Tead's Indoor-ish, Winter, Hempy, OGK, SOG

[Tead]

I'm guessing you're down near the gulf. I can't even imagine trying to grow in those conditions with high temps and RH all the time.

Life in The Big Easy... New Orleans baby... full on hurricanes and drive thru daquari shops.
Life can be different down south in da swamplands!

But we all get to clip!
Some trichs from an UltraDog... perhaps one of the most lemony versions of the genetics I've met. Straight up Lemon with an undertone of some sort of dank mustyness. I can't wait for her to cure out a bit.

UDtrich.jpg

• Tead
• Oct 20, 2018

 

[Skybound]

I've read recently on RIU that potassium sulfate as opposed to magnesium sulfate enhances the lemony scents, where as mag sulf enhances fruity scents. Are you using any sweeteners? I recently used GH Flora Nectar (Fruit-n-Fusion) and the bottle smelled like raspberry iced tea, but it made my Kush smell so fruity. I never expected to get a Kush to smell like that.

Edit - Nice tric shot. It looks like you got a lot of amber in there!

 

[Tead]

I've been doing the Osmocote routine for a long time now. Been thru lots of different nute lines. Last set was the Dyna-Gro line, but lately I've been playing with MegaCrop. Not fancy enough yet for the bloom boosters or sweeteners.
Previously, my focus has been on ease. Osmo really plays into that well. Now I've complicated things significantly with the MegaCrop and I have to actually measure nutrients.... I don't know how you folks do it. Probably plays out better than an SoG grow. I have several MegaCrop nutrient levels in play already and it's only gonna go downhill from here.
Fortunately, I just purchased a bit white board... need me some easy tracking tools.

 

[DrDoob]

I keep it simple and just guesstimate if I want to go light I do a little less than a teaspoon, if I want to go heavy I do a heaping teaspoon if things look good I do an even teaspoon.

Have you had any ph issues with MegaCrop? Do you add CalMag?

 

[Tead]

I keep it simple and just guesstimate if I want to go light I do a little less than a teaspoon, if I want to go heavy I do a heaping teaspoon if things look good I do an even teaspoon.

Have you had any ph issues with MegaCrop? Do you add CalMag?

I totally implemented it in the blind. No PH or PPM pens. I started seeing the beginning of a Cal deficiency, but then added calmag to the the mix and started my normal ph routine and they exploded right out of it. Right now, she's getting 7g/gal.
Tomorrow is a watering day.... perhaps I can find a plant similarly aged as my MegaCrop monster and do a little visual comparison.
I'd say the MegaCrop is something amazing, but really, in my world I feel it's just a variable nute system vs my Osmocote. I might see the same thing with any variable system.

 

[Skybound]

It seems MegaCrop is just a base nutrient, but is lacking in a few elemental areas, the same as Jack's is and also ChemGro. Strangely though, MC has every element contained all in one, including silica which I think is cool. Still though, if used a a stand alone, I predict you'll encounter deficiencies, and/or toxicities depending the required dose. If simplicity is truly what you seek, I'd go with the Osmo, but as to making your own sauce is not the difficult at all and in much cheaper. The hard part would normally be the math, but having the free app Hydro Buddy, it just makes the process sooooo much easier. HB can also be used to calculate existing lines for comparrison, or making custom regimens, much like was done with the Lucas Formula using 2 of the GH 3 part. I collected a lot of notes and have nailed down the safe ranges of all the macros and major micros, and I'd be glad to share everything if interested. I make my concentrates to about 1/10th the strength of normal nute lines which aids in suspension, easily retrieving precise doses, and my jugs don't get salt encrustations forming on the top like happens with GH, and likely other lines. Actually, I think I'll make a thread for the topic, and just link you to it when ready and you can read at your convenience.

 

[Skybound]

I just crunched Mega Crop. The numbers on the left that are greyed are the safe ranges I collected from another grow site. I mixed for mid bloom ranges. In the column next to the output ppm is the Gross Error column and this tells me how far away + or - the result is from the target. I input targets for N, P, K, Mg, Ca, S and Si. I like the more elevated concentrations of micros that MC has. I use Jack's hydro which I find to be a bit lacking in micros, but perhaps MC would be a better fit for me, and just build out the macros around it? I'll play with the components and numbers to test it before I purchase, lol.

Edit - the output dose is 4.2xx grams per gallon to make that strength.

 

[Skybound]

I added a few more components that I use to build out Jack's and I got the results much closer to the target, but some things are still off, just by a lesser degree than when crunching Mega Crop alone.

 

[DrDoob]

What deficiencies would you expect to see from using MegaCrop? I’ve only grown two through harvest with it so far but didn’t have any issues except magnesium, which is easy to prevent. I’m now growing several more using it, their Bud Explosion, and Cal-Mag.

 

[NorCaliwood]

Now I'm going to risk looking stupid.. I wonder how a hempy thing wood work with a more well-rounded fertilizer? Least the different list they provide of ingredients sounds good.. I been supplementing this into my soils for afew years.. I guess it's just another personal blend. Just looking at ingredients,, alot of shit in there.. looks like most of the nitrogen in instant release... I never said anything,,, thinking as fine as some of the shit in it,, it wood leach out really fast? Oh called marine cuisine.
I still think you need to convert over to all coarse perlite... Yea more cost,,, but you can fashion a screen with small enough openings,, you can blast with the hose and the Ocote will wash out yet retain the perlite..
Some 2X4's as a frame and a piece of screen wood work? All different sizes screens.... Them pellets in that ferts,,, see I couldn't spell it,, so see how I skirted it,,wood wash thru? I did alot of gold mining,,, and I've used screening plants,, and it should be easy to wash that stuff... Perlite has a forever lifespan,, hell it's a rock... Got to be an easy way to wash that shit to keep you medium bills to bear bones?

BTW whats the cost of a bag of perlite there? Large shit here 25 bucks? a 4 cubic bag......... Nothing a little scrub and screening woodn't clean out..........

 

[Skybound]

What deficiencies would you expect to see from using MegaCrop? I’ve only grown two through harvest with it so far but didn’t have any issues except magnesium, which is easy to prevent. I’m now growing several more using it, their Bud Explosion, and Cal-Mag.

Looking at the first chart I posted with megacrop calculated alone, and referencing those numbers from the numbers I collected for cannabis, I'd expect to see N tox and P def, but there are also other potential issues like Mag which says it's 56% deficient, but Epsom would give you all the mag ya need to fill in the blank, but also Iron looks deficient and Zinc looks a bit toxic. This is not at all an attempt to downplay just how resilient cannabis is as we've been told for years and years and years that it's a weed after all. I've had successful rounds using hot mixes such as GH near full strength. Those numbers are high across the board. Then, like you said, you've had success with MC, and only spotted the mag def, so apparently canna can not only survive, but thrive with less than ideal feeding. For me though, having taken the plunge to discontinue using GH (or any brand of liquid ferts), I wanted to be certain of a few things such as ratios and ranges of each element so I don't follow suit and mix up a hot ass batch of feed and essentially cut off my leg to spite my pinky toe. So I set out to ask those with experience in mixing their own from salts and found a few cats on RIU willing to suffer my relentless questioning till I got all the info I was seeking, and I got most of it. I'm still trying to understand what the absolute max and minimum range can be for every element, but with all other factors such as quality of light, grow media, root zone conditions, atmospheric conditions, CO2 qty in the air, O2 qty in the roots etc etc etc will influence the outcome so there's that. So I just took the values I collected, and built out my new line with components that will get me as close as possible to known medium ppm ranges for each and I got it to where only sulfur is showing to be deficient. Once again, extra epsom would resolve that concern, I would just need to edit hydro buddy's recipe before calculating to use elevated mag/sulf, then it can lessen another product if possible to not add so much mag with other parts.

 

[DrDoob]

Looking at the first chart I posted with megacrop calculated alone, and referencing those numbers from the numbers I collected for cannabis, I'd expect to see N tox and P def, but there are also other potential issues like Mag which says it's 56% deficient, but Epsom would give you all the mag ya need to fill in the blank, but also Iron looks deficient and Zinc looks a bit toxic. This is not at all an attempt to downplay just how resilient cannabis is as we've been told for years and years and years that it's a weed after all. I've had successful rounds using hot mixes such as GH near full strength. Those numbers are high across the board. Then, like you said, you've had success with MC, and only spotted the mag def, so apparently canna can not only survive, but thrive with less than ideal feeding. For me though, having taken the plunge to discontinue using GH (or any brand of liquid ferts), I wanted to be certain of a few things such as ratios and ranges of each element so I don't follow suit and mix up a hot ass batch of feed and essentially cut off my leg to spite my pinky toe. So I set out to ask those with experience in mixing their own from salts and found a few cats on RIU willing to suffer my relentless questioning till I got all the info I was seeking, and I got most of it. I'm still trying to understand what the absolute max and minimum range can be for every element, but with all other factors such as quality of light, grow media, root zone conditions, atmospheric conditions, CO2 qty in the air, O2 qty in the roots etc etc etc will influence the outcome so there's that. So I just took the values I collected, and built out my new line with components that will get me as close as possible to known medium ppm ranges for each and I got it to where only sulfur is showing to be deficient. Once again, extra epsom would resolve that concern, I would just need to edit hydro buddy's recipe before calculating to use elevated mag/sulf, then it can lessen another product if possible to not add so much mag with other parts.

Very interesting I’ll keep a close eye on my current plants that are on MegaCrop, so far so good.

I’m doing a comparison of MegaCrop vs Rx Green vs Doc Bud’s High Brix Kit. I already harvested the Rx Green and MegaCrop. Neither of them had any noticeable issues with nutrient deficiencies. The MegaCrop produced the best vegetive growth, but Rx Green had the higher yield by about 20% even though it was smaller when I started flowering. Although they aren’t fully cured yet, I can’t tell any difference between the harvested buds. The Doc Bud’s plants have a lot larger pots, a longer veg time, are in soil, and still flowering so yield won’t be comparable but they do look frostier.

What I read on another site (where I first heard of MegaCrop) is the mag deficiency is specific to hempies and coco but doesn’t happen in regular hydro or soil. It did indeed show up in my 100% perlite hempies. I add cal-mag every other watering (or so) to prevent it. I did recently switch from a cal-mag+ iron to one without the iron so it will be interesting to see if that was preventing issues.

Thanks for the informative posts!

 

[Tead]

If simplicity is truly what you seek, I'd go with the Osmo

And I did... and it was super easy... but never as productive. Not so frustrating when I had to keep the lights low because of the heat, but now that I can do a better step, Tead wants to show off some new dance moves.

MC has every element contained all in one, including silica which I think is cool

Man... I gotta look at the list on the back of that bag some day. I sure do like the silica addition... helps in the heat.

What deficiencies would you expect to see from using MegaCrop? I’ve only grown two through harvest with it so far but didn’t have any issues except magnesium, which is easy to prevent. I’m now growing several more using it, their Bud Explosion, and Cal-Mag.

Yeah... other than my starting calmag issue, I've not seen anything obvious. Far from finish tho... we'll see.

Now I'm going to risk looking stupid

Really Wood... you're gonna leave that door open for me???
Tho I've never laid eye upon your face... I've long had my suspicions....

it wood leach out really fast?

I feed with every watering, so not much time really for anything to leach out really. I think you're stuck in soil thinkin there.

Oh called marine cuisine.

I steer clear of most things fish related. Passive hydro with water sitting still in pots without aeration generally would lead to some serious stankiness.

I still think you need to convert over to all coarse perlite... Yea more cost,,, but you can fashion a screen with small enough openings,, you can blast with the hose and the Ocote will wash out yet retain the perlite..

Picked up 2ea 4cu bags on Amz the other day for about $35 ea. Kickin the tires on it still. I've not seen the roots from a big perl grow yet, so I'm not ready to jump too hard, but I did buy some toys to play with.

Looking at the first chart I posted with megacrop calculated alone, and referencing those numbers from the numbers I collected for cannabis, I'd expect to see N tox and P def, but there are also other potential issues like Mag which says it's 56% deficient, but Epsom would give you all the mag ya need to fill in the blank, but also Iron looks deficient and Zinc looks a bit toxic. This is not at all an attempt to downplay just how resilient cannabis is as we've been told for years and years and years that it's a weed after all. I've had successful rounds using hot mixes such as GH near full strength. Those numbers are high across the board. Then, like you said, you've had success with MC, and only spotted the mag def, so apparently canna can not only survive, but thrive with less than ideal feeding. For me though, having taken the plunge to discontinue using GH (or any brand of liquid ferts), I wanted to be certain of a few things such as ratios and ranges of each element so I don't follow suit and mix up a hot ass batch of feed and essentially cut off my leg to spite my pinky toe. So I set out to ask those with experience in mixing their own from salts and found a few cats on RIU willing to suffer my relentless questioning till I got all the info I was seeking, and I got most of it. I'm still trying to understand what the absolute max and minimum range can be for every element, but with all other factors such as quality of light, grow media, root zone conditions, atmospheric conditions, CO2 qty in the air, O2 qty in the roots etc etc etc will influence the outcome so there's that. So I just took the values I collected, and built out my new line with components that will get me as close as possible to known medium ppm ranges for each and I got it to where only sulfur is showing to be deficient. Once again, extra epsom would resolve that concern, I would just need to edit hydro buddy's recipe before calculating to use elevated mag/sulf, then it can lessen another product if possible to not add so much mag with other parts.

Ya know.... we're seeing 2 different approaches to growing in play here. It's kind of a stark example of it really. Fun stuff man!

Skybound has his lab coat on calculating the exact size of all the wheels in the growing machine.
The other way works as well. Watching the plants and reacting to the growth just feels good.
It took me years to let go of the numbers. I'm totally a numbers guy. It's a lot of work. Makes my head hurt mostly. Plus, it can be so confusing. Try scientifically testing runoff some day.... the variations in the ppm will kill you.
Anyway.... somewhere in the middle is the magic zone I feel. I often mix the two by trying to explain what I see on top of the pot with some scientific sort of investigation.
My Osmo feeding program really just freed me from looking at any numbers. So lazy. Now I gotta get my science on a touch... tryin to step things up.

 

[AngryBird]

Lol... Norcali Tead can bite but we all have our blonde moments.. Right???
But you just got to love him, he is so full of knowledge and share it so beautifully

 

[Skybound]

Tead, I'm right there with ya brother, except my plants have been talking, but I didn't know how to listen. I do now. If I see a specific deficiency and want to treat only that, I can smash all the numbers and see on my screen what all will be changed, then determine if I want to make an adjustment whereas previously, I would research a problem, mentally alter my nutes, physically alter what seemed mentally reasonable and hope for the best. I chased a calcium hungry whore of a Kush plant for about 5 harvests and was damn near doubling the suggested dose of CALiMAGic. I put so much of that in, and knowing what TDS I need to top out at, there was barely any room left to add the 3 part which had all the NPK, so in trying to fix one problem, I caused 3 more.

I made good on making a new thread. I begin by linking to and explaining how to use Hydro Buddy. You can research product labels of things you want to get, or copy from labels you currently have, and go from there. I'm gonna take a couple hour break, then get back to adding more info, but for now, there's more than enough to wet anybody's beak that wants to know more about their nutes aside from the water in the bottles.

Making Your Own Nutrient Concentrates

 

[DrDoob]

but I did buy some toys to play with.

Quote of the year in Tead’s world.

 

[AngryBird]

The doctors are in the house

 

[Tead]

my plants have been talking, but I didn't know how to listen. I do now.

It's a constant never ending learning curve. You toss in ideas of shifting seasons changing things, water source variations, the 'human' factor, and an endless list of other variables that may shift, you really can end up in a very dynamic world.
I spent a lot of time pondering the garden I'm in the middle of creating. I really super-focused on creating a very stable space. It's just too hard to even really test things properly when your background keeps shifting. One can do comparison grows, and I have, but that's really about the limit.
Next on the list will be stretching out to test various feeding systems in that new stable space. Osmo's lack of variability just won't do.
Plus, Sue's experience will further complicate the coming days.
Dere's a lot on dat platter baby! Tead's in for some serious experimental growing.
Hell... I haven't even owned a working PPM and PH pen for like at least 2 years now. Got 'em now!

 

[Weaselcracker]

Tead, I'm right there with ya brother, except my plants have been talking, but I didn't know how to listen. I do now. If I see a specific deficiency and want to treat only that, I can smash all the numbers and see on my screen what all will be changed, then determine if I want to make an adjustment whereas previously, I would research a problem, mentally alter my nutes, physically alter what seemed mentally reasonable and hope for the best. I chased a calcium hungry whore of a Kush plant for about 5 harvests and was damn near doubling the suggested dose of CALiMAGic. I put so much of that in, and knowing what TDS I need to top out at, there was barely any room left to add the 3 part which had all the NPK, so in trying to fix one problem, I caused 3 more.

I made good on making a new thread. I begin by linking to and explaining how to use Hydro Buddy. You can research product labels of things you want to get, or copy from labels you currently have, and go from there. I'm gonna take a couple hour break, then get back to adding more info, but for now, there's more than enough to wet anybody's beak that wants to know more about their nutes aside from the water in the bottles.

Making Your Own Nutrient Concentrates

Super interesting. I tend more towards ‘feeling’ my way through the grow. But as we know, feelings are fickle things. When it’s working it’s working, but when it’s not there’s not so much to fall back on. You’ve actually got me interested in dissecting the contents of all those bottles.

 

[Tead]

Flyby data dump.
Comparison grow results:
Control - 43.6g
Pea Gravel - 40.7g
Aeration - 42.3g
Fully trimmed and dried.
Decent overall grow. Mostly representative of what I've been seeing from my Ox plants, tho the numbers are up due to the lighting. The plants really didn't look much denser to my eye, but the final weight speaks to bud density.

Not gonna try pea gravel again. Not done playing with aeration yet tho.