Hydrolife Magazine August/September 2017 [USA Edition]

It's something often
MISUNDERSTOOD,
OVERLOOKED, and
HIGHLY IMPORTANT.
Unlike pH, nutrient concentration
should be adjusted for different strains of
cannabis. The electrical conductivity (EC)
or total dissolved solids (TDS) are both
measurements used to determine the
nutrient concentration in your medium.
“You can definitely manipulate how
often and how much you feed individual
strains,” Haché says. “The fast-growing
plants will be very hungry. You can
afford to feed them more and keep
pushing them. If you were to do the same
to a shorter, slower growing plant, you
might push them too much.”
Overfeeding a plant will likely result
in nutrient burn, causing the plant’s
leaf tips to turn yellow or brown. Left
unchecked, nutrient burn will hinder
growth and yield. Underfeeding will
also affect the plant’s ability to reach
its full potential.
To find out what’s right for the
strains in your garden, Haché
recommends starting with a low
nutrient concentration in the cloning or
seed phase of growth. The EC should
gradually increase as the plant matures.
“To find out how far you can go, push.
It is a matter of trial and error and
knowing your plants. Make sure you take
notes and keep track,” he says. “There
are also early telltale signs you can see
if you’re pushing too much.”
“With a nine-week flowering or 10-
week flowering plant, I would peak
around the fourth or fifth week, so you
can start your flush at the end. You
slowly creep up,” says Haché.
A gradual increase, as well as a
slow decline, in EC will allow you to
determine how far you are able to
push your plants while avoiding
possible shock caused by drastic
swings in nutrient concentration.
“Never have big shifts. A change
is a stressor,” says Haché. “Consistency
is key with anything you
do with plants.”
William Tremblay is an awardwinning
writer and
photojournalist based
in Toronto, Ontario. His
work has been published
in numerous magazines and
newspapers across Canada,
covering a wide range of topics
from restaurants to politics to
coroner’s inquests. Outside of
the newsroom, he is an avid
traveler, wood worker, and
cannabis enthusiast.
The EC should peak about halfway
through the flowering stage of growth.
myhydrolife.com
grow. heal. learn. enjoy. 27