Fertilizing Wisely

Discussion in 'Advanced Growing Techniques' started by Norma Stits, Feb 1, 2009.

  1. First, let me add my thanks for this info. I kinda already knew a lot of this but the conversion chart is really helpful info especially. I know its a copy/paste job....still, thanks.
    I have invested (and lost/sold) thousands in grow equipment, the latest products, lights, filters, yada yada. Now I (sometimes) use a cheapo ph meter from Lowe's, grow in cheapo bagged potting soil, and almost never buy fertilizer. Veg and clone under a homemade CFL rig and an old aquarium tube. Flower under 2 x 400w hps. My herb is better now than it's ever been.
    Remember that there are other options for ferts that will not burn or build up excess salts in the soil. Things like worm castings, bat guano, fish emulsion, can be extremely helpful and make for some happy plants. The best veg fert I have ever used is when I clean my fish tank and use that water on my girls. They love it, respond to it immediately, never throw a tantrum. Just saying....there are options to consumerism when it comes to growing in soil.
     
  2. you are talking about gassing your seeds. I forgot but its the same thing they do to ripen fruit, or its the ripening fruits odors that helps give you more fems than males - ethelyne gas, I believe
     
  3. i've never used veg nutes in flower, i don't see the need. especially if you're medium is soil, since it will be holding on to some anyways. there's plenty of little things you can do differently when growing, that have little, to no effect on your plants. just because it's different and doesn't harm your plants, doesn't necessarily mean that it's beneficial. i think sometimes people make it much more difficult than it has to be. weed is fairly simple to grow and not screw up. other than using a few supps, and some fert mixing, i try and use the K.I.S.S. method, as much as possible......
     
  4. I bought an EC meter and decided to do some testing with my Fox Farms nutrients. These are the numbers I got anybody else get anything similar to this?

    Also, the EC of the water and PPM is 0.00 and 0 respectively.

    Fox Farms Grow Big:
    1/4 TSP - .15EC
    1/2 TSP - .30EC

    Fox Farms Big Bloom:
    1/4 TSP - .03EC
    1/2 TSP - .06EC

    Fox Farms Tiger Bloom
    1/4 TSP - .08EC
    1/2 TSP - .16EC

    From what I read in the OP and from the results I got it seems the recommended dosage of these nutrients is going to end up pretty close to the Maximum EC levels mj plants like. Hopefully those numbers can help someone out.
     
  5. if the soil advice is about growing indoors under light its complely wrong
    don't follow the advice
     
  6. You gonna tell us what's wrong or are you too good for that?
     
  7. #207 joe 60, May 20, 2013
    Last edited by a moderator: May 20, 2013
    the coments I disagree with are in bold
     
    Before we look at the results it is important to understand one thing: generally one should never fertilizer more than 0,8 EC on soil.

    as the tap water is 0.43 adding an ec of o.37 (0.8) max will not give the plant the nutes they need
    I have use a ph pen and ec wand over the last 5 years with over 25 crops and the plant need the ec between 1.2-1.4 in flower for the best results

    pulled a very nice yeild by giving a sigle plant an ec of 1.5 and a ph of 6.5 every 2 days
    but felt the ec was a little strong so I drop the ec to 1.3 and the plants love it, to this day still keeping the ec 1.3 in flower


    That's why the first important step is to find out what the EC of your tapwater is. In this example we are using a 50-50 mix of osmosis water and normal tapwater to get 0,43 EC. Obviously,
    if you have a value over 0,8 in your tapwater you have to lower the EC value through filtration. For small gardens it´s sufficient to use a Britt Filter


    Reverse Osmosis does work well but if your ec is 0.6-0.8 you will not be adding any nutes  and heath of the plant will be weak at best
    you need to take the ec upto 1.2 in flower


    I have tried a Britt Filter and it did not drop the ec at all,

    if you do not have the money to buy a household osmosis filter (approx. 150,- Euros). The Britt filter can reduce the EC value by 0,15-0,20.
    Another alternative would be to buy 5L bottles of mineral water when you fertilize. Good mineral water has approx. 0,25 EC.


    all mineral water has a diffent ec and some can be high also the ph can be very high


    To provide the plants with many useful nutrients we first lower the EC level of the water to about 0,45 EC.
    With this level we either mix a nutrient solution of 0,55 EC and water with this solution every 5 days, or we mix a solution of 0,75 EC and water that every 8-10 days.


    why just have a good 20% run off and don't let the pots sit in the water


    Ripen

    This product from General Hydroponics is a real "calorie bomb" with NPK: 0-6-5 and 2,5% magnesium.
    It's almost a complete fertilizer. In cannabis cultivation Ripen is a good choice for fertilizing extreme Sativas that quickly respond to nitrogen with unwanted stretching,
     leafy buds, and retarded flowering. Ripen assists in halting vegetative growth in tall plants quickly during pre-flowering.
    It can be applied in soil grows with quality potting soil during flowering to accelerate bud development and up till the final 15 days before harvest.
    Since it does not contain any nitrogen, use it during early flowering only if you have the plants growing in fresh soil and sufficient pot size,
    so that they have a source for their minimum requirements of nitrogen.
    The recommended dosage is very high (4-5ml/L) so please check your EC levels for the correct dosage.


    alway use some nitrogen up till a week before havest


    What you should watch out for

    The quality of the soil and size of pots decides a great deal about the nutrient needs of your plants.
     If you use strongly pre-fertilized soil it´s possible that your plants don't require any additional feeding till harvest!
    A good example are organic grows that use composted material with a high mineral content (like manure, etc.).
     Some manufacturers sell very potent soil mixes that are almost toxic in their pure form. An example is All-Mix from
     Plagron which has 2,4 EC! If your pots are too small compared to plant size or maturity you will find that your plants quickly suffer from nitrogen deficiency.
    Another factor is light intensity. A fluorescent grow cannot be compared to a sodium vapor grow. More light means bigger plants and higher nutrient requirements.
    a heathy green plant will always give you the best yeild

    If your pots are too small compared to plant size or maturity you will find that your plants quickly suffer from nitrogen deficiency


    lol give the plants nitrogen in flower
    Plagron bat mix will give you  good results in flower and I can pull 8 oz's dry in a 14ltr bucket

    Watering amount

    Not only the EC but also the amount of nutrient solution determines salt levels in the soil.
    The amount you water should not exceed the normal requirements of the plant.
    If a grown cannabis plant in your garden uses 500ml water daily then you should water that same amount with the nutrient solution. Never fertilize on dry soil!


    you should alway give the plants water till there a 20% run off to stop salt build up
    and make sure all the root mass is wet
     
    dry roots will cause problems
     
     
  8. Dude you have hard water, so of course your ppm measurements will be high.


    Not to mention the the amount you feed will mostly depend on how you ammend the soil upnfront.


    The last part is a warning not a rule.

    Glad you found what works for you in your particular circumstances, but the advice in the OP is good.
     
  9. #209 joe 60, May 21, 2013
    Last edited by a moderator: May 21, 2013
    you are right my tap is hard but all the advice
    give is based on the tap water having a ec of 0.43 - 0.8
    even if your tap water has a low ec, you still something to
    to give the trace and second nutes
    so you ec should be round 0.3 before adding any N.p.k
     
  10. Don't fertilize on dry soil? Why?
    Good thing I always use pure water first to moisten up, then fertilized water, then once more I moisten the surface to make sure it seaps even further down in the soil.
     


  11. It'll uptake more water, and therefore take in too many nutes. It can Nute burn.



    Best just to keep watering to a proper level, so you do not have bone dry soil.
     
  12. +rep great post
     
  13. Real good info, thank you lots.

    Sent from my LG-E610 using Grasscity Forum mobile app

     
  14. #214 frosty855, Sep 24, 2013
    Last edited by a moderator: Sep 24, 2013
    I have a few schedues in soil.A nutrient feeds with Ro and and water with ph-d tap water with a little runoff.You can go up to 1,8-2 EC in the last 3 weeks without problem.You can feed twice and then water, just reduce the maximum amount to 1,4 ec.You can feed every time with a good runoff in 0,8-1,2 Ec but just when you see the soil is not enought or empty.Theese all work for me , but i have a good humidity and temp so i water when the fourth day begining.If the humidity is to low you must add just water between the feedings.Thats all , just see the leaves and they tell you whats upp. Sent from my GT-I9505 using Grasscity Forum mobile app
     
  15. Great info! I'm sorry if its a dumb question, but I'm on my first grow now, so I'm learning as I go. How much water do you give the plant when you giving nutes? Do you water until you get drainage through the bottom? Or, is there a set amount?

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  16. depending on the nutrients used a good rule of thumb is to water slowly until you get approximately 10% drainage out the bottom.

    I usually set my pots in a bucket or something and let them uptake from the bottom until the water level stabilizes then i top water until medium is thoroughly wet then remove the pot, letting any built up salt residue to wash away with the drainage. keep your ph stable and it works great. when you remove the pot with the medium moistened like that it helps pull added oxygen to the roots, and if you top dress with nutrients it helps even more.

    Sent from my SGH-S959G using Grasscity Forum mobile app

     
  17. Thanks,  a great read and something to think about. 
     
    You might want to get a calculator to fix some of your percentages.
     
  18. never fucked the plant with a lot of PK shit .Its more difficult to flushed away than Nitrogen .This is why use PK as starter fertilizer , they attached to the soil colloids. The N washed down in the soil easily.
     
  19. Alright I found a plant growing in my yard. wasn't planned. Must have thrown a seed out. Anyway, I want to keep it growing and move it as well but I cant keep it inside. Its already about 4-6 inches with a few leaves. I could really use some pointers

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  20. If you have a spot picked out for this plant....than put her in a 5 gallon bucket of fox farm soil and if she can finish out in one spot the rest of her life...cut the bottom out of the bucket...and she will give you plenty of love in come october!
     

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