Grow Mediums The Cave Toad Grow

[dcat0921]

One thing with DWC...you can't always go by the date range provided. I had one go 100 days and it was a 65 day strain. It's a good ballpark but don't get stuck on it.

 

[Cave Toad]

One thing with DWC...you can't always go by the date range provided. I had one go 100 days and it was a 65 day strain. It's a good ballpark but don't get stuck on it.

Good to know. I am going to do a water change, PPM has gotten pretty high and I think they may not be pulling up enough water. Some of the leaf edges are turning up but the temps and humidity are pretty good, 45-55% humidity and 75-78 deg with lights on. After that I think i'll just let them go at least another 11-12 days and see from there I think. I am going to have to start watching the height too and may have to start gently bending them or put in a low net I think. A couple are starting go pretty good.

 

[Cave Toad]

Ok, so I think I have a problem wit girl [HASHTAG]#2[/HASHTAG]. I was in taking pics today and from above she looks great but I decided to take a quick peak under her skirt and she all but flopped over. I looked a bit deeper and I it looks like the base of her stem is brown. Did I not get her deep enough in the pebbles and she's too wet? I did do some digging around and discovers that nearly all of my drip lines were plugged with roots so essentially they had not had very much water exchange for some period of time. Fixed now so hopefully things will get back on track. First big hiccup, just hope it doesn't cost me any plants.

 

[HotBunz]

I put about 2 gal of RO water in the res and it dropped the PPM from 930 to 830 over a couple of hours so they should get happier. It's tough because my tap water is about 300ppm and my RO is still about 100ppm. My first fill was almost all tap since there were no roots actually in the water yet, might have been a mistake on my part but I only get RO at about 3 gal/hr due to low line pressure so until I add a booster I have been trying to use as little as possible. My total water capacity is about 32 gal so a good 10 hrs to collect all RO. Might have to bite the bullet and do it though.

Cave Toad,

Why oh why are you running a PPM of 830? Even at day 27 a plant that size is no where ready to want that sort of PPM. This crazy PPM level is a big reason your plants are so far behind in development. This whole theory that things are slower in DWC is a myth in my opinion as I find the opposite to be true. The fact that you have not completely burned them to death is pure luck. What is your current PPM level? I would be willing to bet money your plants would be much happier at a PPM level down to 200PPM or lower. Forcing a higher PPM level is not going to make them take it, they will just shut down and lock it out all together. Seems you also have very hard water. Are you using a nute system that is made for hard water users? Take any feed chart you have and throw it away. Feed charts mean nothing to anyone but the person who made them. Listen to your plants they will tell you what they need....dont listen to a chart made for a different set up , different plants, different grower.


Both of the plants below are 25 days old. The first is my current Kushberry when she was 25 days old. She was barely at 300PPM at that stage. The second and third picture was my second Grape Crinkle at day 25. She was a monster and was up to 445PPM. Ignore the curled leaves as my RH runs very low (less than 25%) sometimes. The very last picture is my Kushberry as of yesterday day 66. She is barely up to 700PPM now and is over 4 feet tall.

 

[Cave Toad]

Cave Toad,

Why oh why are you running a PPM of 830? Even at day 27 a plant that size is no where ready to want that sort of PPM. This crazy PPM level is a big reason your plants are so far behind in development. This whole theory that things are slower in DWC is a myth in my opinion as I find the opposite to be true. The fact that you have not completely burned them to death is pure luck. What is your current PPM level? I would be willing to bet money your plants would be much happier at a PPM level down to 200PPM or lower. Forcing a higher PPM level is not going to make them take it, they will just shut down and lock it out all together. Seems you also have very hard water. Are you using a nute system that is made for hard water users? Take any feed chart you have and throw it away. Feed charts mean nothing to anyone but the person who made them. Listen to your plants they will tell you what they need....dont listen to a chart made for a different set up , different plants, different grower.


Both of the plants below are 25 days old. The first is my current Kushberry when she was 25 days old. She was barely at 300PPM at that stage. The second and third picture was my second Grape Crinkle at day 25. She was a monster and was up to 445PPM. Ignore the curled leaves as my RH runs very low (less than 25%) sometimes. The very last picture is my Kushberry as of yesterday day 66. She is barely up to 700PPM now and is over 4 feet tall.

Thanks Hotbunz!
I followed AN guide and even cut that way back, I am really starting to loss faith in them at this point. It seems that trying to follow their feeding guide is actually a big mistake. It looks like I need to add water anyways, been gone for a few days and the wife has been baby sitting, I have a minor issure to fix with my RO system but ass soon as I do I will do before and after PPM'S and let yo know where I'm at.

 

[HotBunz]

@Cave Toad That is why I can not stress enough to everyone .....DO NOT follow anyones written feeding schedule, they mean ZERO to you and YOUR plants. I have nothing against using a feed schedule as a guide for ratios of a suppliers nutes but to follow one "to a T" is only asking for trouble. You have to listen to your plants and that is why I check the PPM's and PH at least once a day and adjust as needed. If they don't want more don't give them more just because someone else's schedule says they did. On one of the other cannabis growing forums there was a new grower feeding their 4 week old seedlings 1,100PPM because they said a feeding schedule told them to. Their poor little plant was all but dead and looked like it was a week old due to being stunted so bad by nutes.

And I admit I don't have the brass for running 5 RDWC set up like you have. If I had 5 clones of the same strain no problem but 5 separate auto's seems to risky for plants wanting their own different feedings for me. My last two Mephisto Grape Crinkles ran different feeding needs that I would not have been able to keep happy with a RDWC even though they were the same strain.

 

[Muddy]

I have to agree, your ppms are way to high. I rarely get over about 500 (on the 500 scale) in full bloom. I suspect what you are seeing is a lockout caused from over fertilization. Lockout can look very much like a deficiency. At 3+ weeks old I would expect the ppms to be around 300 or so. That's why checking your pH and ppm daily is a good idea. When everything is balanced right you should see a slight rise in pH and a drop in ppm daily. If you're seeing the opposite, your nutes are too strong.

As to switching them from veg to bloom, wait until the vertical growth slows and stops. That usually happens around week 5-6. Even though they will have small buds by then, growth is still mostly vertical. Once that stops the plant then puts it's energy into fattening up the flowers. Also, don't go by the seed banks on timing. They generally underestimate the time it takes for autos to mature. They like saying less time as it's a good sales pitch. Most of my autos go at least 10 weeks with some going 12 or 13. From my recent batch of 6, 3 finished in 10 weeks, 2 in 11 and the last one is 12 weeks and still not finished.

 

[Cave Toad]

Hey every body, sorry for the delay in the update. Unfortunately one of the early girls that was doing great was lost, I think I made a big mistake in following the nutrient manufactures instructions as well as a couple of other thing and she paid the price. A few others are still trying to catch up and number 5 is for some reason growing like mad, go figure. The first set of pics are from day 33 and the second from 36.

 

[PlatinumLEDTom]

Bad ass setup @Cave Toad! Thanks for sharing! Can't wait to see how those girls fill out and frost up.

 

[dcat0921]

Wow man they are really taking off!! Looking good.