Ask Adam : TipsOur professional gives you some handy tips to get you better results everytime. Also tips from various magazines you may have missed.
Always check your pH/EC before every feed!
Make sure your light is approx. 80cm above your plants.
Make sure you have a good circulation of fresh air.
Keep your room clean! This will help prevent pests.
NEVER have your pH below 5.5 or above 6.5 MAX!
Magazine/Website Tips:
Cutting some time before your next harvest?
Growing plants from cuttings is much faster than starting from seed every timer. Also seedlings of many plant varieties often need to be four to six weeks old before they are mature enough to flower, whereas cuttings have the same 'age' as their mothers and can be triggered into flowering immediately after developing their own root system if required.
Source: Urban Garden Magazine : Sep/Oct 08
Uniform plants are easier to manage
Growing plants from cuttings provides a far more uniform crop than growing plants from seed. Your plants will have the same characteristics - including the same shape and height making it easier to appropriate uniform lighting across your growroom and optimise your yields.
Source: Urban Garden Magazine : Sep/Oct 08
Take it easy on new cuttings!
Freshly taken cuttings only require moderate light levels - such as a single fluoresent strip placed on top of the propagator lid. Do not place the propagator directly under HID lamps. Some growers place their propagators to the side of a growroom with some bubble wrap on the top to disperse the light. Once well rooted gradually increase the light intensity until usual growing rates have been reached.
Source: Urban Garden Magazine : Sep/Oct 08
To spray or not to spray?
I find that a propagator (with vents closed) provides all the humidity needed for my cuttings to incubate and there's no need to spray them at all. You can gradually open the vents after a week or so to provide a fresher atmosphere for your cuttings and help to prepare them for life outside of the propagator.
Source: Urban Garden Magazine : Sep/Oct 08
Growers Tip #89:
If you wish to raise or lower the pH by using pH+ or pH-, dilute a small amount of pH+ or pH- in a cup, or measuring jug, to make judging the dosage easier. Try to get the pH right the first time. If you use a lot of pH+ or pH- one after the other, you will disrupt the concentration of bicarbonate in the water and this will have a negative affect on the buffer capacity of your mixture.
Source: CANNAtalk Magazine : Summer/Autumn 2008
Reflector Tip:
The reflectors for your lighting get dirty as time goes by. Clean them regularly. Research shows that light yields drop by 20% pretty quickly!
Source: CANNAtalk Magazine : Summer/Autumn 2008
Growers Tip #22:
To ensure good root development the feeding water must be at temperature of between 20-25c. At temperatures lower than 15c the roots' capacity to absorb decreases quickly, this will result in a smaller harvest. IF THE FEEDING SOLUTION IS MIXED USING COLD WATER THEN THE pH WILL RISE AS THE WATER IS HEATED. In such circumstances you can avoid a high pH by setting the pH a little lower at the outset.
Source: CANNAtalk Magazine : Summer/Autumn 2008
Green Eye:
The only way to enter your grow room during a plants night cycle and not distress your plants is to use a light in the green spectrum as short-day plants will not be effected by this portion of the colour spectrum. Exposing your plants to any spectrum of light other than green during their night cycle can be very distressing and greatly reduces potential yields.
Source: CANNAtalk Magazine : Summer/Autumn 2008
Everest's Top Tip #66 - Don't get too passive!:
Many indoor gardeners like to hand-water their plants in pots using soil, coco, or some other restrictive (absorbent) media. Make sure you place your potsin trays so that you can allow 20-30% of what you feed your plants to run through the pot. This run-off helps to decrease excess salt-build up in the media leading to healthier roots. But remember - don't leave your plants standing in the run-off! Get rid of it!
Everest Top Tip #70 - Seramis - an absorbent alternative to clay pebbles:
Seramis is a good growing media, a porous clay that holds water and nutrient well. Flood less than clay pebbles, about 2-3 times over a 12 hour day. Top feeding can be done continuously on mature plants but I would recommend timed irrigation of 15 mins on 15-30 mins off.
Mother Plant Tips:
+ Dedicate a standard sized grow tent to your mother plant. Use a control unit, and 5 or 6 inch extractor to maintain temperatures at 23 to 28 C and relative humidity at around 60%.
+ Don't grow your mother plants in coco coir. After a few months it tends to lock out nitrogen - which is an essential primary nutrient for continued growth.
+ Rotate your mother plant from time to time to ensure more even growth.
+ Remove all dead leaves. Check right inside the mother plant as she gets bushier.
+ If you insist on growing your mother plant in a pot, periodically check the roots to ensure the plant is not becoming too pot bound. If this is the case, use a sharp, sterile knife to remove around an inch of the root ball (messy business!) and re-pot in a larger container. It looks brutal, but your mother will thank you for it! |
