Ask Lucas

[Lucas]

> How do I go about flushing, if I am not able to drop the humidity in my environment?

stop watering until the pots dry out

> I tried flushing the medium (50/40/10 coco/perlite/hydroton in 3 gal pot) the other day and it seemed to devastate them.

you are loving them to death
stop adding water

> I did measure the run off from one of the pots.. pH was 6.2.. EC was 1.5..

that part sounds ok, but, you seem to be killing them with overwatering

stop watering, or, start over

it may be too late to save them

Let them dry out, and consider repotting to a medium that does not store so much water, since you keep watering to fix your overwatering problem

did I say, stop watering until they dry out?

flushing when you are overly wet, means they are getting drowned, not enough oxygen.. dead roots = devastating

they need air, not more water

> (the SO4K2 dilution have a ph of 4). Its the only potash compound i know that is acid. But ive think that maybe when in the solution the potash sulphate can react and affect strongly the ph.

yes, sounds like you have sulfuric acid in your K, not exactly, but close.. maybe some chemists on board can do a better job of analyzing your additives

at the very least, if the pH is 4, its acid

I am not an expert in additives, and I cannot help design a working nutrient, from misused additives

try a simple nutrient with a proven track record, instead of additives that lead to more guessing

or, find a chemist capable of designing nutrients around your additives

better yet, stop guessing, use a simple, proven nutrient

sounds like a nightmare in the making

flushing is a cure for a mistake that could have been avoided if the feed had not been guessed at with additives

try a proven nutrient, and give up on guessing what else to add

Lucas

[Carpet Muncher]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Lucas

3. it allows water spots to magnify the light and cause leaf burns

Lucas, have you ever witnessed this yourself?

the reason i ask is because i haven't, no matter how hard i've <intentionally> tried to create it.. like with outdoor tomato plants in 120 degree temps , and indoors under a 1k @ 18".

what am i doing wrong?

[Krink]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Lucas

> How do I go about flushing, if I am not able to drop the humidity in my environment?

stop watering until the pots dry out

> I tried flushing the medium (50/40/10 coco/perlite/hydroton in 3 gal pot) the other day and it seemed to devastate them.

you are loving them to death
stop adding water

> I did measure the run off from one of the pots.. pH was 6.2.. EC was 1.5..

that part sounds ok, but, you seem to be killing them with overwatering

stop watering, or, start over

it may be too late to save them

Let them dry out, and consider repotting to a medium that does not store so much water, since you keep watering to fix your overwatering problem

did I say, stop watering until they dry out?

flushing when you are overly wet, means they are getting drowned, not enough oxygen.. dead roots = devastating

they need air, not more water

Lucas

Lucas....do you have any experience with coco in pots??? I think you are very wrong when you say to stop watering and let it dry out. The roots will die very fast in coco if you don't keep it wet. There is lots of air in the fibers for the roots when coco is wet.

I know from experience(the hard way)...that letting coco dry out like you would a peat based or a soil based mix will result in slow growth, if not an all out disaster.

Cheers,
Krink

Quote:

Originally Posted by Lucas

try a simple nutrient with a proven track record, instead of additives that lead to more guessing

or, find a chemist capable of designing nutrients around your additives

better yet, stop guessing, use a simple, proven nutrient

sounds like a nightmare in the making

I like guessing. Probably it cost me 1 or two lower yields, but i think using SO4K2 its a perfect complement for cannacoco line. Only wanted any input to need less guessing, but, if not previously experiences with that, more fun!

Sure maybe it dont work, but ill give it a try. I would like to make my own nutrients some day, and some trials/errors runs may be neccesary to do it succesfully.

knna

[plantbuilder]

it's almost like asking someone who doesn't grow for help eh knna?

[Indica Sativa]

Quote:

> How do I go about flushing, if I am not able to drop the humidity in my environment?

stop watering until the pots dry out

> I tried flushing the medium (50/40/10 coco/perlite/hydroton in 3 gal pot) the other day and it seemed to devastate them.

you are loving them to death
stop adding water

> I did measure the run off from one of the pots.. pH was 6.2.. EC was 1.5..

that part sounds ok, but, you seem to be killing them with overwatering

stop watering, or, start over

it may be too late to save them

Let them dry out, and consider repotting to a medium that does not store so much water, since you keep watering to fix your overwatering problem

did I say, stop watering until they dry out?

flushing when you are overly wet, means they are getting drowned, not enough oxygen.. dead roots = devastating

they need air, not more water

So what your telling me is they need more water, right? Great news, found a very nice 60pint a day dehumidider Thanks again Lucas =]

Howdy Lucas.

It's been a pleasure reading through your ideas. They seem so well thought out and reasonable. I always see the beauty in simplicity. There are a lot of people out there with no idea about the relationship between cause and effect, you my friend are not one of them!

Now a quertion for you.

If I were using a 400 watt HPS and a smaller ebb and flow unit(30"x12" table) with a 6 gallon res,Hydroton and 6" square pots, what might my strategy be in terms of plant #? Is there anything I should be aware of when using such a small set-up?

thanks

[Lucas]

> Lucas, have you ever witnessed this yourself?

outdoors yes, indoors no, but then, I dont wet my indoor leaves

> do you have any experience with coco in pots???

yes, but only from helping people who overwatered their coco, some of them even tried flushing, which made the problem even worse. I dont use Coco myself, I prefer grorox.

> what might my strategy be in terms of plant #? Is there anything I should be aware of when using such a small set-up?

with 6" pots in ebb flow, you can use as many as fit the tray, though I would opt for half as many. for a 400w light, I recommend a 20 gallon res. 6 gallons may be fine, if you keep it topped off.

The concern with res size, is that as water is used up, nutes get stronger, and pH drops. You can use any res size, as long as TDS does not get too high, and pH does not get too low.

the other issue is that if you flood your table to a 3" depth, that could use 4.5 gallons, so the concern would be to make sure the pump is still under water in the remaining gallon and a half... now if you dont top up the res, and it drops by a gallon a day, which is possible with a 400w, you need to make sure your pump does not run dry.


hth
Lucas

So when was the last time you had a garden? What kind of work do you do? Not asking for specifics just generalized like "mechanic" or "pilot".

PB wishes to act pompous instead of like a teacher.....I guess just one of those who doesn't like to help too much.

[Lucas]

...

[vapor]

you and pb sound like a good pair!!

I think he's smart, just unhelpful most of the time. Pilot was a good guess huh?

Thanks for the fast response!

It makes perfect sense. Changes are magnified when using a smaller res. If I use up two gallons in 6 gallon res, the amount of nutes/gallon will be much higher than in a larger 20 gallon res.

The system I have is a pre made ebb and flow unit with the flood table sitting right on top of the res as a lid. The pump hangs down from the table. It's called the Baby Bloomer.

Lucas, I like the way you think.

[bbillysbob420]

Just want to say hello to everyone and thanks for the great thread. a few questions though.

1.) Does anyone have any links on how pics or diagrams, or explinations on how an ebb and flow system works? (I'm having a hard time grippin the concept of how the watering schedule goes and what substrate to grow with... ie: perlite, rockwool)

2.) with a 400w MH and HPS light; what is a good number of plants that could be grown? (Between the grow tray and the res... gallons held can is around 9-10)

3.) With using GH flora bloom and micro what is the ratio of additives for the lucas formula? Also I hear that there is no need to use the gro... is this true?

4.) does the plant tray have to be raised closer to light when it is young to prevent stretching or can it remain at the same distance the entire grow period?

no offense billybob, but all of those questions can be answered if you read the thread and use the search feature a little.

[Lucas]

> 1.) Does anyone have any links on how pics or diagrams, or explinations on how an ebb and flow system works?

here you go
http://homeharvest.com/hydroponicebbflowtrays.htm

> 2.) with a 400w MH and HPS light; what is a good number of plants that could be grown?

4 plants

> 3.) With using GH flora bloom and micro what is the ratio of additives for the lucas formula?

no additives are used, just the 8ml/gallon of micro, plus 16ml/gallon of Bloom, nothing else except pH adjuster

> Also I hear that there is no need to use the gro... is this true?

yes, it is true you dont need the Grow

> 4.) does the plant tray have to be raised closer to light when it is young to prevent stretching

no, you dont need to raise the tray, its easier to lower the light

> or can it remain at the same distance the entire grow period?

no, you should try to keep the 400w light 18" above the plants, and as the plants grow taller, you raise the light

I realize this thread is soooo long, you probably dont have time to read it all

try focusing your attention, to start with, on my second signature link, Getting started in hydro...
Lucas

[bbillysbob420]

Thanks for the quick reply buddies, sorry if i sounded ignorant with those questions but i did read this whole thread and have been skimmin aroudn the other threads & those were the questions i was still having a hard time understanding.

And if you dont mind i pose another question/problem/idea... is there any way to build an ebb and flow with the resevior above the grow tray. Being the the setup is just a small cabinet and only have room for the tray and not the resevoir. (By the way the tray and resevoir is about 6in deep by 24in length 15in wide. Is this sufficient... i believe each will hold 7-8g max but 4-5g comfortably.) Open slit planters will sit in the tray, ****please need a suggestion on what media to use...perlite, rockwool ect. also what size of planters? believe they are 4in dia now... need 6in?**** Or is there a better way to go about setting up a different hydro system for a cabinet.... suggestions

Also here is another dumb question. would a fogger make any difference in a system like this, i think thats what it is... its a doughnut looking like thing with a metal disc that goes in the middle.

Sorry for all these questions but you seem soo knowledgable there is really no need to go anywhere else, and i apologize if anyone feels these posts are wasting your time.

[Lucas]

> i sounded ignorant

for a quick education, try a hydro store

> what media

see line 5 of post #`90

> suggestions

see line 4 post 198

Here is the story of Big Billy Goat Gruff, its about a Troll under a Bridge.

http://www.surlalunefairytales.com/billygoats/

Moral of the story, the grass is greener on the other side of the bridge, but first you have to get past the Troll

> these posts are wasting your time..

if people think you are a Troll "buddy" they will ignore your posts, see line 3 of post 200

You remind me of my good buddy Uncle Ben. Welcome to CW

Lucas

[otis]

keep up the good work lucas...

your advice is valued regardless of others posts

keep growing strong!

[ghost420]

Lucas, i have never set up a large drip system, and am trying to set up a flower room with fifteen 2 gallon soil pots. How many Drippers/Pot.......etc.? Maybe you could direct me to a nice forum, but it has been difficult to find one so far.

[Lucas]

> How many Drippers/Pot.......etc.?

sorry but, I dont know how to answer your question

its a huge subject, and I am no longer doing individual coaching to match specific personal needs

besides which, I would not even begin to try to educate someone on how to drip to soil..

Im really into grorox

the only thing I will hilite for you, is that soil that stays too wet, is going to be a problem, so you need to get into the nitty gritty of how not to overwater.. which is why I recommend grorox.. they are very hard to overwater

soil is great, outdoors, in the sun and wind.. even indoors, in expert hands, but I am not an expert on indoor soil...

maybe read posts by people who use soil, and ask them by PM, if they have time to walk you through all the details

thanks for asking for my input, please dont take offense that I dont have time or inclination to go there with you

peace
Lucas

[d-lite]

hi lucas

wondered if you got expirience with the ecolizer products

i became a big fan of it

greetz

Heya Lucas,

Much respect. Been a browser of your great threads and methods since the good ol days of cw.

Wondering you could stop over in my newly created thread for some help? Didn't want to mess this thread up with a ton of questions.

http://www.cannabis-world.org/cw/showthread.php?t=2580

thanks
PL

[kindlydank]

Hi Lucas, long time fan, first time poster.

I know it's off topic in the hydro forum, but how do you feel about pruning?

AFOAF Pistilwhipt-style prunes, as he claims it's only way he can get super dense nugs from his 250w hps. His standard yield (using his organic methods) is around 5-6oz. He often wonders what kind of yield he's missing out from not letting his girls go au naturel...

kd

EDIT: Agent-Smith has posted PW's pruning thread from the original CW (sans pics):
https://www.cannabis-world.org/cw/showthread.php?t=1006

[Lucas]

> how do you feel about pruning

I am strongly in favor of pruning, and think PistilWhipt deserves great respect for popularizing the concept with our community.

5-6oz from 250w is excellent, and would probably be of lower quality and lower quantity without pruning.

My rules of thumb on pruning are as follows.

1. Remove the bottom 3 main branch pairs, they will end up shaded, and will produce popcorn if left on the plant.

2. Prune before going 12/12, not after, or at least no later than 2 weeks into 12/12

3. Using a model of an unpruned plant that has produced the 7th leaf pair, topping it below the 7th pair (use the top as a clone) and then removing the bottom 3 branch pairs (can also be used as clones) will leave three strong branch pairs to be bloomed.

4. On large plants, whose 3 main branch pairs from step 3 exceed 12" in length before 12/12, each of those 3 branch pairs will also benefit from removing the bottom 3 branch pairs...

It is VERY beneficial to focus plant energy into strong shoots, and to remove any shoots that are less than 1/8" in diameter by 2 weeks into 12/12.

Fat shoots make FAT buds.

Lucas

[kindlydank]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Lucas

On large plants, whose 3 main branch pairs from step 3 exceed 12" in length before 12/12, each of those 3 branch pairs will also benefit from removing the bottom 3 branch pairs...

MF's pruning is even more harsh than that -- he prunes all the way to the tip of the six branches until about day 10 of flower. Then they stretch 4 or 5 inches into dense budsickles...

Quote:

Fat shoots make FAT buds.

Well said.

He just wonders if there may be some trade off of bud density vs total weight... he's going to run an unpruned batch through to see what happens.

Thanks for your thoughts
kd