Drip system in place - What about nutes?

[pontiacman]

Now that my drip irrigation is functional, I'm ready to add nutes.

Every fertilizer I have found says every other day. What if I'm feeding from a tank mixed? Will it overfeed?

Tia ,

 

[pete2]

That's a good question, What you might do is put the fertilizer in at 1/2 strength Watch them for a few days and see what happens, U can always adjust it, I really don't think it will hurt or kill them. If u are not sure and no one else answers your post, That is what I would do. Do you have any pics of anything yet. I'm assuming that you are using hydro. Correct me if I'm wrong.

 

[pontiacman]

That's a good question, What you might do is put the fertilizer in at 1/2 strength Watch them for a few days and see what happens, U can always adjust it, I really don't think it will hurt or kill them. If u are not sure and no one else answers your post, That is what I would do. Do you have any pics of anything yet. I'm assuming that you are using hydro. Correct me if I'm wrong.

I'm in soil. They are currently on a super slow drip timed. Straight water. I'll try your suggestion. I'll post results in a week or so. Thank you.

 

[pontiacman]

Just added nutes to tank:

1/2 the requirement of fox farm grow big. Ph is at 6.2. I don't have a ppm meter but its looking good on a visual.

 

[pete2]

If you can, get the PH down to at least 6.0 would be better.
Sounds you got a handle on it. Good Luck

 

[pontiacman]

Thank you for your help. I've seen a noticeable difference this morning. The girls look very happy.

 

[pete2]

Thank you for your help. I've seen a noticeable difference this morning. The girls look very happy.

You are quite welcome. Would still like to see your set-up.

 

[pontiacman]

As soon as I can, I will post pictures for you thank you again.

 

[pontiacman]

 

[pontiacman]

Update: the girls are looking great. No issues at all with daily feed and water. They are super happy! .....so am I. ......had to raise lights though. They are reaching. Lol

 

[Oregons Best]

if your going to spend the time running the lines, you may want to think about using a drip ring that get the entire container watered. If you are in soil, like roots, foxx farm ocean forest, etc, not a soilless medium, your not going to dry out as often as say a 50/50 coco and perlite. So you will want to keep the entire container watered so as to keep the bennies alive and in full force. I would water every 3 days for 30 seconds give or take. You want it to dry out a little bit but at the same time not stay saturated. As the plants go throw growth spurts they will require a little more water, especially in flower. And YES, start off at 1/2 strength. I would also flush the medium prior to going into flower and at the final week of flower to get any build up of nutrient salts washed away. I assume your using an organic nutrient as well? a 1/4 inch drip line is nice as your nutrients will clog up anything smaller, lol. I run a drain to waste system and I like to see about 20-25% of my nutrient come out of the containers so as to NOT get a build up and lock out any nutrients. I use a 50/50 perlite and coco blend and synthetic nutrients. I have ran organics for over a decade and recently switched over to the hydro thang.

 

[Oregons Best]

I just noticed your growing under fluorescents. Yea, there is no need for a drip system with only a couple plants. Unless your going on vacation or something. Your nutrient needs are less than a gallon every week. If you mix up say 10 gallons of nutrients, enough for 10 weeks, and just let them sit there for those 10 weeks they will spoil. Organics need to be used asap otherwise they will go anaerobic and start growing bad bacteria and start stinking. It would be a waste. I would just mix up what ya need as ya need it in a gallon jug. And with flouro's I would go 1/4-1/2 strength. Those lights do NOT put out enough for the plants to burn much food. Look at the lights as exercise for the plants. The MORE light, the more food they burn photosynthesizing.

 

[Oregons Best]

Go over to American Agg over on Stark and ask Gordon about his drain to waste technique and set up. I love it bro.

 

[pontiacman]

Thanks. I'll do that.

 

[pontiacman]

I just noticed your growing under fluorescents. Yea, there is no need for a drip system with only a couple plants. Unless your going on vacation or something. Your nutrient needs are less than a gallon every week. If you mix up say 10 gallons of nutrients, enough for 10 weeks, and just let them sit there for those 10 weeks they will spoil. Organics need to be used asap otherwise they will go anaerobic and start growing bad bacteria and start stinking. It would be a waste. I would just mix up what ya need as ya need it in a gallon jug. And with flouro's I would go 1/4-1/2 strength. Those lights do NOT put out enough for the plants to burn much food. Look at the lights as exercise for the plants. The MORE light, the more food they burn photosynthesizing.

the nutes are very minimal at this point. I agree about bacteria growth. I keep the tank with just enough water to keep it going. Only watering once a day for 10 minutes. I watch them very closely since its my first grow. I did 1/2 strength nutes in a few days ago and only been adding water daily. Should I make a surround for them to reflect the light?

 

[Oregons Best]

Honestly, I would invest in some actual grow lights. You can get a 1000 watt hps for $118 delivered. Or if heat is an issue, try some t-5 lights.

 

[pontiacman]

Update: I removed the drip system but its ready to go at a moments notice. Pita......anyway, I went back to hand watering. They are doing great. I got rid of the fluorescent lights and got an extra 400 mh for a great deal. Even picked up a small tent that is showing great promise.