I made a huge mistake with feeding! But it's OK: learn from me!

[BigDannel]

OK so like the title says, I realized today that I made a massive mistake on my current grow. Instead of being embarrassed and hiding it from the world, I'm going to shame myself in hopes that others learn from this.

I'm 2.5 months into veg, two plants in Fox Farms Ocean Forest soil in 5 gallon air pots. I've been using the Fox Farms line of nutrients, which at this point calls for Big Bloom and Grow Big. Things have been going great, no major problems except a slight mag deficiency on one plant. I've been following the Fox Farms schedule exactly as printed........ or so I thought.

I got my CalMag today and was reading the instructions to measure it out. It listed in both tsp and in ml. When I bought my Fox Farm trio bundle it came with a handy measuring dropper that had measurements in ml. That's what I've been using so far to measure out all my nutrients in this grow. I realized that a tsp seemed pretty large compared to the dropper/syringe so I checked them against each other. Yup, I'm an idiot.

What I thought was 30 ml is 3.0 ml. The plastic on the dropper is really worn, and I'm just plain ignorant of what 30 ml would look like vs 3.0 ml. Lesson learned for sure.... I was home alone when I realized this and honestly just laughed at myself for a solid 20 minutes. I've been under-feeding my plants big-time! Like 1/10th of what it calls for! Yet the plants are great, so I can laugh.

This does show me some valuable learning points:

1.) FFOF soil has a lot of nutrients in it to start and will easily carry your grow into at least 2 months veg with very light additional nutrient use.

2.) I always heavily advocate to follow the feeding schedule exactly as printed, but now I'm hesitant to say so (edit - based on personal experience. I still think follow the schedule) until I can do another grow and compare. I think that the schedule should be followed, however, FFOF may indeed be "hot" if combined with the nutrients according to the schedule. If anyone has feedback on this please add it. Next grow I'll be able to report if this is the case.

3.) Make sure you aren't an idiot like me and double-check, then triple-check your measurements. Fortunately I am in soil and it is far more forgiving than other mediums, but this could have been a disaster in hydro. Or a disaster if I had severely over-fed the plants.

4.) Make sure you can laugh at yourself and move on. It helps greatly with stress levels.

 

[Emilya Green]

lol, we all make mistakes, especially in the beginning. Everything you said was true, but let me give you a different perspective to ponder upon as you medicate this evening. While the soil is strong enough to be able to carry your plant for a month or longer, why would you do such a silly thing?

You bought some high priced nutrients because it sounded like a great way to grow a lot of quality pot. But then, first by accident, and now because of some timidity that has set in, you are contemplating not going with the full recommended amount of fertilizer recommended by Fox Farms.

While it is entirely possible to do what you are contemplating, and grow perfectly acceptable plants with reduced nutes, I ask again, why?

Didn't you go into this thinking about huge yields and high quality home grown pot? Seize the day my friend, use your fertilizer as it was designed, to supercharge your timid little plants into the big huge monsters you secretly and really want them to be. Don't think they will do this just because you wish them to do it, you need to FERTILIZE them! Get this feeding notion out of your head. Anyone can feed a plant... even a dumb old pot of rich soil, all by itself and without any help from you. Be Bold! Go the step beyond this passive feeding idea and use the Fertilizer as it was intended. Follow the directions.

 

[BigDannel]

lol, we all make mistakes, especially in the beginning. Everything you said was true, but let me give you a different perspective to ponder upon as you medicate this evening. While the soil is strong enough to be able to carry your plant for a month or longer, why would you do such a silly thing?

You bought some high priced nutrients because it sounded like a great way to grow a lot of quality pot. But then, first by accident, and now because of some timidity that has set in, you are contemplating not going with the full recommended amount of fertilizer recommended by Fox Farms.

While it is entirely possible to do what you are contemplating, and grow perfectly acceptable plants with reduced nutes, I ask again, why?

Didn't you go into this thinking about huge yields and high quality home grown pot? Seize the day my friend, use your fertilizer as it was designed, to supercharge your timid little plants into the big huge monsters you secretly and really want them to be. Don't think they will do this just because you wish them to do it, you need to FERTILIZE them! Get this feeding notion out of your head. Anyone can feed a plant... even a dumb old pot of rich soil, all by itself and without any help from you. Be Bold! Go the step beyond this passive feeding idea and use the Fertilizer as it was intended. Follow the directions.

I went ahead and went to 100% right away, don't worry! I want to follow the entire schedule as planned and will do so (With correct measurements) going forward, but just wanted to say that I can't truly speak to the validity of the entire grow, due to my mistakes. Next grow will be more telling, and of course all of this will be different from plant to plant, individual to individual. I still think the manufacturer's know best, but cannot recommend this in early stages based on my experience until next grow. Logic and common sense would still have me suggest to follow, just not the experience at this time.

I've seen a few people who don't like to use many nutrients (not my cup of tea personally, but sometimes supply and budget can be limiting) and wanted to post this to show that it can be done, and also, like you said, to show that anyone can feed the plant and have relative success. I've also seen plenty of people who solely go organic, and Fox Farms "Grow Big" is not organic. Personally I don't mind but just wanted to provide the info for those who use other, organic supplements. I do, for sure, want to push the envelope which is why I've immediately switched up to 100% with feeding today. I was planning to flip to flower within the next few days but think that I will now give them a couple 100% feedings before changing over. The plants look great but I would like to push the envelope a bit, like you said . I'm excited to see how they react, now that they're off the cruel diet I had them on!

I don't think that I can make up for lost time by feeding more than suggested now, but please correct me if I'm wrong.

 

[The Phantom]

Feel the nute burn, embrace the nute burn, it is your friend not the enemy! Haha

 

[BigDannel]

Feel the nute burn, embrace the nute burn, it is your friend not the enemy! Haha

I'm lathering these gals up with baby oil and getting the tri-fold mirrors out!

 

[Emilya Green]

I don't think that I can make up for lost time by feeding more than suggested now, but please correct me if I'm wrong.

No, do not exceed the recommended amounts... that would not be beneficial. All you have lost is a little time, and I suggest waiting an extra 2 weeks before pushing to bloom, just so you can see what a proper fertilized growth spurt looks like, and then move forward to bloom with plants the size of what you deserve after all this hard work.

 

[BigDannel]

No, do not exceed the recommended amounts... that would not be beneficial. All you have lost is a little time, and I suggest waiting an extra 2 weeks before pushing to bloom, just so you can see what a proper fertilized growth spurt looks like, and then move forward to bloom with plants the size of what you deserve after all this hard work.

Thank you! I think I will do as you suggested and hold off for a bit, no point in rushing things now and not benefiting from what's occurred up until now. Thanks for the feedback, you know I always appreciate hearing from you

 

[The Phantom]

I'm lathering these gals up with baby oil and getting the tri-fold mirrors out!

I laughed way too long at this for not being high. Thanks for making my day!

 

[Emilya Green]

If you aren't at least burning the tips, you aren't trying hard enough.