Day 14
Ph 5.9
Water temp 70
room temp 73
Rh 43%
Nute ppm 540
Well, everything is going great. Plants are growing fast and healthy. Yesterday I posted a pic of what looks to me like pistils beginning to show. Reading up on the White Dwarf strain told me that the plants commonly show sex in the third week, which makes it just a few days early. Even though my seeds were feminized, it's encouraging to see the little girls doing what they are supposed to.
One of the reasons for this journal was to show new or non-hydro growers what is involved in moving from dirt to hydro on a shoestring budget, so here are a few observations after two weeks.
1-This is a very involved way of growing, even with the most basic setup. You need to check and adjust ph 2-3 times a day...every day. This well may be the most critical factor in your grow. If you go back in the thread and read where I first added nutes, you'll see that when I added them, my Ph spiked up to 6.4. This set off a flurry of PMs between me and Pan4Gold49, instructing me on how to properly maintain the PH. 6.4 is well within soil growing limits, but to high for hydro, and nearly caused some serious problems for me...between 5.5 and 5.8 is what you are shooting for for maximum nute absortion.
2-As I said earlier, this is a very involved way of growing, which brings me to my next point. By and large hydro growers are using a spare room or, like me, a spare bathroom. This obviously means the plants are inside with you, which sets off, at least for me, a completely unexpected feeling...paranoia. When I grew outdoors, the plants were nowhere near me and the only time there was any risk was when we planted and harvested. Not so now. All I can say about this is to deal with it as best you can and keep your mouth shut. Most people that get clipped, talked their way into it because they could't keep their pie hole shut.
3-This is a facinating and rewarding way to grow. I think Ms. Fox said it best, "every grower should try hydro once, just to see where your true calling is." If you like micromanaging you grow, hydro is a wet dream for you. You control everything.
Well thats about all of my profound observations for now...bet y'all would rather look at pics than read what I have to say, so here you go...
That's it for today folks...