Who Let The Dogs Out? Chem Comparison Grow!

[Emilya Green]

Nitrogen in nutrients, can drive up the acidity of my soil.

I have never seen this happen in a soil, but then again I am not concerned about the change in acidity of my soil through the length of a grow. Soil is much more resilient than ProMix in this regard and where Promix is very susceptible to the alkalinity of water throughout the grow and the nutes you are using... soil is much much less so.

 

[Barney86]

The 100 GPD RO is for drinking, cooking, and the plants. That drops the arsenic level to less than 50% of the allowable level. To drop it further I'd have to increase the rejection ratio from 3:1 to 5:1. My well does not produce enough water for that. Because we only use about 7 GPD from the RO, it takes 28 gallons per day from the well.

Next year I plan on collecting rain water, and the waste from the RO to flush toilets, wash dishes and clothes. That will reduce the load on the well. A pair of 330 gal (1250 liter) IBCs should do the trick. One inch of rain will get me around 1590l / 420gal. I should get that over three weeks of the driest time of year. Adding the 440 gallons (1665 l ) I'd recover from the RO waste line will give me an extra 40 gallons or 150l of water per day.

WOW!!! Wasn't expecting that mate lol.
The things we take for granted are pretty mad. My tap water is as clean as it gets.
I forget not everyone actually has drinkable tap water.
That's mental man. Just mental.
It's 2019 FFS.
How can you have the wealth of the world's knowledge at your fingertips and still not have safe drinking water from the tap?
The mind boggles mate.

 

[beez0404]

@Emilya I read your watering tutorial. Tell me please how does that translate to auto flowering plants?

 

[Old Salt]

WOW!!! Wasn't expecting that mate lol.
The things we take for granted are pretty mad. My tap water is as clean as it gets.
I forget not everyone actually has drinkable tap water.
That's mental man. Just mental.
It's 2019 FFS.
How can you have the wealth of the world's knowledge at your fingertips and still not have safe drinking water from the tap?
The mind boggles mate.

In 2002 I spent over $17,000 to have a new 580' (175m) deep well drilled, with the pump put down at 350' (105m). Four years ago a nearby city tapped into the aquifier I'm using. Three years ago, I spent $1800 to drop my pump another 100' (30m), as the water level was dropping below the foot valve. Two years ago I spent $1200 to replace much of the water line in the well, as it blew out due to lack of water in the well. The folks in the city complain about their water bills, until I ask them if they want to trade. Water has cost me more than $100/month since 2002. City folk are paying less than 1/2 that, and get sewer service as well. I have to pay $400/year to get my septic tank emptied.

 

[The Bard]

In 2002 I spent over $17,000 to have a new 580' (175m) deep well drilled, with the pump put down at 350' (105m). Four years ago a nearby city tapped into the aquifier I'm using. Three years ago, I spent $1800 to drop my pump another 100' (30m), as the water level was dropping below the foot valve. Two years ago I spent $1200 to replace much of the water line in the well, as it blew out due to lack of water in the well. The folks in the city complain about their water bills, until I ask them if they want to trade. Water has cost me more than $100/month since 2002. City folk are paying less than 1/2 that, and get sewer service as well. I have to pay $400/year to get my septic tank emptied.

That is shocking. Makes my water bill seem like a HUGE bargain.

 

[Emilya Green]

@Emilya I read your watering tutorial. Tell me please how does that translate to auto flowering plants?

There should be no functional difference... an auto is just an extremely fast growing plant. If you are fast enough, it is possible to uppot them just like a photo, but as long as you are aware of the problems that happen in a larger container and know how to force that container into a wet/dry cycle, I see no problem with the common advice to start an auto in its final container, or at least quickly uppot out of a solo cup into the large container.
This action by itself changes the watering process at first, since the general rule that you don't want the bottom roots to stay underwater is still valid. In a large container with a small plant, it is best not to saturate the entire container at first, and just like in the photo plants, try to tease out roots to grow laterally in the container by making the sides the wettest regions. So whether it is an auto or a regular that was too quickly put into a large container, there are tricks to get those roots to grow out and fill the container. You can take advantage of there being 2 sets of roots... the bottom feeder roots and the top spreader roots, and you can water to runoff one time to feed the lower roots, and then while you are waiting a week or so for the plant to use all of this water all the way to the bottom, you can water the top roots only, every 3 days, just to keep the plant metabolism high and to keep the plant using water and/or nutes. The trick here is to water every 3 days with just enough fluid to soak into the top 3 or 4 inches, but no more. You want to water the top roots but not add to the water table down below. Eventually, you can get the roots strong enough that the plant will be able to drain the entire container in 3 days, and then this two stage watering can go away.

 

[ChefDGreen]

There should be no functional difference... an auto is just an extremely fast growing plant. If you are fast enough, it is possible to uppot them just like a photo, but as long as you are aware of the problems that happen in a larger container and know how to force that container into a wet/dry cycle, I see no problem with the common advice to start an auto in its final container, or at least quickly uppot out of a solo cup into the large container.
This action by itself changes the watering process at first, since the general rule that you don't want the bottom roots to stay underwater is still valid. In a large container with a small plant, it is best not to saturate the entire container at first, and just like in the photo plants, try to tease out roots to grow laterally in the container by making the sides the wettest regions. So whether it is an auto or a regular that was too quickly put into a large container, there are tricks to get those roots to grow out and fill the container. You can take advantage of there being 2 sets of roots... the bottom feeder roots and the top spreader roots, and you can water to runoff one time to feed the lower roots, and then while you are waiting a week or so for the plant to use all of this water all the way to the bottom, you can water the top roots only, every 3 days, just to keep the plant metabolism high and to keep the plant using water and/or nutes. The trick here is to water every 3 days with just enough fluid to soak into the top 3 or 4 inches, but no more. You want to water the top roots but not add to the water table down below. Eventually, you can get the roots strong enough that the plant will be able to drain the entire container in 3 days, and then this two stage watering can go away.

It’s like you read my mind about something I was pondering. I just put a solo cup seedling into a 5 gal fabric pot as per my last photo and I was wondering how my approach should differ. You’re the best!

 

[beez0404]

@Emilya The trick here is to water every 3 days with just enough fluid to soak into the top 3 or 4 inches, but no more. You want to water the top roots but not add to the water table down below. Eventually, you can get the roots strong enough that the plant will be able to drain the entire container in 3 days, and then this two stage watering can go away.

I like this trick and did not know of it till now. With autos in the large pot I tend to water a ring about 3" out from the main stem for about 10 days and then move out to 5" away from the main stem. I'll experiment with this baby using the two stage system and see if I notice any size increase.

In this photo you can see a darker area in the center of the pot with the plant in the center of that. Because I am now growing in homemade organic soil which I think may be too hot for a tender auto seedling I filled a solo cup with Promix BX and replaced the organic soil in the center with the Promix BX. It is my hope that the plant will have a week or maybe a little more before it pushes through the Promix and into my organic soil giving it a chance to do okay. When I watered today I watered around where the Promix met the organic soil. The Promix absorbed the water and drew it into the center. But that will dry pretty quickly in the center I believe. I think the roots will be pushing out sideways once that water in the center starts to dry out. Do you agree with me there? I figure after 10 days or so open the ring wider and water further away from the center.

20190812_190626.jpg

• beez0404
• Aug 12, 2019

20190812_190638.jpg

• beez0404
• Aug 12, 2019

 

[Emilya Green]

I recommend moving to the two stage system immediately @beez0404 because I can guarantee you, you are already into the super soil. Traditionally the stronger soil is put in the bottom of third of the container for exactly the reasons you stated, so that the roots have to find it, and can adapt to it as they do. What you overlooked is that the predominant growth is up and down, not sideways, and your tap roots immediately hit that strong soil, probably hours after your transplant. As you can see, it didn't hurt the plant, but all this caution with the circle outward is just overthinking the problem. Go ahead and do a proper watering to merge those regions (something that should happen on every transplant) and then go to the two stage system until you can see that the container synchronizes.
\

 

[beez0404]

So soak everything...……..let it dry for a week or so, and then just water the top few inches till the bottom is dry?

 

[Emilya Green]

So soak everything...……..let it dry for a week or so, and then just water the top few inches till the bottom is dry?

... almost perfect. While you are watering that top few inches, always strive to end up with as little down the middle as you can, concentrating instead to make the outside edges of the container the wettest places ... the places the roots "want" to go. Tease out those roots... make them want to grow laterally. Also, when you properly water, end up the same way,.. outside edges always take priority over watering down the middle. End up with the edges being more wet than any other spot.

 

[beez0404]

But at this point I do want to soak everything to get things rolling correct?

 

[Emilya Green]

But at this point I do want to soak everything to get things rolling correct?

yes, it is sort of the holy grail of transplantation... merge the soils. I would do that now. Then, consider the size of the plant right now... We talked about 3 days between mini waterings, but this is a sprig of a plant. Follow the node rule at this point. Right now you have node #1 deployed. Give one day between mini waterings. Soon node #2 will rise up and deploy its leaves. Spread out to 2 days between mini waterings. Then, when node 3 appears and deploys, spread it out to 3 days and maintain that till you synchronize, doing a full watering only when the container is dry down to the bottom and light as a feather.

 

[beez0404]

I soaked it all down slowly till I had a little bit of runoff. I don't imagine it will be dried out for like a month...LOL

 

[Emilya Green]

I soaked it all down slowly till I had a little bit of runoff. I don't imagine it will be dried out for like a month...LOL

Let's see where it is in a week-10 days... The plant should be sucking appreciable amounts by then. Do you have a meter or a dip stick so you can see where the water table is and track the use day by day?

 

[HugePeckerhead]

Wish I would have seen this earlier. I would have ran one for the fun of it.

 

[The Bard]

Wish I would have seen this earlier. I would have ran one for the fun of it.

Hey Pecker! Still lots of time to join in if you would like to. Several of us haven't dropped seeds yet. So if you have room in your tent, we'd be happy to have you at the party!

 

[HugePeckerhead]

Hey Pecker! Still lots of time to join in if you would like to. Several of us haven't dropped seeds yet. So if you have room in your tent, we'd be happy to have you at the party!

I'm placing an order next week. I'll start doing my homework on this thread to see what's going on and what were trying to do. Glad I can join in. This definitely will be fun.

 

[The Bard]

I'm placing an order next week. I'll start doing my homework on this thread to see what's going on and what were trying to do. Glad I can join in. This definitely will be fun.

Awesome! Glad that you might join us. It is a super-relaxed grow, and even though we are up to 60+ pages, the action is just starting.

We've got a huge range of experience from growers here, some starting with clones, others from seed, and some who already had plants on-the-go from earlier. Since you are deciding on seeds, you might like to take a look at the bottom of page 3 and page 4 here - some good discussion on Chem lineage, as well as different decedents to consider.

Lots of different Chems/Dogs/Dawgs in the grow. I'm going to be dropping a Chem 91 S1 from CSI Humboldt, and a Dinachem from Dinafem, probably in a week or so. Others will share what they are up to when they update.

Let us know what seeds you decide to order - I'm always curious about strains folks pick out.

Nice to have you along for the adventure.

 

[HugePeckerhead]

Awesome! Glad that you might join us. It is a super-relaxed grow, and even though we are up to 60+ pages, the action is just starting.

We've got a huge range of experience from growers here, some starting with clones, others from seed, and some who already had plants on-the-go from earlier. Since you are deciding on seeds, you might like to take a look at the bottom of page 3 and page 4 here - some good discussion on Chem lineage, as well as different decedents to consider.

Lots of different Chems/Dogs/Dawgs in the grow. I'm going to be dropping a Chem 91 S1 from CSI Humboldt, and a Dinachem from Dinafem, probably in a week or so. Others will share what they are up to when they update.

Let us know what seeds you decide to order - I'm always curious about strains folks pick out.

Nice to have you along for the adventure.

Thanks. I'm going to pick a strain that someone else is growing from seed as well. Just so we get a true comparison. I'm located in the states and my orders arrive within a couple days of ordering. I currently have 10 plants and 2 clones going but I have 3 spaces to sprout, veg and flower. Once I do my homework I'll come back here in a day or two and drop my specs for the grow. Thanks again for allowing to me join.