way to test % of nutes in soil & water?

[64yoda]

I was just wondering if there's some way to test the percentage or whatever of micronutrients like Calcium, Magnesium, Boron, Sulphur, Molybdenum, Manganese, etc.

It seems that even with organic grows, not every organic product supplier gives info on the percentages of nutrients that are outside of NPK.

I might be asking a stupid question regarding if there's some kind of "device" or whatever that tests our nutrient solutions or even soils for percentages of said nutrients, but I didn't see anything in the growing resources guides, which I looked into first before posting here.

P.S. I'm already 10 weeks, 5 days into my very first grow, two plants started at the same time, one an auto and one a photoperiod. The auto is nearing the end. The photoperiod I have no clue how much further it has to go cuz I can't find enough breeder information on Blueberry Headband through Humboldt Seed Organization regarding height of indoor grow and typically how long it would take from seed to first harvest (the BBHB is the photoperiod, the other one is called Berry Ryder). Then I have two seedlings that were in my grow tent, both autos. One is called Afghan Kush Ryder, started on February 19th. It didn't do anything for the longest time because I didn't have enough light in the tent. I finally ended up taking it out and putting a separate light (daylight LED, 100 watts) on it and now it's really starting to take off in veg stage (although at over a month old, it's still only about 4 inches tall). The other one is called Auto Anubis. Planted that toward middle of March. It's about 2 inches high also under daylight LED (100 watts). That one I also have next to no information on.

 

[Hushpuppy]

I suspect that these is some method or device that can measure the different amounts of nutrients in a given medium but the cost of doing it accurately outside of a laboratory will be too much and probably way to involved to be worth it. There are organic regimens listed on here that have been tested and run many times with success. If you are in doubt about what soils and amendments to use, these would be the best solution. Also, there are several non organic nutrient brands that are specifically formulated for use with MJ. Many of these are able to be used in several different mediums so that they are versatile.

I have run that Afghan Kush ryder and didn't have a good experience with it. A couple others on here have also run that same strain and had very poor results from it. I would yank it as I don't think it is worth the waste of nutrients or lighting. Mine started out the same way as yours. It floundered for several weeks before finally taking off, but then when it went to flower, it produced very poor, airy, spindly buds. I ended up getting 1 oz of mediocre bud and several oz of crap bud that wasn't worth anything other than making hash. The autos are very unreliable for stabilized outcomes. I have had a couple of autos in the same space produce about 8oz of pretty decent bud, and then I have had some crap.

This is just my opinion from my own experience. I would toss the AK Ryder and on the next grow, focus on growing good photoperiod genetics.

 

[The Hemp Goddess]

Yes, I'm with Hush. It is possible, but it would be very expensive. Also, I do not know that knowing the percentages of the micronutrients would actually tell you anything either? I have never actually seen anything that tells the amount of micronutrients that plants need.

I also do not grow autos, but there could be a lot of reasons that the plants are small and growing slow. However, even though a 100W LED is going to look bright, it is still considered a small light and is only good for a little over a sq ft.

 

[64yoda]

I suspect that these is some method or device that can measure the different amounts of nutrients in a given medium but the cost of doing it accurately outside of a laboratory will be too much and probably way to involved to be worth it. There are organic regimens listed on here that have been tested and run many times with success. If you are in doubt about what soils and amendments to use, these would be the best solution. Also, there are several non organic nutrient brands that are specifically formulated for use with MJ. Many of these are able to be used in several different mediums so that they are versatile.

Thanks, Hushpuppy. I'll check out the organic regimens then. It was just curiosity that made me think to ask about a way to test for nute percentages.

I have run that Afghan Kush ryder and didn't have a good experience with it. A couple others on here have also run that same strain and had very poor results from it. I would yank it as I don't think it is worth the waste of nutrients or lighting. Mine started out the same way as yours. It floundered for several weeks before finally taking off, but then when it went to flower, it produced very poor, airy, spindly buds. I ended up getting 1 oz of mediocre bud and several oz of crap bud that wasn't worth anything other than making hash. The autos are very unreliable for stabilized outcomes. I have had a couple of autos in the same space produce about 8oz of pretty decent bud, and then I have had some crap.

I still don't know how long a photo typically takes, except that sativa-dominant ones take much longer to flower. I know there are super autos that take longer and seem to have a much bigger yield. Not sure about the quality though. I guess when I began this, I just didn't have the patience. The photo I got was actually a freebie and turns out it's supposed to be a pretty good one, the Blueberry Headband I mean.

This is just my opinion from my own experience. I would toss the AK Ryder and on the next grow, focus on growing good photoperiod genetics.

Took me too long just to get seedling going. I'm gonna let this one run it's course. I trust that you said you and others all had problems with it though.

Yes, I'm with Hush. It is possible, but it would be very expensive. Also, I do not know that knowing the percentages of the micronutrients would actually tell you anything either? I have never actually seen anything that tells the amount of micronutrients that plants need.

I also do not grow autos, but there could be a lot of reasons that the plants are small and growing slow. However, even though a 100W LED is going to look bright, it is still considered a small light and is only good for a little over a sq ft.

Yeah, I know. Costs are a major issue for me right now. I wasn't worried about initial cost of actual bulbs and ballasts. It's the spike in electricity usage that worried me. I realize I'm being paranoid perhaps, but I've heard of people's electric companies notifying law enforcement when the electric bills skyrocket and stay that way.

I'm using one 100W LED for my two seedlings. I'm using four 100W CFLs for my auto that's almost done and the photo that is with it in my grow tent. Until I can afford the costs of electricity (and of course know that the cops aren't gonna come a knocking cuz of my utility company), then I'll start thinking about it. I guess I would take the chance if I had a medical card, but I still wouldn't be able to afford the electricity use.

 

[WeedHopper]

About the only thing i know of is the Soil Test Kits i use in my Gardens,,helps me know the NPK of my soil.
Would that help you? It works great in my gardens.

 

[64yoda]

About the only thing i know of is the Soil Test Kits i use in my Gardens,,helps me know the NPK of my soil.
Would that help you? It works great in my gardens.

Yeah, that would help! Besides curiosity, since I've been having some weird discoloration issues on my BB Headband photo plant near the middle/bottom leaves, I assumed it was something other than N, P, and K, that was causing the problem. I have a few links bookmarked that give a bunch of photos of what certain deficiencies of micronutrients look like, too much H2O, not enough, and then the macro deficiencies as well as too much. I think I've narrowed it down to either Potassium deficiency and possibly Sulphur deficiency.

Been using fish fertilizer, fish & seaweed mix fertilizer, and plain seaweed fertilizer to get the basic macros in. There's some micros in there, but I'm not quite sure how much. Just got an email from Neptune's Harvest with a PDF describing everything that's in their organic sea-stuff other than just macros, so I gotta look over it. Then I can really narrow down what's causing the discoloration issues. All I know is that it's not pests, Nitrogen, Phosphorous, under-, or over-watering.

Also have been using an organic nutrient soil with worm castings for all four of my plants.

 

[WeedHopper]

I get them at lowes in the garden Dept. Really helped me one yr with a Deficiency. Added some Bone Meal and everything was fine. The ones i get has 4 vials. One for N,,P,,K,,and PH.

 

[The Hemp Goddess]

...Yeah, I know. Costs are a major issue for me right now. I wasn't worried about initial cost of actual bulbs and ballasts. It's the spike in electricity usage that worried me. I realize I'm being paranoid perhaps, but I've heard of people's electric companies notifying law enforcement when the electric bills skyrocket and stay that way.

That is a fallacy--it just does not happen. People always say they "heard it somewhere", but I have personally never read anything credible anywhere that supports this. And it is not like you have as huge grow to worry about--a lot of people are running 2000+ watts and have for years with NO issues. The power company is in the business to sell power, so pay your bills and you will be fine. There can be a myriad of reasons that someone's electrical rates can skyrocket. So don't buy into those old wives tales that are not true.

So, if you can, get more light in there. About 90 watts per sq ft if you are running LEDs.

 

[Dr. Green Fang]

That is a fallacy--it just does not happen. People always say they "heard it somewhere", but I have personally never read anything credible anywhere that supports this. And it is not like you have as huge grow to worry about--a lot of people are running 2000+ watts and have for years with NO issues. The power company is in the business to sell power, so pay your bills and you will be fine. There can be a myriad of reasons that someone's electrical rates can skyrocket. So don't buy into those old wives tales that are not true.

So, if you can, get more light in there. About 90 watts per sq ft if you are running LEDs.

Firstly, everything THG said was spot on..

Secondly, @ THG: PJ made a statement in a thread recently saying people were misunderstanding what he ment when he said before 90w / SQ FT... he said a REAL number he'd prefer people to toss around would be 60w / SQ FT.

I can possibly hunt down the post :aok:

 

[N.E.wguy]

...Yeah, I know. Costs are a major issue for me right now. I wasn't worried about initial cost of actual bulbs and ballasts. It's the spike in electricity usage that worried me. I realize I'm being paranoid perhaps, but I've heard of people's electric companies notifying law enforcement when the electric bills skyrocket and stay that way.

That is a fallacy--it just does not happen. People always say they "heard it somewhere", but I have personally never read anything credible anywhere that supports this. And it is not like you have as huge grow to worry about--a lot of people are running 2000+ watts and have for years with NO issues. The power company is in the business to sell power, so pay your bills and you will be fine. There can be a myriad of reasons that someone's electrical rates can skyrocket. So don't buy into those old wives tales that are not true.

So, if you can, get more light in there. About 90 watts per sq ft if you are running LEDs.

I will tell You First Hand that your Electric company can show up. I have 2 meters one for the hot water heater, which one day blew off my house literally exploded. Call them they come out after having driven by 5 times knowing obv as day there is a issue. So he asks me what happened, I responded i think you should tell me what happened I'm not an electrician. His response was, What's going on here I said I have no idea what your talking about. He said good answer fixed it and left never went in my house. I live in a area where every house is same style sq ft etc. they can easily see I run 4x more electricity then every other house by just sitting in their truck scanning the meters. So next few days police were driving around never stopped. It's legal here not much they can do, but i was running alot of stuff pretty sure they may of tried to zap my panel and missed or some thing no idea. but this was a ways back now and I've had the police in my house a few times since and they have never said any thing to me, with live grows going.


but for the same elc u use now u can run a 600w bulb dimmed to 200W get better light for the same money in elc i believe cheap one i use very good [ame]http://www.amazon.com/Apollo-Horticulture-GLK600GW19-Digital-Dimmable/dp/B004L3AQ1U/[/ame] you would not have to worry about the elc with that imo after a mo look at bill in not much more turn it up to 400 then again in a month up to 600 and see what the price difference is

 

[zem]

I will be looking for the best way to test for all the elements in the water, but I think that it will be better to use a lab service instead of getting all the precision equipment to test every element. I will need it for a commercial op for growing veggies in recyclable systems where water never gets discarded. I will look into what water bottling companies use. But for a small scale personal grow, I don't think it is worth the trouble

 

[64yoda]

I get them at lowes in the garden Dept. Really helped me one yr with a Deficiency. Added some Bone Meal and everything was fine. The ones i get has 4 vials. One for N,,P,,K,,and PH.

Thanks. I'll check them out. We used to have a Lowes directly across from the Home Depot near us. My mom worked there until they closed that location. I prefer the customer service there more than Home Depots in our area.

...Yeah, I know. Costs are a major issue for me right now. I wasn't worried about initial cost of actual bulbs and ballasts. It's the spike in electricity usage that worried me. I realize I'm being paranoid perhaps, but I've heard of people's electric companies notifying law enforcement when the electric bills skyrocket and stay that way.

That is a fallacy--it just does not happen. People always say they "heard it somewhere", but I have personally never read anything credible anywhere that supports this. And it is not like you have as huge grow to worry about--a lot of people are running 2000+ watts and have for years with NO issues. The power company is in the business to sell power, so pay your bills and you will be fine. There can be a myriad of reasons that someone's electrical rates can skyrocket. So don't buy into those old wives tales that are not true.

So, if you can, get more light in there. About 90 watts per sq ft if you are running LEDs.

Firstly, everything THG said was spot on..

Secondly, @ THG: PJ made a statement in a thread recently saying people were misunderstanding what he ment when he said before 90w / SQ FT... he said a REAL number he'd prefer people to toss around would be 60w / SQ FT.

I can possibly hunt down the post :aok:

What is considered a square foot? For example, I am using 2.7 gallon planters. Do I just measure how much room each planter takes up and then figure the wattage per square foot that way? Or do I have to guess how big the plants will grow and then use wattage per those measurements?

I will tell You First Hand that your Electric company can show up. I have 2 meters one for the hot water heater, which one day blew off my house literally exploded. Call them they come out after having driven by 5 times knowing obv as day there is a issue. So he asks me what happened, I responded i think you should tell me what happened I'm not an electrician. His response was, What's going on here I said I have no idea what your talking about. He said good answer fixed it and left never went in my house. I live in a area where every house is same style sq ft etc. they can easily see I run 4x more electricity then every other house by just sitting in their truck scanning the meters. So next few days police were driving around never stopped. It's legal here not much they can do, but i was running alot of stuff pretty sure they may of tried to zap my panel and missed or some thing no idea. but this was a ways back now and I've had the police in my house a few times since and they have never said any thing to me, with live grows going.

but for the same elc u use now u can run a 600w bulb dimmed to 200W get better light for the same money in elc i believe cheap one i use very good http://www.amazon.com/dp/B004L3AQ1U/?tag=skimlinks_replacement-20 you would not have to worry about the elc with that imo after a mo look at bill in not much more turn it up to 400 then again in a month up to 600 and see what the price difference is

Our house was built in 1951. Our house and most of the houses on our street have electric meters inside, not outside. So when the electric utility guys come to read the meters, they ring the doorbell. It's annoying. I'm thinking of contacting them to ask them how much it would cost me to have them install a meter outside [if they would even allow it]. Sometimes it's kind of rude. These college kids come to the door and it could be wet outside from rain and they got these muddy boots on. Some don't give a hell and they just walk in and go down in the basement and we have to clean up their muddy footprints after they leave. Others are more courteous and tie grocery store plastic bags around their boots before stepping inside.

I will be looking for the best way to test for all the elements in the water, but I think that it will be better to use a lab service instead of getting all the precision equipment to test every element. I will need it for a commercial op for growing veggies in recyclable systems where water never gets discarded. I will look into what water bottling companies use. But for a small scale personal grow, I don't think it is worth the trouble

zem, funny you mention a recyclable system where water never gets discarded. The plumbing under our two kitchen sink basins started to leak about 3 months ago. I fixed the leak, but figured I should change the configuration of the PVC piping. Was talking to my neighbor a few days ago, asking him if gray water is legal/illegal in our city. He said he didn't it was illegal, but how would they know anyway. I'm gonna see about running new plumbing out the back of our house with a Y-pipe and a lever so that I can close off the gray water supply to the garden (veggies/herbs) outside when we need to use bleach or something in the kitchen sinks. Other than that, I've read that even dish detergent can't really hurt plants much and there's always the option of getting the safer soaps. We don't have a dish washing machine though.

 

[zem]

well in a recyclable system, there will be only fertilizers and whatever comes with the water source. there will be no soap or such, but there are ferts that get absorbed by the plants more than others, and with time, there will be toxic concentrations from elements that have accumulated, these have to be dealt with, and one great method used is making a herbs and greens farm near vegetables, where residual ferts are diluted and adjusted and fed to the herbs, and some heavy feeding plants can also be grown. They can achieve 0% leaching into the ground

 

[64yoda]

well in a recyclable system, there will be only fertilizers and whatever comes with the water source. there will be no soap or such, but there are ferts that get absorbed by the plants more than others, and with time, there will be toxic concentrations from elements that have accumulated, these have to be dealt with, and one great method used is making a herbs and greens farm near vegetables, where residual ferts are diluted and adjusted and fed to the herbs, and some heavy feeding plants can also be grown. They can achieve 0% leaching into the ground

Oyster mushrooms are also good for this. I read in Paul Stamets' book "Mycelium Running" that Oyster mushrooms even have the ability to take toxic chemicals in the ground, like oil, gasoline, etc. and turn them into simply carbon dioxide and H2O.