rogue tap root

[Bubba]

I had one in a batch of OG Kush that smelled like orange pop, and one in a batch of Purple Dawn that reeked of garlic and onions.

Bubba

 

[SubmarineGirl]

I had one in a batch of OG Kush that smelled like orange pop, and one in a batch of Purple Dawn that reeked of garlic and onions.

Bubba

I’m guessing they smoked different than their sisters?

 

[Bubba]

I’m guessing they smoked different than their sisters?

Oh yes, and both very strong

 

[CrashMagnet]

The runt perked up in the perlite with the tomato plants. I don't get it. PPM is around 2500 and heavily weighted toward phosphorus and potassium. But what was left of its leaves were stretched toward the light and not drooping at all. Maybe there was something in the rockwool it didn't like, and it recovered when I pulled that stuff off.

So I rescued it, chopped off the dead branches, and moved it into its own container. Since yesterday it's grown half an inch. It's an auto, so I can stick it outside to flower and pollinate itself if it herms. It will probably switch to flower in less than 3 weeks, so I'm just going to leave it in the 2" basket and one quart jar.

I'm still a little paranoid about using the DWC bin even with all new water and the right PH, so I only moved one of the new seedlings in. It's looking lonely in there by itself in the shadow of the (planned) mother plant.

 

[SubmarineGirl]

I have a good feeling about that little runt

 

[WeedHopper]

If it's an Auto it's time is running out. They only grow for so long no matter what you do. That's why cloning them is a waste of time.
Don't wanna burst anybody's bubble but I wouldn't get to excited about it getting much bigger and giving you a harvest.
As for the DWC. Just keep your pH between 5.5 and 5.8 and you will be fine. Make sure you keep your solution temp 75 and below. Warm water is not good in a DWC. I use to have to use frozen water bottles to keep my temps down because I didn't have a chiller

 

[CrashMagnet]

If it's an Auto it's time is running out. They only grow for so long no matter what you do. That's why cloning them is a waste of time.
Don't wanna burst anybody's bubble but I wouldn't get to excited about it getting much bigger and giving you a harvest.
As for the DWC. Just keep your pH between 5.5 and 5.8 and you will be fine. Make sure you keep your solution temp 75 and below. Warm water is not good in a DWC. I use to have to use frozen water bottles to keep my temps down because I didn't have a chiller

I badly abused two of its seed siblings in the last/first grow, and managed to get maybe 1.5 ounces from them in the end. I would be happy with that, but mostly just keeping it alive because my wife likes it.

In the DWC I was told PH of 6.5 is for seedlings?? It was at 5.8 when the runt started dying.

I have a chiller, but haven't needed it yet. There's no A/C in the room, so I expect to need it by the spring. There's also a fridge on the other side of the wall. I have been thinking about seeing if keeping the air pump in there would work instead of using the chiller. No practical reason for trying it, just my engineer's compulsion for doing things differently.

 

[WeedHopper]

The 5.8 had nothing to do with the seedling problem. I have grown in DWCs many times. Never had a seedling die and I always kept my solution between 5.5 and 5.8.
Were you feeding them at the time?

 

[CrashMagnet]

A little Cal-mag and hydroguard if I remember right. I don't think I added anything else other than vinegar to get the PH down.

 

[Hippie420]

I use a product called Milkstone remover. You buy it from the local farm store (TSC around here). It's used for cleaning milking equipment, and it's phosphoric acid, the same acid in your Coke. The stuff looks just like the PH down you buy at the local grow shop, but it's half the price and a tad stronger.
To raise PH, I use NaHCO3, which is the fancy name for good ole Arm & Hammer baking soda. A pinch goes a long way.

 

[CrashMagnet]

They seem happy after 24 hours in the hydroton. Only difference from the one that (almost) died is I'm using root riot plugs instead of rockwool, and there are six plants instead of one. Oh, and these are auto GSC instead of (I think) "early miss auto". I'm having some heat problems in the bloom tent and didn't think I could keep it cool in the summer, so I went with autos outside the tent. I'm just relieved they aren't falling over like the last one.

 

[CrashMagnet]

The new seedlings are doing the exact same thing as the first one. Not sure what I'm doing wrong. The water is 5.9-ish with just some calmag and hydro guard, 69 deg and just touching the baskets. I dumped the media out of one this morning, and the roots were clean but not much longer than when I transplanted. The seedling I rescued has grown more root in the same amount of time, and it's leaves are not yellowing.

I did have a weird issue yesterday. Overnight the PH had gone from 5.9 to 7.8 with the temperature staying a constant 70 deg. I adjusted back to 5.8 and went to work. It was at 7.9 when I got home. I adjusted again and two hours later it was above 7. Emptied the water and cleaned the bin and added all new back in, and now the PH isn't drifting much. Does vinegar spoil and become alkaline or something? Hasn't happened anywhere else.

I'm hoping replacing the water will make the seedlings happy, but I dunno. If it gets much worse those seedlings are going into dirt pots, and the bin in the trash. Maybe I should just add a drain and perlite <sigh>

 

[WeedHopper]

I always used regular PH up and PH Down. PH will drift but it shouldn't drift that much that fast.

 

[CrashMagnet]

Tomato reservoir using the same stuff never does that. I was expecting to find a dead mouse on the bottom.

 

[CrashMagnet]

The sick seedling/dwarf may be gone for good this time. It was growing pretty well the last several days, but this morning it was limp like it was dehydrated - in the hydroponics. I put a bok choi seedling in it's place to see if the water caused it, but the bok choi was half an inch taller when I got home from work.

Anyway, I have several solo cups prepared for some clones I'm giving away, and moved the dying/dead seeding in to one of those. No way it will survive at this point, but I'm fascinated by its struggle. If it does live, it only has a couple of weeks left before it starts flowering, and it currently has just six gnarly leaves left. I'll be entering it in the bud of the month contest for sure : )

 

[gmo]

@CrashMagnet hey fellow tote grower . I read through the thread and see a couple problems. No worries, get em corrected and I'm sure your future grows will be successful!
First, I see something about the solution being 2500ppm?! That is insanely high for any part of the grow! What's your starting oom before adding any nutrients to your water? At that point in the grow my nutrient solution is about 600ppm. Follow your feedchart. Speaking of, what nutrient line are you using? I use the 6 part general hydroponics flora line with the addition of hydroguard
Second, get that hole where your air lines are running covered up. You want 0, zip, zilch light getting in to your reservoir. Algae will cause pH swings and weird issues.
Third, shoot for a reservoir temperature in the range of 62-68f. Use the chiller if you need. Putting your air pump in a fridge will help, but I'm not sure if it will get you to that range. Experiment if ya feel like it, but keep it in that range to prevent root rot -- which will also cause pH swing and other issues.
Feel free to read through my past grow journals in the grow journal section of the forums. I've been growing in dwc/aero for a while now with great success. I absolutely love how easy it is to manipulate and know what is going on with your plants.
Also, reach out with questions. I'd be happy to help!
One last thing -- will you please put in a vote for March Bud Picture of the Month if you haven't done so already? The contest ends in a few days and I'm trying to rally up a few more votes. A link to the contest voting thread:
https://www.marijuanapassion.com/threads/march-2022-bud-picture-of-the-month-vote-today.80688/

 

[WeedHopper]

You can also use frozen water bottles to keep your solution temps down.

 

[CrashMagnet]

@CrashMagnet hey fellow tote grower . I read through the thread and see a couple problems. No worries, get em corrected and I'm sure your future grows will be successful!
First, I see something about the solution being 2500ppm?! That is insanely high for any part of the grow! What's your starting oom before adding any nutrients to your water? At that point in the grow my nutrient solution is about 600ppm. Follow your feedchart. Speaking of, what nutrient line are you using? I use the 6 part general hydroponics flora line with the addition of hydroguard
Second, get that hole where your air lines are running covered up. You want 0, zip, zilch light getting in to your reservoir. Algae will cause pH swings and weird issues.
Third, shoot for a reservoir temperature in the range of 62-68f. Use the chiller if you need. Putting your air pump in a fridge will help, but I'm not sure if it will get you to that range. Experiment if ya feel like it, but keep it in that range to prevent root rot -- which will also cause pH swing and other issues.
Feel free to read through my past grow journals in the grow journal section of the forums. I've been growing in dwc/aero for a while now with great success. I absolutely love how easy it is to manipulate and know what is going on with your plants.
Also, reach out with questions. I'd be happy to help!
One last thing -- will you please put in a vote for March Bud Picture of the Month if you haven't done so already? The contest ends in a few days and I'm trying to rally up a few more votes. A link to the contest voting thread:
https://www.marijuanapassion.com/threads/march-2022-bud-picture-of-the-month-vote-today.80688/

Hey @gmo thanks for the info and the thoughtful post. All this stuff is pretty new to me, so of course I'm over engineering it. I've been surfing your grow journals already, and still trying to get my grow environment under control.

The PPM of 2500 was actually for my tomato dutch bucket. They were growing too fast and I was running out of room, so I over fed them phosphorous and potassium to force them to bloom early. As soon as I saw flowers I backed off the feeding. PPM is around 1200 now, and fairly balanced based on the GH feeding chart.

The algae is loving the water I'm giving it! I need to cover the perlite with foil to kill that stuff, but the bin is against two walls with some gym equipment blocking the other side. It's hard enough just getting in there to prune the lower branches. Once the weather lets me move them outside, I will take care of that algae.

I'm using the 3 part GH nutrients with added cal-mag and hydro guard. The water in the DWC bin comes out of the tap at around 200 PPM, and the added nutrients bring it up to around 700-750 PPM.

Thanks for reminding me about covering the slot for the air adjusters. I had to go out and fix that before I replied!

There's still a little yellow left in some of the leaves from my screw up with the vinegar, and the one on the left without a visible number was the first one I put in and has two leaves seriously bent down. But they all seem healthy otherwise. New growth is all dark green, with just a little tip burn.

I was hoping I could get away with water at 70-72 deg. I can maintain that without a chiller, but not 68. Water bottles melt way too fast for me to keep doing that every day. I will setup the chiller soon.

I did cast my vote earlier. Looks like I picked the winner : )

 

[CrashMagnet]

Sorry for the long post. I'm stoned...

Ha, my little runt has recovered yet again. It's still a little droopy, but getting stronger in its new solo cup home. Seems like it gets sick whenever I leave it in the same pot for too long. And it's flowering! I thought I had two or three more weeks, but it's starting now.

I also transplanted a couple of clones this morning. I was planning on giving them to my brother who is in town for a few days. But when I got home from work...

No more keeping clones in the dark! That IS a female, yes?

If not, I'm going to be putting a cooler over the two for 12 hours a day to see what their offspring look like. White Widow and early Miss. You can tell they like each other...

 

[CrashMagnet]

It's getting crowded in the grow room, but the chiller is up and working! I really didn't want to run the hoses through the top, but the alternative would have been to remove the frame after draining out much of the water.

Wish I had done this in the beginning. It would have saved a lot of work! It went from 72 deg to 68 deg in under 45 minutes with the room at 81 degrees. My only complaint is the display on the thing is green (my wife tells me) which is invisible to my eyes. I have to take a pic with my phone and convert it to black and white to read it.

And pay no mind to the mother plant in the back. She's still sulking over the flushing she got yesterday.