Indoor MasonJar’s Indoor Adventure

[DDubs]

I threw my BlueLab PH pen in the trash. It calibrated and then would not stay accurate. This is the second one I’ve used and their product is just not reliable. Not worth the money unless you want to use it for about 12-18 months and throw it out.

That's too bad. Which one do you have? I have a bluelab combo meter and it has been fine for a few years now.

 

[MasonJarOG]

Their ph pen. Same thing with the first one. I’m picking up some paper test strips and the ACInfinity ph pen. I also use my hot tub test kit to to doublecheck. Looks like the flowers are okay and coming back. Tent smells terpy. Probably trim off some of the crinkle leafs when I have time this week and sure I have this stable.
BananaOG

Whistling Diesel

Durban Poison

Mothman

 

[MasonJarOG]

Some deforestation lol

 

[MasonJarOG]

Thank god for my trusty Hana Soil PH meter… works on h20 too. Test strips are pretty in accurate, the pool tester is good.. Hana has my soil running 6.52-6.78 which is not a huge variable, water tank is at 7.2 which is a lot better than that 5.0 now. I’m starting to think that over watering or that new rooted leaf bloom or Build A Flower was too hot or something was wrong with it. Because we were doing great up till day 40ish.

I’m also seeing ph drop in the tank so not sure what’s screwing with that? When it runs down in a couple days I’ll probably disconnect and clean it out to make sure there not some nutrient causing some issue.

They’re in the high water intake mode right now so I adjusted the water timer to every 24hrs for 20mins. Their soil is running about 44% top 1/2 (80mb) and 60% (60mb) on the lower 1/2.

 

[MasonJarOG]

Spoke to the Rooted Leaf Nutrient folks this morning. My Peak Bloom product was crystallized at the bottom of the bottle and even after mixing in the vitamix left a 1/8” layer of sediment that didn’t dissolve. Appears they had an issue and are shipping me a new batch that doesn’t have this issue they’re trying to understand the why it happened and doing their own due diligence.

He did say he doesn’t recommend this particular product for use in a reservoir. Can also cause some ph issues if left to sit. Might be a contributing factor to the tank ph issues.

 

[MasonJarOG]

I feel like I bought a boat … But Only Another Thousand

Checked ppfd at canopy 400ish so I lowered the lighting and raised the ppfd to 800

 

[MasonJarOG]

Used Gemini to run some numbers

That is a wise decision! Lowering your PPFD to 600 will immediately bring your entire system into a much more efficient and safe operating range for Co2 concentration.
Here is the revised analysis of your new setup:
New System Metrics
By adjusting the light intensity (PPFD) and keeping your 24/0 light cycle, your total daily light energy (DLI) is now much safer and more efficient:
1. New Daily Light Integral (DLI)
Using your new PPFD of 600 over 24 hours:
2. Assessment of Efficiency and Safety
Your DLI of 51.84 is now in the high end of the safe range for peak flowering without excessive Co2. This means:
* The plant will be able to utilize virtually all the light energy you are giving it, even with CO2 at only 650\ ppm
* You have greatly reduced the risk of photo inhibition (light stress) and the associated light burn.
* Your plants will likely grow happier and produce healthier flowers by avoiding unnecessary stress.
Next Steps for Optimization
While your light setup is now safe, you still have room for yield improvement if you wish to push further:
* Increase CO2 (The Yield Driver): If you can, slowly increase your CO2 from 650 ppm toward 1000 {ppm}. Once you hit 1000 {ppm}, you can safely increase your PPFD back up toward 700 to maximize your yield potential.
* Monitor Environmental Factors: At a high DLI like 51.84, your plants are transpiring and growing rapidly. Ensure you are maintaining:
* High Humidity (VPD): Maintain a proper Vapor Pressure Deficit (VPD) for flowering to encourage nutrient uptake.
* High Temperature: Higher temperatures (e.g., 78 {F} to 85{F} are required to get the most benefit from CO}_2 enrichment.
Do you have any questions about how to adjust the light distance to hit that 600?

 

[MasonJarOG]

Abused about sums it up. Definitely switching soils as the Root 707 wasn’t made for tray2grow. I”ll use it for the outdoors plantings. Still having to switch the water timer back to 72 hr intervals. The gnome Mothman and Durban poison seems to have weathered this the best.

 

[MasonJarOG]

The "Water-Only" Living Soil Recipe (Best for AutoPots)

This mix allows you to put plain water in your reservoir and let the soil do the feeding. You will only need to top-dress dry nutrients every 3-4 weeks.

Ingredients to add to 1 Bag of Tupur:
• Worm Castings: 10 Liters (approx. 2.5 gallons).
• Why: Tupur is sterile. Castings add the biology needed to break down organic nutrients.
• Aeration: 5-10 Liters of Pumice or Coarse Perlite.

Why: Tupur is already porous, but for a wicking bed, you want extra safety against root rot.

• Dry Fertilizer (Choose One Brand):
• Gaia Green: 1 cup of 4-4-4 All Purpose + 1 cup of 2-8-4 Power Bloom.
• Down To Earth: 2 cups of Bio-Live (5-4-2).
• BuildASoil: 2 cups of Craft Blend
(probably substitute with a cup of KIS Nutrient Mix)

• Calcium Buffer (Critical): 1 cup of Gypsum.

Why: Coco coir naturally steals calcium from your plants. Gypsum provides calcium and sulfur without altering the pH, preventing the dreaded "cal-mag" deficiencies in flowering.

Important Tray2Grow Tips for Tupur

• Do Not Pack It: When filling the fabric bed, do not compress the soil. Let it settle naturally. Compressing Tupur ruins its wicking ability.

• The "Coco pH" Shift: Even though this is an "organic" method, because the base is Coco, you should aim for a slightly lower pH than traditional soil.

• Reservoir pH: 5.8 - 6.2
• Soil pH: Will naturally buffer to around 6.2-6.4.
• Top Dressing: In a Tray2Grow, you cannot top-dress normally because the water comes from the bottom. To top-dress amendments later (Week 4 of veg, Week 3 of flower), you must:

1. Turn off the reservoir valve.
2. Sprinkle the dry nutrients on top of the soil.
3. Hand water them in from the top (just enough to melt them in, about 1-2 liters).
4. Wait 24 hours for the tray to dry out slightly, then turn the valve back on.

If anyone else has had success with Tray2grow and has suggestions let me know?

 

[MasonJarOG]

I’m checking my pots out and they’re totally root bound so the soil microbes were working overtime. The base stalks are just fat as can be for autoflowers. I’m thinking that my expectations are just way too high for the soil I used and should have supplemented with more consistent feeding from day one. These were in beast mode and just outperformed the soil and consumed everything by day 40. I think the wholey grail for autoflowers soils will never happen.