my theroy on PPM/EC test

fellow growers i have been using a EC/PPM measureing stick since my 1st ever grow and i dont see the point of using one any more because on my last crop i never used one i just left them to it and it still produced the same amount of bud so what is the point of useing one? if its still produceing the same amount of bud. I have expermented this with three diffrent types of plants (EG, AK47 produced me 8oz (dry weight) of 2 plants using EC/PPM stick ,, so i growed them again and produced me 8oz (dry weight) with out measureing EC/PPM. and ive done this with c45 and super skunk and both produced the same. do you fellow growers do EC/PPM test when it comes to refilling your tank. please give me your theroy if you've tryed this before and other advice on this.

I think that you have become familiar with the strains that you grow and the nutrients that you have been using. What happens if you grow different strains and switch out your nutrients for others?

I'd say that the grow would be similar to the others because of your growing experience. My Hanna Combo meter broke two months ago. I stll haven't replaced it. I've been growing the same strains and using the same nutrients and supplements for 2 years now. However, I do refer to my notes and journal that I kept when the meter was working. The girls have all been fine so far from my experience with the strains and nutrients. Change them and I wouldn't be so comfortable growing without a meter.

I think ppm/ec readings are important when you are pushing your plants hard with nutrients or they are sickly and trying to recover. Otherwise if you follow half to a third of the manufacturer recommended strengths, you should be fine.

I have never used a PPM meter or anything else like that. IMO I think it's just a bunch of BS if your growing in soil. Now if I was growing with hydro i think I would test it. But for soil I have never done it and probably never will. I'm sure i am not allone on this either. There's others just like me who have never done it and never will too.

M4A1 said:

I have never used a PPM meter or anything else like that. IMO I think it's just a bunch of BS if your growing in soil. Now if I was growing with hydro i think I would test it. But for soil I have never done it and probably never will. I'm sure i am not allone on this either. There's others just like me who have never done it and never will too.

Click to expand...

True about the soil.I always took a soil sample from the spots i was going to grow and had the county extention services test them for me.I would know the ph and how much nutes i needed to make the soil right.I would not have to add any nutes for the year after that.
Now that i am doing hydro i test every water change because i am not that good at guessing,and do not want to burn my plants.
Some people feel that more is better,when the plants might be able to handle a higher ppms,they still will not use or need all of the extra nutes.In the end they are thrown away and wasted,sometimes less is better.OPH

ive never grown in soil so i know nuffing in that partment. ive always used nft systems or rockwool slabs but when i did this experiment i never used diffrent nutes i kept to the same ones. im doing another experiment now on using more nutes to see if the plants willl grow quicker but so far so good no bad leaves or bad signs. have any of you used more nutes?

You can read many threads of people pushing all the nutes they can to their plants.Your plant can only use so much of p,n,k, anymore is a waste.When you push the limits on the nutes you spend a lot of time flushing due to burn,and throwing out nutes and remixing.
The time wasted waiting for your plants to recover,should be the time your plant is growing.OPH

true true, ive read on here loads of people pushing there crops to the max wiv nutes but i aint goin to push them to the limit im just going to use 2ml extra than normal then 3ml i dont plan on pushing them to the limit. i am not goig to use EC/PPM nutes stick im going to see what happens and leave them to it.

i use one in hydro, i push the limits to all they can eat. you can tell by the ppms what the exact ppm they want is.

then i monitor the fist 1/2 mm of the tips of the leaves if any are yellowig just add water to lay off a bit

lol i had that last week nute burn aint it. did it do you any good big p pushing your crop to the limit? i would like to know cause this is my 1st time pushing them to the limit.

think about it the cow you feed the most gives you the most meat right?



i do 2 liter soda bottle colas

thats some good bud, is that the ones you pushed?? whats with the soda?i use sugar and yeast to try n create a little co2 aswell.

leeB said:

thats some good bud, is that the ones you pushed?? whats with the soda?i use sugar and yeast to try n create a little co2 aswell.

Click to expand...

well i push all mine all the time. thats just once i took pics. the 2 liter soda bottle is just there so you can tell what size the buds are compared to a 2 liter soda bottle.

i dont use co2

Very nice Bud Big P

i thought that after i said it lol.. but got to say very nice buds on them and no co2 infact im going take my co2 out it dose my heading.

Dammmmmmmmm!

I found this thread in a search, its a little old, but it brings me closer to my answer.

I'm wondering, isn't checking EC/PPM on a daily bases necessary if you are going to follow feeding schedules? For example the Fox Farm Hydro schedule shows that you should maintain a certain EC/PPM throughout a week. Does this mean that they want you to be constantly keeping EC/PPM levels the same through out the week? My assumption from what I have read is that the plants eat away at your nutrients in the solution, there is no say at what they eat at first (N,P,L).

So the root of my question is, how would you add the different nutrients if all your testing for is total dissolved salts. If you are using Fox Farms feeding schedule, how do you know what to add, since there are multiple products in there line. Some times using 3 or 4 in a week of feeding?
http://www.foxfarmfertilizer.com/hydrofeed.pdf

Also, what if you had a really big hydro system? I have read that people have 50 gallon systems. You wouldn't want to dump the water every week, and then start for zero to add nutrients to 50 gallons of water, you would be using a ton of nutrients. How can you go multiple weeks on the same water, and adjust your solution by testing EC/PPM?

What am I missing!!??