A question from a fellow grower:
I’m on day 15 of my first grow. I’m becoming overwhelmed by all the contradicting feedback on ILGM.
Is it time to use Cal/Mag? What’s a good brand?
Really confused about ph balance and testing…
Really need a step by step manual haha
Here they are so far. If you could help I appreciate it.
You are just now getting to the second node and like most newbie beginners you already have the wrong calendar days on your grow . Remember when you first put seedling in soil you don’t start counting until now once you see the first set of three fan leaf pattern . So you really are in week one honestly , now if you don’t learn to PH your water , this will go south real fast , so you will need a PH tester pen and a TDS pen for PPM readings , very important ? But if you not feeding the plants , you don’t need cal mag just yet . So now you just seeing the first set of signature leaves growing out and that’s great , they are doing good , but each node will have an odd number of leaf on each branch , example , first set ( 3 ) , than your next node will have 5 leaves , than 7 , than 9 and maybe 11 depending on the strain if it’s sativa or indica . But if you plan on feeding you want to wait until after the 7 or 9 leaf fan leaves grow out and if you want to top that will be a good time to top also , cause the roots will start becoming establish and if you don’t see progress above the soil physically , than something is definitely going on underneath the soil , so don’t get impatient or over water . So this is actually week one in vegging now you can see the 3 leaf pattern leaves growing , so it’s safe to say this is week one of vegging . But the same principle goes once you finish your vegging and go into flowering , you don’t count the first two weeks after you switch the plant over into flower , that will be your pre-flower transition time to switch not only your lights , but to transition your plant from grow nutrients to budding nutrients , many make that mistake also , I’m guilty as well . But once you switch into flower , don’t make the mistake of changing your nutrients suddenly from grow to bloom , you must transition by adding bloom with grow but taking ah little grow nutrients out and adding ah little bloom nutrients , for example , say you feeding one gallon of water with nutrients at 1 ml per gallon of grow in veg , your first feeding going into flower will be the full 1 ml of grow but adding 2.5 ml of bloom , than next 7.5 ml of grow and .5 ml of bloom , than .5 ml of grow and 7.5 ml of bloom and than 1 ml of bloom and 2.5 ml of grow , than next feeding should be no grow and a full 1 ml of bloom , this way you don’t stress the plant in transition and it stays very healthy with no definicies , than you should be I week 4 of flower where you max out your ppm to about 1200-1500 depending on how much your plant eats and your ph should be 6.2 -6.5 , now if you gone used CO2 , make sure you stop CO2 in the second week of flower doing transition so you don’t get moisture in your buds and cause bud rot , hope this helps and keep us updated on your progress , it’s many will love to see your success and how you progress in your grow …keep it green , organic and happy smoking !!!
Great advice about the week count. So many newbies start counting the day they germ the seeds.
If you consistently use the same water source, it’s pH won’t change dramatically. The exception is if you rely on Reverse Osmosis water. It’s great water but it is unstable, will actually suck nutrients from your potting mix and will change pH with the slightest variation in your nutrient mix.
You might try a simple soil test kit. Usually 20 pH tests will cost under $10USD.
As for dissolved solids, stick with a single manufacturer of nutes and follow their directions to the letter. ILGM carries a good line as does Fox Farms in the US. Cal -Mag is rarely needed when following a defined nute program. If you do use it, it will radically raise your pH. I like to mix in crushed oyster shell or dolomite lime when mixing my potting mix. Both dissolve very slowly in peat mixes and will not shock your plants with big pH changes. It’s radical changes whether in light, nutes, pH or even temps that will set your plants back.
Thank you both! I will follow these suggestions to the letter.
Have you Down loaded the grow bible on this site? A lot of info in it.
Tom
these people know there stuff I use there advice and my plant is a monster