Nutrient absorbation rate as a function of nutrient concentration

[Throwgar]

I don't think I've ever read anything about this. Does a plant take up more nutrients, leading to faster growth rate, when the nutrient concentration is higher?

I know there's a maximum concentration any plant can take before it burns, and there's a minumum concentration needed to support vigorus growth, but I'm interested if anything over the low end is necessary. Should I shoot for giving the plant as much food as possible, without burning it, or just enough to let it do it's thing?

Consider two identical plants with identical root systems, will one always grow faster if the nutrient concentration in the medium is relatively higher?

 

[supermanlives]

can god create a rock that he couldent move?

 

[Sick]

I would say take two of the same plants give one just what it needs when it shows nute defecs and one that you over dose. Then you can see what your run will yeild with little to no nutes compaired to heavy nutes.

 

[Throwgar]

I would say take two of the same plants give one just what it needs when it shows nute defecs and one that you over dose. Then you can see what your run will yeild with little to no nutes compaired to heavy nutes.

I have been doing this. I started out pushing 2000 ppm into Green Crack, and the tips just started to turn brown. I've been lowering it from there, now I'm at 1600 ppm and haven't noticed any difference in yield. Should I just keep lowering the nutes until I notice a difference?

Is it better to be on the high end or low end of feeding capacity?

 

[Throwgar]

Humpy Bumpy

 

[sudsandbuds]

try different methods of feeding with it, i just read a real interesting article about foliar feeding and how the leaves can take up more nutes then the root system when the soils to wet etc etc. look into it its pretty interesting. but with the spray method you dont want your ppm to be over 250 ppm i was told.
best of luck!

 

[Throwgar]

can god create a rock that he couldent move?

No?

 

[grapeman]

I don't think I've ever read anything about this. Does a plant take up more nutrients, leading to faster growth rate, when the nutrient concentration is higher?

I know there's a maximum concentration any plant can take before it burns, and there's a minumum concentration needed to support vigorus growth, but I'm interested if anything over the low end is necessary. Should I shoot for giving the plant as much food as possible, without burning it, or just enough to let it do it's thing?

Consider two identical plants with identical root systems, will one always grow faster if the nutrient concentration in the medium is relatively higher?

LOL . No. Higher concentration then recommended will only burn up your plants faster.

 

[hazeified]

Classic Dutch method is to push the ppms till the tips burn then back off a little, ive tried this recently and its interesting how much a plant can take when pushed.
Some strains dont like high ppms, Romulan I think is one.
Read the plant not the label, it will tell more than any meter.
H

 

[BlueberryLovr]

Plants will suck up whatever they need, assuming required substrates are available. Higher concentration serves to only burn, not accelerate growth.

 

[Bud Bug]

Too much salt in the medium/water will also keep water from entering the room system. Indica's like PK don't like lots of salts. They can take it but seems they don't produce as much as not pounding them with food.

 

[Yankee Grower]

Humpy Bumpy

Hey dude...haven't seen you in a loooooong time. It's Mountaintechne. Hope all is well for ya.

Is it better to be on the high end or low end of feeding capacity?

Low end. With salts I always liked to find the place where they were happy with the least amount I could give them. On the high end it just made for crappy smoke.

Consider two identical plants with identical root systems, will one always grow faster if the nutrient concentration in the medium is relatively higher?

Depends on if you're giving them more of something they need. Genetics plays a part here and so does environment like if you're indoors and running CO2 or not.

Was chatting with someone about their organic based hydro nute program and for the most part he was using less than recommended strength as instructed on the bottle (basically). He had 3 different nute concentrations/programs and each strain he had did better under a different regiment but none, if I'm remembering correctly, did well when he tried to jam food down their throats.

Part of it kind of comes down to what's missing or what the plant needs more of.

 

[ShroomDr]

can god create a rock that he couldent move?

Could Jesus microwave a burrito so hot that he himself could not eat it?


=================================
IMVHO pushing ppms to the limits is not optimal with certain substrates. Coco for example naturally releases K as it breaks down, and K Ca and Mg all compete with each other. Too much K interferes with Ca and Mg, too much Mg locks out Ca, etc. Just because 100-100-200 works fine, doesnt mean 125-125-250 is better. Knowing the ppm limit for a particular pheno may be important, but giving that pheno exactly what it wants is more important.

 

[Andyo]

high ec restricts water uptake

high ec restricts water uptake

ive run hydroton ebb/flow 15 years plus i found different ppm beneficial at different stages ,but the main advantage was at 30 days on 12/12 drop the nutes from 2000 ppm to 1500 ppm they take up feed faster and you can measure the drop in ppm in the tank .
finding a balance between nute and water up take .A

 

[TheBioMaster]

The answer is defiantly on the low side of the scale.

The plant has a layer on the root which is called the Casparian Strip and is paired with the endodermis layer.This Casparian strip forces EVERYTHING including carbs and amino acids through the endodermis layer to be actively selected or REJECTED for UPTAKE.

This is also why all those amino and carb products like Carboload for example is such a waste. The plant will easily uptake regular table sugar than it will complex carbs like polysacharides which are enormous in size and complexity.

 

[Throwgar]

What's up Yankee? Good to hear from you. I've got some tricks up my sleeve, just wait and see!

I've always had a feeling that pushing max nutes into a plant will adversely affect taste, but I haven't convinced myself of this quite yet. I'm just a little tentitive about cutting my feeding schedule in half with 4000 watts on the line. I think I'll be slowly lowering the ppm's from harvest to harvest.

 

[Yankee Grower]

What's up Yankee? Good to hear from you. I've got some tricks up my sleeve, just wait and see!

Good to see you still at it. If you don't mind me asking are you in the same digs? I pretty much remember what you had going then. Did you ever get that water issue straightened out?

One of the things to consider is how complete your program is. That's pretty easy with professionally made nute lines these days but your grow is only as strong as your weakest link. Then you got the genetic variations to consider.

Going back to the friend I mentioned he was basically using a Pure Blend Pro program with a few additions, not much, and pretty sure his strongest program was like 1/2 of the recommended dosage as listed on the label. I was pretty surprised when he told me that. He was kicking ass without CO2 and getting around 1.5 lbs per 1000. I know he was using Hammerhead PK booster. He just found plants did better when he ran on the low side.

Anyway...when I ran GH 3 part in rockwool was up around 2200 EC max. The program I used was given to me by a pro grower and switched to organic soil before I got to fiddle with it too much.

 

[Throwgar]

I'm putting the finishing touches on my "Cannabunker", a 16' x 16' x 9' reinforced concrete box burried in my back yard. I just ran the plumbing for the CO2, and enough 240v lines for 6 x 1000. I'll be organizing a thread on the build as soon as I get everything organized.

For food, I'm running AN Sensi 2 part hydro nutes, and nothing else. I'm running Green Crack right now, and they can take up to EC 2.0 before burning, but they also grow nicely at 1500. They might also grow nicely with lower nutes, but I don't want to chance it right now, so early in the game.

 

[Yankee Grower]

I'm putting the finishing touches on my "Cannabunker", a 16' x 16' x 9' reinforced concrete box burried in my back yard. I just ran the plumbing for the CO2, and enough 240v lines for 6 x 1000. I'll be organizing a thread on the build as soon as I get everything organized.

For food, I'm running AN Sensi 2 part hydro nutes, and nothing else. I'm running Green Crack right now, and they can take up to EC 2.0 before burning, but they also grow nicely at 1500. They might also grow nicely with lower nutes, but I don't want to chance it right now, so early in the game.

The Cannabunker...I can't wait! I'm actually a bit jealous...lol. I also got an AN program another grower gave me and pretty much only the 2 part plus one or two other things and it worked better than the GH 3 part. Yield was great and the thing I noticed was a better fragrance/flavor profile. I was also in coco instead of rockwool but think the nutes made the difference. I'll see if I can dig that AN program up from my archives so we can compare notes. The GH 3 part stuff was kind of crap quality wise.

Dude...I was running a strain and it did not hiccup until I accidentally got to 4400. Only the 2 smaller/weaker plants started looking bad...out of like 50. Before that they all looked happy. It was my Truncheon and did not realize how fast that can become out of whack if you don't clean it religiously. Some strains can take a pounding before they flinch but does not mean that high EC is better

 

[ShroomDr]

i think of it as a 'weakest link' type problem. Whichever element is needed is your limiting factor; however adding the element (Mg), doesnt equate to fixing a the (Mg) problem.

For instance, if 10mL/Gal of nutrient solution gives you 250K 40Mg, and you the plant wants 60Mg, Adding 50% more nutrients will get you to 60Mg, but it also pushes you to 375K. 375K may not burn the plant, but its probably interfering with Mg and Ca uptake (IE 60Mg may be present, but the plant cant utilize it. You can add all the Mg you want, but if its locked out its not being used.).

Find your limiting factor, and improve it; observe and adjust if needed.