Purple branches? What should I do?

So I’ve been in Happy Frog soil from the start. I have never given my plants any nutrients yet. I’m on day 19. I just transplanted them into 1 gallon pots, so that means a whole new batch of Happy Frog soil. I’ve heard that the purple color means a deficiency, but should I be feeding my plants when they’ve just been put in new soil? My ppm runoff on their last watering was between 250-260.

They look fine.
Why are you checking ppm of runoff if growing in soil? It is going to have all sorts of stuff in it, surprised its only 250

Boatguy said:

They look fine.
Why are you checking ppm of runoff if growing in soil? It is going to have all sorts of stuff in it, surprised its only 250

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Thanks for the reply, I’m checking the ppm because I’m going off of this sheet. Maybe the ppm was that low because it was new soil being watered for the first time? I’m not sure as this is new to me.

Red or purple stems is totally okay.
No need to feed yet. FFOF has everything your babies need. You'll know when the soil is exhausted.

OMG_Reptar said:

Thanks for the reply, I’m checking the ppm because I’m going off of this sheet. Maybe the ppm was that low because it was new soil being watered for the first time? I’m not sure as this is new to me.

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That is ppm of your feed, not runoff. If you want to do hydro, do hydro.
Just water them with ph'd water till they seem hungry, then topdress with more ffof, or start using bottles of nutes at low doses
Good luck

MoroccanRoll said:

Red or purple stems is totally okay.
No need to feed yet. FFOF has everything your babies need. You'll know when the soil is exhausted.
View attachment 4703143

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Thanks for the reply! I’m not in ocean forest yet, but I will be once I move into 3 gallon smart pots.

Boatguy said:

That is ppm of your feed, not runoff. If you want to do hydro, do hydro.
Just water them with ph'd water till they seem hungry, then topdress with more ffof, or start using bottles of nutes at low doses
Good luck

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I thought that I needed these nutes to help the plant grow bigger even when using soil. Is that not true?

MoroccanRoll said:

Red or purple stems is totally okay.
No need to feed yet. FFOF has everything your babies need. You'll know when the soil is exhausted.
View attachment 4703143

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Pic 2 is not a stem. It is a petiole. Very common for them to be red or purple. Its when the main stems turn purple, not just stripes, that you have a problem

OMG_Reptar said:

I thought that I needed these nutes to help the plant grow bigger even when using soil. Is that not true?

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I use no bottled nutes. Soil and organic from start to finish. It is stupid easy. Just water is pretty much foolproof

Boatguy said:

Pic 2 is not a stem. It is a petiole.

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Thanks. I though so but couldn't find a reference on my cursory search. I'll update my slide.

Boatguy said:

I use no bottled nutes. Soil and organic from start to finish. It is stupid easy. Just water is pretty much foolproof

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Will yield be impacted if you do not use nutes?

If it is your first grow, yield should be lower on your list than keeping the plant alive and healthy to harvest.

What are your primary goals for this grow?

For any first time grower, i would recommend:

1. Keep it as simple as possible. <-- Less to screw up
2. Get to harvest. <-- Sometimes easier said than done. Much easier if you commit to goal #1
3. Learn everything you possibly can and apply it to future grows.

Choosing to grow in soil gets you a long way to achieving goal #1. Don't worry about yield, getting to goal #2 will yield you as much as you can burn. Applying goal #3 will help you increase your yield.

So far, you're doing everything right. The most difficult things for a first time soil grower are learning when and how much to water and avoiding the temptation to give them too much love.

The only other thing I would recommnd for a first grow is, if your plants are healthy, try cutting a couple of clones. You'll be glad you did.

OMG_Reptar said:

Thanks for the reply! I’m not in ocean forest yet, but I will be once I move into 3 gallon smart pots.

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you could put them in the 3 gallons with ocean forest now and any deficiency would be sorted out soon lol