Parnelli's Pineapple Express

The Fox Farms Feeding Schedule can be a bit on the confusing side of things. ...

The 'Cha Ching' is part of another trio that is intended to be used from just before switching over to flowering up the the end. But each of those three is used by itself for the weeks listed. We are not supposed to select two and use both in the same week.
I'm not calling confusing, maybe a slight 'money grab'.
Aside from the debate if high P content is even needed during flowering, does anyone really believe all the variation in the NPK numbers that all the various FF 'additives' have, do something that is noticeable?

I'm watching the 'No Bloom Nutes' threads and other outside content on this subject.
Do commercial growers use these boutique products? ( Do they laugh at forums like this?:rolleyes:)
Do they do 'Droughting' or '36 hrs no light before harvest'?
Do they use Pest Control like SNS 209? I just got a bottle to handle mites/aphids on some indoor chives.
The bottle says: Active Ingredient: Rosemary - - 10.23%. (Not Rosemary oil or extract)
Here's a pic of a big Rosemary plant I bring in every winter. The chive pot was sitting at it's base.
I have pests on my Rosemary. But I sprayed it with SNS 209,, because I have to use this stuff up somewhere. ( sorry for yet another out of focus picture...)
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Aside from the debate if high P content is even needed during flowering, does anyone really believe all the variation in the NPK numbers that all the various FF 'additives' have, do something that is noticeable?
Not necessarily the NPK numbers. I look at the minor nutrients and the micro-nutrients. I also look at the source ingredients. Then there are some of those bottles or bags of additives that include microbes and micro-organisms.
 
.... Then there are some of those bottles or bags of additives that include microbes and micro-organisms.
Right! I bought some of this type of product in the hope that it will make my soil a happier place for the plant roots to gather nutes and water.
I understand the relationship that goes on with roots and other things living in the soil.
I listen to and read some of what Paul Stamets has to teach.

But then we have the hydro grows with none of that around the roots.:rolleyes:
 
But then we have the hydro grows with none of that around the roots.
Most hydroponic fertilizer mixes are produced in such a way that the nutrients are already soluble so the roots can take them up right away. That pretty much eliminates the need for microbes and micro-organisms to be added.

Soils and the soil fertilizers have some soluble nutrients available but it takes the microbes to finish digesting and removing the rest of the nutrients from the organic material and minerals.
 
Right! I bought some of this type of product in the hope that it will make my soil a happier place for the plant roots to gather nutes and water.
I understand the relationship that goes on with roots and other things living in the soil.
I listen to and read some of what Paul Stamets has to teach.

But then we have the hydro grows with none of that around the roots.:rolleyes:
Smoking wings was correct that hydro nutes are available to the plants without soil microbes. However I do use quite a few beneficial bacteria and fungus in my buckets. See this post for more info.
Happy Growing.
 
Here are the two girls on day 41 of veg. After comparing to other growers, I figure that my frequent absences from the "Farm" and my hesitancy to keep a heat source running while away has limited their growth as compared to time. Training has taken hold and I'm using yellow pipe cleaners to bend the stems so they stay about 17 in from the LED light source. I've already singed a leaf too close to the heat source. Temps in the tent have ranged from 85.4 to 57.2F. I'm going to "kick it up a notch" and hope to get a max controlled temp in the low 90's which will compare to a summertime outside grow and a low temp in the mid 60's. Humidity is staying in the low 30's. The "blumats" are doing a good job of keeping the plants hydrated and they've lasted for two weeks and still providing H2O. As the plants get bigger I'll add two more "blumats" and larger H2O sources so that I can leave the girls alone for three weeks and still keep them watered and alive. Since I'm not scrogging I'll not cut the top cola and just keep twisting it around the fabric pot 'til it fills up all 4 corners of the tent. Given the timetable I'm on I'm thinking about switching to a 12/12 light cycle at the end of next week which will give me about 10 weeks to flower and harvest; from what I've read these girls need 8 weeks to flower which will be just about right.

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Temperature adjustments have now gotten temps in the tent to range from 88.5 to 64.4F.
And all that will probably change next week when those of us in SE Michigan will see the night and day temperatures not going below freezing for about 10 or more days straight.

About 10 days from now I figure the average night and day temp in my basement grow room will go up about 2 degrees F.;)
 
up'd the temps to 90.7 - 69.4F and dropped the heater a little lower in the tent. Also fed the girls today with a more acidic mix of Miracle-Gro. Using litmus paper, it looked like soil ph is at 7.0 even tho rainwater ph is in the lower 6's. I'm trying to get the soil ph a little lower.
 
it looked like soil ph is at 7.0 even tho rainwater ph is in the lower 6's.
Rain water pH...I tested the snow earlier in the season. Don't remember the exact numbers but the pH of the water after the melt was somewhere in the upper 5s to about 6 so your number of a lower 6 would seem to be close to what I found using a drop test kit and litmus paper. A couple of years ago I tested the rainwater several times during the summer using the drops kit and had numbers flucuating between 6.1 and 6.3.

I had done several searches on rain water pH and 5.5 to 6.5 is not all that unusual. The drop of rain starts off as a few molecules stuck together, often on a piece of dust, and the pH is 7. The drop starts falling and wind currents can push it back up. As it moves up and down it picks up more water, gets heavier and will fall further down. This can take days before the drop hits the ground.

As the drop spends that time in the atmosphere it is exposed to carbon dioxide and other gases in the air and slowly becomes more acidic. Rarely is the pH of a rain fall maintaining at 7.

Most people growing in soil do not seem to worry about the pH of that soil. It is an acceptable pH reading for the water itself that is important.
 
I got new litmus paper and the soil still tests neutral, so I added about a tablespoon of lemon juice to the nutes to help get the ph a little lower. Fed that to the ladies today with a 50/50 mix of Miracle Gro reg and Miracid plant foods. Did a little more bending to keep the tops of the plants at about 18 inches from the LED. Still no buds peeking out from anywhere. My impatience is getting the better of me.
 
Put the 25W incandescent light back in the tent like in my last grow - it worked out quite well last time. Seems like it's too cold without some heat source and I feel much better using a light rather than a heater when I'm not around. It will provide additional heat when the LED's are providing light and off during the dark period.
 
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