Basic’s to Growing Big Buds

[Somatek]

I can’t remember which thread it was in but someone mentioned their soil was cracking between waterings.  Which got me thinking that there isn’t a thread about basic cultural practices that help grow big buds.  For example cultivating your soil top to make sure there’s even evaporation as well as saturation during watering.  Breaking up the top layer of soil will prevent cracks like that from forming, I try to remember to do it a couple hours after watering but at the very least before each watering.

For hydro growers covering any net pots and such is often overlooked but drastically increases both evaporation and algae growth on the growing medium.  Simple panda plastic cut a bit bigger then any openings with a slit down the middle for the stem and secured in place can make a big difference for controlling humidity and also keep the EC/pH stable as evaporation will cause bigger swings.

Pulling off dead leaves once they’re half dead/faded is another basic practice that’s often overlooked but it’s at greater risk for picking up pathogens.

Which is a good way to bridge to proper spraying of pesticides.  Plants should never be dry when sprayed, always make sure they have decent moisture or water and give awhile before spraying.  If using a new product or generally with home made sprays you should test spray some lower leaves on a plant or two to check for phytotoxic reactions.  Never spray under the lights, spraying after they go off is usually best.  Watch out for overspray hitting your lights, either protect them by covering with something/moving out of the way or cleaning them off after which is perfectly fine option for a cool tube, I wouldn’t want to be wiping off LED lights all the time as  that seems like unnecessary wear and tear.  Finally making sure all parts of the plant, top and especially bottom of leaves is essential.  Any missed leaf is potentially bugs that’ll spread and improper spraying is often more to blame for persistent pests then ineffective pesticides.

Cleaning and calibrating pH/EC meters is often over looked.  Read the manuals on how to properly care for them, how often they should be calibrated, etc.  A probe is only as good as the maintenance and I’ve helped people solve their issues which came back to uncalibrated probes reading very high or low (like of by a pH of plus or minus 2-3, so an actual pH 6.5 reading as low as 3.5 or high as 9.5 causing them to add way too much pH up/down to adjust).

Anyone else have common basic cultural mistakes they see people make which are easily corrected with proper knowledge about basic technique?  Anyone have questions about how to properly do basic gardening chores that are best answered in one primer for beginners since often it’s these little things that make a big difference in growing big buds.

[Keith]

That’s was very helpful.  There was a lot I didn’t know in there.  I haven’t had to deal with bugs yet and have never really done any sort of ipm.  Recently I did get yellow sick traps and put the out.  Do you recommend any type of ipm for indoor?

 

[Somatek]

Isn’t there an IPM thread already?  Short version is Neem oil and KHCO3 sprayed weekly.  That’s a big topic in and of itself but some basic cultural practices that tie into IPM would be having filters on your intake fans to limit spores/bugs, washing/changing clothes before going into the grow room, sweeping/cleaning the room regularly and thoroughly sanitizing between crops, keep porous materials out of the grow room/having all paper/grow charts/fert charts laminated so they can be sterilized with everything else instead of being a contamination vector.

Or when cloning making sure things are sterile, using diluted bleach to clean tools between plants, spraying the work area down between plants, not dipping clones in the same rooting gel/powder, etc to minimize cross contamination of possible viruses.

Sticky traps are mostly a way to monitor for bugs but are pretty limited in actually controlling them.  Which is equally important as if you don’t know what bugs are around you don’t know how to control them.  Regular monitoring of your leaves for signs of insect damage, bugs or eggs is important.  A jeweler loop or magnifying scope is ideal, especial since you can get good digital camera’s now to easily post pics to help with pathogen ID.

A useful tip if you end up with mites in your flower room at harvest is to put tanglefoot or some other sticky substance or either end of your drying lines so the mites can’t easily migrate off the dead plants to live ones.  Spraying permethrin (synthetic, long lasting pyrethrum) around doors/tent flaps is another layer of defense, just make sure you don’t spray plants and be aware of off gassing. Like I said, IPM is an expansive topic, best covered in a thread dedicated to it (which I’m pretty sure there is one if you look back through the pages) as then we can also dig into specific IPM strategies for specific pests as that’s how it’s properly applied.  True Integrated Pest Management is being aware of all the potential pathogens that could attack your crop and having layered defense strategies like cultural interventions to limit the chance of getting an infestation, physical interventions to contain the spread and deal with it, spraying with pesticides, having beneficial’s, etc.  Think of it like a castle with layers of moats, spike pits, etc to defend against the invading hordes of pests looking to pillage your crop.

[Brad104]

I could listen to your information for days on end soma I wish I was closer to Canada lol 😆

[Somatek]

You say that until I casually mention that my buddy woke up to snow this morning lol.  Not that I complain, I’m lucky to live is such a stable country with a mostly functional democracy while also recognizing the systemic racism, unchecked corporate greed and non-representational electoral system are issues citizens need to address by holding the powers that be to a higher standard.  My Quebec Grandfather use to always say “vote every time, otherwise you don’t have the right to complain about the government idiocy until the next election” which oddly stuck with me.

Back to the point, is there any cultural topics you want more info about or have tips to share?

[Brad104]

I just think that we should add the pH meter you told me about with an glass probe can be bought for it if you can no longer clean your old one so purchase a pH meter that’s probe you can replace cheaply as possible.

[Somatek]

You mean the Oakton or Apera pH pens with replaceable probes I recommended over blulab pens?  There’s other brands with replaceable probes but I’ve used Oakton pens for years with little problems, lately over the last couple years I’ve talked to a number of people that say Apera are equal quality and a bit less expensive, although I’ve never used one.  The blu lab truncheon (aka EC stick) is great, probably my fav EC meter but their pH pen and EC pen I wasn’t nearly as impressed with.

[Brad104]

Yes I couldn’t remember the name and I didn’t want to try and track back that Convo so thanks I thought 💭🤔 that’s good information for lots of people, for I try to save every dollar I can for I’m on a budget myself and your suggestion saves 25 dollars over the Blu lab also if I’d have bought one without the replacement probe. So once again a big thank you @somatek

[Somatek]

Spending money wisely is important for any grower as there’s lots of toys that can help even if not essential; so it’s important to do the research, read lots of reviews and understand what you’re paying for. Especially in a marketing heavy industry like growing

[Author]

Posts