Pot size?

[Emilya Green]

oh i see, is organic fertilizer better? i'd rather use it since i don't need to adjust PH rn i'm using canna vega

There is where we get into personal opinions. The hydro guys will all tell you that their synthetic methods are better. Better can be defined as quantity, quality and even ease of use. Everyone will weigh in on these things differently. Myself, I prefer quality over quantity and easy over difficult.
I prefer not to feed from a bottle. There is nothing wrong with feeding from a bottle, and if you want to pay more, you can get even organic nutrients from a bottle. Most organic growers however only give water and maybe a few supplemental fertilizers to their plants... all of the needed raw minerals are pre built into the soil.

So, organic fertilizer... the word fertilizer implies that it is an additive.. something extra to give an already thriving plant. This in my mind is clearly separate from the word nutrient, which like someone hooked to an IV feeding system, implies supplying the nutrients necessary for life that are not being supplied by any other means.
For the organic folks, myself and Nunya and all the others, we think that allowing the plants to get the nutrients needed from a living circle of life that has living microbes in the soil feeding the plants while all we supply is water and a few extra fertilizers, that this is a superior way to grow pot, so, yes, it is better. We feel that our end product tastes better and is stronger than synthetically grown pot. Can we prove it? Not in words... it is a subjective thing that you just have to try for yourself. I will say that most folks that try an organic method, whether it is from a bottle or one of the living soil models, never go back to artificial methods again.

 

[SmokingWings]

should i test ph?

if you are running synthetic nutes, they need to be in the proper pH range. Other than that, there is no need to check the pH of your fluids. Checking the pH of your soil is pointless, and most people do not have the equipment necessary to check the base pH of their soil anyway. Knowing that the pH of your soil in the container is different depending on how wet it is and where it is located in the container, makes trying to adjust soil pH even more ridiculous.

I think that @aziz is asking about testing the pH of the rain water.

I did test the rain water several times just so I would be sure that it was not that far off from a desired pH. Best to know since some people will say that the pH can be off if near heavy industry. In my case it remained consistent around 6.3 if I am remembering right.

 

[Nunyabiz]

why does organic require more???

Emilya has answered that very well.

 

[aziz]

There is where we get into personal opinions. The hydro guys will all tell you that their synthetic methods are better. Better can be defined as quantity, quality and even ease of use. Everyone will weigh in on these things differently. Myself, I prefer quality over quantity and easy over difficult.
I prefer not to feed from a bottle. There is nothing wrong with feeding from a bottle, and if you want to pay more, you can get even organic nutrients from a bottle. Most organic growers however only give water and maybe a few supplemental fertilizers to their plants... all of the needed raw minerals are pre built into the soil.

So, organic fertilizer... the word fertilizer implies that it is an additive.. something extra to give an already thriving plant. This in my mind is clearly separate from the word nutrient, which like someone hooked to an IV feeding system, implies supplying the nutrients necessary for life that are not being supplied by any other means.
For the organic folks, myself and Nunya and all the others, we think that allowing the plants to get the nutrients needed from a living circle of life that has living microbes in the soil feeding the plants while all we supply is water and a few extra fertilizers, that this is a superior way to grow pot, so, yes, it is better. We feel that our end product tastes better and is stronger than synthetically grown pot. Can we prove it? Not in words... it is a subjective thing that you just have to try for yourself. I will say that most folks that try an organic method, whether it is from a bottle or one of the living soil models, never go back to artificial methods again.

i'm wondering, many people claim that organic has superior taste and quality right?

i can't experience a lot of differente taste when it comes to smoke, just if it's harsh or smoke. (maybe that's just me)

i'm wondering, if there is a actual difference, then why is there no difference when you buy store bought fruit and vegetables (that are grown with all kinds of shit) compared to organic stuff ( my gran ma grows vegetables and fruit 100% organic) and honestly i can't taste the difference, wouldn't something you eat have a grater difference to something you inhale considering taste buds can differenciate food a lot more than smoke? again, that's in my opinion. idk about other people. just wondering

 

[TorturedSoul]

i'm wondering, many people claim that organic has superior taste and quality right?

The "organic" growers certainly do .

But that's being just a bit unfair to them...

i can't experience a lot of differente taste when it comes to smoke, just if it's harsh or smoke. (maybe that's just me)

It may be, to some extent.

i'm wondering, if there is a actual difference, then why is there no difference when you buy store bought fruit and vegetables (that are grown with all kinds of shit) compared to organic stuff ( my gran ma grows vegetables and fruit 100% organic)

Well, there is, sometimes. It used to be, "There is, always."

A couple of things: There are many different varieties of fruits, vegetables... and cannabis. A lot of what ends up on grocers' shelves isn't grown for taste, or even nutritional value - its grown because the variety handles being through the whole process of making its way from the farm to that grocery store shelf better than other varieties. Or because it'll stay "good" longer while sitting on that shelf awaiting sale and/or in the purchaser's kitchen, awaiting consumption. Or both. So most of the grocery store produce is going to come in a distant second place in comparison to some home-grown produce. I stated "some" because, again, there are many varieties... Some people decide to grow their own food - and then end up growing many of the same varieties found in stores because it's what they're used to, they recognize the variety's (strain's) name, etc.

Anyway, then along came "hydroponically-grown produce." Much of it had the same issues as above. Also, it wasn't grown very well, IMHO. It's a business, and profit is in production. Produce many fruits (etc.), and do so as cheaply as possible. Therefore, things that might contribute to flavor but which are not absolutely necessary to produce a fruit might get skipped. <SHRUGS> It's like growing cannabis. You can grow cannabis well - or you can just "grow cannabis."

And people were still learning how to do the job, so to speak. And... well, learning in a commercial environment has a tendency to cost money . If you know that (pulling numbers out of the air, here) you can produce 15,000 tomatoes, and it'll cost you $1,000... And that, if you do some experimenting, you might end up producing 8,000 tomatoes for the same $1,000 (or maybe even more), are you going to do it? That's not a hobby, that's your paycheck.

However, some people have been experimenting, and have been learning. People have already learned that adding a salt (I think it's sodium chloride - like you find in your salt shaker) in small doses at a certain point in the plant's life, that they end up with better tasting tomatoes. There are some other things (which I don't recall, but would probably try to read up on if I decided to grow tomatoes hydroponically) that they've learned, that also improve the taste.

Can some people still notice the difference between a (well-grown) hydroponic tomato and one grown in soil? Undoubtedly. Some people can identify whether the music they're hearing is being played through a pair of $1,500 speakers or a pair of $30,000 ones, ten times out of ten, lol.

It's the same with cannabis. If your taste buds are "dead," you might not be able to discern a difference even when that difference is... somewhat extreme. Many might not notice the difference when both sets were grown with care. Some will probably be able to tell in a blind test, repeatedly.

And then someone comes out with a strain that smells like dog sh!t and it doesn't really matter ...

Er, sorry. I have been wondering if some of the "tricks" that the fruit/vegetable/etc. growers have learned in recent years might be applicable to the hydroponic cannabis garden.

Another thing to remember is that the growing isn't the entire story. There's deciding when to harvest, the method of drying (and how long it takes), and that whole curing thing. A person can manage to ruin the... "presentation" (for lack of a better term) of even the best-grown cannabis on the planet. . . .

 

[Nunyabiz]

Well I think the difference is very noticable.
Case in point, about 3 weeks ago we had a good friend of my wife's visit us, he brought with him a Blue Gelato #41 that he bought at a dispensary.
He was all excited, said it was the best bud he had in quite some time. He paid $390/oz for it, mine cost about $8/oz.
I pulled out the Blue Gelato #41 that I had harvested about 2 months prior so we could compare.
Mine looked better, had massively more trichomes on it, there was 4 of us there.
All of us took 1 hit from the vaporizers
Of each.
It was like night and day difference, wasn't even close and all 4 agreed.

Our 100% organically grown vs whatever or however it was grown dispensary weed was clearly better, way more intense flavors, much smoother smoking/vaping and it only had like 45 days curing at that point.
It wont get its true aroma and flavors for another 4+ months and it will be better and smoother still.
Ours was also more potent.

This is but one example so overall meaningless, but I and my wife have been smoking weed for 47 years each and my organically grown homegrown the past 4 years has been by far the best we've both ever had.
Which is obviously proof enough for us.
The only way you can honestly judge is grow some yourself.
I feed my soil nothing but coconut water and aloe vera and Yucca extract daily with the occasional sprouted seed tea.
Everything else comes from the worms and what's grown in the pot itself, cover crop, an organic banana peel once in awhile and a little Gro-kashi all as worm food.

I think the majority of Cannabis Cup winners in the past decade or so have been organically grown.

I dont think anybody that grows organically ever goes back to bottle feeding.

 

[aziz]

The "organic" growers certainly do .

But that's being just a bit unfair to them...



It may be, to some extent.



Well, there is, sometimes. It used to be, "There is, always."

A couple of things: There are many different varieties of fruits, vegetables... and cannabis. A lot of what ends up on grocers' shelves isn't grown for taste, or even nutritional value - its grown because the variety handles being through the whole process of making its way from the farm to that grocery store shelf better than other varieties. Or because it'll stay "good" longer while sitting on that shelf awaiting sale and/or in the purchaser's kitchen, awaiting consumption. Or both. So most of the grocery store produce is going to come in a distant second place in comparison to some home-grown produce. I stated "some" because, again, there are many varieties... Some people decide to grow their own food - and then end up growing many of the same varieties found in stores because it's what they're used to, they recognize the variety's (strain's) name, etc.

Anyway, then along came "hydroponically-grown produce." Much of it had the same issues as above. Also, it wasn't grown very well, IMHO. It's a business, and profit is in production. Produce many fruits (etc.), and do so as cheaply as possible. Therefore, things that might contribute to flavor but which are not absolutely necessary to produce a fruit might get skipped. <SHRUGS> It's like growing cannabis. You can grow cannabis well - or you can just "grow cannabis."

And people were still learning how to do the job, so to speak. And... well, learning in a commercial environment has a tendency to cost money . If you know that (pulling numbers out of the air, here) you can produce 15,000 tomatoes, and it'll cost you $1,000... And that, if you do some experimenting, you might end up producing 8,000 tomatoes for the same $1,000 (or maybe even more), are you going to do it? That's not a hobby, that's your paycheck.

However, some people have been experimenting, and have been learning. People have already learned that adding a salt (I think it's sodium chloride - like you find in your salt shaker) in small doses at a certain point in the plant's life, that they end up with better tasting tomatoes. There are some other things (which I don't recall, but would probably try to read up on if I decided to grow tomatoes hydroponically) that they've learned, that also improve the taste.

Can some people still notice the difference between a (well-grown) hydroponic tomato and one grown in soil? Undoubtedly. Some people can identify whether the music they're hearing is being played through a pair of $1,500 speakers or a pair of $30,000 ones, ten times out of ten, lol.

It's the same with cannabis. If your taste buds are "dead," you might not be able to discern a difference even when that difference is... somewhat extreme. Many might not notice the difference when both sets were grown with care. Some will probably be able to tell in a blind test, repeatedly.

And then someone comes out with a strain that smells like dog sh!t and it doesn't really matter ...

Er, sorry. I have been wondering if some of the "tricks" that the fruit/vegetable/etc. growers have learned in recent years might be applicable to the hydroponic cannabis garden.

Another thing to remember is that the growing isn't the entire story. There's deciding when to harvest, the method of drying (and how long it takes), and that whole curing thing. A person can manage to ruin the... "presentation" (for lack of a better term) of even the best-grown cannabis on the planet. . . .

might be, to be frank i only eat meat, and i rarely touch vegetables and fruit

Well I think the difference is very noticable.
Case in point, about 3 weeks ago we had a good friend of my wife's visit us, he brought with him a Blue Gelato #41 that he bought at a dispensary.
He was all excited, said it was the best bud he had in quite some time. He paid $390/oz for it, mine cost about $8/oz.
I pulled out the Blue Gelato #41 that I had harvested about 2 months prior so we could compare.
Mine looked better, had massively more trichomes on it, there was 4 of us there.
All of us took 1 hit from the vaporizers
Of each.
It was like night and day difference, wasn't even close and all 4 agreed.

Our 100% organically grown vs whatever or however it was grown dispensary weed was clearly better, way more intense flavors, much smoother smoking/vaping and it only had like 45 days curing at that point.
It wont get its true aroma and flavors for another 4+ months and it will be better and smoother still.
Ours was also more potent.

This is but one example so overall meaningless, but I and my wife have been smoking weed for 47 years each and my organically grown homegrown the past 4 years has been by far the best we've both ever had.
Which is obviously proof enough for us.
The only way you can honestly judge is grow some yourself.
I feed my soil nothing but coconut water and aloe vera and Yucca extract daily with the occasional sprouted seed tea.
Everything else comes from the worms and what's grown in the pot itself, cover crop, an organic banana peel once in awhile and a little Gro-kashi all as worm food.

I think the majority of Cannabis Cup winners in the past decade or so have been organically grown.

I dont think anybody that grows organically ever goes back to bottle feeding.

390/oz? sounds like a pretty standard price for average weed here lol. fucking sucks. anyways, maybe in the future i'll give organic a shot, but as of right now, i only care about gettting high. because i'm used to the shittiest weed, harsh and disgusting, so ANYTHING grown by me is way better than that. i havrested some whitewidow 2 months ago ish, here where i live 99% of people smoke joints with tobacco, for the first time in my life i tried to smoke without tobacco. it was the smoothest thing i've ever smoked in my life. it made me cough a lot, because i'm not used to it, but it went down SO smooth. it felt like air. best joint of my life so far. sadly i only harvested about 10 grams from that plant. because i overwatered it in the begenning so it ended up being super small

 

[Emilya Green]

i'm wondering, many people claim that organic has superior taste and quality right?

i can't experience a lot of differente taste when it comes to smoke, just if it's harsh or smoke. (maybe that's just me)

i'm wondering, if there is a actual difference, then why is there no difference when you buy store bought fruit and vegetables (that are grown with all kinds of shit) compared to organic stuff ( my gran ma grows vegetables and fruit 100% organic) and honestly i can't taste the difference, wouldn't something you eat have a grater difference to something you inhale considering taste buds can differenciate food a lot more than smoke? again, that's in my opinion. idk about other people. just wondering

You will find that women more often than not will like or not like a strain of pot because of its taste. Guys are not so hung up on this and seem to mostly be concerned about the high itself and the smoothness of the smoke.
For me, the tastes that can be expressed in an organic grow are absolutely amazing, and each strain I grow in this way continues to amaze me. I am realizing that there is a "taste" that I can associate with a synthetic grow now, that it just tastes artificial to me now, and what I call the "dispensary" taste.
Organic allows the plant to make all of the decisions as far as what nutrients are supplied. Having everything it needs and wants, the plant is able to fully express itself in a way that no synthetic grow can accomplish, allowing tastes and colors and textures to emerge that never could in an artificial grow. I am currently growing a berry tasting variety, and my senses are already eagerly anticipating what this sensory overload is going to be like. Having had the experience of so many fully expressed plants now, seeing the colors, experiencing the rich aftertastes and heavy flavorful smoke, I simply do not enjoy dispensary pot much any more, unless it is organically grown like my favorite shop in SE Denver does. I can definitely taste the difference, and am willing to spend more to get that quality. When/If I become associated with a dispensary here in Missouri in the next several months, I will want to be part of its organic grow operation.

 

[multiVortex]

When/If I become associated with a dispensary here in Missouri in the next several months, I will want to be part of its organic grow operation.

Right on.

Although I bet there really are dispensaries open until spring.

I only say this because if grow apps weren't approved until August, then a facility has to get setup, then grow, then cure... so no real supply for a bit yet. Oh well, hellooooo gardening. (IL becomes a decent option in January to bide some time though.)

 

[aziz]

You will find that women more often than not will like or not like a strain of pot because of its taste. Guys are not so hung up on this and seem to mostly be concerned about the high itself and the smoothness of the smoke.
For me, the tastes that can be expressed in an organic grow are absolutely amazing, and each strain I grow in this way continues to amaze me. I am realizing that there is a "taste" that I can associate with a synthetic grow now, that it just tastes artificial to me now, and what I call the "dispensary" taste.
Organic allows the plant to make all of the decisions as far as what nutrients are supplied. Having everything it needs and wants, the plant is able to fully express itself in a way that no synthetic grow can accomplish, allowing tastes and colors and textures to emerge that never could in an artificial grow. I am currently growing a berry tasting variety, and my senses are already eagerly anticipating what this sensory overload is going to be like. Having had the experience of so many fully expressed plants now, seeing the colors, experiencing the rich aftertastes and heavy flavorful smoke, I simply do not enjoy dispensary pot much any more, unless it is organically grown like my favorite shop in SE Denver does. I can definitely taste the difference, and am willing to spend more to get that quality. When/If I become associated with a dispensary here in Missouri in the next several months, I will want to be part of its organic grow operation.

damn, reading that gave me gooseebumbs, i'd really love to try some of your weed hahaha

 

[Oz3]

what pot size should i use for autos? i see a lot of conflicting information. both indoors and outdoors please

are very small rocks good for drainage? basically river sand, so thicker than beach-sand.

when should i UP-pot? when the roots comeout the bottom?

are autos better than femminized seeds when it comes to cost-reward? yeah femminized give bigger yields. but they also require way more time, which translates to more light on the bill. also one plant grows very big, where with autos you can put many in a little space.

That's from one gal cloth pots. Pots should only be used as support if your feeding them right.

 

[Nunyabiz]

That's exactly what I would expect from 1 gal cloth pots.

If it were 1 gal plastic, about 1/2 that and severe problems from being root bound.
The only way you can get away with such a tiny pot is because its fabric, but you're needlessly making things harder on yourself for no real reason.

You could go to larger fabric pots and get 2 to 3x the yield and have far less issues, much easier growing.
More roots = bigger fruits