Tricks of the Trade

BCbakedlife · Apr 22, 2009

I've spent quite a bit of time cruising through this and other sites looking for extra things to add to my plants to make them healthier and produce bigger crops. so far i've found a few very interesting things:
1: adding some moleassus to your water increases yields ( by a lot, so i hear)
2: using fruit skin ashes ( banana, cantalope, apple, orange, etc...) provides nutrients that would be tricky to get otherwise
3: adding raw sugar or brown sugar, honey or other natural things that are filled with sugars is great for plants too!

please add to the list! not just things to feed your plants, but if you have other good tips that increase yields and produce a healthy plant, then please contribute :peace:

doowmd · Apr 23, 2009

I read that putting some fish at the bottom of your plant bed really gives them a boost when the roots reach em'. Just dig a 2-3ft hole, place fish, fish guts, etc. (I'm trying canned salmon to see how it works) at the bottom of the hole, place 1-1.5ft of dirt on top of it, then place plant on top of that. I read that doing this eliminates the need for fertilizer for the life of the plant.

Mose · Apr 23, 2009

Number one tip that changed my experience from frustration to having some success:

Get a digital pH meter and a digital TDS meter. Learn to pH your water and runoff and how to adjust your water and soil mix to maintain pH.

Your pH is like mama - if mama ain't happy, ain't nobody happy!

dageta · Apr 23, 2009

im a noob so let me know how it goes, but one thing i heard was the molasses was the sugar substitute? lemme know if you find that out thnx in advance

FilthyFletch · Apr 23, 2009

I would never add suagr to any grow as it will mold and cause insects to come in. What your after are carbs which molasses at 2 table spoons a gallon will take care of that but only for flowering. co2 enrichment done correct can increase yield by up to 80%. Humbodlt additves like purple max and gravity make more buds that are heavy and rock hard. Grotek super H2o2 in a res grows masive roots from the extra O2 which makes bigger buds.Nytrozyme misting makes more bud sites and increase females from seed.adding silica to a hydro setup is a great way to help plants grow fast and healthy. And for soil adding bat guano or Humus makes excellent buds

GoldenGanja13 · Apr 23, 2009

Mose said:
Number one tip that changed my experience from frustration to having some success:

Get a digital pH meter and a digital TDS meter. Learn to pH your water and runoff and how to adjust your water and soil mix to maintain pH.

Your pH is like mama - if mama ain't happy, ain't nobody happy!

Best tip on the page!

iloveit · Apr 23, 2009

Mose said:
Number one tip that changed my experience from frustration to having some success:

Get a digital pH meter and a digital TDS meter. Learn to pH your water and runoff and how to adjust your water and soil mix to maintain pH.

Your pH is like mama - if mama ain't happy, ain't nobody happy!

Im used to hydro can you briefly explain how to do a run off test please?
If I ph my water to 6.5 & the run off is lower/higher what does that mean & what should it come to?

Please reply no-body has explained this runoff test for soil.

Vagitarian · Apr 23, 2009

doowmd said:
I read that putting some fish at the bottom of your plant bed really gives them a boost when the roots reach em'. Just dig a 2-3ft hole, place fish, fish guts, etc. (I'm trying canned salmon to see how it works) at the bottom of the hole, place 1-1.5ft of dirt on top of it, then place plant on top of that. I read that doing this eliminates the need for fertilizer for the life of the plant.

from what i have heard thats is a terrible idea when looked at short term. The applicable use is to do that but a year before actual growing. because your plants need the amino acids and proteins in the fish, not the problems and complications that come with having rotting material in their soil!

mismos00 · Apr 23, 2009

iloveit said:
Im used to hydro can you briefly explain how to do a run off test please?
If I ph my water to 6.5 & the run off is lower/higher what does that mean & what should it come to?

Please reply no-body has explained this runoff test for soil.

To flush I just use straight tap water (which has a 7 PH) and test the first bit of run off. If your going to have any issues, it will 9 times out of 10 be a PH which is too low. If it is too low, keep running water through your medium. After a couple of gallons of water has gone through, recheck the PH, it should be higher. If you need to make it higher still run a few more gallons of water through it and retest.

After all that, if the plant is close to harvest I leave it - otherwise if the plant has a while to go - I'll feed it at half strength so there are some nutes in there.

Mose · Apr 23, 2009

iloveit said:
Im used to hydro can you briefly explain how to do a run off test please?
If I ph my water to 6.5 & the run off is lower/higher what does that mean & what should it come to?

Please reply no-body has explained this runoff test for soil.

The difference in the water going in and the water coming out lets you know if your soil runs acidic or alkaline, and the runoff shows you what pH your plants are sitting in.

From what I've read, the optimal pH for nutrient uptake in soil is 6.8, so you can adjust the pH of your water until the runoff shows the pH you want it to show.

A digital meter is the only way to do this accurately.

iloveit · Apr 23, 2009

mismos00 said:
To flush I just use straight tap water (which has a 7 PH) and test the first bit of run off. If your going to have any issues, it will 9 times out of 10 be a PH which is too low. If it is too low, keep running water through your medium. After a couple of gallons of water has gone through, recheck the PH, it should be higher. If you need to make it higher still run a few more gallons of water through it and retest.

After all that, if the plant is close to harvest I leave it - otherwise if the plant has a while to go - I'll feed it at half strength so there are some nutes in there.

Thanks so much now I can finally check the run off of my mother plant, at what range would you recommend I PH my Blueberry mother (dutch passion) plant at?

iloveit · Apr 23, 2009

Mose said:
The difference in the water going in and the water coming out lets you know if your soil runs acidic or alkaline, and the runoff shows you what pH your plants are sitting in.

From what I've read, the optimal pH for nutrient uptake in soil is 6.8, so you can adjust the pH of your water until the runoff shows the pH you want it to show.

A digital meter is the only way to do this accurately.

I PH my mother plant at 6.5 but at what range would you recommend I PH my Blueberry mother (dutch passion) plant at?

BCbakedlife · Apr 23, 2009

yeah i wouldn't mind finding out what my PH levels are sitting at, but i dont have enough money to buy anything like that.

by the way: i'm growing outdoors and right now i have 2 (unknown strain) indicas growing , though they are 3 weeks old and look barely 2. ive got 5 good clones coming in that will allready be about a foot tall, im unsure of the age.

DodgeDread · Apr 23, 2009

by far the cheapest ph tester is litmus paper, then a liquid testing solution and then onto probes and digital testers etc at the expensive end, you should test your original water, water with nutes in and your run-off

FilthyFletch · Apr 24, 2009

I get my digital ph pens for about $15 shipped to me. Mydigital ppm/ec meter was $30 shipped...ps I love BB but damn she is hard to grow. Hardest strain i ever have grown and cloning is another whole story.. smokes so nice though lol good luck post some good finished pics

Mose · Apr 24, 2009

I don't know specific needs of Blueberry, if any. You should be able to find some grows of it on here and see what they did...

And yeah, you don't have to get the really expensive digital pH and TDS pens for a small operation. You can get them for about $20, but you'll need to calibrate them more often than expensive ones.

iloveit · Apr 24, 2009

Mose said:
I don't know specific needs of Blueberry, if any. You should be able to find some grows of it on here and see what they did...

And yeah, you don't have to get the really expensive digital pH and TDS pens for a small operation. You can get them for about $20, but you'll need to calibrate them more often than expensive ones.

I have a digital PH & PPM/MS pen which I use for my hydro setup, but my mother plant is in soil the last time I did a run off was about 2 months ago Ill do it again but I just need to know what the PH & PPM should be set at. If anyone knows then please reply.

Thanks Mose.

BCbakedlife · Apr 26, 2009

ok ive got another one:
alphalfa! you can buy it in pellet form at pet stores, very cheap! pound it into a more powdery form and mix with water, let sit for 3 days with mixing. i read a post claiming it works very well :hump:

FilthyFletch · Apr 27, 2009

My $20 ph meter and tds meters i check for calibration once a week and adjust about.05 once a year as they stay right at the ph calibration solution levels when checked. Your soil ph run off depends on the soil. SHould be somewhere in the 6.5-7 ish range. PPm should fall into your nutes makers guildine feeding chart

Tricks of the Trade

BCbakedlife

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doowmd

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Mose

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dageta

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FilthyFletch

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GoldenGanja13

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iloveit

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Vagitarian

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mismos00

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Mose

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iloveit

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iloveit

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BCbakedlife

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DodgeDread

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FilthyFletch

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Mose

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iloveit

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BCbakedlife

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FilthyFletch

Mr I Can Do That For Half