Nutrients/Fertilizer

Bob High Science Guy

karlis — Fri, 16 Jun 2006 00:00:00 -0700

Ask Ed

karlis — Fri, 16 Jun 2006 00:00:00 -0700

AIRY BUD
My plants are about 3 feet tall and have immaculate looking buds on them, but I have been unable to get large and dense buds even though all the hairs and stigmas are completely red when harvested. My 4?x8? system is lit by two 1000w HPS lamps on tracks. The room stays in the mid-70?s.

Indoor Dankster,
Mechanicsville, MD

Grow-Tek Reviews

karlis — Fri, 16 Jun 2006 00:00:00 -0700

Co2Boost

Ask Ed

karlis — Thu, 13 Apr 2006 00:00:00 -0700

Strategy to Live Within the Limits

Harvest Master

karlis — Fri, 04 Nov 2005 00:00:00 -0800

Technology. Some say it's a dirty word, but when you decide to grow pot indoors, you have to become Mother Nature to your babies. Fresh air, clean water, bright light, nutrients, Ph, humidity and temperature: these conditions must be replicas of a perfect day outdoors. The more precisely you can control these factors indoors, the more favorable your results will be.

Fertilizer okay

karlis — Wed, 26 Oct 2005 00:00:00 -0700

I have a hydroponic system made from a 10-gallon Rubbermaid container filled with water-nutrient solution. An air pump holsters two airstones.
I cut six 4-inch-diameter circles in the top. I grew my plants in soil first until they put out their first set of true leaves. Then I placed them in 4-inch-diameter plastic cups with many holes cut at the bottom.

Not satisfied from yield of six plants

karlis — Mon, 17 Oct 2005 00:00:00 -0700

I am a patient with a medical card in Colorado. I use about an ounce of marijuana a week to ease the pain of my spinal cord injury. I am allowed to grow six plants but my yield per plant is only about an ounce so I can supply myself with only a fraction of my need. How can I grow enough marijuana to meet my needs?
James,
Walsungburg, Colorado

Why Most Pot Sucks

karlis — Tue, 11 Oct 2005 00:00:00 -0700

Oaxacan X HP13, flushed and cured to golden perfection.As my appreciation for fine cannabis grows, I have become more aware of the shortcomings of most of today?s herb.

Ask Ed

karlis — Tue, 11 Oct 2005 00:00:00 -0700

Stem Borer

Using bottled water

karlis — Mon, 19 Sep 2005 00:00:00 -0700

If price isn't an issue would you recommend using bottled water like Aquafina or would you stick with tap water?
Gabe,
Internet

Proper pH for cloning

karlis — Mon, 08 Aug 2005 00:00:00 -0700

I have a large garden and do a lot of cloning. For the most part I use expanding peat pots. Sometimes I use coconut fiber plugs, but I don't get as much success with the coconut as the peat. What pH is proper for cloning? I have heard a lot of different suggestions.
Kaya,
Internet

Plants wilted

karlis — Fri, 24 Jun 2005 00:00:00 -0700

I made a planting mix of compost, perlite and peat and added a blended dry organic fertilizer balanced for growth (as directed). I watered when the soil felt dry two inches below the surface. The plants were doing pretty well, but my friend said he accelerated his plants' growth rate by fertilizing with fish emulsion fertilizer. I added the fish emulsion to the water once a week.

Vermiculite and asbestos

karlis — Wed, 22 Jun 2005 00:00:00 -0700

I recently read your reason for not using vermiculite ? because it contains asbestos. After doing more research, I found that only one mine in Montana was producing contaminated products.
Recently there have been several newspaper articles, a three-part NPR series, and a 20/20 show about asbestos contamination at the former WR Grace vermiculite mine located in Libby, Montana.

Multi-vitamins for plants

karlis — Fri, 04 Mar 2005 00:00:00 -0800

Would a multi-vitamin containing trace elements including calcium, magnesium and zinc be all right to use for fertilizing plants? I was thinking of powdering a few tablets with a mortar and pestle, then mixing it into the fertilizer solution. I figure the elements will be in a readily absorbable form.
Out here man,
Front Royal, Virginia

Seltzer timing

karlis — Thu, 27 Jan 2005 00:00:00 -0800

How often should I use salt-free seltzer water to enrich plants with CO2?
Pink,
Internet

Using seltzer water to enrich plants with CO2 is only feasible for small plants such as seedlings or clones. If large plants were sprayed it would raise the humidity of the space to unacceptable levels and it would be an expensive way to deliver CO2 as compared with a tank or CO2 generator.

read more

CO2 near harvest

karlis — Wed, 19 Jan 2005 00:00:00 -0800

I have been using CO2 for a while now and have enjoyed the increase in yield. I have been stopping enrichment two weeks before harvest because it was recommended as a "flushing period." How long before harvest should I stop using CO2, or do I need stop at all?
Blackthumbs,
Internet

read more

Rootbound plants

karlis — Mon, 08 Nov 2004 00:00:00 -0800

I'm growing 46 babies in two ebb and flow trays under 1,400 watts of HPS (a 1,000 and a 400) on a six by five-foot table with a six-foot light track in a typical "box" setup and an AC unit mounted on the side. The air is enriched with CO2 from a tank and regulator. The plants are between two and three feet tall and are three weeks into flowering but they are planted in five-inch round containers.

read more

Parts per million of CO2

karlis — Fri, 05 Nov 2004 00:00:00 -0800

How many parts per million of C02 should one use in a grow room? How does one monitor the amount in the air?
Can there be too much?

E-Man,
Nova Scotia, Canada

read more

Inappropriate products

karlis — Fri, 29 Oct 2004 00:00:00 -0700

In Clarke's Marijuana Botany, Gibberellic Acid (GA) is said to promote male flowers, while Indoleacetic Acid (IAA), among other hormones, is said to promote female flowers. This is prior to flowering. No Mercy (nomercy.nl) sells GA spray as a bloom stimulator. Hybrid-Tech (hempqc.com) sells a product that allows selfing for breeding.

read more

Oasis cubes

karlis — Fri, 27 Aug 2004 00:00:00 -0700

Can Oasis cubes be used to root cuttings? It's the only rooting medium I can get where I live. Rockwool is illegal and they don't ship it here. Can you give me some tips on how to use it?
Name withheld,
Guaynabo, Puerto Rico

read more

Dosing seedlings

karlis — Tue, 22 Jun 2004 00:00:00 -0700

I have found that when I put seeds onto cotton wool and water them with 4,000 ppm vegetative fertilizer for two weeks after the seed pops (no more), the stems are much thicker and stronger and the entire plant is more vigorous than plants grown from the same seed stock, but treated with a normal 1,400 ppm mix.

read more

Slow ripening

karlis — Wed, 16 Jun 2004 00:00:00 -0700

I've been growing for many years with great results. After growing more than 20 strains, I've found that almost all varieties take longer to mature than advertised. Using CO2 has been the only way to harvest ripe buds at the suggested date. Any time that I haven't used CO2, I've fallen behind by two weeks or more.

read more

Ebb and flow flood time

karlis — Wed, 09 Jun 2004 00:00:00 -0700

I am setting up a three-foot square ebb and flow tray with a 35-gallon reservoir underneath. I plan on using four-inch rockwool cubes. For how long a period should I flood the tray?
S.D.,
Bakersfield, California

Filling the tray with water serves two purposes: it supplies moisture to the cube so that the roots can draw up more water and it adjusts the composition of the nutrient solution.

read more

Foliar feeding

karlis — Fri, 04 Jun 2004 00:00:00 -0700

Can I foliar feed plants using hydroponic nutrient solution?
Stoner Steva,
British Columbia

Yes. Plants absorb water and nutrients through openings on the leaves called stomata. These pore-like openings also permit CO2 to enter and release oxygen.

read more

Detecting chemical fertilizers

karlis — Tue, 25 May 2004 00:00:00 -0700

Is there a way of determining if bud was grown organically or chemically by the consistency of the ash?
M.G.

read more