Help me help her

[Len Goodman]

My feeding schedule is the Fox Farm Trio. I use %50 of recommended dose once a week even though the schedule calls for 2 feeds. Sometimes I'll water past the 3rd day but usually 3-4 days is about right. I lift the pot to check. I'm getting ready to transplant into a 5 gal but waiting to get her healthy before the move.

I think schedule is the biggest problems of growers. Just my opinion.

 

[Len Goodman]

I think schedule is the biggest problems of growers. Just my opinion.

In a soil.

 

[John Wick]

HP, why wait to transplant?
I'm guessing, but how could fresh soil in a bigger pot be bad for her?
letting her dry out before transplant maybe good.
maybe @Emilya wouldn't mind taking a look.
Sorry for calling you again ms. Emilya.

 

[Emilya Green]

Thanks for the call John. I hate the word schedule... I don't submit to them and I don't see why plants should either. How presumptuous for us to believe that we know more than the plant does about its own watering needs.
I developed a system years ago to deal with this problem and put control completely on the plant. I call it the wet/dry cycle, and we have learned that as a plant develops a stronger and stronger rootball, its ability to use the water provide increases. A plant that on one cycle might take 4 days to completely dry out the container should be growing stronger roots in the meantime, and on the next cycle it should have shortened somewhat. If we use the plant's ability to drain the container to the point that by lifting it up we can no longer discern any water weight, we can use that standard to determine for us when it is time to water. Each watering should be to saturation of the soil, or commonly called the point of runoff... when the soil simply can not hold any more water and any extra runs out of the bottom. We should not water again until the container is completely dry, and if we are doing this correctly the roots will eventually fill up the tiny space of that first container to the point that the plant can now drain that container in 1 day instead of 4. THIS is the time to uppot... for no other reason than your buffer of time between waterings has now withered to 1 day, and that is not acceptable to a human gardener. Uppot to a container about 3x bigger and repeat this process... teasing out the water so as to fill that container with hungry water seeking roots. Establishing a wet/dry cycle and knowing how long it is this time, is the key.
Now to the nute question. FF does say fertilize every other time. Since all of the nutes are not used up on the first pass, it is recommended to give plain pH adjusted water every other time, so that any unused nutes can be taken advantage of. In the FF system, you are actually feeding every time you water, whether you realize it or not. If you are understanding the wet/dry cycle and how it changes during veg, you will see that sometimes you only actually feed once a week, and sometimes when you get close to the point of needing to transplant, you are feeding 3x a week. It all comes down to listening to the plants and doing what they need you to do, not following a schedule.

 

[John Wick]

@Emilya, thanks for stopping bye.
did you figure out why the brown/maybe burn spots are on HP's leaves?
I don't know enough to say.

 

[John Wick]

she's being grown in Fox Farm. Under LED 18/6. Lights 24 inches above. Water every 2 or 3 days. Feed once a week but add cal mag with watering and not feeding. Her leaves are a little yellow but my flash makes it worse. My main problem is the spotting and the slight yellowing. Magnesium deficiency I think? Strain is Bubblicious if that matters. Temps range 75-80f lights on and 70-75 off. I just topped 4 different areas a few days ago too.

First Time Grow & First Journal: 3 Unknown Same Strain LED Grow Completed

 

[Len Goodman]

Thanks for the call John. I hate the word schedule... I don't submit to them and I don't see why plants should either. How presumptuous for us to believe that we know more than the plant does about its own watering needs.
I developed a system years ago to deal with this problem and put control completely on the plant. I call it the wet/dry cycle, and we have learned that as a plant develops a stronger and stronger rootball, its ability to use the water provide increases. A plant that on one cycle might take 4 days to completely dry out the container should be growing stronger roots in the meantime, and on the next cycle it should have shortened somewhat. If we use the plant's ability to drain the container to the point that by lifting it up we can no longer discern any water weight, we can use that standard to determine for us when it is time to water. Each watering should be to saturation of the soil, or commonly called the point of runoff... when the soil simply can not hold any more water and any extra runs out of the bottom. We should not water again until the container is completely dry, and if we are doing this correctly the roots will eventually fill up the tiny space of that first container to the point that the plant can now drain that container in 1 day instead of 4. THIS is the time to uppot... for no other reason than your buffer of time between waterings has now withered to 1 day, and that is not acceptable to a human gardener. Uppot to a container about 3x bigger and repeat this process... teasing out the water so as to fill that container with hungry water seeking roots. Establishing a wet/dry cycle and knowing how long it is this time, is the key.
Now to the nute question. FF does say fertilize every other time. Since all of the nutes are not used up on the first pass, it is recommended to give plain pH adjusted water every other time, so that any unused nutes can be taken advantage of. In the FF system, you are actually feeding every time you water, whether you realize it or not. If you are understanding the wet/dry cycle and how it changes during veg, you will see that sometimes you only actually feed once a week, and sometimes when you get close to the point of needing to transplant, you are feeding 3x a week. It all comes down to listening to the plants and doing what they need you to do, not following a schedule.

I agree with everything said here except the point of run off. Because the plants roots are not down there yet. I think slow watering adding more each time after complete dry out accelerates the pot being taken. Just my opinion on that aspect. But eventually it runs off and you know exactly how much to get it there.

 

[Emilya Green]

you should start a seed in a tall clear cup sometime and see just how fast the tap/feed root hits the bottom of the container. This is task #1 for a seedling, to find the bottom and establish its footing in the soil. The plant's roots hit bottom ASAP, and then again every time you up-pot, they do the same thing... they seek the bottom immediately. The specialized root that does this was even named for this function, the tap root... it taps the bottom or taps the water source down way way deep.

 

[Len Goodman]

you should start a seed in a tall clear cup sometime and see just how fast the tap/feed root hits the bottom of the container. This is task #1 for a seedling, to find the bottom and establish its footing in the soil. The plant's roots hit bottom ASAP, and then again every time you up-pot, they do the same thing... they seek the bottom immediately. The specialized root that does this was even named for this function, the tap root... it taps the bottom or taps the water source down way way deep.

I understand the tap root. I’m going for denser soil. It will make it to the bottom, denser soil makes denser buds. The roots have to work harder. By the time it gets water to the bottom it will have condensed itself. The watering evenly is very important. People have their own ways all which work.

 

[HugePeckerhead]

Ive actually did that with my sponsor grow. Clear cups to watch the roots. I didnt want to uppot to cause more stress but I'll move her today into a 5 gallon.