Hi everybody I could really use some info from some semi-established growers (or better yet, some real pros). A LITTLE BASIC INFO: Currently there are 3 females of unknown bag variety, one looking more sativa, the two others looking slightly indica, somewhere roughly about a month into flowering. These are under Cfl's for a first grow in a closet. One is waist high, the other a little shorter, and the last shorter yet. I am about to do the final transplant into standard 5 gallon pails. This is my first grow, I read as much as I can and am open to new things, but for now have kept it to the K.I.S.S (keep it simple, stupid lol) method. I have tried different pre mixed soils, up to this point, using so far mostly organic M.G. soil. It's been ok, but I'd like to improve. I hope what I have purchased will be good enuf. I know I could have purchased better products, but money and travelling long distances have been constraints. Basically, I'd like to ease into being a better grower lol, I don't want to overdo myself with technical things now. I'd like to get a general feel first. I just picked up (6) 20 pound bags of Hydropex basic potting soil, no additives. I got two bags of MG. Perlite, (8 qts each). These have time released nutes but not much I dont. think. like .0x of whatever. I hope its not too much, its all that was available. Then another 20 pound bag of compost manure. I also have a bad of M.G. Blood meal, and one of bone meal. One is 12-0-0 and the other is 6-9-0. There are instructions on the back for adding to potting mixes, which I can follow if needed unless someone more knowledgable has better advice. I also have about 1/3 of a 1 cubic foot bag of M.G. Organic Potting soil left. MY QUESTION IS THIS: Could someone with at least a little better than basic experience give me a recipe/ratio USING WHAT I HAVE LISTED for the materials? Basically I got standard no-time release-nutes potting soil, (hyponex) perlite, (M.G. blood meal and bone meal, M.G. A bag of compost manure. I don't need a complete guide, just a quick breakdown, roughly half this, quarter of that, couple of tsps of this, etc. Any help, as long as focused on what I CURRENTLY have, is greatly, greatly appreciated. I know M.G. sucks, but without a fattened bank account and a better time of year, they are inaccessable to me right now. Thanks much for any help.
i'd go with 50% hyponex 15% composted manure 35% perlite (unless the hyponex has a lot of perlite, haven't used it) 1 tbsp/gal blood meal for veg, or bone meal for flower you will probably need some lime, but see what the pH of it without it is... if you don't havea pH meter, you just really need to get one... there's some Hanna pHep pens on eBay for like $35, with a 7.0 and 4.0 buffer and shipping you could be set up for $70 or so (it's from National Industrial Supply, a one man operation, and the guys cool as hell, just make sure you call him after you order cause he doesn't check his e-mail)... basically it's a $75 pen for $70 including buffers and shipping... GREAT DEAL! you want your pH to be 6.5-6.8 to avoid nute lockouts... so lime if need be (powdered not the pellets)
You shouldn't need blood meal since the high levels of nitrogen encourage green, leafy growth at the expense of flowers. Go with the 6-9-0 and supplement some potassium, which is the last number from someplace else to equal 6-9-4ish. Some additional phosphorous (middle number wont hurt). A handful of bone meal mixed with perlite and potting mix will do the trick. The final mixture should be moist and crumbly, not compact.
... half the plant's life is Vegging... you need high N to veg... you flush before flowering and i transplant to a bigger container with jamaican bat guano subbed for the mexican for veg... and nute with flowering mix... don't tell a guy he's losing bud for mixing in a high N for veg growth.... he losing bud if he DOESN'T...
I'm sorry but do you know anything past beginner knowledge about fertilizer? How often to you feed your plants? High levels of N over a prolonged period will concentrate and burn your plant. No amount of flushing can get rid of all that N you built up during half of the plants life. Fertilizer has high levels of salts. The fact is that too much N will do just the opposite - prevent more flowers from growing later on.
dude, the plant itself absorbs all those nutrients. you think the only levels of N-P-K are in the soil? you can't flush the plant, and by that time, feeding it 15-10-15 for half its life is too late for maximum floral yields when it comes time to switch ferts. Ive been growing fruits, flowers and veg all my life to know enough what im talking about.
yea avoiding feeding the plant N will result in a 3 foot yellow plant... i wouldn't be happy with that... i prefer 6-7 feet at the finish, so as far as nutes go... Veg: Earth Juice Grow 2-1-1 Mexican Bat Guano 10-2-1 FLUSH AND TRANSPLANT Bloom: Earth Juice Bloom 0-3-1 Jamaican Bat Guano 1-10-.2 All grow alternating on in between feedings: Maxicrop Kelp Extract 0-0-1/drop of Superthrive Liquid Karma .1-.1-.5 and i've had 9 foot sativas before with the juiciest buds you've ever seen... try it sometime bro
Thank you! This info is pretty much exactly what I needed, Ill +rep if I can. The hyponex has no perlite, it is just plain black potting soil. No time realease, or nuthin- I do usually use pH strips and know that I really need an actual tester. Both wife and I are unemployed, however so finances are a little tight. I will get one as soon as I can tho. Ill keep your recommendation in mind. Again, thanks to you also Resolutejc, and Ill rep if I can too. To both of you, then, since I am currently a month into flowering, the correct choice would be the bonemeal then, right? with a 6-9-0, there will be more phos in the soil for the flowering stage? And I should go with Organic's ratios up top with it? or just throw roughly a handful per 5 gallon container? Sorry for the nubishness, I have read up, I just really like to kinda double check on this first grow because I'd like to have something at the end
you can let a TBSP of bonemeal chill in some water for a day or so and it'll soak in and be cool to water the plant with... what i do is mix my soil for two weeks before i need it and flush my plant THOROUGHLY... so flush it before applying the new nutes... cut the bottom off the pot with my plant in it... you can dig a hole in the bigger pot full of flowering soil and just plop it right in... if it had roots on the bottom i'll water it in the sides of the pot for the next watering and to make sure it grows into the new pot with flowering nutes... so mix up some bonemeal soil and get a bigger pot to transplant into... test the ph with strips and make sure it's 6-7ish... and you're good to go man...
I didn't say never feed it N - I just said that it matters when deliver it to the plant and how much you feed it.
Flowering requires very little Nitrogen. I dont recommend the miracle grow shit at all. That time release shit doesnt work well enough(nute burn city) for mj. Read about it all over these forums. I use the same soil, Hyponex, I put 12 tbsp of composted manure, follow directions on bone meal, barely any blood meal and bat guano if I could find it into my 5 gal. I use a little jiffy mix, so maybe you could use just a little of that mg crap, but it has ruined a lot of ppls stuff once they start adding nutes. Organic, your first post didnt make as much sense as the others, but you and resolute both made valid points.
I want to make it clear that I never recommended MG Fertilizer. Yes, that stuff will burn your plants. What I said was that the MG Organic Choice or MG Orchid Potting Mix is fine to use for MJ. The original poster said that he was MG Potting Mix, but he would like to improve. The brand of potting mix is probably the least of his worries. Improvement should come from knowledge and experience in several areas: watering, fertilizing, temps, humidity, lighting, etc. Yes, less N is necessary for flowering, but something a 2-4-1 fertilizer (Higher P) for the first 10 days of the plant's life will help give it stronger roots, thus allowing more nutrient uptake. After that, a tiny bit more N, but not an excessive amount can be supplemented. Then about 10 days before flowering, less N and more P once again.
Once again guys, thanks for all the help. I just want to say that I know MG= BAD, pretty much across the board- However, and unfortunate as it is, at this time all the Super-Stores in my area (ie wally world, home depot, menards and fleet farm as well as smaller hardware stores and the like) are only carrying the very basic, and only mostly MG. As far as soil goes, in the middle of a up-North winter, MG ORGANIC Potting soil was all I could find here without time-release nutes, and it worked fairly well but it seems like so much more attention is paid to soil mixes by the more experienced growers, so I thought I'd do a little bit better for my plants. I have read ALOT, and just came across varying "recipes" and ratios for soil mixes, with many of the different brands unavailable to me. However I had read repeatedly that a VERY basic (no time release or anything) potting soil with a good mix of perlite and some organic compost with some meal added would be a decent mix. Lo and behold, perlite just hit the shelves up here and so did a wider variety of soil. I am still having trouble finding a suitable nute regiment. There is hardly a thing on the shelves except granular time release pellets, (all most all Miracle Grow ) and nute spikes for plants like tomatos. I live no where near a hydro shop, so I think my best bet is going to be the greenhouses around here, when they open, which they are not yet. Could any of you guys give me a few different options as far as a basic, mix-into-water nutrient system? I've read around a bit and have heard all the wonderful things about FF Grow Big, Tiger Bloom, etc. I HAVENT SEEN THESE ANYWHERE, EVER!! Are these country-wide products? Are these nutes used by growers (of all types of plants, legitamate too) everywhere, to the point that I can possibly expect them to be available at least somewhere near my home (1 hr or so)? I'm just getting anxious because its my first grow ever, indoor, and I only have a little more than a month left of flowering and have not fed much at all in the way of nutes so far, and while the plants seem healthy, they are no where near as big as all the other ones in grow journals across the site. I know there's alot of factors that go into this, as mentioned by some1 earlier, such as lighting, humidity, temp etc. Im trying to do the best I can in each area with only my common sense, GC and you guys as my resources. I'm getting low on cash, and can't afford very much more for my grow. Thanks for all your help, and sorry for the long post, I just thought I'd get it all out there-
just buy online... go to yardlover.com and get yourself some neptune's harvest 2-4-1 hydrolyzed fish fertilizer. its cheap, great and lasts forever. liquid fertilizer is what you need - organic is better. look for numbers under 15 (NPK) Another great line is AGGRAND. They have their own website and 4 products - all liquid.
Some more great advice, thanks again. I will check out the AGGRAND line and the yardlover.com site tomorrow.