Not sure if this is the right place, but I wanted to share my experience this year. I had a LOT of issues as I started my first-ever grow in February. With help from the many wonderful people here, I was able to harvest my first plant in May of this year. I had some decent results but wanted to regrow the same strains and see how they would do with better grow techniques (after lots of moderate nute lockouts). I just tested my second Meph Skywalker and there is NO COMPARISON to the first plant. Strength, intensity of the high, smoothness of the smoke. Complete 180. And this is barely out of the dry tent compared to couple month cure of the the first plant.
So, as we all work to get to be better and better growers, know that the effort really pays off in quality (and if you’re less-than-overwhelmed with your initial results, don’t panic: you’ll rapidly see better results with experience). So worth all the work!
it's the right spot, and the right kind of shared experience info folks like to see!
The learning curve is always steeper than it looks mate, and I'd say working your nute's is one of the most difficult aspects of being a new grower... there's a lot to juggle between the medium used, the brand of nutes, learning to use a pH and TDS/EC meter properly plus what to do with that info -
...much less what sort of corrective actions are to be taken!
I ran the Infirmary here for years, and can say so much orbits around your nutes strength, pH of that solution AND actual in-pot pH (best measured by a probe made for this, run-off testing is basically bollocks), and how to adjust that over the phases and size of your girls...
The last nutrient line I tried was Prescription Blend (they are here!), a 6-part system that I found to be one of the best out there. What I liked most was not just the quality, but the way the parts were split up... It allowed easy adjustment to inputs if needed, and 2 of the parts made for excellent foliar applications!
This is a very underrated method to help give the plants a nice supplemental boost, and well as a methodology for treating pests and deficiencies. It's a must-know IMO! Nothing complex at all really.... All you need is a good sprayer (pump is best), a wetting agent and some practice is getting proper even coverage of the leaves, top and bottom! Undersides of leaves have more stomata that top, and that's the only way in via leaves ordinarily (while in solution)...
Another route to consider, which I recommend highly to beginners is using a "water only" soil, RTU or an amendment you add in and let cook for a bit.. I've been running KIS Organics Nutrient Pack dry amendment the last 2 years, and I love it!
I put water-only in quotes because it's not exactly true, for best results at least,... some things like Si, kelp, inoculants, micronutes, humic-fulvic, molasses (or other carb' type product) are smart to add in on regular, occasional basis... I also like to use a PK booster during bloom to help cover what's been depleted during veg', and so fatten the goods up better!
It's simple: use a high quality soil, or even soilless (like ProMix; coco is too much of a bitch to deal with, stay away from that for now); add in the amendment, and let cook for a couple few weeks someplace warm. it's a bit hot for seedlings this way, so when sowing into the final pot, leave a core pocket empty (about 1L/qt volume) of mild soil to sow into... I like 24-32oz cups for this; just place into the pot when filling it, top level with final soil line, then remove it and fill in with mild stuff-- done!
Soil choices will vary with what you can get or willing to pay for (shipping in particular), but stay away from Fox Farms crap and any cheapo hardware store stuff, nothing but a shit-show contained inside those!
I believe KIS and SoHum have RTU water-only type soils as well.... Anyway, something to chew on!
