I am about a month and 2 weeks into my first grow. I have 4 plants, two of which I know are females. They are planted in 3-4 gallon pots with Miracle-Gro Potting Mix. I waited until they were a month old before I started adding any nutes to my water. I use Miracle-Gro Liquid Houseplant Food (8-7-6). My questions are; should I use something else? Do I go full strength? If I just use this will it yield a lot? Also I have been alternating using nutes (one watering with and the next without) is that good or should I just use them for every watering? I figured it would flush the soil out. I tried to keep my first grow simple but I also don't want to be disappointed with the results. P.S. They're on 18/6 light cycle now with a 400W MH bulb, I will switch to HPS when flowering.
Hey. The word on GC is that Miracle Grow soil is generally bad. Most of them contains time-released fertilizers and can cause a lot of problems. I've read that the organic line is OK, though. You do find some examples of decent grows with MG. Yes, you should alternate the feeding. Every other is the standard, so you got that right. Usually you start with half strenght nutes and work your way up to full. The NPK sounds OK to me. Also... I always advocate the use of molasses. 1-2 tbsp per gallon every other watering. I do it when I don't mix nutes in. Hope that helps you out. Your plants do look good. Very nice, I must say. PS: check what the bag says about time-release ferts... I can only see the "feeds up to 6 months" part.
Thanks a lot bro, I'm gonna have to look into molasses cause I'm not sure what it is, but seeing your pics of some of your grows encourages me to definetly add it to my routine.
Yeah, there's a thread in the advanced growing section about it, and it's very informative. You'll get all the info you need there. Good luck man!
Can you give a quick, simple explanation of what the molasses is for so I don't have to scan the threads looking for it??? Thanks!
Yeah, me and another guy just answered that yesterday... It's the 2nd and 3rd post: http://forum.grasscity.com/absolute-beginners/744235-questions-first-grow.html Also, here's the thread from the advanced growing techinques section: http://forum.grasscity.com/advanced-growing-techniques/290744-using-molasses-nutrient.html That should tell you all you need. Peace!