TDS for nutrients used in soil grows

Biologist · Jan 31, 2019

We've all seen the charts that are for hydro and coco-

Week ppm range EC Range Life cycle stage
Week 1 400–600 .8–1.2 Early vegetative
Week 2 600–1000 1.2–2 Late vegetative
Week 3 800–1200 1.6–2.4 Transition
Week 4 800–1200 1.6–2.4 Early flowering
Week 5 800–1200 1.6–2.4 Early flowering
Week 6 1000–1300 2–2.6 Mid flowering
Week 7 1000–1300 2–2.6 Mid flowering
Week 8 1000–1300 2–2.6 Late flowering
Week 9 1000–1300 2–2.6 Late flowering
Week 10 1000–1300 2–2.6 Ripening

But I don't see charts for soil fertigation when I google. What values do you use for soil grows such as promix and potting mixes? 1000-1300 seems really high since soil can hold on to the nutrients. Or is it fine as long as you have some runoff and aren't seeing nutrient burn?

Unk_OG · Feb 2, 2019

I grow in promix. Flower mix- House & Garden A-B, Power Si, Cal-Mag, PK-13/14, MOAB, Snow Storm Ultra. Different weeks get different nutes, ml’s per gal etc. but I rarely go over 850/900 ppm (x500). Week 6-7 I will get real close to 1000 ppm. I always mix in my additives before my A & B then check ppm with my blue lab truncheon. I always include some portion of A & B but sometimes adjust the amount less than 5 ml per gal to stay where I need to be with no adverse effects on growth.

I Don’t use the H&G feed recipes anymore. I read about a couple guys here just using 5ml A-B most of flower, 7ml for 2 weeks before flush. I’m getting the same results, using less nutes, and have room for my additives full strength+ without sending the ppm through the roof.

Hope that helps a little.

Biologist · Feb 2, 2019

That actually does help thank you. It kind of matches my gut feelings as well from observing my plants. They seem less happy as I creep up to 1k.

Unk_OG · Feb 2, 2019

Right

Right

Biologist said:
That actually does help thank you. It kind of matches my gut feelings as well from observing my plants. They seem less happy as I creep up to 1k.

Yeah, I’d been mixing up 5 gal buckets for example, according to the H & G week 6 recipe with Shooting Powder etc. for 2 years and never checked the ppm’s. So I checked a bucket, 1350! Now, that never burned anything but, since I’ve stayed around 850 the plants look better.

Switcher56 · Feb 2, 2019

I think we have to take everything with a grain of salt LOL. Fert companies are in the business of selling stuff and, not everything they sell or profess will work with the plethora of growing conditions and varying methodologies out there.

Creeperpark · Feb 4, 2019

I don't have to overfeed

I don't have to overfeed

I run about 350 ppms TDS, counting cal-mag all the way through the whole grow! Using Pro-Mix BX with Gen. Hydroponic nutrients! The trick is to feed with every watering! Super dense buds that don't taste bad!!!

Unk_OG · Feb 5, 2019

Yep

Yep

Creeperpark said:
I run about 350 ppms TDS, counting cal-mag all the way through the whole grow! Using Pro-Mix BX with Gen. Hydroponic nutrients! The trick is to feed with every watering! Super dense buds that don't taste bad!!!

Hahahahaha I feed every water at 850 ppm! Seriously. The way I see it, if I’m gonna go the last 2 weeks just water, then during weeks 1-6 these bitches are at the all you can eat buffet!

I think you can do the feed-feed-water thing if you are in coco or hydro because of the vigorous growth. I don’t have the luxury of not feeding all the time. I use drip clean throughout the life of the plant. My first flush is about 1600-1800, second normally gets me to 400-500. 2 days later the pot is dry so I will give 2 gallons water which takes me to less than 150. In the next 11 days they will need water at least 5 times. I get good yield/quality/taste/smell/burn/ash, every time. Room is nothing fancy, 10’x10’, 2000 watts, a portable AC, one fan, one stink can. No CO2 but people ask if I use it all the time.

f-e · Feb 5, 2019

Biologist said:
We've all seen the charts that are for hydro and coco-

Week ppm range EC Range Life cycle stage
Week 1 400–600 .8–1.2 Early vegetative
Week 2 600–1000 1.2–2 Late vegetative
Week 3 800–1200 1.6–2.4 Transition
Week 4 800–1200 1.6–2.4 Early flowering
Week 5 800–1200 1.6–2.4 Early flowering
Week 6 1000–1300 2–2.6 Mid flowering
Week 7 1000–1300 2–2.6 Mid flowering
Week 8 1000–1300 2–2.6 Late flowering
Week 9 1000–1300 2–2.6 Late flowering
Week 10 1000–1300 2–2.6 Ripening

But I don't see charts for soil fertigation when I google. What values do you use for soil grows such as promix and potting mixes? 1000-1300 seems really high since soil can hold on to the nutrients. Or is it fine as long as you have some runoff and aren't seeing nutrient burn?

They're all about 50% higher than I run.

I feed soil just the same as hydro. To run-off obviously. Why would I want less food around them? I have often mixed canna terra for mixed batches of soil and coco plants. One bucket. Two mediums.

Does soil hold more? it's questionable. Coir and compost from city bins have about the same cec.

Creeperpark · Feb 5, 2019

I tried it both ways! High EC and low EC in 5 gallon pots, and my plants roots got bigger with the low EC in veg, and grew bigger plants! I use pure water and not tap, so there is no need for any acid (pH down)! Plus I run low EC with every watering! I always water with feed, two times a week, with very little effort!

Unk_OG · Feb 6, 2019

Hmmmmmm

Hmmmmmm

Creeperpark said:
I tried it both ways! High EC and low EC in 5 gallon pots, and my plants roots got bigger with the low EC in veg, and grew bigger plants!

Hmmmmm, I’ll try a tester that way and see what happens. I’ve just started really playing with EC/mixes instead of just checking flush run off with it lol.

Creeperpark said:
I use pure water and not tap, so there is no need for any acid (pH down)!

Don’t get that one. I use filtered water, not R.O., Smallboy, 100ppm +/-. Water from my tap, or filtered it’s the neuts that screw with ph.

Creeperpark said:
Plus I run low EC with every watering! I always water with feed, two times a week, with very little effort!

Interesting. Maybe I’ll run a side by side. I will say this, I used to run the H&G recipes to the letter. Last couple runs, one of them a personal best yield wise, happened after I started feeding 5 ml A&B per gallon all through flower. Maybe there’s something to that.

Creeperpark · Feb 6, 2019

9 reasons for low EC

9 reasons for low EC

1. serious risk of mold during flowering
2. reduced levels of resistance against pests
3. male flowers on females/hermies
4. high percentage of males in regular seeds
5. leaf loss
6. lower yields
7. premature ending of flowering
8. unsavory taste or aroma in buds
9. health risk from radioactive traces in the cannabis (from phosphate residues)

Weird · Feb 6, 2019

those ppm charts are rubbish

dank.frank · Feb 6, 2019

Weird, this is the lost part of the site where people treat soil like an inert medium and dump chemicals on it. I was going to comment on this thread and then didn't. This is the quasi-hydro/soil mash up section.

dank.Frank

f-e · Feb 6, 2019

It's standard fare for soil. A 50L bag of something per meter. Burn it out through grow, then apply an immediately available fertiliser.

It's not the organic forum. Where some do the same thing but use organically derived feeds. While others create a biological garden, never meaning to feed the plants directly. But rather they feed the microlife.

Weird · Feb 6, 2019

dank.frank said:
Weird, this is the lost part of the site where people treat soil like an inert medium and dump chemicals on it. I was going to comment on this thread and then didn't. This is the quasi-hydro/soil mash up section.

dank.Frank

I used to grow that way as well and full blown hydro and never worried about anything but ph

dialing in plants from a point of "optimal feed" perspective is counter intuitive on so many levels thus the ancillary products that support all the chemical nutrient lines

that said I liked growing transitionally (both organic/hydro) and it could make for a great reasonably sustainable practice BUT one must be able to approach using the opposite spectrum.

This means minimal feeding perspective and inclusion of elements of microbiology and/or soil chemistry past NPK

the tricky thing is these things all POTENTIATE nutrients in ion form so if you go by standard PPM charts the only plants that will take are the ones that will withstand being grossly over fed

these all express far less dynamically and favorably from the perspective of plant produced chemicals we grow the plant for in the first place

The basically theory is to work from a perspective above law of minimums but not at theorized maximums. Use observation and simply methodologies to work up from that point to dial in an optimal schedule that was developed based on plant performance in the local environment

Creeperpark · Feb 6, 2019

You said it Weird!

moonymonkey · Feb 25, 2019

what type of lighting?

Vanilla Phoenix · Feb 25, 2019

I grow in lightly amended Happy Frog soil and use 1.5ec in veg and 1.8ec in bloom every watering.

Creeperpark · Feb 25, 2019

low EC

low EC

I'm converting or drifting down a high EC6.5 in 1gal mix to a feed of 0.6 EC in a 5gal 4L pot in the last 8 weeks. In other words High-Low feed. Running on the low bottom of the nutrient boundary in last of grow. On another thread right now if you want to see, check it out.

chiesesganja · Mar 10, 2019

got to do a log the flush

TDS for nutrients used in soil grows

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