I emailed AN and asked "When using your nutrient calculator for soil grows, should I enter the total amount of water I plan to use over a week's time in the reservoir size, or should I use the amount of water I use for each watering?" They replied "The amount to use in the reservoir is the amount of water to be applied per watering, not for the whole week. Although the nutrients should be applied at the full strength only once a week." I read a reply that they sent someone else that states "The amount suggested in the nutrient calculator are the total nutrients to feed the plant for a whole week, not the amount to give them per feeding." This seems to conflict with their response to my question as the total amount of nutrients suggested in the calculator changes as you change the reservoir size. Can someone that uses AN tell me which is correct?
first you say you have a soil grow, the you go on to post about a RES... so what is it? a soil or hydro grow? if its a soil grow wouldn't it be easier to mix up a gallon at a time and then just Nute, Nute, water or something to that effect? this way your not always over nuting your soil and plant?
I think they are saying it is the amount for the week because you should only be "feeding" them once a week. Any other watering during that week is water only. Using the word "reservoir" did make it confusing, but I think you got it. The number you put in the calculator is indeed the amount of water you have in your container/bucket in which you will be mixing the nutes.
If you used the AN calculator, you would understand why I refer to my soil and then refer to a reservoir. Their calculator asks how big your reservoir is, and you must use this whether you grow with soil or with hydro. If growing with soil, the "reservoir" will be the jug that you mix your nutrients in. Since I grow in soil, I was asking if I should enter the total amount of water I add to jugs over a weeks period or the amount of water I use each time I water. The confusion is because the total amount of nutrients goes up as your reservoir size goes up. If the total amount of nutrients they suggest is for a weeks period of time, then I would obviously need to divide that over how ever many times I water in a week. The bottles don't say whether to feed with each watering or once a week, which also adds to the confusion.
Definitely the amount that you are using to feed them for that day. The other watering amounts for the week will vary widely throughout the life the plants.
^Gotcha, thank you! I had a feeling I was feeding too much for something that is supposedly concentrated.
I did the exact same thing when I first started advanced nutrients. Once you have them right they seem to work like magic!
You want to give your soil plants nutrients/additives only once a week, with 1-2 waterings in between depending on how long it takes for your soil to dry. As far as how much to use, 4ml/liter or 16ml/gal of EACH A&B (for sensi) Depending on where and when you purchased your Sensi, it may already be PH-Perfect meaning that if you start with RO water that has a native ph of 6.5-7.5, you dont have to adjust it at all! itll adjust itself! Love AN!
^Thank you! How can I tell if the Sensi I bought is the ph perfect version? I've read all about it, but I don't know how to differentiate between the new and old versions.
If you purchased it direct from the website, or in canada, anytime in the last year, its PH-Perfect. If purchased from a state-side hydro shop it may or may not be depending on how good there product turnover is :-\ I know at my hydro shop we have some nutrients that no one ever buys and have been sitting on the shelf for a year +. All this info direct from an AN sales rep. You wont see anything on the bottle about it being ph-perfect due to some labeling fiasco and what a nutrient company is allowed and not allowed to put on its label. Hope I helped!
I mixed my bloom nutrients for the first time last night and added a tsp of molasses to each. The ph has not been a problem up until now and I haven't had to adjust anything using RO water. I am assuming the molasses greatly reduces ph because it took A LOT of ph up to get it right.
Must be. BTW, I have been told that molasses has too large a molecule to be as much benefit to the plant as say AN's Bud Candy which is specifically designed for that purpose.
^Thanks. Here is what I found regarding the molasses molecules: "It feeds the micro organisms in the soil, the plant does not take it up as is, the molecules are too big to be absorbed by the roots. After the micro organisms break it down, THEN it is absorbed."
I have to say that this is a lot of great info - and stuff that I'm going to print up and save. The calculator is great, and yes you just need to use less than what the calculator says. Too muhc of a good thing is still too much - even with AN. And thanks to the folks taht posted answers from AN - I've always had a good time when Ive mailed or called, and it's good to see that I'm not the only one. Some of teh shills for other places try to make the newbs think that AN doesn't help. They helped me a lot when I first started...
True, it doesn't matter if you're using Advanced Nutrients or something else - NEVER EVER EVER use it at the full printed strength on the bottle the first time. You never know how strong it's mixed or how that company decides what "full strength" is. Do they use 1000w HPS and CO2 to decide their benchmark? Or 600w and no CO2? What strain? It all makes a difference. I always cut back to 1/2 strength and then dial up week by week until I see the faintest hint of tip burn. Then compare that to my journal of similar feeding programs in the past on the same or similar strains and work out what I think the best week by week feeding schedule would be. Or you can go simpler and just say that if you saw a bit of burn at 75% strength you'll just run their feeding schedule at 70% across the board. Point is, though, that you can't count on the label to do all the work for you.
Indeed....I've learned more from growing experience than from anything a bottle said. The label is a great starting point, but you have to watch your plants to see what they like, what they don't like, what's working for the envrionment, etc. It all comes with experience...and some folks on teh boards seem to think they can just do a few things and everything will work itself out - not so much. You actually have to work at it to get the results you want.
(OP here) I definitely learned the hard way that AN's recommendations are a bit exaggerated. I'm trying to learn to recognize what my plants are telling me and feeding them accordingly. Thanks for everyone's advice!