PPM discussion and importance.

so...parts per million? i dont use a ppm meter, but i am investing in one shortly. so what brought about this post, is when i first started growing...i was told what size pot to use ( 3 gallon ) what kind of dirt to buy, and nutrients. ( FFOF and whole nute line-up ) first fe grows went well, without a hitch then i started getting bored, and experimenting : topping, FIMM, LST, and even scrog...i even did the 12/12 from seed, and i grew in 32. oz cups...the 32 oz cups gave me more problems then i can think of, and i was using 1/4 strength everything per gallon of water...yet i always ended up overfeeding, or something and getting deficiencys...that i tried my best to fix, and i never had yeild issues, but anyway...wouldnt the PPM have to change if growing in something with less parts? or smaller pot? anyway i am back to 3 gal. scrog...but i loved doing the SOG thing, but i will not go back to having scanky looking plants...so the question really is would i need a lower ppm all around in a smaller container? or should it not matter? if i can get a successful completely healthy sog in my cups, i would love it.

The PPM only give you a rough idea of how much dissolved salts are in your nutrient solution. In a soil system its good to know what you are feeding it, but at the same time your ideal ppm could be completely different from someone elses because of strain and soil composition.

So if your soil is comprised of materials that grab salts, you'll overfeed it easier. If your soil is made of materials that don't grab salt(i.e perlite/vermiculte/etc), it will just drain out the bottom washing it away, but you need to find this nice and happy medium between the AMOUNT of water you use in your waterings/feedings in respect to the amount of nutrients in your water...its not something people can just tell someone "hey 1000 ppm for the 6th week into flower"...because if they are dumping 5 gallons of water into a 5 gallon pot every time they water...its getting washed away, and depending on the materials, some might stay behind...etc...

So in a nutshell there is only a right way to fertilize/water soil for the conditions you use, and only you will be able to figure it out with trial and error. Unlimed soil mixtures are harder to keep PH levels good, so you might be locking shit out and have too much of another nutrient available burning things...so you can dial in your ppm to your liking, and see how it reacts...if it reacts unfavorably then you know the next time to change it, but try and figure out the medium you are going to stay with for the most part and playing around with different mixtures can completely mess up what your feeding/nutrient schedule will end up being

Make sense I hope?

ya...totally makes sense...i am the type that likes to keep things on a schedule for the most part, so my waterings are the same, and so is my nutrients...i hate your trial and error response though, because it sucks having nice plants in one type of pot, and shitty looking ones in another, and not being able to dial that shit in...at any rate thanks for the quick and knowledgeable response.

gobskiii said:

ya...totally makes sense...i am the type that likes to keep things on a schedule for the most part, so my waterings are the same, and so is my nutrients...i hate your trial and error response though, because it sucks having nice plants in one type of pot, and shitty looking ones in another, and not being able to dial that shit in...at any rate thanks for the quick and knowledgeable response.

Click to expand...

Why not just use subcool's supersoil and either never have to fertilize or just a little towards the end?