trio from my first grow still left. So this is what I have coming together so far. The only reason I’m changing the majority of the way I grew from grow 1-2 is bc I did ohhhh so many things wrong. Lol. But that’s learning. This is what I have so far:
•4x4x6’8 tent
•3 gal air pots
•Spider farmer sf-4000
•Vivosun 4” carbon filter
•2x 4” exhaust fans 195 cfm each. 12” 950cfm fan available
•2x 4” clip on fans
•small dehumidifier
•Hanna ph meter
What I need to figure out:
•How to use said light. I used a 1000w hps first grow
•medium to put dots in
• whatever else you guys think would help.
Any info is so greatly appreciated. Also what do you think about adding mykos or anything like that. Please tag anyone you feel would help! Thanks again!!
The Spider Farmer will run a lot cooler than the HPS, you can start by running it at a low power close to the plant and gradually raise intensity and height.
Medium - I’d go for coco mixed with medium-sized perlite chunks, or just pure coco. I use FloraFlex coco just because it’s what I have handy. CannaCoco or Cyco are both good brands. Steer clear of Mother Earth - at least the bricks. They are not good and the coco doesn’t drain well. I’d be getting Canna Coco bricks if it were me. Pre-fluffed coco is easy but I don’t trust my hydro shop to not have pests living in their pre hydrated stuff.
@WaPNWGrower Yes, I love grow dots. Easy peasy, @Graysin has you covered. I’ve only grown autos, and I use Recharge with the dots, along with some calmag, the latter maybe not being needed with the newer formula that Graysin mentioned. Compared to the grow kits that I started out with, grow dots are inexpensive, to me.
@Twelve1@Graysin Man I can’t say enough how great you guys, girls, and everyone has been. I was so overwhelmed until I found this site. I just really hope I’m not annoying anyone by asking so many questions. So would Promix hp work??? I’m going to go dig into a bit of research so I may come back with more questions. Thanks all
And instead of using actual cal mag, could I use blackstrap molasses? And what does recharge do?? Sorry again for the probably extremely repetitive and stupid questions.
Would be fine. Probably more expensive than you need to invest into it, I think I could dig up dirt from my back yard and throw Dots in it and I’d get an outstanding plant every time.
I just use straight coco because it’s essentially hydroponic growth for minimal effort. Not exactly but damn close.
Use actual CalMag, the calcium/magnesium ratio is critical to plant nutrient uptake.
Blackstrap molasses is just carbs for your microbes.
Recharge supplies beneficial acids, carbohydrates, and microbes to replenish your medium and rejuvenate plant roots. It’s a good blend to have handy for plant triage.
above (only adding the nutrients you use) and then add recharge, and then water with nute and recharge infused water.
much appreciated!!
