How to Read your Plants?

Illumination said:

That isn't accurate my friend.. I can think of one right off the top of my head :
amaranth palmeri

But it is a wondrous and unique plant...but botanically you grow it like most others...a big part of most people's problems, myself included is mystifying this species and making ourselves so certain that it is so different that the marketers can play upon it...the truth is it is a plant and from what I have been reading botanically it is one of the EASIER plants to grow!!!


Namaste'

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Serapis said:

As a plant encounters through various stages of growth in it's life cycle, it's needs for nutrients also may change. It goes without saying, a mature plant will drink up a lot more nutrients than a seedling. As the plant takes in nutrients, one of two things happen to the level of solids in the reservoir; they either go up, resulting in higher ppms because more water than nutrients were used, or the ppms go down, because the plant is taking in more nutrients than water.

The third possible outcome is the level, or ratio of nutrients to water doesn't change. This happens when the plant has found a perfect balance of nutrients and water. It is this perfect balance that we should all strive for.

How do I read my plants and determine the proper ratio of nutrients and water? Herein lies the answer, memory or good records. You see, in order to determine what the plant is trying to tell us today, we need to know where we set the ppm level from the day before. We can determine whether the plant took in more food or more water by comparing today's PPM reading with yesterday's reading.

Let's use an example. Our hypothetical plant is 3 weeks into flower and we are getting excited. Anticipation is setting in as we witness the first developments of flowers. Yesterday, after topping the reservoir with fresh water and nutrients, the PPMs were 1100. Today, the water level is down some, as expected, because the plant's using water. Today's reading indicates that the ppm level is at 1300! What happened? How did it jump 200 points overnight?

If the plant is taking in more water than nutrients, it indicates that the nute level is too high and the roots and leaves could be damaged. Imagine a glass of salt water placed on the table in front of you. You can't see the salt, but you can taste it. Now imagine that very same glass of water after about half of it evaporated. The salt won't evaporate, as it is a dissolved solid, therefore the water will seem saltier, but in reality, it's just not as diluted; the same level of salt exists today that was in the glass yesterday.

Getting back to our hypothetical situation, overnight, we lost enough water to increase the 'saltiness' of our plant's water. In this case, we want to add fresh water and dilute the ppms down a level. Since we gained 200 ppm overnight, I want to get it down to about 950-1000 ppm and see what she does the following day. If I wake up and read a PPM reading of 1000, I hit my magic number for now, and can keep the ppms at 1000 until my plant tells me otherwise.

To imagine the opposite reaction, imagine that same glass of salt water mysteriously gaining an inch or two of fresh water. The water will be less salty, meaning lower PPMs. That would indicate the plant can use more food. this is the opportunity to increase yields and growth, if done correctly. Learn to read what your plant is trying to tell you, and you'll both benefit greatly.

(I did not proof read this, please feel free to point out any error or needed clarification)

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TaoWolf said:

That's great info to know. But wanted to add that one can roughly do the same kind of thing by monitoring pH (for those without an EC/TDS meter...) in hydroponic systems. If you know the base pH of your water (usually slightly basic to neutral) and the base pH of your nutrients (almost always slightly acidic), the rise or fall of the pH will be reflected in the net amount of 'feeding' versus 'drinking'. A plant that is 'feeding' more than 'drinking' will tend to result in a rising pH (the acidic nutrients are being removed form solution faster than the basic/neutral water is being removed). Or a plant that is drinking more than it is feeding will tend to have a falling pH as the nutrient solution becomes more concentrated.

Just like with monitoring TDS/EC, once you find that sort of a sweet-spot with nutrient strength - pH should be relatively stable as well (the ratio of water to elements remains even as the plant drinks and feeds at the same rate).

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TaoWolf said:

That's great info to know. But wanted to add that one can roughly do the same kind of thing by monitoring pH (for those without an EC/TDS meter...) in hydroponic systems. If you know the base pH of your water (usually slightly basic to neutral) and the base pH of your nutrients (almost always slightly acidic), the rise or fall of the pH will be reflected in the net amount of 'feeding' versus 'drinking'. A plant that is 'feeding' more than 'drinking' will tend to result in a rising pH (the acidic nutrients are being removed form solution faster than the basic/neutral water is being removed). Or a plant that is drinking more than it is feeding will tend to have a falling pH as the nutrient solution becomes more concentrated.

Just like with monitoring TDS/EC, once you find that sort of a sweet-spot with nutrient strength - pH should be relatively stable as well (the ratio of water to elements remains even as the plant drinks and feeds at the same rate).

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Yeah Right said:

First off, I'm sure this is even the right thread to post this in but hear goes. When I decided to take the plunge into growing, I did what a lot of us have done. I bought Ed Rosenthal's MJ Growers handbook. I read it, front to back, several times. I read HT magazine as I'm sure lots of you do. I scoured the web looking for stuff to start growing with on a budget. Side note: I too play guitar and you can go off the deep end with gear and not deliver Randy Rhodes results. Yada Yada right? So my first grow was bag seed and I posted it here. https://www.rollitup.org/newbie-central/394524-time-flush-first-grow.html I read a bunch, watched videos, read on nutes, organics, genetics, etc. My grand parents were excellent gardeners as they fed themselves for years with things most only dream of growing. I used common sense and went slow. My second venture with bag seed FAIL. Third adventure with bag seed FAIL. Fourth go and my first real journal is here. https://www.rollitup.org/grow-journals/419477-cfl-grow-l-confidential.html There are several of the most knowledgeable people in growing cannabis on this forum and in this thread. I guess my point being, if you want the best quality cannabis that be grown in your current situation you need to work at it and use common sense. To many people want to dive in headfirst with 1000w of fire hazard and zero idea of why and how plants even grow. Thanks Riddle, Uncle Ben, Hobbes and way to many other with genuine advice that's purely common sense. Not trying to plug my threads or links, but in my new grow I'm slightly paranoid about a lighter green mottling within the leaves on my LA Con. But she really does look healthy otherwise. If you could glance at the later pics in that thread and give an opinion it would be cool.

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boneheadbob said:

Mister Riddle!!
I am a new MM cardholder from AZ. Thanks for all the great stuff you have taken the time to post.
I have noticed that people can grow dank doing it this way or doing it that way and you can usually find someone who swears by doing things a different way which works well for them.

My question is about lightleaks. I read where you have TV playing, house lights getting turned on, probaly lots of bright led lights on your entertainment stuff, (they get real bright after you have sat in the dark for ten minutes.

Is my memory correct about your statement? I appreciate more info on this. I admit to being a newbie, nonetheless my gut is telling me its overblown.

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boneheadbob said:

Illumination

I did my best however once in awhile I may not close things up as well as I should. I was also just curious. Riddle seems to know what he is doing and I wanted to hear more about his thoughts.
Should I PM him? I have not PMed anyone yet being a newbie and anything I need to say can be said here.

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boneheadbob said:

Mister Riddle!!
I am a new MM cardholder from AZ. Thanks for all the great stuff you have taken the time to post.
I have noticed that people can grow dank doing it this way or doing it that way and you can usually find someone who swears by doing things a different way which works well for them.

My question is about lightleaks. I read where you have TV playing, house lights getting turned on, probaly lots of bright led lights on your entertainment stuff, (they get real bright after you have sat in the dark for ten minutes.

Is my memory correct about your statement? I appreciate more info on this. I admit to being a newbie, nonetheless my gut is telling me its overblown.

Click to expand...