Hydro question on feeding

Have used FF soil in the past. Going to use Sunshine mix #4. I will be in veg and flower in 3 gallon pots. Growing 6 Liberty Haze under 1000w. I am totally unfamiar with where to go from there. I know that I should first use Calmag in the RO water. I will be using Foxfarms grow big for veg and big bloom for flower along with Tiger bloom. What kind of feeding schedule should I have? When using a soil less mix I would assume I need to fertilize every day when I water them. What would that look like? I also know that I should be checking Ph when I mix the ferts. Also, would I be checking EC and PPM or is that specifically for a "real" hydro grow where water is flowing. Any help is apreciated.

Not sure you need to water every day. Are you sure Sunshine mix in a 3 gallon pot will dry out overnight?

I suggest nutrients one time, and ph'd water in between nutrient feedings. I would monitor wetness of medium before watering every day.

It might be a good idea to mix solution according to bottle directions. Then check ppm to see if it is a good strength for you. Most times merely following the directions on the bottles works fine.

ph at 5.8-6.0

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Originally Posted by turksteelman

Have used FF soil in the past. Going to use Sunshine mix #4. I will be in veg and flower in 3 gallon pots. Growing 6 Liberty Haze under 1000w. I am totally unfamiar with where to go from there. I know that I should first use Calmag in the RO water. I will be using Foxfarms grow big for veg and big bloom for flower along with Tiger bloom. What kind of feeding schedule should I have? When using a soil less mix I would assume I need to fertilize every day when I water them. What would that look like? I also know that I should be checking Ph when I mix the ferts. Also, would I be checking EC and PPM or is that specifically for a "real" hydro grow where water is flowing. Any help is apreciated.

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a good rule of thumb with a soiless medium like sunshine mix is feed-water-feed-water. Just alternate them back and forth, making sure that all solution given to the plants is within proper ph range. If you see signs of overfertalization, tone it down a notch. Be cautious with the cal mag when you get into flower, the extra nitrogen it provides will sometimes give you the dreaded "claw" on your buds. The thing to understand is that the plant will tell you what it wants. It just takes a while to learn each strain.

this is a hydro grow btw.

"Hydroponics is a subset of hydroculture and is a method of growing plants using mineral nutrient solutions, in water, without soil."

It make look like dirt to the average person but its not. It contains no nutrients for the plant to absorb. With my experience with sunshine mix, I would aim for a good 6.0-6.5 when it comes to ph. This allows the mycorhizzae to colonize and help your plant absorb nutrients. If you drop the ph too low you kill off those wonderful benies and render them useless.

I did not think that Nitrogen was an ingredient in clamag; So I went to the Botanicare homesite. From the Botanicare website: Ingredients of calmag 2-0-0: Cal-Mag Plus contains: calcium, magnesium, iron, boron, zinc, manganese, molybdenum, copper, cobalt, iodine, beneficial vitamins, twenty essential amino acids and select botanical plant extracts.

To be honest; Now that I read all the ingredients. this is more of a Micro formula. IN the greenhouse we use Calcium Nitrate, and Magnesiuim sulphate, so I don't add Calcium and Magnesium to my custom Micro mix, but, this is
basically the same ingredients in most micro mixes.

My Micro ingredients are Chelated Manganese, Chelated Zinc, Boron, Molybdate, and Chelated Copper. Calcium and Magnesium are sipplied as mentioned above.

Still don't know where the 2% of Nitrogen comes from on the bottle label.

Anyway; I don't believe you would need to worry about that as long as you are lowering the amnount of part A or the Nitrogen in your mix, as you should be in flower.

Thanks everyone. Went to the hydro store today and picked up an EC meter. I should be good to go once I wire my room.

Hey buddy, just caught my eye you're using Sunshine #4. Imo, it holds waaay too much water. Be wary of over-watering! I switched to Rainforest blend because it drains so well...
I've heard a million things about soil grows lol but this is what works for me. I fertilize every other day with half-strength nutrients, and give plain water the other days. I flush before transition (less stretch) and before taking cuttings. I use water only the last 10 days or so. Never have problems with nute burn, root rot, or soil chemistry if you are consistent and err on the side of 'less' when it comes to nutes.
If you're using RO water, don't worry about checking pH (IMOO!) because the nutrients are pH balanced and as soon as you add them the water takes on their value. If using tap water you will need pH down. I use tap water and pH my nutrient solution to 5.8. I wouldn't worry about TDS or EC at all.
p.s. use 5 gallon pots!

I disagree with telling someone not to worry about TDS or EC. It is a very good idea to keep up with the strength of your run off in soil type grows. Not to mention that if you mix nutes you need to know how strong they are.

Also. Once in flower, never mix nutes 1/2 strength. If it were meant to be applied that way, the instructions would read that way. When I grow a soil type grow using a mix like foxfarm; I do not add nutrients in veg at all generally. I start to add nutrients when I change photperiod.

Here's a question.... I ended up germing 10 Liberty Haze which are under a 400w MH thru veg. I then plan to use a 1000w HPS for flower. I was going to scrog but am thinking I may get in trouble with that many plants. The other option is to SOG them or just let them grow with some cutting. What would you do if you had this situation?

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Originally Posted by turksteelman

Here's a question.... I ended up germing 10 Liberty Haze which are under a 400w MH thru veg. I then plan to use a 1000w HPS for flower. I was going to scrog but am thinking I may get in trouble with that many plants. The other option is to SOG them or just let them grow with some cutting. What would you do if you had this situation?

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Well; 1st you need to know that SOG is only done with clones, because they will all be the same height, approx.

SCROG would still be a good option, because that is the point of SCROG. Tying down branches in order to all all budsites to get equal light.

How big is your space? how big is your screen?

Most times; When the main kola/stem gets too close to lamp; I actually work the stem between my thumb abd forefinger and basically break it down and lay it over at the height of all the secondary kolas or canopy. This allows all kolas to grow as big as the main, and does not hurt the plant at all. The bend will heal into a knuckle and the plant will thrive tremendously. Sometimes people accidentally break a stem, but it is hanging on. Well just prop it up or hang it for support, and watch the magic happen. If it is really bad break; Wrap it in gauze with some wet tea leaves inside on the main wound.

My space is 8x11 feet or so. I plan to use a 5x5 foot square screen at the most as I only have 1000w HPS for flower.

Awesome. I use a 400mh for veg, and a 1000hps for flower. i think you can go 5-6' x 8' screen. Not only will a 1000w cover that space; You can move it back and forth daily over grow and get great results.

i would run it like a soil grow my friend...wait for them to show you what they want..

calcum nitrate is where it comes from.......

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Originally Posted by bitemybud

I did not think that Nitrogen was an ingredient in clamag; So I went to the Botanicare homesite. From the Botanicare website: Ingredients of calmag 2-0-0: Cal-Mag Plus contains: calcium, magnesium, iron, boron, zinc, manganese, molybdenum, copper, cobalt, iodine, beneficial vitamins, twenty essential amino acids and select botanical plant extracts.

To be honest; Now that I read all the ingredients. this is more of a Micro formula. IN the greenhouse we use Calcium Nitrate, and Magnesiuim sulphate, so I don't add Calcium and Magnesium to my custom Micro mix, but, this is
basically the same ingredients in most micro mixes.

My Micro ingredients are Chelated Manganese, Chelated Zinc, Boron, Molybdate, and Chelated Copper. Calcium and Magnesium are sipplied as mentioned above.

Still don't know where the 2% of Nitrogen comes from on the bottle label.

Anyway; I don't believe you would need to worry about that as long as you are lowering the amnount of part A or the Nitrogen in your mix, as you should be in flower.

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Thanks, but I do not see Calcium Nitrate listed. I make my greenhouse nutrient solution from scratch and buy 50 lb. bags of Calcium Nitrate and other minerals.

So where do you get Calcium Nitrate in that list of ingredients. Just wondering. Sorry for taking the thread sideways :D

Hydro grows don't use potting soil. They are soiless grows. You just use something to hold the plant, like hydroton, rockwool, rapid rooter. When growing in potting soil let the soil dry out some before you water again. Certainly don't water every day. You might not have to fertilize at all for the first week or so. You might want to ask the maker of the soil if there is fertilizer already in the soil and about how long it will be good for before you have to fertilize.

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Originally Posted by drudown11

a good rule of thumb with a soiless medium like sunshine mix is feed-water-feed-water. Just alternate them back and forth, making sure that all solution given to the plants is within proper ph range. If you see signs of overfertalization, tone it down a notch. Be cautious with the cal mag when you get into flower, the extra nitrogen it provides will sometimes give you the dreaded "claw" on your buds. The thing to understand is that the plant will tell you what it wants. It just takes a while to learn each strain.

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Good response, although reading your post I wanted to comment for other newbies.
I got the "claw" effect when I transferred a recently rooted clone into 5.6 pH de-chlorinated tap which had no nutes added at all(40 ppm). There was no nutrient or pH changes, although, there was a temp/humidity/airflow change moving to the new environment.
Just curious if your experiences also had changes in temp or humidity. I'm sure that my plants had no excess nitrogen, just open stomas and more airflow. The 'claw' effect can also because by other stressors.