PK 13-14 in Potting Mix

[Haratio Hornblower]

Cant remember where i took this, but....

 

"a few here in our coop have used Canna products, we actually live and die by canna. We have found the best use of their PK 13/14 to be as follows:

- once you see more than pistil development (i.e. small fruits appear) start using the PK @ a ratio of 3 mL/gallon

- during the next watering up the PK dosage to 4 mL/gallon, the next watering to 5 mL/gallon, finally you get to their recommended dosage of 6 mL/gallon, where you water once at that dosage level (*at this time you have watered with PK over a 9 day interval*)

- this is the most crucial part of the PK water system, JUST LIKE HUMANS AND DRUGS, THE PLANTS MUST WEAN OFF OF THE PK AS TO NOT STRESS ITS GROWTH PATTERNS. Therefore, after your 6 mL/gallon PK watering session, come down to 5 mL/gallon, then 3 mL/gallon and you should have perfectly PK'd your plants.

 

I know the bottle and PK reps 'say' "PK for only one week," but we have found in our coop and by 'talking' (wink-wink) directly to reps while off-duty (wink-wink), elongating the PK period will allow your plants to directly utilize the PK throughout its growth up until its second flush watering (at which point almost all gets flushed) where the fruits you are ready to savour have bulged with more growth than the 1 week suggested period.

 

I hope this helps, just opinions from experimenting and being pleasantly surprised with my results "

[Haratio Hornblower]

Also it's important to calibrate your meters according to instructions keep readings accurate.

 

I think those $10 ones are factory calibrated only, so you won't be able to re-calibrate it.

Stix87 is on the money with his Blue lab truncheon. Very reputable.

 

I am actually looking at getting a nutrient monitor myself. The one I'm looking at is like the pic below.

 

http://i.ebayimg.com/00/$(KGrHqV,!icE2Lv9ZuwmBNtdZBnzBQ~~0_12.JPG

 

 

 

Control Wizard CWP 24-7 pH / TDS / Temp Nutrient Meter

 

 

Cost about $200 on ebay and comes from the US. I know it seems like a lot of money but it's perfect for my bubbleponics setup.

I wonder if anyone has had experience with this particular meter?

Maybe I should spend a bit more and get the Blue Lab Combo meter coz it does EC, pH, ppm, and temp.

 

My instrument of choice'

Get from bluelab direct. New Zealand where they are produced

better exchange rate and cheaper postage..

 

 

Bluelab Combo Meter™

 

Better crops start with the Bluelab Combo Meter, it's all you need for simple and reliable crop management and it's all within arms reach. It is a conductivity, pH and temperature meter all in one. It comes with the Bluelab pH Probe and Bluelab Conductivity/Temperature Probe, which are simply placed into the solution and the selected reading is displayed on screen.

http://www.getbluelab.com/site/bluelab/images/products/bluelab-combo-meter-364-2.jpg

As the Bluelab Combo Meter is portable and does not require a power supply to operate, it can be used anytime and anywhere to help you manage your crops daily nutrient requirements.

Calibration of the pH is very easy, using the push buttons on the meter and fresh Bluelab calibration solutions. Conductivity and temperature do not need to be calibrated as this is locked in during manufacture.

The Bluelab Combo Meter gives you the added benefit of being able to select the display options for °C or °F and EC, CF, ppm 500 and ppm 700.

 

[louise]

Yes any nutes that you use in hydro can be used in soil. If you go with a low EC of about 0.7 you'll be fine. Not knowing how big your pots are or what is in your soil mix I can only guess as to the amount of nutrient solution you need to give them.

 

Canna suggest exactly the same amount of PK 13/14 for the same length of time, regardless of the media.

 

1.5 ml/L given during week 4 or 5.

[zeuss]

Thankyou for all the suggestions people. I have a mate with an expensive metering system so will check the EC meter against his one, i brought one of the cheapo PH meters and that shows exactly the same as my chinese one, also my cheapo PPM meter corresponds exactly to what his says so i have a bit of hope that the EC meter works ok, if not i will have to fork out for a better one, i have had very exe PH meters in the past for another nasty hobby i was invloved with and they don't seem to last any longer than the cheap ones, tho i guess dipping them in caustic and very acid solutions nothing will last for long

I am not sure what size my pots are either, they are pretty big, i can just fit 9 of them in my 1.2m2 tent so when it comes time to use the PK13-14 i will do as you say Louise and use it at 1.5ml per litre, now i just need to try and figure out when week 4 - 5 is

Cheers

Z

[zeuss]

Would anyone like to have a guess as to how long these plants have to go? just so as i can get this PK13-14 on at the right time?

Cheers

Z

 

 

 

 

[Budzzz]

Hey zeuss that's some nice girls you got there. Awesome!

 

If I had to guess I'd say those girls are into about the 5th week of flowering. And they do look sativa dominant, so could end up needing another 4-6 weeks(But I could be way off). The best way to check to see when they are ready is by looking at the trichomes and seeing if they are turnng amber or cloudy white. Don't harvest when they're still clear.

You should be right to give em PK from now and right up til the flush.

[everest]

yea now would be a good time for pk , with the soil mix i water with pk , let dry , water again .. let dry ... then flush with fresh water ... maintain nutes at full strength ... my pk cycle would be about 9 days ,depending temps of grow room ..

 

ev

[zeuss]

Thanks for all the help here guys, i watered them yesterday so will start with the PK13-14 probably tomorrow and see what happens, looking forward to see if i can notice any improvement. I guess it's still ok to use the standard nutrients at the same time (Canna Flora)?

Have a great day people, i better get of my arse and get to work..

Z

[buzzo]

I use the cheapo PH meter and EC meter. I have found them to be very accurate.

The PH meter will drift substantially when new. Always keep the PH meter sitting in distilled water never let it dry out.

The cheap PH meter usually comes with test solution of PH 4 in one packet and PH 7 in another packet.

mix the PH 7 test solution with 250 ml of distilled water keep that test solution in a suitable light proof bottle.

The cheap PH meter has only a 1 point calibration. If you wash the PH meter with ditilled water and then place it in the test solution

you will find that the test solution with stay good for a year or more, but always make sure the meter is perfectly clean before placing it in the

test solution or over time the test solution will become corrupted.

Be aware the cheap PH meter have low quality batteries so keep and eye of the voltage.

 

Now for the EC meter I also use a elcheapo EC meter and have found it has stayed in perfect cal.

The easy way to tell if the EC meter is accurate is to place it in distilled water and it should read zero.

The town water at my place it pretty consistant EC of 0.18 so i dip it in the town water to see if it reads just that.

 

As for the PK13/14 if using Coco as the growing medium you should only use it for 7 days, because the cellular stucture of the Coco hogs Potassium and Calcium.

Unless you do the wrong thing like many people and flush the living fuck out of the Coco with plain water. The reason you shouldn't flush Coco with plain water is it will kill off the trichaderma and buffers that good quality coco is bufferd with. Leaving you plant open to vunerable to disease. flushing Coco with plain water regularly after the one week of PK 13/14 will also reduce the amount of PK 13/14 stored in the Coco. I never flush my plants until a week or 10 days before they get the chop but I always do make sure I have at least 20% run off every feed during the whole grow.

7 or 10 days before culling I use distilled water and Cannazym. The Cannazym doesn't effect the taste of the end product. Essentially the Cannazym turns the dead root material into food the plant can use, so I have found the flushing with Cannazym assists the plants in there final stages.

 

Yes I know you are using potting mix, and what I have just said doesn't really apply in your case.

It's mainly for the benifit of the Coco users out there that don't do the right thing.

I don't get 3.5 ounces per plant in 10 weeks from germination for nothing, and thats with only 2.5 liter pots. and 250 watt HPS. I'm yet to see anyone grow better auto's with my lean pot size and HPS wattage.

The 2.5 liter pots are old juice containers so they are deep and thin, with is preferable. I only use these small pots because the auto's are said and done in such a short time. When I look at the roots at the end of the grow, they are root bound but only just!

I would think from what others have said about using it with soil sounds about right. keep in mind the PK13/14 is much stronger than normal flowering nutes.If you use to much or use it for to long you will cause nutrient lock out regardless of the growing medium.

 

So the most important thing about all this is PH buffer test solution is absolutely essential!!!!!!!!!!!

Keeping the meter sitting in clean water when not in use is also essential!!!!!!!!!!!!

Test your PH meter at least once a week. I check mine every few days. If you find the meter has drifted a lot then its probably because of black looking bacteria build up on the glass tube ECT or the batteries are low in voltage. Clean the probe and retest and adjust if required.

 

As for the Canna Boost I have nver used it, mainly becuase other more experienced Coco growers than myself have found the increase in bud size and weight gain by using the stuff is not worth the money. As you know it very expensive stuff, so is Rhizotonic. I have found seasol works just as good as Rhizotonic if not better and at a fraction of the price.

 

I have found every time I deviate away from what Canna say and recomend (except for the Seasol Subsitution) I end up with problems.

 

Who here can honestly say they know better than the Chemists at Canna!!!!!!!!!!

Edited June 15, 2012 by buzzo