From low Ph to nutrient lockout. From water problems and low humidity. From transpiration issues to now. Its been quite a journey but I have finally got there.

Does anyone have a link for the live from Saturday? I cant find it on YouTube

https://www.youtube.com/live/MvNoGto0w9c?si=1i3ZpwqVZ0n6ZZHJ A bit late, sorry crew, here is the live from last week on youtube. they will be on youtube moving forward, and they will be every week until further posted. - Cheers

Maybe this isn't the place to do this, and then again, maybe it is. Some of you may know the following about me already and some may not, but I think it is important to state it upfront to give context for what I'm about to talk about -- the actual topic and reason for my post. As a preface I'm going to list a few facts, bits of personal information that I wouldn't typically share but ones I believe are quite relevant... I am so new to hydroponic growing that I haven't even started germinating my first seed yet let alone grown a plant hydroponically. I live in Minnesota where we experience short growing seasons outdoors due to our brutal winter conditions. I will soon turn 65 years old. The United States department of Social Security officially deemed me to be disabled more than 20 years ago, which means my income is quite small and my potential to earn an income to provide for myself during what is often labeled as "later life" or "retirement years" is even smaller. I recently moved out of my son's house into a one bedroom apartment, so I am basically starting over as it pertains to household necessities such as, well pretty much everything...linens, furniture, pantry staples and basic items for cooking, cleaning, living, etc. So, why did I share this information? Those details are my receipts, my proof that I have experienced more than a few years of life in general, but moreso a life with struggles and hardship. No, I'm not looking for sympathy or help but rather, showing that I have first hand knowledge and experience with food insecurity, the newest label given to describe not only the lack of abundant and healthy food, but also to include the knowledge of where and when my next meal may be coming from. An hour or so ago I received a press release from my state officials regarding grant awards given to a handful of private colleges in Minnesota for the purpose of addressing the food insecurity of students on these campuses. The press release listed the stipulations that were included with these grants as to the action steps that were required, by the state, to be taken by the colleges, in order to qualify for the costs incurred to be covered for payment by the these funds, which totalled hundreds of thousands of dollars.

My process for topping up is as follows- add 8l of RO water. Add my nutrients and stirring between each one. Adjust the ph if needed. My RO water is very alkaline and has a ph of 7.5-8. My plants are growing my ph everyday went down by 0.1 and by 7 days it had gone down to 5.6 but there was no room in my reservoir to top up so everyday I have to add in ph up. Now according to chat gpt which could be wrong- i need to adjust my top off water in my bucket to around 6.8 then add the nutrients and then pour it into the tower garden. This is what it said Why adjusting water down to ~6.8 helps By pre‑adjusting the water to ~6.8, you’re partially neutralizing the alkalinity of the water before adding nutrients. This reduces the initial chemical reaction between the alkaline carbonates and the acidic nutrient salts. As a result: The solution starts closer to the target pH Less “correction” is needed after adding nutrients Over time, the pH stays more stable because the main source of drift (reaction of water alkalinity with nutrient acids) has been reduced Think of it like pre‑tempering the water so the nutrient solution can settle at your target pH instead of swinging around.