I am going to be at the point of using nutrients soon, what is everyone’s recommendation for brand? My plant is in FFOF soil…
There are limitless choices. FF makes popular stuff, General Hydroponics makes good stuff, just to name two. You won’t need any nutes for the first two months in FFOF though.
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Is there a difference between FF Grow Big, Big Bloom, and Tiger bloom? I guess is more along the lines of what I’m wondering…is there an advantage of one of those over another?
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@dmykins most companies have a basic 3. That is FF basic three that will do a good job for you.
Most depends on what country you are in. Lots of choices in the US. GH is another decent line. Also ILGM has the Flower Power line as well.
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@dmykins, my advice would be to choose something that is popular and inexpensive like General Hydroponics 3 part, download the nutrient chart and follow it. You should also get some cal mag plus and ph up and down to adjust values when watering. Believe me, you will end up with a ton of crap before you know it hahaha.
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@Myfriendis410 I just purchased the PH up and down…I don’t think it’s time just yet for nutrients, but I will look into the ones you recommended. I already have more than I thought lol. It’s fun though I enjoy it. So let me ask a question about PH up/down…I tested my regular water and it’s like 7.4, essentially do I water my plants, check the run off and see what that pH is before I add any pH down to my regular water? (This is without nutrients, it’s still too early for nutrients).
No, ph your water to 6.5 which will make the trace minerals and nutrients available for uptake by the plant.
Ok. Why pH the runoff?
That will tell you the soil condition and what the standing ph is as far as salt buildup. It’s not a bad idea to monitor the solids occasionally too. This can tell you a lot about how depleted (or not!) your soil is. It can also be a valuable tool to diagnose issues that may crop up.
Document everything pertinent. I printed out monthly calendars and put info on them like what week we’re in etc along with projected feeding changes at each change.
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Sweet idea!
@Myfriendis410 is there any certain name brands of ph meter, or ppm meters you recommend? I have found a ph, and ppm meter but it’s for checking fluids. Is a separate ph meter needed for checking on of soil?
@Bshmstr I believe you would check the runoff of the watering to get the pH of the soil
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Several members like a unit called the Aptera, I believe. About $45 on Amazon. Measuring soil ph is a matter of making a slurry of soil in distilled water and measuring the ph.
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I originally bought the inexpensive 15 dollar ph/tds meter combo. I think the tds meter works fine but the yellow ph pen never gave me an accurate reading, although plenty of folks have used the yellow ones with success. I just never felt comfortable with it. I ordered the Apera like @Myfriendis410 is recommending, and after calibration (it comes with calibration solution) I feel much more confident in my readings.
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@SilentHippie I have pancellent brand PH meter, i bought it on Amazon, it was supposed to be 49 dollars but was on sale for 25…it came with calibrating solution, which I used. How often should I recalibrate?
From what I’ve read, I’m very new also to growing, you should recalibrate after storing for long periods. I personally will dip mine in the 7.0 calibration solution if I get a reading that looks out of the ordinary. That said, I’m very new to this and I’m sure the more experienced folks here can weigh in with more accurate information.
I check mine once a week. Normally it’s right on. My GH 7.0 standard reference solution is used for storage as well. I placed a small cotton pad in the cap and keep it moist with reference solution which is usually good for the electrodes.
This is one of those things that is easy to do and has HUGE impacts on your grow.
@Myfriendis410 I received a packet with mine with powder I mix with water to calibrate it, after using it I got rid of it…should I just purchase a pH buffer? Or is there a know liquid that is always 7 that I can use to make sure?
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Yeah, there’s a number of them. I have the GH I listed above and it’s inexpensive and effective. It’s 7.0 ph.
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@Myfriendis410 so I am just looking for GH PH Buffer?