Your water is probably just fine.
Get a ppm meter and see where you land. Most of the water in our area has lots of lime and calcium.
I actually grow mainly for my wife. She’s got fibromyalgia and her sleep patterns cause her problems.
Northern Lights mixed with a little Granddaddy Purple in edibles has improved her sleep a lot. Before her pain levels would get so bad I would find her standing behind the recliner flexing her legs and in tears trying to relieve the pain. Taking 3 different strong prescription pain killers and still having pain. Im not gonna say shes cured…but improved enough to have some good days and I never see the extreme pain anymore. Shes taking less opioid meds now as well. Her preferred vape is Blue Dream/Harlequin mix and that helps get her to sleep before the edibles kick in. Anyway, the point is I have to grow a lot of product.
Well it’s good to hear you’re making progress helping her. That’s very honorable & having a fun hobby in the process.
Missouri current laws are surprisingly cool, I never thought I’d see it. I’m an avid (non weed) gardener so I’m confident I could succeed. And a full basement to wall off a corner & make it happen. IF I ever get the wife unit to agree. So, I’ve been lurking here for over a year just learning & drooling looking at y’all’s grows.
My Dad was a true gardener. I have struggled to figure out growing inside. I have to approach it like a science project. I do grow tomatoes every year because I cant stand store bought tomatoes.
Baker Creek has a Blue Tomato that is awesome. Firm , thin skinned and a great flavor… I am doubling my crop of those this year.
I have read that the current attempt to legalize recreational in Missouri will include cutting the fees for medical permits way down. I hope it passes if they get it on the ballot.
My son grew those last year & I’m adding them this year. His did great. My new Baker Creek catalog actually just arrived!
What issues did you have nailing down indoor growing mostly? Coco & jacks is the route I’d take just as you’ve done. From my jillion’s of hours of reading, that seems the way to go.
A few things
One, I would buy a taller tent. Mine is 72". Sounds like plenty, but by the time you figure that the pot takes up about a foot, the lights don’t go all the way up to the top because of the hangers, then you realize you only have about 4 foot of vertical plant space. Even less when you try to keep the plants 12 inches below the lights. Even just another 8 inches would make a difference.
2 Need real good lights. I started with blurples and we all know that story. I still use them for seedlings and early veg. I lucked out and the ones I got were better than a lot of those for sale. I currently have 3 Mars Hydro lights and I do just fine. Not top shelf, but second shelf. I routinely get a lb from a 3x4 tent. Im not gonna complain.
3 Removing water from trays every day. Coco does best if watered every day to runoff. About 10-20%.
I picked up a cheap hand pump at Walmart that works great. Placed a 3 inch section of 3/8" copper pipe on the end of the pickup tube. Flattened the end a bit so I could slide in under the grow bag and then I just pump out the water into an empty jug. I water the outdoor plants with it.
4 Making sure the floor is a smooth surface. Outside the tent you will drop old dead leaves, dirt and whatever else like nutrient powders. You will want to be able to mop up easily. My room had old oak floors so we got rid of the area rugs.
Sure there’s more but those come to mind quickly.
Thanks for the insight. That’s some real world issues that most don’t mention.
A pound from a 3x4 sounds like you have it nailed down pretty good IMO.
Hopefully I can proceed one day!
Tent was an oversight on specs when i ordered. It’s top of my priority list for next grow. Same with the lights. I made a few rushed decisions to get this project going rather than continue to ponder about it and it never happen. What i have will get the job done, but im sure it wont be the most efficient way or best option.
After i water to runoff, dump the saucers? The soil isn’t dry until about the 3rd day, but i should water daily anyway?
The 4th was my biggest issue and still is. The floor is smooth, but can’t get wet. I’ve been doing all the work inside the tent. Carrying totes of soil in. It’s been more work than necessary for sure. Will probably pick up a blue plastic kiddy pool to be able to get plants out of tent one by one as needed for now. Next grow i’ll have something better worked out and/or use a different room
Hey @NCStealthGrowr
Watering depends on the grow medium. If soil you want wet/dry cycles. Early on you can go a few days between and as the plants grow you will water more often. depending on the size of the plant and pot size you might need to water daily, but the plant will let you know. You can lift the pot just slightly and tell if the soil is dry. It will be light.
If you are growing in coco coir you can go a couple days between for a short time as the roots develop. But you will want to water daily once the plant gets established in the grow bag. Coco has a lot more air space in between fibers. So its more like growing hydroponically. You don’t want dry roots so watering daily or in some cases twice a day if the plant is massive.
Fortunately we get enough rain I don’t have to water the garden, Orchard or Vineyard much except for about a month out of the year. I watched when they were drilling the well. Kept hitting pockets of water. I kept saying cut right we’re done. He kept reply you don’t want that crap! When we were down about 120 ft he said we’re in the better aquifer. He then pushed it down another 20 ft and cased it. But I have a big filter in the pump house just to try and keep some of that nasty stuff out of the pipes and other buildings. There’s a better one before it enters the house and there is even another one under the sink. Lol
I’m South of West Plains
Have a ranch About 10 miles east of Thayer. Although I’ve had a career, I’ve always been a Rancher and a farmer. Grew up on a large Ranch in Prescott Arizona. Still have my Ranch up near Heber. My son’s on that one.
Then I’ve had the property here in the Ozarks since the early 80s. But didn’t officially move here until 20 years ago. I raise cattle and have a several dozen beehives. I also have a small Orchard, grape, and blueberry Vineyard. I retired from the aviation industry a couple years ago.