HashGirl's First Indoor Grow: Dark Devil Autos In Hempy, 2020

[FelipeBlu]

Enjoy your night HG!

Always read your plants - they will tell you when to increase the nutrients. You say you haven’t fertigated since Tuesday, well that’s fine. Are the pots getting lighter now? Are the plants a little limp?

Are the cotyledons turning pale? If not, then you could probably stay at the present dose. But if you wanted to push things a little, you could certainly increase, say another 1ml of each.

 

[TorturedSoul]

I'm super high and how long did it take YOU to figure that out?

Well, it would have been four or five years ago, IIRC. Probably not "long," depending on how one cares to measure time.

 

[HashGirl]

Good evening.

I fertigated this morning and I kept the nutes at the level I've had from the start: 1/4 tsp FloraGro, 1/4 tsp FloraMicro and 1/8 tsp FloraBloom in 1 gallon of water.

Our pH meter stopped working this morning so I couldn't pH the water but Felonious said it would probably be fine just this once. He bought a new pH meter this afternoon.

Here are today's
photos:

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By their droopiness, should I water every 3 days instead of 4? I just didn't have time to do it yesterday so that's why it was 4 days and not 3.

 

[TorturedSoul]

Could be insufficient water. Could be overwatering. Which, in the hydroponic world, generally translates to "lack of oxygen at the root zone," which, since you're running a passive hydroponic grow, I'd attempt to correct by watering more often, lol. Preferably with a freshly-aerated nutrient solution. Put a liter into a four-liter jug, cap it, and shake it like you're a paint-shaker for a minute if nothing else. Well, maybe a bit more than that, want runoff to be relatively significant on a regular basis. You're not changing your reservoir, you're letting the plant use the water and consume however much (and whichever elements) of the nutrients as it can/will - which means there's a potential of getting a salt buildup. That can cause issues, if it occurs. Probably not real likely as of yet, due to it still being early and the low strength at which you are feeding, but it's still a good practice, IMHO.

 

[FelipeBlu]

Highya HG!

Don’t worry about the heavy lower leaves - look at that top growth! They now know where the reservoir/water table is. Better stand back!

Given the size of the plant, and the container, which I have some little bit of experience with , you can stay at every 3 days with your current dose. If you want to push the plants, you could give them just a tich more (3/8tsp each Flora 3-part)

 

[HashGirl]

Good evening, folks.

It was fertigation and picture day for my DDAs. I think they're looking much better especially DDA2, which has my favourite photo for the day.

I used the new pH meter today. It's way different from our old one and had me adding pH Up and pH Down over and over again as it swung from less than 3 to more than 7 and back again over and over again. I eventually accepted it at 5.95 pH. That was one of the changes. Now it has 2 digits after the decimal. I called it 6 pH in my notes, close enough I figure.

Also, I have a question for how people measure their liquid nutes? I only needed 1 ml, 1.25 ml and .25 ml. I've been using our smallest measuring spoon: 1/8 teaspoon, which equals .63 ml but I'm not happy with being so imprecise.

Okay, here are the pics. The DDA1 is the first 3 and the DDA2 is the second 3 and the last photo is my favourite of the bunch. Let me know what you think:

 

[oldsmokey]

I have no experience with hempys. Here is what I use for measuring small amount of nutes I use mainly for pH down. It's a syringe from a drugstore for measuring medicine for children it's a couple dollars.

 

[Pennywise]

I’ve used those before, they worked well.

 

[FelipeBlu]

It was fertigation and picture day for my DDAs. I think they're looking much better especially DDA2, which has my favourite photo for the day.

Oh yeah! Here they come now!

That syringe is what I use too.

pH adjustments are much easier in larger volumes. Try adding a little at a time (10 drops from syringe) until you get to about 5.5, then let it sit for a while. It will likely creep up a bit.

I actually use 5.5 to 5.6 because it will drift up to 6.3 to 6.5 in a day, which gives a good range for all elements.

 

[HashGirl]

Thanks, guys. That's the kind I use for my bedtime meds. I'll ask Felonious to pick up a few more as I find the numbers wear off quickly, at least when I use it for oil, it does.

 

[TorturedSoul]

It's a syringe from a drugstore for measuring medicine for children it's a couple dollars.

My local independent farm supply store sells a variety of those, and they're all under a dollar (each). I think the last 25ml one I bought there cost me 30 cents (plus tax). Probably not significant if you're only buying one, but if you have several different liquid nutrient / supplement components - and prefer to use a different one for each - then the savings would add up.

Graduated pipettes work pretty good, too. Available in glass and plastic versions, they're skinnier and longer than syringes. As they're pretty long, you don't even really have to have a "transfer container." You can stick one into a jug/bottle, cover the end with your finger, partially remove the thing from your container, and then release your finger for a moment to allow the level of the substance to drop to the amount you need. Or you can stick a vacuum bulb thing on the end to draw the substance up. Don't do what scientists used to do, lol, suck on it like a drinking straw. That practice has largely fallen into disuse, although some pipettes will come with documentation that tells the user to be sure not to do this with certain substances (strong acids, mercury salts, etc.) in order to keep from getting a mouthful of the liquid (or at least fumes). Some are even still made with a fat bulbous area or two towards the top so as to make having that happen a little less likely. There are also... I don't remember what they're called. Like a manual micropump that works in steps? I have no idea what pipettes cost; a friend gave me a bunch of them when he was working at a wastewater treatment plant and I was there using the lab one night. He said they had two six-foot tall double-door cabinets full of the things and hadn't used a single one in the five years he'd worked there - I should have asked for an entire case of the things .

I use both. Pipettes when the containers have a good bit of liquid in them, syringes when the level gets low enough that I'd have to suck some up into the pipette (lost the box that had the drawing devices in it a long time ago) and I end up pouring a small amount into a cup or glass before measuring some out. I like the pipettes a little better. No, I don't know why.

 

[politoed]

i like to use cheap plastic pipettes for the smaller doses. you can get a big pack for like $5, theyre accurate and you can keep an individual one for your ph up, down, individual nutes. this way you dont cross contaminate and risk funky reactions inside the pipette.

 

[FelipeBlu]

BTW, little DD2 is beautiful in bloom. Very sexy!

 

[HashGirl]

Yes, DDA2 is definitely a looker.

Thanks for everyone's advice on the pipettes. We have pipettes that I use for adding oil to capsules but they're not marked with amounts so they're useless.

 

[StoneOtter]

High HashGirl. I think your DDA is going to take over the place! Nice work!

 

[FelipeBlu]

I just noticed that DDa1 is also in bloom (didn’t look at the photo close enough before). It shouldn’t come as a surprise, since they are supposed to be feminized, but confirmation is always to be celebrated. Congratulations on your two little ladies!

 

[Mr. Krip]

Yeah, they're starting to flower now. Gonna be some small plants, but DDA buds are always beautiful, no matter the size of the plant.

 

[Greenthumbs42019]

I use a medicine dropper that measures in 1 ml increments when full. Works well for small ph up/down changes cause you can put in 1 drop at a time. Having 2.5 gallons in my DWC, using anything bigger would be painful.

 

[Amy Gardner]

Here they come Hash Girl! They may end up bigger than you think. Mine went from 3” tall to 2’ in about 10 days. I’ve seen plenty of folks grow ones that kept on getting bigger a long way into flower.

lack of oxygen at the root zone,"

Is exactly what i was thinking. Now they are in contact w the reservoir things could change a lot. But barring that I was gong to suggest shaking your final liquid vigorously right before giving it to the pots - get some air in there. I have this pump I’m thinking of setting up for semi-automated watering and it has an ‘oxygenation valve’ that lets air into the line. Pretty neat

how people measure their liquid nutes?

I used to use the syringes too but found they became difficult for my hands over time. I use a glass dropper - the same ones i use for my dosing oils. 20drops per ml. It feels quite precise for small amounts, like 1/4ml (5drops). Have to be careful tho - some droppers let out smaller drops! The most common ones are 20 drops for a ml tho. I like that they’re glass. They clean up really well.

Great day to you HG!

 

[HashGirl]

Thanks, Amy. Since I have some arthritis in my hands, your glass dropper has some appeal. As long as I don't forget how to count (or get distracted ), these might be good for me, too. Could you post a photo of one just so I have a better idea of what I'm looking for? I'm a visual learner. That's why I went to college and not university like my dad wanted.