Adjusting ppm

[Steviejee]

Hello community,
it seems that when I add water to my nutrients to adjust my ppm my ph goes crazy. Please help. What am I doing wrong?

[Bluey]

Measure your pH after you get your EC where you want it. Then adjust your pH.

[golfnrl]

What Bluey said. I was experiencing the same issues that you describe. I use CX Horticulture nutrients. Their customer service said to mix nutrients, check EC/PPM, and then PH the final solution. For me that means mixing the two part base along with growth enhancer during veg, checking EC/PPM, adding wilt gard and ren-a-root, then PH. If I'm in flower, same process except swap in bloom enhancers for the growth enhancer.

[Steviejee]

Thanks guys for the tip. I do my grows in coco coir with perlite and vermiculite and GH trio for nutes. My first grow was just ok but could have been better. My plants were stunted. They should have been taller, the buds should have been bigger and I should have had a better yield. On this grow, I probably sent one of my girls in shock, It looked really bad. After doing some research, and I believe by not adjusting my ppm, is what caused the problem. So,when I mix my nutrients, I start with a gal of water. In order to get my ppm down, I have to add at least another gal of water. My question, is it normal to have to add that much more water? By not doing it correctly in the beginning, I feel like it's entirely too much water. I start with a gal and end up with approximately two. Bluey and golfnrl responded to my first post and thanks for instructing me on the order of mixing. If anyone has anything else to share, I'm all ears. Thanks in advance for the help.

[Bluey]

ppm is confusing as there is two different base measures. Can you use EC instead? Maybe this is your problem?

[Steviejee]

Bluey and golfnrl, I really appreciate your help. I am my own worst enemy. I actually had a TDS meter that I bought from the thrift store and wasn't even using it. But, the real problem is, I didn't think ppm was important. So if I may, too anyone just starting out. Do your research, you're only going to get out what you put in. Simple mistakes can impact your end result.

[Bluey]

A good reliable pH meter is essential....look for Apera PH60.
A good EC meter will help you heaps too...there's a few good ones inc. BluLabs

[Orggrwr]

I second the vote for the Apera PH 60

[Bluey]

You need to read this excellent article written by a long time grower and contributor here, Going2fast

https://forum.growweedeasy.com/forum/growing-community/587080-the-tale-of-two-ph-pens

[Rootsruler]

I measure my nutes through PPM.

I first measure the water base I will be adding my inputs to. Whatever the PPM of the water is what I subtract from my overall PPM. Thankfully, the water in my area usually doesn't exceed more than 80ppm. I only use 2 main inputs for the most part at any one time. Base nutrient and Cal/Mag. At key times in the growth stages I'll blend both my grow and bloom nutes. I don't use boosters or enhancers.

The only boosters or enhancers you could say I use are mycorrhizae and soil bacteria. The nutes I use already have enough sugar in them to feed the rhizosphere along with the extensive root system I develop exudating sugars to feed the rhizo so I don't bother buying bottles of liquid sugar like Bud Candy.

I use CaliMagic for my Cal/Mag and FloraNova for my nutes. I add the CaliMagic first, mix it in well then add my base. The first two weeks of seedling/sprout I use some Voodoo Juice along with a weak(300ppm) solution for the first couple of weeks to get the bacterial colony going but no Cal/Mag until after the first couple weeks. Once they're ready for their final home I dust the transplant hole with mycorrhizae and water the plant in.

After having worked at a few licensed grow ops, getting to watch the Master Grower test out products, I've come to the conclusion that most of the amendments they offer outside of base are not really applicable to tent growers. Production growers sure but the increases you get from amendments is minimal at best. 2% increase in dry weight is a big deal for a large production facility but worthless to a tent grower.

IMO, the key is in balancing your nutrient ratios correctly to the stage of growth the plant is in. This will minimize lockouts or slowdowns in growth.

As far as metering gear I use Bluelab meters but Apera makes some great meters also.

[Bluey]

Transitioning your nutes as the plant transitions from veg to flower seems to be an important step as many here have found out the hard way that going straight from veg nutes to flower nutes causes lots of nute deficiencies.

[Rootsruler]

I've never had an issue switching from one to another but I like to blend them a few feeds before flip and a feed or two of blended after week 6. Before flip to make sure I have enough nitrogen in the soil to keep them green and give the flowers enough nitrogen to build mass. After week 6 the soil is pretty depleted so I like to re-up the nitrogen in the soil with a blast of blend.