Hey there,
I've finished reading the beginners guide and I'm about to begin my first grow, but before I begin, I have a couple of questions that I don't recall being answered in the book.
1) The PH and TDS tester were labelled as optional, so I didn't buy them, but the latter chapters seem to heavily rely on the checking of PH & PPM levels. How do I navigate knowing when and how much liquid nutrients, PH adjusting, flushing to do, without those instruments?
2) How often should I have the oscillating fan on for at any time during the different grow phases to ensure air circulation, but not wind burn etc?
I'm also thinking about logging the process of the grow with notes, was wondering if anyone can suggests things I should be monitoring to log or if there's a spreadsheet or something like a site, software/app etc for logging grow progress.
Thanks in advance to everyone that responds
as to your first question on meters yes i would get them - the PH tester is going to the main one that will be needed - i did give a good example and stuff on PH Balance in another post here, its labeled PH Question-- this might be worth you looking in on as i posted my personal dealing with proper PH Balance
i to do use a oscillating fan and have that on high at all times - its a thin upright style - depending on size of grow area i try to have mine about 1 foot away from plants but strong enough to make the plants sway just a bit - this helps in making the plant stronger.
the other meters i do not have yet but are on order - not sure just what nutrients you plan on using but i have good luck with Fox Farm Nutrients - and yes they do give a good feeding schedule - i have only the main three but i have had great turnouts with them but i await for the rest on list to really see a better full potential
Peace n Growers Luv
I've do agree with the above advice. Make a proper pH pen a primary purchase. A quality pH pen makes the difference between a smooth grow with quality bud opposed to drama all grow and deficiencies. ..
Keep your fan blowing all the time as it helps with the plants transpiration and air movement.
As with mixing nutes I follow what the bottle says and then I add extra water to get the required E.C for whatever stage of growth the plant is at
Yeah technically a pH meter and TDS Tester are optional. Many growers don't use them. Some run into problems and some don't encounter any problems. I do recommend you get them though since it will make monitoring pH & PPM easier. I agree with the other guys, keep the oscillating fan on 24-7 I use Google Sheets to log what I feed my plants, pH, PPM so I can look back at them and it helps make future decisions.
Gonna try that Google sheets thing.. however there's something about having your notebook in your hand reviewing your work
I hear ya about the notebook thing. I used to use a notebook but then realized I had my phone more handy then my notebook so it became easier. I also like how I can see from my phone + computer, I can share with other to see and they can update it, and I can copy and paste in Sheets. Just my opinion on it
What do you plan to grow in
Medium wise
Thanks for all the responses guys, much appreciated. I'm def going to get the two testers.
jafofubar57 - I'm also using foxfarm nutrients, happy that you've had such good results with it, makes me much more confident.
Mr. Grow It - Another curiosity about the ppms, lets say the medium is lacking in one specific nutrients, wether its N, P, K, Cal or Mag. How do you know which one it needs so that you're not overfeeding it either one. Does the TDS differentiate specifics or just give a one number reading?
Also with your cheat sheets that you have in the beginner guide, you have ranges for temp as an example for certain periods of time. So if one of your ranges is 20-40 of anything for example, is it a good rule of thumb to aim for the middle, so 30 in this example?
growhouse262 - I'll link to the Australian hardware store site which has the medium I'm using, I also took a picture of the back of the bag in nice high quality so you can zoom to read, because for some reason putting the back of the bag on the site was too hard :P
https://www.bunnings.com.au/osmocote-professional-25l-premium-plus-potting-mix_p2962100
Hope to hear back from you guys again soon
like i had mentioned i only have the main 3 of the Fox Farm Nutrients and have been happy with the results - just got the sledgehammer - but also working on the rest of the list little at a time , here is about 3 weeks from germination - 1 i fed the Fox Farm and the other i did a Miracle Grow Vegetable -- as you see both look great.
below is about another 10 days and one just went Boom with growth
next one below is the other stuff and just does not look like much
as you can see there is a big difference in Nutrients -- some will give fantastic results while others seem to take alot longer for things to really show its true beauty
i do follow the schedule for Fox Farm very close but i do not follow the light sequence as they have listed - i will wait until about the 8th or 9th week before switching to the 12 - 12 grow light cycle so i can try to get the most out of the veg stage
@facivsbigal Good questions. Below are my answers... "lets say the medium is lacking in one specific nutrients, wether its N, P, K, Cal or Mag. How do you know which one it needs so that you're not overfeeding it either one. Does the TDS differentiate specifics or just give a one number reading?" If your plant is lacking in a nutrient, the plant will show signs of deficiency. For example, if the plant is lacking N, the lower leaves will start to yellow starting at the tips and working its way through the entire leaf until it has sucked out all of the nutrients in it. Then the leaf becomes brown and falls off. Different nutrients have different visual indicators when deficient. The TDS tester does not differentiate the nutrients. Currently, there isn't a tool that you can use to see what nutrients and/or ratio of nutrients are in the medium. I wish there were! One method to help ensure your medium is properly balanced with nutrients is to feed with the same NER as the feeding chart recommends. NER stands for Nutrient Element Ratio. Some growers can get away with formulating their own ratios but I think it's much safer to use the feeding chart for those nutrients - just reduce the dose as needed.
"with your cheat sheets that you have in the beginner guide, you have ranges for temp as an example for certain periods of time. So if one of your ranges is 20-40 of anything for example, is it a good rule of thumb to aim for the middle, so 30 in this example?" The answer for a beginner is anywhere in that range is fine. If you want to get a little deeper into it, it really comes down to leaf surface temperature. Photosynthesis will happen anywhere in the temperature ranges that I specify, but there is of course an optimal level. Below is a good article explaining it in further detail. But as a beginner, I don't recommend focusing on that. https://www.maximumyield.com/the-relationship-between-leaf-surface-temperature-and-lighting-spectrum/2/3226
@jafofubar57 Thanks for the info and photos, super helpful, I'm doing autos so I won't have to worry about extending veg phase, but def gonna be on point with my nutrients
Hey If you get on the google play store there is an app called"grower helper" that lets you track everything pertaining to your grow. I use it and it kicks ass. Also if you check amazon, they have a wall mounted oscillating fan that will do a figure eight and the speed will alternate between low,medium,and high. It changes speed like every 10 seconds. I also have that and its awesome. I also leave it on all the time from beginning to end. Hope this helps. Good growing!
Link the fan of you could. Thanks
@growhouse262 I think this is the fan @gregthe357 is talking about. Looks fucking amazing, always thought this would be an amazing fan in general not even related to growing, but for some reason never thought to google it to see if it ever existed.
https://www.amazon.com/Hurricane-Technology-Included-Oscillating-Settings-ETL/dp/B00L2L3WUG
Also is there anything like the app you described on the app store?
Sorry for not providing the link for the fan, but the one above is correct. The hurricane one. Im not sure what all platforms that app i mentioned is on but the name is " grower helper" if you want to just do a search. The app has a green icon with "gh" on it.