I have three plants in my backyard (Southern California) and all three are different phenos (two different genotypes). They seem to be healthy and growing well but really lacking in bud production.
They are in hempy buckets, and my nutrient solution consists of 400ish PPM tap water+600ppm of Jack’s hydro. I use RO water+600ppm Jack’s hydro for my indoor grows but outdoors I have been experimenting with tap water because my outdoor plants usually drink so much more water being in the sun and I can’t make so much RO water for my outdoor plants, especially when considering how much water goes to waste with RO systems. Is it possible the tap water is the main cause for my lack of bud production??
All plants are from seed and were veg’d indoor and then brought outside to flower. Here are pics:
Soulmate (bred by bodhi), pheno #4, about 6 weeks in flower
I’m in southern california where temps get as low as 60 degrees farenheit at night and as hot as lower 80s in the daytime. I have grown plants in hempy buckets outdoor with jacks hydro and tap water in the past and have gotten great results with yield. It seems lately though I have been lacking in bud production. I’m wondering if the municipal tap water could’ve changed in the past few years and creating a different nutrient profile? I also noticed the plants were darker green than I remember when I brought them outside… can it simply be a case of over-fertilization maybe? Would appreciate some feedback on what can possibly be contributing to lack of bud production!
Our tap water comes from a dugout on my property in northern Alberta and is hard like yours at 400ppm and pH 8 so I never use it more than I have to even outside. RO indoors only and this year I’ll have my own RO unit so RO only outside too.
The minerals in your tap water stay behind when your plant drinks all that water and build up in the soil raising the pH so that could be the problem. I’d flush that out with lots of the tap water and follow right away with a fresh batch of bloom nutes high in K made in RO water to get rid of the last of the tap water used. Then they’ll be feeding on better food minus all the tap minerals.
They look pretty good to me! Can only grow autos outside here in the great white north.
No expert but the look like the have been fed high nitrogen veg food throughout flower . The only time I grew plants like yours was when I added too much N to the soil .
It could also be excess iron , i believe that will lock out phosphorous
You have to find out what the 400ppm in the water is . Until then try using only the tap water necessary
So first thing I noticed was CaCO3, which is calcium carbonate if my google fu is correct. Does that mean my tap water has 126ppm of calcium in it already? That’s a hefty amount if so right? So my plants were probably getting way more than enough calcium which explains the healthy growth I’ve been getting even though it doesnt appear to be stacking buds? So because of the calcium in the tap water my profile is probably “unbalanced” with this tap water mix?
Wondering if I should maybe not add the part B (calcium nitrates) of my jack’s hydro mix when i mix jack’s with my tap water to compensate for the calcium carbonates that already in my tap water?
also wondering if someone would happen to know how sulfates, chlorides, and/or sodium could be affecting my nutrients and as a result, my plants?
According to this website my sodium and chloride levels could be affecting my nutrient profile?
if sodium or chloride is high in the growing medium, while other beneficial elements are at low or normal levels, the plant, which cannot tell them apart, will take up what is in the growing medium. Therefore the plant may not acquire sufficient levels of a required beneficial element and can leads to its deficiency in the tissue.
If sodium or chloride levels are high to excessive in the growing medium, it is most likely coming from the water. Test the water. Problems can occur if sodium and chloride levels in water exceed 50 and 70 ppm, respectively. If so, it is important to allow water to run out the bottom of each container at every watering to minimize build up of these elements. Also fertility levels cannot drop below normal levels as these waste ions will be absorbed in higher ratios vs. desired fertilizer elements. Monitor the salt levels in the growing medium at least every one to two weeks as they can quickly build up. If sodium or chloride levels in the water exceed 150 or 200 ppm, respectively, then reverse osmosis is the best option.
I did hempys in Folgers cans outside in central california. Ya the water sucks, I used sulfuric acid for my ph down. Should help with salts in water also. Your growing in the winter/spring months right? Less sunlight equals reduced yield and bud size. All my off season grows we’re smaller buds.
yes, that is the next thing I am suspecting if not the tap water - the weather/sunlight? I can’t recall if any of my past big yielders outside were run during winter/spring but i do recall some winters being pretty disappointing as far as yield goes
I was doing this living in the Central Valley. Photos work better in the winter cause you veg big and then put out. Autos just suck in winter cause they get no light, it’s a little chilly and their bitches about it.
I would try an RV in-line water filter. They are cheap and should give you a nice reduction in your PPM. (especially when you are at 477ppm, god damn if my water goes above 50 i get pissed. lol)
For about 20$ its not a bad try. make sure it isn’t just a charcoal filter and has the mechanical filter as well usually between 10 to 20 microns.
*The Boogie Brew water filters are the same RV filters but a little larger than average with some extra filtration tech added. They say they remove 90% of the chlorine/chloramines and 15% of the mineral salts. 15% at 477ppm isnt bad you can also put a couple in series.
Although for the price i would start with having a couple RV filters from walmart in series and see if you get a good result.
Been thinking about trying to cut out the CalciNit at this point but not sure if that could end up disastrous as I’ve never veered away from the standard mix ratio of A+B. I’m currently at half strength solution hoping that might have a similar effect, not sure if I should go full strength but just without the CalciNit
I don’t recall growing plants this time of year so often. I went through my Snapchat stories to see if I took any pics during those months and this was the only harvest photo I could find. (I don’t think I’ve had many grows around this time of year to base a benchmark opinion on)
This photo was taken in February a few years ago and it’s also lacking in bud production. In fact, I think it was the first time I grew plant outside and was disappointed in yield. It was also grown in a hempy bucket
This is a photo of a harvest of an outdoor plant that was harvested in October. This plant had very nice bud structure… BUT WAS GROWN IN ORGANIC SOIL… so maybe not the greatest to compare to?
