So your claim is people don’t need to adjust at all for RO water? And use 600ppm in dwc? Ok buddy.
phosphorous or magnesium deficiency
- Thread starter Hollatchaboy
- Start date
Why is it a choice? Feed the right amount. It’s like saying murder is worse than rape.
Kassiopeija
Well-Known Member
yes, you are right, but when one doesn't know the correct formulae it's better IMO to stay a bit lower than go too high... if you overdo, plant may be stunted for some longer time than just having a few yellow lower leaves that will get lollipopped away, anyway... also, too high of something may cause other things to lock out and then the plant is in a state of both. May not be that prolonged in hydro, yes, real advantage there...
Also in their natural habitate, lots of plants won't get this high amounts of electrolytes because they have other plants rivalling for their food and what not... that's even one evolutionairy consequence expressed by Darwin (too much offspring + limited resources)... so they're more used to deal with that and "know" more strategies against that (like, to store nutes in leaves and draw from them in times of need).... although, it's not as clear-cut as it may appear now with just a few sentences... plants ofc can deal with "too much"... usually in the form of unwanted minerals like Na... store them or spit them out... (the storage may end up in our weed...)
there's this famously known "law of minimum"... but there's also a "law of optimum"... here's some diagrams illustrating that...
both charts tie the EC-strength to plantgrowth... the first only for N... the second overall... in the second the "luxury consume" is actually near the optimum... so there is some margin to what we do (phew
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I just see a lot of people taken it to the extreme and a lot of underfed plants on these forums. I still believe that new growers should break a few eggs to speak and learn what is too much and not to fear it, start low and increase. Obviously they have to have the right ratios to begin with, you don't want to be adding in 300 cal-mag for example, or at least I wouldn't.
Twohearted
Well-Known Member
I don't want to get in the middle of the dispute that is playing out here, so I am just addressing the original concerns of the OP about his plant.
I believe that the plant is being over fed and that is causing lockout of other nutrients giving the appearance of a deficiency, which technically lockout due to overfeeding is a deficiency.
I would recommend draining your reservoir and refilling it with 1/3-1/2 the strength solution you were using across the board, CalMag included. By the time the plant is that size in veg you should be fine with lower CalMag levels until flowering.
Based on the tone of this thread someone will probably yell me down and call me an idiot, but this is just my opinion.
I have grown some very nice crops in DWC so I do have a bit of experience with this particular issue.
Good luck, I hope ya can get her healthy!
I believe that the plant is being over fed and that is causing lockout of other nutrients giving the appearance of a deficiency, which technically lockout due to overfeeding is a deficiency.
I would recommend draining your reservoir and refilling it with 1/3-1/2 the strength solution you were using across the board, CalMag included. By the time the plant is that size in veg you should be fine with lower CalMag levels until flowering.
Based on the tone of this thread someone will probably yell me down and call me an idiot, but this is just my opinion.
I have grown some very nice crops in DWC so I do have a bit of experience with this particular issue.
Good luck, I hope ya can get her healthy!
Twohearted
Well-Known Member
Another thing to consider:
Are you draining the solution regularly, or just refilling the reservoir?
Plants don't use the nutrient solution in a linear way, they take what they need out of it. This means that if the solution is not replaced frequently that the EC and nutrient balance in the reservoir will end up very different than the fresh nutrient solution being added.
Are you draining the solution regularly, or just refilling the reservoir?
Plants don't use the nutrient solution in a linear way, they take what they need out of it. This means that if the solution is not replaced frequently that the EC and nutrient balance in the reservoir will end up very different than the fresh nutrient solution being added.
Twohearted
Well-Known Member
Maybe selective eating is not the best way to phrase it.
When you drink a glass of orange juice you consume it as it is, sugar, acid, pulp etc.
Your body can't choose to consume more sugar and leave some of the acid behind or vice versa, it just drinks the juice.
A plant however can selectively uptake different elements of the nutrient solution at different levels based on what in needs at the moment.
This is especially true in any type of hydroponic growing system.
This is how over time the nutrient solution will become unbalanced if not fully replaced often.
When you drink a glass of orange juice you consume it as it is, sugar, acid, pulp etc.
Your body can't choose to consume more sugar and leave some of the acid behind or vice versa, it just drinks the juice.
A plant however can selectively uptake different elements of the nutrient solution at different levels based on what in needs at the moment.
This is especially true in any type of hydroponic growing system.
This is how over time the nutrient solution will become unbalanced if not fully replaced often.
Hollatchaboy
Well-Known Member
I run my ppms at about 550 normally.... never over 600. I only upped it because I thought i had mag deficiency.
Hollatchaboy
Well-Known Member
So I don't see how I could have had over nuted.
Hollatchaboy
Well-Known Member
Before the beginning of the week...i upped it Monday
But you said 300 of that 600 is cal-mag. Bad balance. You need the right balance and the right strength because unlike what’s being suggested, they uptake whatever has a charge if they need it or not. So feed less of the cal-mag but more overall.
and 600 in dwc is very much on the low side to what growers use. Don’t know many commercial growers who would do that.
and 600 in dwc is very much on the low side to what growers use. Don’t know many commercial growers who would do that.
Hollatchaboy
Well-Known Member
Normally 200 - 250 ppm on the cal mag...i upped it cuz i thought mag deficiency... that's why I started the thread... thought maybe some more insight on if that's what it might possibly be.
Renfro
Well-Known Member
Always use calmag with RO water. Don't flush, thats just prolonging starvation. Add your cal mag then base to 1000 - 1100, pH it and use.
Hollatchaboy
Well-Known Member
How much cal mag you figure? Just the amount listed on the bottle?
Hollatchaboy
Well-Known Member
And should i give the roots a good rinse with ph'd water?
Twohearted
Well-Known Member
This is from Canna Gardening, and I think covers what I was referencing.
"The proportions (ratio) of the various nutrient elements are more important for recirculating systems then with any other system. This is because the plant directly influences the composition of the nutrient. Not all nutrients are absorbed with equal ease by the plant. Potassium (K), for example, is absorbed much more easily than Calcium. In a recirculating nutrient solution, the potassium concentration will drop much faster while calcium might accumulate. Another important aspect of the nutrient is the type of nitrogen. If nitrogen is offered in the form of nitrate, the absorption of potassium and calcium will be stimulated while at the same time the pH in the nutrient solution rises; if nitrogen is offered chiefly in the form of ammonium, the result will be the opposite."
here is the whole article linked for reference
Growing on recirculating systems | CANNA Gardening USA
There are a few things you have to take into account when you're growing on a recirculating system. You need good water quality, the right composition of nutrients and the right temperature in your grow room.
Based on the info here I would also agree with DaFreak that the OP is using far too much CalMag based on his feeding ratio. The high CalMag is likely causing other nutrients to be locked out, and then causing further imbalance in the nutrient solution. Remember that PPM is just an overall valuation of dissolved solids, so even at a low PPM there could still be a toxic level of one or even several nutrients.
Based on this additional information I feel pretty confident in my original diagnosis and suggested treatment.
Good luck!
Hollatchaboy
Well-Known Member
But should the roots be rinsed 1st