You might think, Plant Canopy, how does that help me with my growing process and nutrients?
Mixing can be a pain in the ass when you’re new or someone trying out a new nutrient line.
Understanding how the N impacts the P and the K work takes years. Add microbes and enzymes to the picture, and it can get hectic.
Nutrient companies tell you less is best, but what happens when you need to boost levels?
What about during flower time when your soil depletes, and the plant’s leaves show signs of stress?
I figured out a solution to help you along the journey.
The Leaves Tell A Story
If your leaves are too dark and the tips curl, you need to feed water. Make a more potent mix if your plants are suffering from a lack of food or slow growth.
Sounds simple, I know, but it is.
If you’re rocking a Scynce LED Raging Kush Overdrive, your plants will consume more water and food than a Raging Kush ll. You must consider lighting when talking about nutrients and how much to feed.
Lighting Too Close To Your Plant Canopy
Can the leaves get bleached? Yes, but the plant releases more moisture from the top in evaporation, which is why they will get yellow on top. It’s the lack of food, not so much the light. That’s why people raise their lights to cut down on evaporation.
If you water your plants more frequently, you won’t have to worry about yellowing. Ive had my CMH light as close as 6 inches without bleaching or burns. Understanding how to Ride The Wave can help you know when and how much to water.
pH EC Meter
I can’t stress the reasoning and purpose behind a good pH EC meter. Even if you are an “organic” grower, you can still use the instruments to measure activity in your soil. During each growth cycle, you should be within a PPM/ EC number by rule, or you can see trouble outside the golden numbers. Knowing this can help you fix an issue like a lack of food or overfeeding.
Before I knew what nutrient burn was, I learned how to reduce my nutrient intake using a meter. When stuff goes wrong, I turn to the meters. I always say numbers don’t lie; people do. Utilizing a meter gives you valuable insight into what is wrong or how to correct common deficiencies. You can drive while blind, but not me, my friend.
Quick Tip: Save up to buy a good brand like Blue Lab or Hannas Grow line. The cheaper brands aren’t accurate and break easier.
Grow Media and Plant Canopy
Some media come with all the amendments needed but run short when you enter the flowering stage. Most issues occur about week 4 of flowering, and you need to supplement to get a strong finish.
Knowing more about the media, you are using gives you the upper hand. It will provide insight into when to feed and when the soil amendments will run low.
TIP: A product like LUSH from Roots Organic can help you a lot along the way since the ingredients allow for no feeding, but even in this case, you want to use something like SimPro Formula to help aid in weeks 4-6 of the flower. Cannabis is a thirsty plant and needs more food as it develops.
COCO COIR
Growing with coco coir is tricky, and you’ll ride the wave more than you want. Growing with coco coir is best on a regular routine and extra food. Since all coco coir doesn’t come with added nutrients, you’ll need to play GOD and make the correct mix for the best results.
Adding super soil to the coco coir can help stabilize the media and help with Riding The Wave. Keep in mind using coco coir is excellent, but you’ll be using water and food back to back to help stabilize the media.
CONCLUSION
Riding The Wave is all about paying attention to your canopy. Yes, so taking a peak in the dark will tell you the color of the top leaves and bottom. If the leaves are too dark, you’ll want to feed with plain pH water until the color lightens.
If you want to test your media, use the flush test to collect runoff and test the water. From there, you can adjust what’s in the media and better understand your pH levels and PPM levels.
I hope this helps, and if you’re looking for an easier way to feed your plants, check out SimPro Formula for a faster, more straightforward solution to your nutrients providing trouble.
