The Mega Crop Thread

[MrSauga]

*EC is additive, so you measure your base water EC then add in the suggested amount.
For example: Base water EC .2, suggested dosage is 1.1, then final level will be 1.1 + .2 = 1.3


EC/PPM conversion for different meter types
1 ms/cm (EC 1.0 or CF 10) = 500 ppm
European 1 ms/cm (EC 1.0 or CF 10) = 640 ppm
Australian 1 ms/cm (EC 1.0 or CF 10) = 700 ppm

1 US Teaspoon (4.9ml) = 6 grams MEGA CROP

 

[farside05]

here is the white cookie i blew up...

figger i just pushed it too hard, and it was PK excess. maybe root issues, it had them earlier

Were you using just Mega Crop, or some of Greenleaf's supplements in addition?

Sometimes it's just the plant/strain. I've grown a Purple Kush auto from Buddha twice and it's the most temperamental thing I've run across. Beautiful color though. The first I should have trashed half way through the grow. I nursed the second to a POTM but it was right on the ragged edge the whole way.

I mentioned earlier that not everyone has the equipment. As I had the equipment, I simply did the test, and shared the result.

The sharing of information is how we all cut the learning curve.

 

[bluter]

Were you using just Mega Crop, or some of Greenleaf's supplements in addition?

Just the MC from flip.

Sometimes it's just the plant/strain. I've grown a Purple Kush auto from Buddha twice and it's the most temperamental thing I've run across. Beautiful color though. The first I should have trashed half way through the grow. I nursed the second to a POTM but it was right on the ragged edge the whole way.

exactly how i run the white cookies for 3 grows.
got tired of constantly wondering if it keeled in the night.

had high maintenance girlfriends that were less trouble.

The sharing of information is how we all cut the learning curve.

amen.

cool you are active in the discussion. you add a lot.

 

[732002]

My apologies. Rereading, you did not. My mind went somewhere else. That and I missed half gallon rather than a gallon. Guess it happens sometimes when you've been up 24 hours. You miss little details. Your results would be in the ballpark with mine. 1/2 tsp I would come out with about 600ppm per gallon. So 1/2 tsp in half gallon would be around 1200. If your half gallon was a little over, its right there.

All good. I'll keep MC around 1200ppm + foliar cal mag and see if things improve over the next weeks.
I want to think it's already looking better.

 

[Homer Simpson]

The sharing of information is how we all cut the learning curve.

A second amen to that. Now that I am here I could not imagine trying to grow without it.

 

[Ironmike340]

Ok got a reply. Asked if I need cal mag with ro water. The response was “Probably not I wouldn’t think so”.

 

[bluter]

it's not all bad news..

these are the other gals wk 5 flip / wk 4 flower

we are at 23g/9L ro.
chasing mid 1300's for ppm.

 

[bluter]

Ok got a reply. Asked if I need cal mag with ro water. The response was “Probably not I wouldn’t think so”.

that's spot on for MC.

how'd you swing such a technical reply ?

 

[Jack420]

But I won’t look into further into it 4

it's not all bad news..

these are the other gals wk 5 flip / wk 4 flower

we are at 23g/9L ro.
chasing mid 1300's for ppm.

niceeee

 

[MrSauga]

At one point people are just going to have to have faith in what is being said here. The info given from most of us is what has worked, and not what they tell you.
Growers should always have calmag ready, it's a good growers tip. Don't wait for a problem to arise before you go out and buy it. You may or may not need it, but first try without it, listen to your plants and be ready to make adjustments until you understand what the product can do for you.
There's enough eyes in this thread to save anyone's bacon. Trust us!

 

[bluter]

At one point people are just going to have to have faith in what is being said here. The info given from most of us is what has worked, and not what they tell you.

hallelujah chorus of angels..

Growers should always have calmag ready, it's a good growers tip. Don't wait for a problem to arise before you go out and buy it. You may or may not need it, but first try without it, listen to your plants and be ready to make adjustments until you understand what the product can do for you.

always have calmag and h202
don't need a pile of other stuff. if you do the nutes you use are probably not sufficient.

There's enough eyes in this thread to save anyone's bacon. Trust us!

well, trust you ...

i seen your grows...

 

[MrSauga]

well, trust you ...

i seen your grows...

lol, that was not quite what I meant. Several of us have grown in different mediums or different setups. So for the most part if someone is never sure someone is always around that may have experience on that type of setup.
Some use RO, some don't. Promix vs Soil, DWC as examples. Some may want to try adding supps like BE or SC which we can help you with.

 

[Homer Simpson]

I didn't stop pH'ing my nutes because of any experience with my plants. I stopped because it was explained how it's not necessary in any buffered media, like soil or ProMix.

Here is a surprisingly informative little vid from ProMix explaining how water alkalinity is important not pH of feedwater.

My point with these vids on pH in a MegaCrop thread is that this thing is a lot more complicated than I wanted to admit. My problem I want to think is I either need to flush my plants or add calmag but the truth is I am not even certain my pH is not the problem.

The rep told Shed that adjusting water pH doesn’t do much but that does not mean the solution is to just not test it like I have been doing because what changes soil pH over time is the water alkalinity and buffers in the soil and your fert, therefore, they have to be in balance or compatible to offset each other.

Is Mega Crop and my water alkalinity and Promix PH in harmony to keep the pH in the proper place? I have no idea.

Edit: I believe that the hi brix system is only meant for Promix HP and RO water to maintain pH so that is the kind of balanced pH system Megacrop needs with compatible soil buffers and water alkalinity.

 

[farside05]

Is Mega Crop and my water alkalinity and Promix PH in harmony to keep the pH in the proper place? I have no idea.

I'll try to summarize/simplify some previous research and discussions on the matter....

Your waters alkalinity is closely related to it's starting ppm. As the second video notes, matching a fertilizer with your water source comes down to the type of Nitrogen used in the fertilizer. With low alkalinity water (like RO or anything under 50ppm) it's best to use a fertilizer that is almost all Nitrate Nitrogen. As the ppm of your starting water increases, you want a fertilizer that contains more Amonical Nitrogen. A balance of 1 part Amonical Nitrogen to 2 parts Nitrate Nitrogen is better for harder water, 150-300ppm. That said, Mega Crop is .5% Amonical Nitrogen and 8.5% Nitrate Nitrogen. Its best used with a quality/low ppm water source. I haven't had any issues using my 150 ppm tap with it in Pro Mix/Faux Mix though. Unless you're using some crazy hard water (high ppm) you should be fine with the combo.

The source data for my summary is courtesy of Bill Argo, PhD, from Blackmore (a fertilizer company that does a lot of work with Michigan State University). The links I had to his 4 part article re: substrates, water, pH, and fertilizer aren't good anymore. If one were so inclined I'm sure you could find them using the Google machine. They are not light reading. They are definitely written by a PhD for other scholarly types. Great info but it makes my head hurt reading it.

 

[Baron Von Blurple]

Fwiw, here is a somewhat dated sample of the water in my neck of the woods. Gathered by the local Aquarium society.
Left column is from a reservoir that services North end of city, middle column is from reservoir that services South end of city. And the right column is Laka Malawi in Africa. My water would come from the middle column.

pH	7.6 – 8.4​	7.6 – 8.3​	8.5 – 8.6​
Alkalinity (mg/L CaCO3)	92 – 138​	117 – 182​	118 – 129​
Hardness (mg/L CaCO3)	125 – 218​	175 – 255​	90 – 120​
Conductivity (µs/cm)	209 – 303​	305 – 481​	210 – 220​
Calcium (mg/L)	29 – 57​	39 – 78​	16.4 – 19.8​
Carbonates (mg/L)	112 – 168​	143 – 222​	118 – 129​
Chloride (mg/L)	0.89 – 2.8​	1.3 – 6.9​	3.6 – 4.3​
Magnesium (mg/L)	8 – 18​	12 – 22​	4.7 – 8.8​
Potassium (mg/L)	0.26 – 0.72​	0.42 – 1.16​	6.4​
Phosphorous (mg/L)	< 0.005 – 0.022​	< 0.005 – 0.054​	< 0.007 – 0.030​
Sodium (mg/L)	1.2 – 2.6​	2.3 – 5.2​	21.0​
Silicate (mg/L)	2.9 – 3.5​	2.9 – 4.8​	1.1 – 4.0​
Sulfate (mg/L)	27 – 59​	35 – 75​	5.5​

 

[Emilya Green]

What I understand about pH is that as long as it is within reasonable limits, it is not harmful to our plants to stray within the boundaries of normality. I heard an adage a long long time ago that I still believe in... if your water isn't harmful to you or your pets, it is not harmful to the plants either.
Many have found that in buffered mediums there is no need to adjust pH since the medium takes care of all your highs and lows... and to a point and as long as your buffers remain strong, this is true.
So why do we carefully adjust our pH to within certain ranges, different for soil and hydro? It is because of the chelated nutes. If it were not for the nutes that are designed to break apart in a certain pH range, there would be no need to care about a pH inside normal and reasonable boundaries. We pH for our nutes... not our plants.
So now we have MC... amino acid chelated... not salt chelated. Ph is inconsequential in a MC grow. Within normal limits, the MC is going to do what it does, not caring about the pH. I don't see any reason to not use plain old tap water, not worrying about what the pH of the MC mix is. I am slightly curious where it will fall, but until I see a need, I am not going to worry about pH or the chloramine in my water. I don't believe that I will need to... not with this new fertilizer technology.

 

[Homer Simpson]

Unless you're using some crazy hard water (high ppm) you should be fine with the combo.

Thanks for the detailed explanation farside. Fortunately, I am using tap water with a hardness of 83mg/l so I guess I should be ok.

Water Quality Reports - Niagara Falls - Niagara Region, Ontario

www.niagararegion.ca

I am slightly curious where it will fall, but until I see a need, I am not going to worry about pH or the chloramine in my water. I don't believe that I will need to... not with this new fertilizer technology.

Great reassuring info Emilya; thank you. Since you and farside don't suspect pH I am going to continue to flush and if that doesn't solve my problem I will try adding some calmag. I greatly appreciate the info from you two because pH has been a nagging concern I was uncertain of since I have stopped adjusting my water pH.

 

[Old Salt]

Thanks for the detailed explanation farside. Fortunately, I am using tap water with a hardness of 83mg/l so I guess I should be ok.

Water Quality Reports - Niagara Falls - Niagara Region, Ontario

www.niagararegion.ca

Great reassuring info Emilya; thank you. Since you and farside don't suspect pH I am going to continue to flush and if that doesn't solve my problem I will try adding some calmag. I greatly appreciate the info from you two because pH has been a nagging concern I was uncertain of since I have stopped adjusting my water pH.

I'm not being as anal about the pH this grow. I adjust it so it falls somewhere in the pH 5.5 - 6.5 recommended for hydroponic grows, since I'm in coco/perlite. I've seen it above 7.0 after mixing, so I choose to be safe until I have a better understanding of how it works. Perhaps I'll offer up a 'sacrificial' plant in a future grow to test whether a higher pH will work.

 

[Pennywise]

I think they will tolerate higher ph than what google recommends

 

[Old Salt]

I think they will tolerate higher ph than what google recommends

I do too, but I won't risk store-bought seeds to find out. I'll use some that I grew myself.