i used hydroplex for late flowering too, i used it w/ ripe 2/3 ripe 1/3 hplx worked out nice when you do add supplements, be sure and get a qt of the silica blast. its cheap, and ya dont use much so it will last a good long time
yeah i saw that silica blast is pretty cheep and you dont use alot so ill probably pick it up for this grow.
I have a lot of experience with Botanicare and have had nothing but good results with every one of their products EXCEPT the Silica Blast. For the money you'll get quite a bit more silica using Dyna-Gro Pro-Tekt. Much better results with that product over Silica Blast. With regards to their nutrient profiles and which to pick, stick with the Coco/Soil blend for the Grow or the Bloom. I think that a person could get by with just the Bloom if using Cal-Mag Plus and Hydroplex as supplements. Use the 2-2-3 Bloom as the base and supplement with 2-0-0 Cal-Mag Plus at up to 5ml/gallon during veg and Hydroplex 0-10-6 up to 5ml/gallon during flowering. That's all you'll really need to dial in the levels close enough for success. I got great results out of CNS 17 Ripe 1-5-4 in Roots Organics Coco soilless mix. It's amended with worm castings which will break down over the course of flowering to provide additional nitrogen. The addition of Hydroplex as a Phosphorus supplement and Big Bud Dry as a potassium supplement was a delicate balancing act but gave great results. The nice thing about the Bloom is that your plants require more potassium than any other element. Coco will break down and provide this element all on its own but I find that some strains need more that the coco can offer on demand. Having a Potassium dominant supplement around, be it something like Snow Storm Ultra, Uncle John's Blend, or something more hard core like Deuce-Deuce... Whatever you do choose I'd recommend having something around to tune this element if you decide not to get the Bloom. Personally I like having a 2-2-3 plus the Cal-Mag plus because it has a better balance for people who start from clone and go into flowering pretty quick after rooting. I just don't need that much nitrogen because I don't veg long and I use an amended coco mix. For someone like myself, or for soil growers, the Bloom mix is probably a better choice. The Ripe is a given, you gotta get that stuff, but don't think that Grow is better than Bloom, or Bloom is better than Grow... It all depends on circumstances, methods, and styles. I have made the mistake of going into a store with a battle plan and getting talked into something else by the salesman. It's only caused me grief. Liquid Karma will keep your plants healthy. I think that's all it does really, just keeps them slow and steady and winning the race. Winning. I don't always use LK, and I find when I'm not that I have more issues with heat/nutrient stress even at reasonable levels. LK does carry a ridiculous EC too which can be deceiving, don't be afraid to use a final solution of 1.8ec when running 10ml of the stuff. Cal-Mag Plus increases your EC by 0.1 with every 1ml per gallon. It is calibrated that way, so when you're running 5ml/gallon that is an extra 0.5ec, or somewhere between 250ppm and 350ppm. With regards to Calcium and Magnesium, you don't need more than 0.5ec increase of these elements, especially when pushing Grow or Bloom. And don't be afraid of 1/4tsp to 1/2tsp of Epsom Salt in a 5 gallon reservoir. The extra 10-15ppm of Magnesium and Sulfur that you'll pick up can make a huge difference down the road. Sometimes you need the mag, and not the cal, so the Epsom Salt in late flowering, just a little bit, makes a big difference. The Ripe contains a good amount of Mag in relation to Potassium (1:4) but some plants are just hogs. CNS 17 FTW
dont forget sweet! totally worth it, makes your bud tastier, more aromatic, and overall a more enjoyful smoke i used it with cns-17, i used all 3 and it worked great. my budget wasn't too cheap for me to cut corners on the food. i figured, 3 bottles is better than 5-7 lol i also use calmag and a bit of superthrive here and there (most typically during flushes)