High Brix

[Doc Bud]

oops I meant to say 30 ppm! but a guy at the hydro store said to use RO cause our waters real soft and some other reaosn I can't remeber lol. I was under the impression that promix is hydro? that's what everyone has been telling me, because it's very inert and doesn't have anything in it besides spagnum peat. I trust you over any other average joe feeding me stories though, so I'll take your advice. So just some SRP, azomite, gypsum, bpn 3 part, sweet, ripening formula, ro water and i'm good to go without pHing?
thank you a lot for the detailed response brother

Guy at Hydro store=dipshit.

30ppm, for all intents and purposes IS RO water!!!! You have no good reason to use RO if your tap water is 30 ppm. Just add 10 mil/gallon of CalMag to the tap water.

Promix isn't hydro....not even close. Promix is alive is mychoryzal critters and a good deal of calcium.

If you're going to try mineralizing your soil, you want to use the 6-5-3 ratio you hear talked about. I'd also include some organic doodads too.....maybe some worm castings.

You're likely to grow some very nice plants under those conditions!

 

[R2MNot]

Guy at Hydro store=dipshit.

 

[UrbanGrower]

I more than agree that these guys are idiots lol. I'm glad to hear that cause I haven't opened the r.o unit yet so I will return it today. I'll pick up everything I need in the next couple days, bless you brother for clearing this up with me

 

[Doc Bud]

I more than agree that these guys are idiots lol. I'm glad to hear that cause I haven't opened the r.o unit yet so I will return it today. I'll pick up everything I need in the next couple days, bless you brother for clearing this up with me

No problem! If you want to be really certain, go spend about 10 bucks on a pool test kit that test Total Alkalinity.

Test your tap water, anything under 150 is going to be just fine. If your tap water is 30 tds(ppm), it's impossible for the alkalinity to be greater than 30....therefore you've got good water to begin with!

Hydro shops are my favorite store and the stores I like to mock and berate the most at the same time. They have all the cool things we need, like environmental controls, pots, dirt, snips, sprayers, etc. But at the same time they've got all this silly stuff.

The people working there usually know a thing or two about which products they sell and how to use them, but they are totally lacking in understanding the big picture, IE what makes plants grow and why.

Slightly unrelated topic: The day you see Advanced Nutrients in a Lowe's or Home de Pot, you can be sure that legalization is just around the corner.

 

[JohnnyMcPotts]

Hey doc,
Ive spent the last few hours reading/skimming though many of your posts and have found that you have changed grow styles, medium,nutes greatly over the years.

I'm a new grower trying to get my feet wet and originally found you through your osmocote plus threads and then looked over your supersoil thread.

Trying to keep it easy and get into growing what method would you suggest? Ever do Hempy Pots still?

Sorry if this was already answered I'm just wondering what method/s work best for yeild, quality, ease of use

Thanks!

 

[UrbanGrower]

I hate to ask another couple q's but it's still okay to do 6-5-3 even though hp has dolomite and limestone in it? (wont overdo it?). I'm also having a tricky time finding a good regiment but this is what I have so far, would this be sufficient?

Promix-hp
BPN 3-Part
Botanicare Sweet
Botanicare Hydroplex
Liquid Karma
CalMag
Worm castings
Rock powders (6-5-3)
either Floranectar or "soil sulfur" for sulfur.

 

[Curso]

Hey doc,
Ive spent the last few hours reading/skimming though many of your posts and have found that you have changed grow styles, medium,nutes greatly over the years.

I'm a new grower trying to get my feet wet and originally found you through your osmocote plus threads and then looked over your supersoil thread.

Trying to keep it easy and get into growing what method would you suggest? Ever do Hempy Pots still?

Sorry if this was already answered I'm just wondering what method/s work best for yeild, quality, ease of use

Thanks!

Not to answer for Doc, but I am currently using the method he used in this thread Doc Bud's High Brix - Strawberry Cough - Pineapple Express the results are great, I just replaced the soil with pro-mix hp.

 

[Doc Bud]

Hey doc,
Ive spent the last few hours reading/skimming though many of your posts and have found that you have changed grow styles, medium,nutes greatly over the years.

I'm a new grower trying to get my feet wet and originally found you through your osmocote plus threads and then looked over your supersoil thread.

Trying to keep it easy and get into growing what method would you suggest? Ever do Hempy Pots still?

Sorry if this was already answered I'm just wondering what method/s work best for yeild, quality, ease of use

Thanks!

Great question!

I'm advising new growers to use Fox Farms Ocean Forest or Vermifire right out of the bag with OC+. Can't miss.

I hate to ask another couple q's but it's still okay to do 6-5-3 even though hp has dolomite and limestone in it? (wont overdo it?). I'm also having a tricky time finding a good regiment but this is what I have so far, would this be sufficient?

Promix-hp
BPN 3-Part
Botanicare Sweet
Botanicare Hydroplex
Liquid Karma
CalMag
Worm castings
Rock powders (6-5-3)
either Floranectar or "soil sulfur" for sulfur.

No problem on the 6-5-3....just go easy on it. Do NOT use soil sulfur! It will lower your pH too much. Epsom salts are a better source of sulfur as is K-Mag (AKA Sul-Po-Mag or Langbenite.)

Not to answer for Doc, but I am currently using the method he used in this thread Doc Bud's High Brix - Strawberry Cough - Pineapple Express the results are great, I just replaced the soil with pro-mix hp.

These are getting harvested today, in the "old" rock n chicken HP mix. (6-5-3 etc.)

These plants look weird to me. My latest crop in the High Brix soil. Is it "normal" to have this much frosting? I've grown these strains before, except the Cherry Pie and they all look like mutants to me. I've never seen resin production like this. The buds aren't as large as usual either, so I'm going to hit them Amaze and PGR to try to bulk them up.

But they stink like none other, are as sticky as a fly trap and seem like nothing will stop them.

 

[JohnnyMcPotts]

Thanks for all your help and great info!

 

[Curso]

Holy man!!!! those are some frosty ladies....looks like someone threw a bag of lime in your room...lol Beautiful Doc, I think you have out done yourself.

 

[Doc Bud]

Holy man!!!! those are some frosty ladies....looks like someone threw a bag of lime in your room...lol Beautiful Doc, I think you have out done yourself.

We'll see how they turn out. They're not as fat and bulky as I expected they would be, but at the same time they're far frostier than I expected and it happened overnight. Perhaps they'll ripen and fatten rapidly too? We'll find out for sure!

I do have a couple of tweaks I can do, like foliar feeding Earthjuice Meta K. I could also do one feeding with Organic Nutrient Drench which might bulk them up too. But the main thing is to go with some Amaze and PGR, which they'll get in a couple days.

But the frosting is stupid. I've never seen anything like it and there's no sign of it slowing down. I don't see how spider mites could get anywhere near these leaves.

 

[Vapedogg223]

Hey Doc,

I'm a little late to the party...been a way for a bit, but you know I'm in! Now I just have to go back and get caught up!

 

[Doc Bud]

Hey Doc,

I'm a little late to the party...been a way for a bit, but you know I'm in! Now I just have to go back and get caught up!

I think you're gonna like this one.

I pruned off a few buds from the bottom of a Jack Herer and found them to be 14 brix, but they only had about an hour of light. There are mites on each and every plant that you see in those pictures. I'm not spraying anything.

 

[Curso]

We'll see how they turn out. They're not as fat and bulky as I expected they would be, but at the same time they're far frostier than I expected and it happened overnight. Perhaps they'll ripen and fatten rapidly too? We'll find out for sure!

I do have a couple of tweaks I can do, like foliar feeding Earthjuice Meta K. I could also do one feeding with Organic Nutrient Drench which might bulk them up too. But the main thing is to go with some Amaze and PGR, which they'll get in a couple days.

But the frosting is stupid. I've never seen anything like it and there's no sign of it slowing down. I don't see how spider mites could get anywhere near these leaves.

There's a learning curve with everything bro it's to be expected, but yeah man those look like they were in the frost. The mite's will probably end up getting stuck in the tar pit you are producing...lol You have something special there doc.

I think I am going to add some worm poop to the promix for these sour diesels, I think they are going to be some heavy eaters like the OG's are, any thought's on that doc?

 

[Doc Bud]

There's a learning curve with everything bro it's to be expected, but yeah man those look like they were in the frost. The mite's will probably end up getting stuck in the tar pit you are producing...lol You have something special there doc.

I think I am going to add some worm poop to the promix for these sour diesels, I think they are going to be some heavy eaters like the OG's are, any thought's on that doc?

I do have some thought on that bro!

Because we're in containers, there's always leaching of nutrients out the botom of the pot. Top dressing with the broadcast is necessary, it's important to keep the soil energy up, and the foliar schedule is super important.

However, some strains, especially OG strains, are total hogs. They seem to require more magnesium than seems right, so I'm CONSIDERING adding some K-mag next time around, but not before consultng the lab.

I suspect these buds will fatten up. I also suspect that pretty much any strain will frost up in high brix soil.....I've got 4 different strains and each is just over the top on resin production, so it might be that weed is supposed to grow this way, and the buds will fatten up on their own schedule.

I"m not going to make any changes till this grow finishes and I consult with the lab.

It's funny, I always say stuff like, "I'd rather grow 6 grams of superb quality than 6 oz of so-so." While these plants will yield more than 6 grams, and the quality is not in question, it turns out that I'm more fond of yield than I let myself believe.

 

[Curso]

it turns out that I'm more fond of yield than I let myself believe.

Happy patients equals happy pockets, the more patients that get happy, the more happy our pockets have become...lmao
They'll probably fatten up last in the last couple weeks, I have noticed that the 2 you told me to not chop (thanks again) have really fattened up over the last couple days. The one is on a super lean, it's like a girl with huge boob's and tiny feet, you wonder how they walk and not fall over, this plant is on its way to falling over.

 

[Muttt]

The one is on a super lean, it's like a girl with huge boob's and tiny feet, you wonder how they walk and not fall over.

Now ..... why don't you post us a pic of that??????

 

[Curso]

Now ..... why don't you post us a pic of that??????

Usually it's not anything you really want to see...lmao!~~

 

[JohnnyMcPotts]

Hey Doc,

I'm going with your suggestion of OC+ with Fox Farms OF. I'm wondering how you flush when using OC+? Do you still do a final flush? Or is it not needed?

Sorry to talk off topic, love watching your grows!

 

[Doc Bud]

Hey Doc,

I'm going with your suggestion of OC+ with Fox Farms OF. I'm wondering how you flush when using OC+? Do you still do a final flush? Or is it not needed?

Sorry to talk off topic, love watching your grows!

If you add the recommended amount of OC+, like 2-3 tbsp per gallon of soil, you don't need to flush. A good watering technique is to lift a dry pot and get a good feel for the weight, then totally saturate the pot and medium and get a feel for how much it weighs. Then, let it go between waterings till it's light like it was when dry. Then, let it pour, saturate the medium, basically do a "flush" each time you water.

Towards the last 2 weeks of bloom you want to cut back the water to just keep the plant from wilting, and then turn down the temps and humidity to the low 60's and you'll get a flush that way too, as OC+ releases more when heat goes up.
__________________________________________________________
Here are some pics:

I was worried that the buds weren't that large and were over-frosted. (stupid worry, the second one) My fears were based on the fact that there is so much resin the plants look like they are going to finish, when in fact there are still 5 weeks to go! Sure enough, the buds have gotten much larger the past few days, and even more resinous.

I'm having some negligible issue with nitrogen fixation (has to do with soil critters) and magnesium uptake on two plants, both of whom were supplemented with a bit of epsom salt. So, I'll water them and bring the soil energy back up and they should recover and keep blowing up like they are. The issues are on the two plants with the largest, most frosted buds.

It could be that I have to increase the feeding schedule a bit from the recommendations, as they were for outdoors in raised beds and I'm indors in small pots.