Berry Grow

@UnorthadoxDude, I would love to buy a proper light meter, but they are not cheap. Thanks for the Photone app recommendation, I'll give it a try! The manufacture of my light recommends the light to be at 100% at 45CM from the canopy, but I get a reading of 1050 PPFD and from what I read I need to stay around 550PPFD so I lowered the intensity and distance from the canopy. Again, I appreciate the all the tips!

@MedicineMaker, @gottagrowsometime - regarding light meter - if you can get a proper one do, but in a pinch there is an app called Photone which is pretty decent indicator. I doubt that it is accurate enough for growing coral, but I reckon it's good enough for cannabis.

@gottagrowsometime, hey mate, I enjoyed your comments on this thread, I will come and have a look at your grows in a minute. I just wanted to say, regarding your experiments with major defoliation on autos. I have recently been experimenting with this myself, you can see my ongoing results. Have a look at day 53 for Karen - Kings Kush Auto - I did a MAJOR defoliation, you can then see the way the plant responded. I also recommend having a look at Nesia on day 27 and Misty on day 23.

@gottagrowsometime, I have a PPM tester, but to be honest I don’t know what the PPM levels should be. I understand the concept that the higher the PPM means more minerals and compounds in the water mixture. What should be my PPM levels at each stage of growth? Last two times I watered the PPM tester read 380 and 470 respectfully. With 380 I was using ¼ dose of Big Bloom and Grow Big. Since my PPM was so low, I feed nutrients again this week with 1/4 dose, plus I added CAL/MAG and Tiger bloom. I checked out the link to Green House Feeding, I'll be sure to give them a try. Thanks!

@MedicineMaker, your more than welcome my friend. So, the thing about you saying adding 1/4 and so on.. In reality pal. You'll need a ppm pen. As adding it just by eye. You will never know the true value of your ppm.. Their is a really good ppm tester on amazon it if you'd like the link. I use it.. the PH part isn't great on it. But I've had the same pen for testing ppm and it always gives the same ppm for me testing my tap. But, by using 1/4 grow -1/2 bloom to 1L of water with both you should be okay.. id go 1-2 of biobloom or .5ml/1L of the bloom & 1/4 of grow, as I'm nearly sure you are meant to give them both right? Epsom salts will be also a good source of mag+sulphur. WATERING & FEED INFO Okay with soil. The general rule is you only need to feed once a week if you are using a few different nutrients and follow up with water feeds afterwards it'll allow the remaining nutrients to be washed up by water feeds and if needed you can add that extra feed as a cal/mag feed. But to play it safe to make sure you don't get any toxs. What ppl do, (well what I do when growing in soil) is to just make a much lower ppm and feed twice a week. Only with coco you would feed every day. One week of feeding everyday in soil during flowering and you'll burn the crap out of your girls.. they are much more sensitive during the flowering stage so less is more. Anyways if you more help. Just mes me. And if idk ill pass you onto someone who will. Yes, organic is much better. You should try Green House Feeding Bioline.. they are a bit expensive. But all you do is add 3-5g of grow powder to each L of substrate. And if you don't want to uppot when flowering starts all you have to do is add the biobloom to the top of the soil as a top dress and it'll go down into your plant and will last for 8 weeks. All you need to do is add the powder during veg and before or when it comes into pre flower and add water during the whole grow and the biobizz calmag will help keep the whole grow organic, they do a cal and you don't need mag as it has it in the powder so green House feeding sells a cal powder, (again its the more expensive side so, buobizz will work just as well) if you need a little more just add a little bit more (of grow or bloom powder during the process of the grow). I done it on my grow and my god I got the best bud quality I've ever tasted.. well from my side. Organic can give less in the way of yields as you generally need soil... and soil grows give less yields unless when the plant flips you uppot it and you should get explosive growth in pre flower. There is so much more to growing and tbh I'm learning and reading everyday on topics.. but just my applying the basics you should get nice strong bud, regardless of the yields. No need to keep asking Q.. As it'll put of sponsorship. As the Q stay stuck to your profile pal. Some don't care but id still be using my SF 1000 and probably the same batch of nutrients I got when I started last Yr. And you'll get boat loads of sponsors for seeds.

@gottagrowsometime, Thank you for your comment and the answer to my questions that I posted. I also appreciate the advice regarding NPK and bloom booster. I started adding 1/4 strength nutrients yesterday, specifically Fox Farm Big Bloom and Grow Big. Next time I water I'll add 1/4 strength Tiger Bloom for the bloom booster and some CAL/MAG, hopefully that will help. I was thinking to increasing to 1/2 strength at some point, I'm observing how they liked the 1/4 strength and then go from there. I'll keep adding photos. Right now I'm watering once every 3 days, not sure if I should add nutrients every watering or every other? I completely agree growing 100% organic and when I bought Fox Farm nutes I thought they were organic, but now I know that only Big Bloom is. I read Biobizz is a great product so I'll look into it for next time. Thank you!

@UnorthadoxDude, organic living soil we run anywer from 6-8 m8! Soil does the rest for us :)

@nerdz, @UnorthadoxDude, I'm learning tons so thanks for bring all these subjects up here, this is all good information. As @UnorthadoxDude mentioned I'm am changing up things with nutrients and feeding schedule, so minimizing too many changes at the same time I'll remain with 6.2 PH. I appreciate all the support!

@nerdz, it would be fine to raise it to 6.5 - I am not saying you're incorrect at all, it's just that at the moment the calcium deficiency has been corrected, and calcium is the first nutrient to lock out when the PH drops too low in soil - so the fact that it is not locked out suggests to me it is fine. The reason I am interjecting in this way, hopefully politely, is that there's been quite a lot of change for these plants in the last week or two, some deficiencies are in the process of being corrected - and I just think adding further complication or changes right now might be counterproductive while we're trying to correct the N deficiency.

@Tweezer, Thank you my friend! 🙏 I'll be sure to post the smoke report in a few weeks.

@UnorthadoxDude, Thank you for advice regarding defoliation and when to remove dead or dying leaves. This makes sense to me and I love the detailed information, when defoliating I usually cut closer to the branch. The blueberry I believe needs a more air flow so I will be defoliating a bit and remove any of the brown or dying leaves. I've always thought of the leaves as being more of a solar cells, but like you mentioned they are available to provide water and energy in times of need, so interesting. This information is amazing! Regarding sterilized snippers/hands I can definitely see the benefit, it is a living organism and gets infections just like us. I've been loving how much I'm learning as this will help me with my general gardening skills as well. Thank you!

@MedicineMaker, Oh yeah one more thing, removing dead/dying leaves causes minimal stress to a plant - and if you want to have some reassurance about defoliation at week 8 of an autoflower, take a look at Karen on day 53 😳😁😆.

@MedicineMaker, Hey I replied on week 8, but I forgot to reply to the bit about the removing yellowing leaves. The answer is no, and yes. So right now, leave the ones that are yellow. However once any leaves start going brown and dying off, cut them off. Use either sterile snippers, or your finger and thumbnail with clean hands. Leave at least an inch of leaf stalk on the plant. The reason why I am suggesting this is because this way the plant can continue to leech nutrients out of the yellowing leaves that it is draining, if you cut them off at this point all you are doing is robbing the plant of what nutrients are left in the leaf. Most people consider leaves to be like solar cells which in a way they are, however I prefer to think of leaves as temporary storage because it helps in understanding how a plant uses them. Plants use leaves like this in times of need and they always grow way more foliage than they really need. It's a bit like saving up for a rainy day, or in this case, a dry week. However, once they start going brown and crisping up, almost all of the usable stuff has been taken by the plant, and all the dead/dying leaf will do now is attract detritivores, including fungi and bacteria - so it is for this reason best to remove it.

@UnorthadoxDude, Basically RO water is pure water with a PPM less than 30, so from what I read online they recommend adding CAL/MAG when using RO or add about 10%-15% mineral/spring water. Usually that will bring the PPM up to around 100-150. I completely understand about giving advice about about something you don't have experience with. Well I'm glad you found interest in my grow and I've really been enjoying all the references you made to your grows, nothing like learning from real examples. 😀 Thank you for this. 🙏

@MedicineMaker, "Since I'm using RO water do you think I should" Honestly I have no idea about the properties of reverse osmosis water, so without Googling it I can't answer for soil, I don't know. I prefer to only give advice based on my own experience really rather than "hearsay advice" I guess. One of the reasons I like your grows and am enjoying following them so closely is because it keeps happening that something from one of my current grows happens to be helpful to this grow. I can not only give you advice from my limited experience, I can also direct you to the documentary evidence to support my claims, hah! I love it. 😁 Like when there is something and I can say "Oh, go check out Misty on day 23" or whatever I can point you (or others) to specific examples of what I am talking about.

@UnorthadoxDude, Sorry for the delayed response to your very helpful comments here. Thank you for the information about the age of the plant and about the dry/wet cycle in regards to watering. Very good point about the oxygen for the roots, I read that fabric pots can help with that so that is why I chose them. Tonight I started our feeding/watering schedule and I used 2l nutes mix per plant, then I plan to give them nothing tomorrow, then PH'd water the next, then repeat... Since I'm using RO water do you think I should I use CAL/MAG due to the water is basically mineral free? I removed some of the Blueberry's dying and dried leaves as you mentioned and I removed a few other leaves that were restricting the air flow to hopefully help against any mold and increase light to the bud sites. To be honest I wanted to remove more, but didn't want to cause too much stress. I will be reviewing your grows more in detail to see what you mean about how different situations can affect when it is time to harvest. I understand what your are saying because both of my plants have been stressed for multiple reasons and it is going to increase the amount of time for the plant to mature. I can't say this enough, but I do appreciate the guidance through my grow! Thank you my friend.

@MedicineMaker, happy days, a shame I have to be anon I'd love to share.

@UnorthadoxDude, Thanks man! I understand life happens! I harvested the Blueberry a few day ago and is drying now.

@MedicineMaker, I'm only sorry I wasn't there for the most exciting part!

@UnorthadoxDude, Thank you for the explanation, it is very helpful. Sounds good about moving the PH up, I'll plan on going with 6.4/6.5 then. I check the PH value after I add nutrients and typically I have a PH of around 5.8 and then I use PH up to get the value of 6.2 which next time will be 6.4/6.5. I noticed the nutrients lower my water PH value. Thank you again!

@MedicineMaker, The yellowing between the veins on the lower leaves (not the nitrogen deficient level, the one above) and higher. Especially on Blueberry; they're yellowy in between (or less green). It can be many things, iron, sulphur, most commonly magnesium, but you are adding CalMag and you're in soil so I kind of doubt it is that unless your PH is off. Which, assuming it's still 6.2 is in the right zone. They've had almost a week on the new schedule and are responding, perhaps now is the time to move the PH up to 6.4/6.5? Monitor that for a few days and see how things go. If there is any further progression on the colouring we will know that it's likely deficiency.

@UnorthadoxDude, Thank you for stopping by and checking out the progress. Yes! The watering/feeding schedule you suggested has made a huge difference which I owe to you! 🙏 I did feed with the 3 ml and then the last feeding I increased to 4ml, I'll drop to 3ml since we are seeing some nute burn on the tips, good call on that, thanks! What makes you think it could be an iron or sulphur deficiency? Again, I appreciate your guidance as I've been learning so much!

@LegacyMarketFarm, Thanks my friend! I didn't expect such a beautiful color on the Blackberry Kush, she is a pleasure to look at. The Blueberry is behind and was supposed to finish before the Blackberry. I'm curious to see how the Blueberry turns out as she is starting to bulk up now, the stems are purple but no purple on the leaves and flowers that I can see yet.

@Tropicannibis_Todd, Thank you!!! I appreciate you stopping by! I've been getting a lot of help on here and I'm seeing the difference. 😀

@Tropicannibis_Todd, Thank you! At first I didn't think the Blackberry Kush would survive but she proved me wrong. It's amazing to see her grow everyday. Happy Growing to you my friend!

@UnorthadoxDude, Thank you for the welcome message! I'm learning everyday with this grow especially with the help on here and I'm already looking forward to the next one, with a full diary :-) I appreciate you following my grow. I think you are exactly right about the nutrient shock, I didn't realize that FFOF soil was hot and I needed to dilute it. I read that mixing in perlite would have helped. Both plants really seem to struggle from the beginning and just now seem to be doing a bit better. I'm going to add CAL/MAG next watering to hopefully help with calcium deficiency. Thank you!

@Tropicannibis_Todd, The smell hits you between the eyes, nothing like a good blueberry muffin 😉 Again, looking forward to many more grows together my friend! 👈 🙏

@MedicineMaker, Absolutely my friend , it can be a great community 👍 And you bet my friend 😉 that Blueberry gotta have that muffin smell to it , can almost smell from here 😀 thats gonna be tasty 😋

@Tropicannibis_Todd, Thank you my friend, I appreciate you stopping by throughout this grow! 🙏 My first experience in this growing community and you have been a big inspiration! 🙏 I look forward to many more grows together and hope we can share some of our fruits of our labor someday 👈

@Tropicannibis_Todd, Of course! That is what community is all about 🙏 My confidence levels are growing by the day thanks to this community! 🙏 Can't wait to hear about the Monster Mash harvest and smoke report 😀 Happy Growing!

@MedicineMaker, appreciate the kind words my friend 👈 it's been a minute hasn't it , there's nothing like growing ones own weedz , your doing awsome my friend 😀 👈 the more time spent doing it the more confident you will become 😀 Happy Growing

@Tropicannibis_Todd, Thanks! That means a lot from such a seasoned grower as yourself. I really enjoyed your interview on here and the reasoning behind you starting to grow your own cannabis. I started growing cannabis for the same beliefs as you. It is a healing plant if taken serious and finally the bigger community is recognizing it's benefits. I also found it interesting the part of you having to be creative with growing cannabis without the grow products readily available now. You were blessed to have such a great mentor such as Franco Loja, his influence in our community will always be felt. 🙏

@MedicineMaker, Awesome. Looks amazing.

@Kief_Richards, Thank you! 🙏 I'm getting ready to harvest the Blueberry plant this week. 👈

@Fast_Buds, Happy 4/20 FB! Thank you for stopping by! Definitely impressed with this grow and the genetics are fire! 👊 Can't wait for the next run! 😀

@Tropicannibis_Todd, Thank you my friend! 🙏 That means a lot! I'm really happy with this harvest, can't wait for the dried weight and smoke report. 👈

@Sour_D, Hey man! Thank you! 🙏 Yeah debating right now weather to harvest both the blackberry and the blueberry this week, I have amber trichomes on most of the top flower sites, but little amber on the lower flower sites. Your grows are looking awesome by the way! 👍

@NegotiatedBubble, Thank you! I've been watching your grows as well and I'm very impressed by your detailed reports and your technical abilities on building out your grow setup! 👏 What I'm learning with this grow is to be patient and I have lots of lessons learned, we see how it all turns out 😀 I appreciate you stopping by! 🙏

@Natrona, Thanks!!