E.c reading help

[Jj71]

Hi
Just posted another question and was asked about E.C reading.
Just read a article about it but it lost me!!
Can anyone recommend a read on this and how to alter your e.c ?
Am I correct that the reading is from the run off?
Thanks

[IceCalibur]

EC stands for Electric Conductivity, and to keep things as simple as possible it's a value we use to measure the concentrations of nutrient salts in our water...

This is a great way to know how much in terms of nutrients we are giving to a plant, or if we hit problems, it's a great way to check what might be wrong by checking the runoff which you touched upon.


So by measuring the amount of food we are adding and understanding our 'base EC' (base EC is what the total amount of dissolved salts is in our water source, before adding any nutrients), we can adjust and give our plants what they need at their different stages.

From that guide I shared with you (New Growers Guide To Canna Coco And Nutrients), this was posted as a general guide (not be taken as exact) ;

Seedling stage - Ec 0.4-0.6
Early Veg - Ec 0.6-0.8
Late Veg - Ec 0.8-1.1
Early Flower - Ec 1.1-1.2
Mid Flower - Ec 1.2-1.4
Late Flower - Ec 1.2-1.4

Put simply, the more nutrients you add to the water, the higher the number and the lower the amount of nutrients added, the lower the number.

So using that..you can check with your EC meter once you have created your feed, if you're in the same ballpark, obviously again, it's a guide..so if you notice the plant is hungry, increase it, if the plants shows signs of burning, lower the amount.

Do not worry though, these numbers won't make sense right now..they will make more sense once you have an EC meter and you're checking your water and feed.

I hope that helps a little