General Hydroponics Veterans: Some Questions for You!

Method: LST SCROG Cabinet Grow

Cycle: Clones put straight into flower upon rooting.

Lighting: 4 x 150W HPS over about 16 sq. Ft of SCROG

Hydro System: Low pressure Aero / NFT Hybrid

Nutrients: General Hydroponics Advanced Recirculating Program (using everything except for root shield) Do a Florakleen flush and tank change every 10 days.

Air Temp: 80-85

Res Temp: 70-75

Humidity: 40%-60%

Currently I run at normal bloom for the first 10 days, and then I run aggressive bloom through the rest of my cycle. I have noticed nute burn occasionally if my res water level gets too low, however since I've kept on top of that, that's gone away. So far I've seen good results, however I've wanted to change my program a bit. I was wondering if any of you Gen Hydro Vets out there have found programs that have worked for you through experimentation to give me a good place to start. I plan on running as many experiments as possible, because I'm a loser and I like to learn stuff. That said, I'd like to learn more about the GH line from people who've used it.

1. Does the "advanced" stuff and all the supplements really make that much of a difference? Some people suggest just going with the big 3: grow, micro and bloom.

2. Should I start out with something other than bloom even though I'm dropping them straight into 12/12? I try not to nuke them (or waste nutes) on plants with small root systems.

3. Is ripen a good switch for the week before final flushing?

4. Is the Floranectar sweetener a waste of time, or is it worth the $60 a gallon?

I'd love to hear anything else you've learned about GH products as well.

Thanks!

1. Does the "advanced" stuff and all the supplements really make that much of a difference? Some people suggest just going with the big 3: grow, micro and bloom.

The advanced/expert program does yield the best results. I started with just the 3 part system and slowly added the extra supplements round after round, to see if they made a difference. They absolutely do! You'll get better yields and a more resinous product.

2. Should I start out with something other than bloom even though I'm dropping them straight into 12/12? I try not to nuke them (or waste nutes) on plants with small root systems.

Follow the suggested GH feeding program and tweak to your plant's needs. I've found that some strains get too tall so I don't use floraGro in flowering, which is used in the GH transition phase. Some strains need that extra N to get to a good height. It's a case-by-case situation.

3. Is ripen a good switch for the week before final flushing?

I start my ripen program 2-3 away from harvest. So I'll use KoolBloom dry and the other suggested additives at their suggested rates for the last 2-3 weeks or so.

4. Is the Floranectar sweetener a waste of time, or is it worth the $60 a gallon?

I used floranectar for 6 months or so (probably went through 2 jugs) and found that I like Botanicare's Sweet better than this GH product. I even did a side-by-side with these two products. Sweet is a more stable product and produces a measurable result after proper use.

I'd love to hear anything else you've learned about GH products as well.

In the aggressive flowering phase, I've found that the liquid KoolBloom rates in addition to their 20mls/gallon of FloraBloom tends to burn some plants. I never go over 15mls/gallon of Florabloom and will even cut that back a touch in order to use the suggested KoolBloom rates.

Make sure your pH is in-check and you'll produce this quality:

Day 23:





Just about done:

Thanks for the great info! That right there gives me some good info for my next cycle. +rep

I did see a slight burning too with aggressive, however I've cured that by making sure my res never drops below it's calculated "full" level, instead of filling to there and letting it drop. I figured I was letting the ppms get too high as the plants consumed water faster than the nutrients.

It does get hard to follow the GH program when I'm dropping straight into flower, so I'll have to experiment a bit.

Theory: I'm wondering if the seedling mix would be best for the fresh clones for the first 10 days to keep from nuking them and stressing them early. I figure also it'll conserve nutrients because the plants can't consume that much while their root systems are still tiny. By week 2-3 the root systems are huge and can take in tons of stuff, so I could then go all out.

I would definitely withhold anything grow after the first 10 days because these bad boys are already maxing out the cabinet space after LST scrogging. Fortunately it's just about right and I'm utilizing all of my space