New City Grower 2.0

I'd like to welcome everyone to the new and improved version of New City Grower;

New City Grower 2.0



We'll be starting where we left off in the original version but with upgrades in the blooming department, a new selection of strains, new nutrients, separate grow tents for vegging and flowering, better medium, a grow coach, and an over all better understanding of what I'm doing since I started the last journal.​

For those of you who may not know my 420 history it's a story in itself. Unlike so many newbies who decide to start growing and purchase the necessities to begin I on the other hand found a seedling growing outside on it's own, dug her up and brought her inside.​
At the time I knew nothing about growing any type of plant life and had never seen a cannabis plant other than in pictures for that matter. After looking online trying to figure what to do with my rescued plant I found 420 magazine. The rest was history.

That first plant is still my pride & joy and just about ready to be harvested for the second time.
You all know her as LAVERNE

So hold on tight as we crank it up a little. Let's get this thing started.​

I was just telling Paddy about Laverne:circle-of-love:
Hey bro I have been looking at the wild thi she does look very very similar ,, she maybe has a lil Thai in her
what can I say apart from REPS for so far they sre a lil difficult to grow an keep looking pretty Best of days :circle-of-love:
 
About Cal-Mag, Enfamil, Epsom Salts... First off, it is important to remember that a salt is any ionic compound. Typically people think of salt as sodium chloride (table salt.) There are tons of other salts; potassium permanganate, magnesium sulfate, calcium carbonate - the list is a long one. No need to get too wrapped up in the complexities of ionic chemistry here, just remember that just because it's a salt doesn't mean it is part sodium.

Minerals that plants need are in the soil in the form of salts, for the most part. Water makes the salts break apart into a solution in the soil. The mineral part of the salt that the plant needs can then enter the plant. The parts of ionic compounds a plant does not need remain in the soil.

Some of the minerals a plant needs move into the plant without help. Others need a helper. The helpers are proteins that grab a mineral on the soil side and spit it out on the inside of the root. You can think of the protein as a little dude if you want. In the case of magnesium and calcium, the same little dude is moving both of them. There aren't separate magnesium and calcium dudes (this is an over simplification, but close enough to reality for our purposes.) When there is lots of calcium in the soil, the little dude can't find magnesium easily. He reaches out to grab something and move it, there is mostly calcium compared to magnesium, so mostly calcium is moved in. If there is lots of magnesium in the soil and not much calcium the opposite is true. The dude reaches out and finds magnesium more often than calcium so more magnesium is moved in. Too much calcium can lead to a magnesium deficiency, and too much magnesium can lead to a calcium deficiency.

Plants need more calcium than magnesium, but they need both things. Epsom salts do not have any calcium in them. If there is a magnesium deficiency adding Epsom salts increases the amount of magnesium in the soil, the little dude reaches out and finds magnesium more often and moves it into the plant. If you over do it with the epsom salts, then the little dude doesn't find calcium as often as he should. You end up with a calcium deficiency.

A commercial cal/mag supplement has the correct ratio of calcium to magnesium a plant needs. Using one regularly will prevent a deficiency from happening in the first place. If you have not been using a cal/mag supplement and get a deficiency of either calcium or magnesium, adding cal/mag won't be the most effective treatment because the starting ratio is still off. A good flush and then feeding a cal/mag supplement will help, though. Without a thorough flush the ratio will still be whacked

It can be difficult to diagnose deficiencies. If you are confident that you have a magnesium deficiency, the epsom salts can get the ratio back to where it should be. If you are confident that you have a calcium deficiency something like calcium carbonate will help get the ratio back in line, too. How much you need to add in either case is difficult, however. The best thing to do is flush the crap out of the soil and feed with a cal/mag supplement with the correct ratio - in my opinion.

The Enfamil is interesting. It has a good calcium to magnesium ratio. I'd be a little concerned by all the fat in it, but Joe seems to get good results from it. In the long run I don't know if the cost savings are that significant, especially when dealing with a high-value crop like cannabis.
 
You may want to defoliate your Nurse Betty and remove the large fan leaves to open up more light to the nodes for growth.
Thanxx for the heads up John. Your advice is always worth it's weight in gold. Since she's by far my best plant to date I've decided to let her do her thing without any manipulation from me. It'll be the first plant I grew without any type of training. Let's call it an experiment.

Congrats on your nomination. You are by far the most active Sponsor here on 420. Now that things are running smoothly here I'm starting to see first hand how well your Top Led 96x3w reflector works. I've already seen it's splendor in Lady Dee's grow.

I was just telling Paddy about Laverne:circle-of-love:
Yeah Jaga, we all miss her. If it wasn't for me being the President, CEO, & the oldest member of the Dead Clone Society her legacy may have lived on. LOL...
 
On the heels of my long post... The Broke-Azz Cal/Mag is intuitively very good. The problem is getting the ratio of calcium and magnesium right. Cows milk has a fair amount of magnesium in it as well as calcium. Enfamil mimics the calcium magnesium ratio of mother's milk, and is a about 9.5/1 calcium and magnesium ( it also is a good source of phosphorous and other nutrients.) Comercial Cal/Mag supplements are usually 5/1.
 
I must say Pj, your points are well taken. So what your saying is that Epsom Salt CAN cause salt build-up as was previously relayed to me. I did however heavily flush the 4 plants I had in the Bloom Tent at the time before I started using the Broke Azz Cal/Mag Mix. Sometimes less science and more of the proof in the pudding from results is a way to analyze things or maybe I just got lucky & scored with my measurement ratios of Skim Milk to Epsom Salt. Who knows? But please, keep posting your reviews as I move forward on my not so scientific Broke Azz methods. I'd hate to come up with a recipe for disaster & no-one warn me.
 
I think we posted the last two comments at virtually the same time, Reg. Yup, too much epsom salts will cause a build-up of epsom salt (magnesium) and too much magnesium will compete for movement of calcium by the little dudes ( a calcium "lockout" if you will.)
 
Good morning weed BAR. So much info so little time. The royal medic is looking really nice and healthy. I chopped mine because she was going south real fast. It's one plant I just can't seem to keep healthy all the way through. She is actually some good smoke. I been smoking some of the last harvest, not this one, and it's a nice high. Your whole grow is looking good so keep it up. :goodjob:
 
Thannx Bill...




Seeing that I'm home early today and relaxed as Lester I figured I'd try my steadiness with a couple of Trich pics. This is like the best 2 of about 15 shots using my Rico Suavays.








STACK A DOLLAR (Cotton Candy, Re-veg) Day 90 / Day 78 under 12/12





There's about a 40/60 ratio of clear/cloudy trichs & I do believe I've spotted an amber trich. Won't be long now,,,




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Just bored is all. Conditions in the Veg Tent are perfect but I've Re-Vegged 2 plants successfully and have never seen this before; New pistils forming along with the re-veg growth. This is under 18/6.







QUEEN THAI (Wild Thailand, Re-Veg) Day 14




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Reg, my take on using Enfamil...I wouldn't. It has way too much fat. I mean way too much. This can definitely cause disruption with the soil, eventually.

I read PeeJay's info also, and I think I was pretty sure I said Epsom does not have sodium. It only has magnesium. When we hear terms like, salt build up in the soil people are usually talking about petrochemical fertilizers like Miracle Gro and other blue or green products. Those fertilizers are heavy with salts which will definitely burn roots if you use it improperly, but so is it the case with anything.

I don't see how you think Enfamil is something on the cheap when that can for 25 dollars makes 159 ounces. If you dilute it more than that, you will not be getting the levels of elements on the label. I would not use palm oil in my soil or any of the other fats...that troubles me. But if it is working, go for it and who knows, maybe you will discover something and I'll be all wrong. I am open to see what happens, for sure.
 
Hello Brooklyn. This can only cost 13 bucks at Pathmark. Smoker Joe has had great results with it & I'll test it on KUMIKO IV before using it on any other plant. Here's a look at the info on the back of the can. Tell me what you think.



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I think it has a lot of fat. I also think it is a mimic of breast milk and designed for a human baby, not a plant. But I'm a pain in the a$$ about this stuff, I know.

The fat is going to start to mess with oxygen in the soil and it will start to build up since it has nothing to break it down like stomach acids.
Aerobic microbes do not ingest fats so they will just sit there. It has 100 calories per 5oz dry added to water. The formula has 5.3 grams of fat. That is 53 calories of fat. Half of that can is fat and for that reason you are seeing fats listed first on the label.

See what happens. You are experimenting. I don't think it's cheap. I would suggest you use HastaGro. You can buy a gallon for 25 dollars and you use one tablespoon in a gallon of water. I like all the Medina line. The soil conditioner is perfection and my soil is amazing. We have horrible soil in this part of the country, very high pH and low levels of iron and mg. I have been able to mellow my soil over the years simply by adding compost and Medina Soil Activator. I will send you a link in a PM so we don't post non-sponsors.
 
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