Hi
I am not doing to well with keeping healthy Moms.
Would appreciate some advice as to Soil mix, Nutrients feeding/wattering times Etc.
I use Floranova in my hydro and feed the moms the same.
Also have some Supernatural Aqua and Terra Grow. (Experimenting with)
I am really into Hydro and suck with the soil.
Thanks

there are many good soil mixes you can find here. are you keeping your moms in soil or hydro? the trick with moms is that you want to give them enough nutrients to stay alive and healthy for clones, but dont push them too much so they get out of control and continue to grow big.

for soil nutrients should be low, with enough nitrogen to re-grow cut areas but again not too much. pH should be around 6.5 and ppm maybe 300-400 (tops 800), more if she is looking a bit weak or you need some faster regrowth. water her every time she gets dry (prob every couple days)

its about the same for hydro, pH 5.8 with ppms around 300-400 (most probably 800).

probably need some more info to help. whats your setup like?

__________________

"Remember, you can never overdose - you can only under-dose. We are just making sure we aren't under-dosing."

I am a medical marijuana patient - my plants and use are covered under State Law. I do not endorse illegal activities in or out of the state/country. So don't tread on me.

Spring '09 Grow Chocolate Thai: http://www.greenpassion.org/f24/back-action-spring-09-grow-7928/

Current Fall '09 'Red Diesel' LED Grow http://www.greenpassion.org/f24/fall-09-pure-led-grow-show-red-diesel-14415/

Hi
Thanks for the quick reply.
I have 3 mother plants, WW - SD and Head band.

They are all about 2 feet tall.
I have 2 of them in 5 gal buckets
1 is in a 12 gal rubbermaid tub.
I bought the best soil I could get from the local hydro.
Don't have the sack left, but it was GOLD somthing.

I drilled several holes in the bottoms and placed a single sheet of fine mesh screen in the bottom and about 2 inches of Hydroton, thinking this might help with drainage and keep the soil for running out.

I use the lift and feel for times to water.

They usually start to dry out a bit in a weeek.
Once I let them go until the leaves started to droop in order to be sure of the feel (Weight)

I alternate feeding with nutrients and water, 1 week water next week nutrients.

I some of the leaves are not healthy looking, tending to yellow.

I usually try to keep the nutrients at 600ppm (GH).
I have not paid that much attentiont to the ph, usually at 6.0
Will raise the PH to 6.5 and see what happens.

I remember one thread that said he watered 2 x a week.
To do that I would need some kind of mix in the soil so it would not hold moisture so long.

Really looking for some advise like: Soil and feeding for dummies. LOL
Thanks again

well just to start out your soil mix should be about 60% soil (from the bag or mixed yourself with dirt/coco/worm castings whatever) and 40% perilite for aeration/draining. you watering seems fine, and the alternating with plain water is good. are you using tap water, R/O water, or distilled water? Reverse osmosis (R/O) or distilled is probably best if your tap water is hard.

where are the leaves yellowing? all over the plant or just on the bottom? is there any sign of nutrient burn (brown crispy edges)? if the yellowing is just the bottom the leaves could simply not be getting enough light (i dont know how thick your canopy is...).

Drugs-Forum - Cannabis cultivation: Overgrow's GrowFAQ

There is the overgrow FAQ. 1/4 of the way down there is sick plant descriptions, and right below that is more information on soil. hope this helps!

__________________

"Remember, you can never overdose - you can only under-dose. We are just making sure we aren't under-dosing."

I am a medical marijuana patient - my plants and use are covered under State Law. I do not endorse illegal activities in or out of the state/country. So don't tread on me.

Spring '09 Grow Chocolate Thai: http://www.greenpassion.org/showthread.php?t=7928

Current Fall '09 'Red Diesel' LED Grow http://www.greenpassion.org/showthread.php?t=14415

[quote=DieAbetic;78914]well just to start out your soil mix should be about 60% soil (from the bag or mixed yourself with dirt/coco/worm castings whatever) and 40% perilite for aeration/draining. you watering seems fine, and the alternating with plain water is good. are you using tap water, R/O water, or distilled water? Reverse osmosis (R/O) or distilled is probably best if your tap water is hard.

where are the leaves yellowing? all over the plant or just on the bottom? is there any sign of nutrient burn (brown crispy edges)? if the yellowing is just the bottom the leaves could simply not be getting enough light (i dont know how thick your canopy is...).
Hi
I am a lazy dummy and will read the FAQ again.
I got so involved with the HYDRO end of it i just dismissed the Mom/soil part.
The part about 40% perilite for aeration/draining sounds good,
I will replant them with that mix
I have been adding FoxFarm Bat guano to the bottom and top of soil.
The bad leaves can show up anywhere some are yellowish some develope a few black spots, never more than say 5 %.
New plants seem to do fine, so it must be the drainage and feeding.
Thanks

this seems to be a phosphorus deficiency, because of the black spots. if the leaves eventually get crispy and fall off, you have lost a battle, but not the war. dont lose too any battles, for every leaf your yield is compromised. this is brought on by clay(hydroton), acidic, and soggy soil. all things that are present in your situation. phosphorus consumption is largely based on PH, too low and the soil will become fixated with phosphates, too high and the roots wont be able to absorb the phosphorus properly. for clay soil try 6-7, for hydro try 5.5-6.2, and for potting soil use 5.5-6.5 water. also, i wouldnt recommend keeping the hydroton at the bottom of the containers. roots need a uniform environment, if the top 75% is soggy, it does you no good to have so much drainage at the bottom 25% because the water is being held at its will at the top. you would be better off keeping the hydroton layer up top as a mulch, while mixing the 40% perlite straight into the soil. i see that you have a good feeding schedule to keep the salt build-up to a minimum, which is good. lastly, depending on how long you want to keep your moms, it would be to your benefit to grow them hydroponically for longer periods, particularly in a simple 5 gallon DWC system.the maintenance will be much easier and can prevent many problems down the road that are otherwise unavoidable in soil.
MrPig

I have been keeping my water and nutes at 6.0, am going to try 6.3.
I will also repot with new soil/perlite, bat quano, no hydroton
(Maybe on the top), seems to keep the soil from shifting arround.

I have about 400w's of floros T5's, for 4 plants (Moms)
I am not happy trying a DWC system, it seems a bit unforgiving for moms.
Might try a small Ebb n Flow system This is what I use for my production plants..

I have a rather large Emergency Battery/charger (For Trucks)
Would run half my Floros and a couple of small DC boat pumps for a several hours.

I have been using Gh floraNova and alternating crops with Supernatural.
The Vegged plants like Gh, otherwise I get about the same production with either one.
Many Many thanks