Osmocote Plus Plant Food: Discuss Its Use With Cannabis Here!

[TorturedSoul]

I don't have a problem with the thought of running out of OC+, mainly worried about overfeeding or having "leftovers" that might affect the quality of the harvest. If I could take a clone through a week or two of the vegetative phase and, IDK, the first ten weeks of flower, then feed with nutrients in the water for the remaining two to four weeks of flower, that'd be peachy.

I think these things would turn into giant lollipops, though. It's not that OC+ might not be the right fertilizer, but these particular strains might not be the right choice for strains to grow in 2-liter hempies.

What's the longest-flowering strain that you've had success growing in 2-liters? Was there any real vegetative period between the time you placed the rooted clones into the bottles and the time you initiated flowering? If so, what length of time?

I'm speaking mainly of OC+ grows (hence, my posting in this thread), but generalities might be helpful, too.

 

[Tead]

Damn TS... your words touch on MANY individual areas.
Need a bowl and some pondering before I respond.... plus, watering all my Osmo girlies this morning.
Gimme a few.... you kinda trigger a touch of a book with so many points.

 

[Tead]

that'd be peachy

Indeed. If you ever figure out how to EASILY accomplish that trick, we'll be needing you to share that info.
You put your finger directly on a major issue with the Osmo grows. It's very hard to remove those little balls from the mix of course.
Of course, many ideas float thru Tead's head about the issue. I could see doing some sort of ending transplant where you hang the plant in a bucket of clear water... but they all seem a touch overwhelming for the lazy gardener.

but these particular strains might not be the right choice for strains to grow in 2-liter hempies.

Another excellent point. Strain choice in such a small container is an important. One doesn't grow monsters in 2Ls after all.
I've found that the Indica dominant strains tend to fit much better in a 2L world. Doesn't stop me from trying the lanky sativas, but I know that I'm gonna see root bound issues and top heavy plants.

What's the longest-flowering strain that you've had success growing in 2-liters? Was there any real vegetative period between the time you placed the rooted clones into the bottles and the time you initiated flowering? If so, what length of time?

I'm not a calendar watcher... sorry. My little garden is much more of a touchy feely place. I've got a DDA going that's taking forever. I'd guess that I've seen complete grows that run as long 4 months. Of course, when one if focusing on pumping 2L plants thru a SOG configuration, speed of growth is an issue and the hunt for the speedy plant continues.

I cut the clones and let them get a good set of roots. Then, when I prep the new 2L home for the clone, I load the Osmo heavier down low. This gives the new clones a lighter load up top so that their roots don't get burned off.
I let the new clones veg out.. generally until they get about as high as the 2L container.
Toss them into flower and let'em cook.

I feel like I'm forgetting something... but enough babble.

 

[TorturedSoul]

Damn TS... your words touch on MANY individual areas.
Need a bowl and some pondering before I respond.... plus, watering all my Osmo girlies this morning.
Gimme a few.... you kinda trigger a touch of a book with so many points.

That's cool, I can read, lol. I don't consider a few paragraphs to be a book, and I assume others welcome the sharing of information, too - so use your own judgment (as always) to determine the length of your reply. Short or long, it matters not. I am grateful regardless.

I know you have fiercer weather than I do, which encourages me; if the heat doesn't interfere unduly with your OC+ use, it probably won't mine, either. Hopefully, my indoor temperatures will not exceed the temperatures you see.

I'm getting a late start with outdoor (non-cannabis) gardening for both myself and my mother. I'd like to see the ground dry enough to turn and enough time in one lump where it is not raining afterwards, but as long as it's not mud I should be able to get back on track. I expect OC+ to be helpful for this type of gardening. I'd like to set up basic irrigation for Mom, but... maybe next year. I'll probably have to water it for her in the main, which is inconvenient <SHRUGS> . Hey, I just recalled that I have inadvertently fed my pepper plants too much nitrogen in the past, and they didn't seem to like it; or more to the point, this seemed to cause issues with flowering/fruiting for a while. Have you run into this at any time while you were using the OC+?

I really should have created a separate thread in the O/T gardening section. Therefore, feel free to be brief with those answers if you like. If you could work handy dandy cannabis-growing advice into them, it might help in that regard .

I need to up-pot an indoor plant. I think it's a Sensi Seeds Jack Herer, but there is a very small chance of it being a Serious Seeds Kali Mist. Also another plant - some kind of hybrid - that is smaller and younger (I don't remember the exact age, but less than a year old rolleyes3: ). They've just been idling along in vegetative, lol, and have completely overgrown the grow space. I've been thinking about adding OC+ to the new pots. They'll go into their final containers. The thing is, I'll probably get off my virtual arse and switch to 12/12 soon. Well, as soon as I nerve myself to go in there for a round or three of hack and slash. My Kali Mist will probably grow a lot during the stretch. The Jack Herer will probably have a significant stretch, also, but it is a neater plant, lol. A dozen or so (haven't counted) 3'-4' stalks. The Kali is like... well... ever see a multiflora rose, lmfao?

Evans (1983) also states that some highway departments encouraged the use of multiflora rose on highway median strips to reduce headlight glare from oncoming traffic and as a natural crash barrier to stop out-of-control cars because of this species’ ability to form dense thickets quickly.

The plants would be much taller, but (not, lol) surprisingly, a big six-COB LED panel has proven adequate for the task of burning the tops of the plants crunchy. If I had TALL ceilings, I'd stick the big lenses back on the panel and see how far down the Jack Herer I get useful light penetration. But I think that setup likes a significant distance from the tops of the plants. I don't remember, exactly, but it was (more than) enough that I removed those lenses long ago. I need to throw another 250 watts' worth of (HPS) lighting in there so that I would be able to add up to five more square feet of grow space. Then I could spread these plants out a little. I could easily add a 400-watt HPS, just in terms of the space it'd illuminate. But I'm just about out of electrical capacity. I wish there was an outdoor spot handy, someplace secluded enough that I could rig up a cover. I'd throw one of the plants into the woods if that was the case (and if there were no :helicopters: ) .

I have a couple seedlings that are unknown sex. I haven't decided whether they'll stay in the grow area after the switch to flowering or move to their own small space for additional vegetative time. Electrical capacity is almost third-world bad, so every watt counts. I'd like to blink and see them become large enough to take a couple cuttings from each of them and stick them into four 2-liter bottles. If the assumed parentage is correct, they should have a much higher percentage of indica genes in them than two "main" plants in the grow do. I'd like to be able to run them through the grow for the things that indica-dominant strains are better suited than sativas.

If I could guarantee that I'd be able to tend to things every 12 hours, I'd move as much of the smaller/younger stuff in and out of the grow space, and use a low-wattage CFL or two to provide enough light to prevent flowering. I hate to use CFLs - they produce a lot of heat for their wattage, venting a CFL grow means venting the entire grow space, and they're not hugely efficient. But I have some. I also have some "energy saving" 32-watt 4' fluorescent bulbs. In general, I like those more than CFLs (their combined appeal to me is low, but they have their uses upon occasion.

I still need to procure a strong UV-producing reptile bulb for the middle of my LED panel. The old one is pooched. I hope that's all it is. I've been running it with just the switches for the six COBs and the 60 (IIRC) "traditional" LEDs turned on for the last three months or so. It might be my imagination, but it seemed like the plants were healthier in general when I was running the UV supplementation. For the past ten days or so, I've been running only the six rings of little LEDs more often than not.

I should have trained these plants, and I should have initiated the flowering phase some time last year (LOFL). I really should have set up for a ScroG grow with only a small portion of the area given over to "screenless" plants. But I'd have felt the need for using two screens, one for each of my main plants - and I would have been taking a WAG as to what percentage of total screen real estate to give to the Jack Herer and the Kali Mist. They don't grow/flower at the same rate, so it'd be highly unlikely that I'd be harvesting all the plants on the same date.

Just ramblin'....

 

[Tejasdirt]

Hi
As I'm waiting for some space to open up,
I am getting things together for my first crf/trf soil run.
Went to home d pot to pick up a bag of soil.
My choices were:
Kellogg's organic potting soil or
"dr earths gold organic potting soil"
I've used Kellogg's before, so decided on Dr. Earths brand.
To this I've added:
Some rice hull (instead of perilite)
A little cal mag with lime
Some espoma granular bloom booster (0-13-14) I had laying around.
Allso added some ground up skeeter dunk to kill any bugs in soil.
(Works suprisely well for me...)
Watered in with RECHARGE and stuck it back till needed (about 2 weeks)
I have osmocote plus, Dynamite 13-13-13, and Dynamite Mater Magic.
Since my grow op runs warm in the summer (80-87 ambient) as suggested I will be useing Dynamte fert w/ mater magic
2 tablespoon per gal/ dynamite 131313
1 tablespoon gallon/ mater magic
Watering with just wAter and recharge.
Will be FLOWERING in 2 gallon buckets with a c99 clone.
My grow space is 2 square feet grow area
I have 4 plants each in a two gallon hempy in there.
Lighting is 110 watt (actual watts) Cree 3590 led cob fixture.
How's it sound so far???
The first will be a soil run, and when space opens I'll try these Ferts in a Hempy
Less work and good product works for me
Pax

 

[Hash Hound]

Now I'm trying the Kellogg potting soil, like you said, it has a lot of what I would add anyway.
Very barky though.

this summer I am testing outdoor on some peppers in 5 gl buckets

one has promix potting soil with OC+
one with promix potting soil with Dr Earth Life all purpose slow release
one with local garden store recommended Natural Garden garden soil only
and one with the Kellogg potting soil.

two weeks so far in order of healthiest looking are the Promix/DrEarth, then Promix/OC+
then the Natural Garden, and a disappointing last is the Kellogg Potting soil. It's not a bad plant, just looks less healthy than the others.

 

[Tead]

Nice!
As a very experienced Osmo+ grower, I'm very familiar with it's potentials... but it's always wonderful to add real data instead of just experience.
Try it with your weed instead of strawberries!

 

[cheifyc]

Nice!
As a very experienced Osmo+ grower, I'm very familiar with it's potentials... but it's always wonderful to add real data instead of just experience.
Try it with your weed instead of strawberries!

Awesome man. Have you ever used it in soilless media like coco coir or perlite? I currently just did an experiment filling a solo cup with pure coco coir and mixed in 3.5 grams of OS+, and 3.5 grams of powder Azomite. Then just bottom fed st8 tap water with the ph adjusted to 6. I put it right into 12/12 and the plant grew super healthy and fast not a single issue. Except after 4 weeks it turned out to be male, so I don't know if this method work all the way through flower. But I plan on trying that out next. by doing a small 18 plant solo cup sea of green the same way. Any thoughts or recommendations for me?

 

[Hash Hound]

this summer I am testing outdoor on some peppers in 5 gl buckets

one has promix potting soil with OC+
one with promix potting soil with Dr Earth Life all purpose slow release
one with local garden store recommended Natural Garden garden soil only
and one with the Kellogg potting soil.

two weeks so far in order of healthiest looking are the Promix/DrEarth, then Promix/OC+
then the Natural Garden, and a disappointing last is the Kellogg Potting soil. It's not a bad plant, just looks less healthy than the others.

I guess I should recap this since were on the subject.
If I remember the Promix/OC+ had the most peppers, but smaller than the Promix/DrEarth which had fewer but bigger.
Both tasted good.
and the local Natural Garden was great till it started producing fruit and it faded fast, the Kellogg was about the same but lasted a bit longer.
-------
Way back I used it in straight perlite hempys, and in organic soils, both some of my bigger yields.

as a matter of fact, the northern lights in 4g hempy produced 14oz in a closet by itself under a 400w HPS

 

[cheifyc]

I guess I should recap this since were on the subject.
If I remember the Promix/OC+ had the most peppers, but smaller than the Promix/DrEarth which had fewer but bigger.
Both tasted good.
and the local Natural Garden was great till it started producing fruit and it faded fast, the Kellogg was about the same but lasted a bit longer.
-------
Way back I used it in straight perlite hempys, and in organic soils, both some of my bigger yields.

as a matter of fact, the northern lights in 4g hempy produced 14oz in a closet by itself under a 400w HPS

Thanks for the response. I have skimmed through the entire thread multiple times, but pretty sure I missed some things.

 

[TorturedSoul]

as a matter of fact, the northern lights in 4g hempy produced 14oz in a closet by itself under a 400w HPS

That's approaching a gram a watt. Pretty good, even for a mostly indica strain. Do you recall the amount of Osmocote Plus you used in that four-gallon hempy?

 

[Hash Hound]

Do you recall the amount of Osmocote Plus you used in that four-gallon hempy?

I just checked my records and it appears I used OC+ and Dynamite Red (similar to OC+) 50/50 ratio

I used a tablespoon of each at the 2 inch level, and one more of each mixed throughout the upper perlite so that adds up to 4 tablespoons or a tablespoon per gallon.

 

[TorturedSoul]

Thanks. That's... a bit higher than I would have expected. NL is sometimes known as a heavy feeder, though.

 

[Tead]

Hmmm... I dunno.... I hate to turn it into a hempy thread... but lemme unzip my brain for a moment....

I don't consider a few paragraphs to be a book

Yea... I know... but the weed was good that morning and I was not feeling as feisty after the break.

Short or long, it matters not. I am grateful regardless.

I'm pretty shy about these things, but it would be rude not to acknowledge a compliment. Thanks TS!

if the heat doesn't interfere unduly with your OC+ use, it probably won't mine, either.

I always forget because it's not such an issue for me, but Osmo+ is a touch heat sensitive and has slightly different feeding rates at different temps. There's some data on their website about it, but I don't really feel it's very significant.... I'm just not that tight on my numbers.

Have you run into this at any time while you were using the OC+?

Not since I've settled on a nice safe 3.3g/L feeding rate. I did when I was first experimenting of course. Repeat after me.... 3.3/L

Just ramblin'....

Tead suspects nobody is shocked.
We fear you... you know that don't you? It's because we all know that WE can communicate 20x faster face to face. I suspect you easily see the basis of our fear. 20x TS.... now that's just daunting to even imagine! Having said that.... Tead's down.... let's dance!

Awesome man. Have you ever used it in soilless media like coco coir or perlite? I currently just did an experiment filling a solo cup with pure coco coir and mixed in 3.5 grams of OS+, and 3.5 grams of powder Azomite. Then just bottom fed st8 tap water with the ph adjusted to 6. I put it right into 12/12 and the plant grew super healthy and fast not a single issue. Except after 4 weeks it turned out to be male, so I don't know if this method work all the way through flower. But I plan on trying that out next. by doing a small 18 plant solo cup sea of green the same way. Any thoughts or recommendations for me?

Just kinda generic words. Smaller pots=smaller plants and lots of watering. That sort of stuff. I've done it... it's fun to play, and I'm pretty whimsical.
I regularly do 6L perlite hempy pots with 3.3g of Osmocote+ mixed thru.

 

[TripleBeam]

My first grow was with OC+ in plain old potting soil and was successful. Well worth it in my opinion.
Here is some pictures during flower. Somewhere around 4-5 weeks in. I ended up top dressing at about 1TBS per gallon of soil. I didnt mix in the soil cause i already had them in the 5 gallon pots when i learned about it.

1474843876525687696322

• TripleBeam
• Sep 25, 2016

14748439913581578090996

• TripleBeam
• Sep 25, 2016

 

[TorturedSoul]

Hmmm... I dunno.... I hate to turn it into a hempy thread...

I'm pretty sure that O+ has been mentioned in the hempy one, so it seems fair.

but lemme unzip my brain for a moment...

Been there, done that, lol. Got the scars to prove it - and one or two of them are even visible from the outside .

Yea... I know... but the weed was good that morning and I was not feeling as feisty after the break.

I also hadn't realized that you do at least some of this "forum stuff" via cell phone. Apologies for not being able to produce Readers' Digest Condensed Versions of my posts at will. Would undoubtedly cause my popularity to skyrocket.

I always forget because it's not such an issue for me, but Osmo+ is a touch heat sensitive and has slightly different feeding rates at different temps. There's some data on their website about it, but I don't really feel it's very significant.... I'm just not that tight on my numbers.

Growing in perlite (as opposed to soil) probably helps in that regard? Shouldn't encounter the "waterlogged soil" thing which would allow the prills to be constantly wet. Not those still in the upper zone, at least.

Not since I've settled on a nice safe 3.3g/L feeding rate. I did when I was first experimenting of course. Repeat after me.... 3.3/L

Hash Hound's rate, above, seems to be higher than that. I'm guessing the "four tablespoons" is a mistype; in context of the post, I assume it to be four teaspoons. Still, the guess is that it's greater than 3.3g/l.

But I do not have scales, nor do I have access to them. Never bothered in the past, because I had ready access to the $10,000+ one in a nearby wastewater treatment plant's lab. Now... can't afford to buy even a novelty one and haven't seen anything like that for sale, regardless. We have a Harbor Freight Chinese tool store, and I have seen several on that company's website, but never in the store.

Once again, I miss the old set of triple beams. Should have quietly moved them to the kitchen that fateful night, instead of throwing them on my buddy's truck with the lights / nutrients / smoking devices / etc.

We fear you... you know that don't you? It's because we all know that WE can communicate 20x faster face to face. I suspect you easily see the basis of our fear. 20x TS.... now that's just daunting to even imagine! Having said that.... Tead's down.... let's dance!

Oh man. 'Tis a can of worms, that. Used to be, my spoken words would put my typing to shame (to the point at which a person might end up thinking, "Can ya just send me a letter, instead, so it'll be shorter?") Maybe it was the TBI. Or the substances, many and varied, illicit and otherwise. Or... life, IDK. Now, I don't say much to anyone. When I do, well... There's a word. There's-- no, wait... Yeah... No... Here comes one. Lots of pauses, kind of thing. The brain doesn't... It'd literally be faster for me to write it down and then recite it than to just say it to begin with. I'm not big on the concept of embarrassment (as you've probably guessed ), but if I was, that'd be the cause of mine. I should get a t-shirt that states "Not stupid, just burnt and brain-damaged."

I remember once asking someone if they'd weigh out however much Osmocote Plus they considered an average amount per gallon, and then count the number of prills this equated to (which probably is even less fun than I think it is, lol) . Sure wish I could remember what the person's answer was .

 

[Tead]

Readers' Digest Condensed Versions of my posts at will.

There are so many possible ways to make a joke out of that one I just am not even up to the task of sorting thru them tonight!

Growing in perlite (as opposed to soil) probably helps in that regard? Shouldn't encounter the "waterlogged soil" thing which would allow the prills to be constantly wet. Not those still in the upper zone, at least.

Another thing is the steady 80f (ish) of my world. I can even bump it up there thru the winter. Of course, can't get it lower in the summer, so I guess I chose stability.

Hash Hound's rate, above, seems to be higher than that.

Oh... so I did choose the timing of my words exactly as I wanted.... Good to verify.

 

[Hash Hound]

Hash Hound's rate, above, seems to be higher than that. I'm guessing the "four tablespoons" is a mistype; in context of the post, I assume it to be four teaspoons. Still, the guess is that it's greater than 3.3g/l.

Well the bottle I have only says how to use per sq/ft, but I found this feeding chart on line and I think I am in the right range.

for 3gal they say use 45gr and for a 5gal is 73gr at medium rate
so 45+73=118 divide by 2 = 56gr for 4gl, divide that by 15gr per tbsp = 3.73 tbsp/4gal

also the Dynamite Red bottle said 2 tbsp for 3gal and 3tbsp for 5gal
I wasn't that far off was I?

And if I remember correctly Doc said you can't overdose the stuff
If I didn't remember correctly, you can blame Doc for that too because he helped me learn to grow pot that has me pretty zoned out a lot.

OC rate.jpg

• Hash Hound
• Aug 13, 2018

 

[Tead]

And if I remember correctly Doc said you can't overdose the stuff

Ya know.... I hate to diverge from DB, but I'd like to think he'd toss his hat in with my words. I have absolutely burned plants with Osmo.

All our worlds are different, and mine is quite unique. Did you use just perl? Did DB? And that's just the starting point.
Your feeding technique is what works in your world. I'm certain you're seeing good results, or you would be doing something different.
I might point just the slightest of pinky fingers at the fact that the feeding schedules published for Osmo are not at all designed for hydro.... we're a touch off the grid in my eyes.
3.3g/L in 6L perlite only hempy pots is my exact magic zone... trust me..... I've way exercised both ends of the scale.

 

[Hash Hound]

Did you use just perl? Did DB? And that's just the starting point.

I think Doc used straight perlite, I used a little MagikMoss mixed in, the garden center used to carry it.
It's half perlite qtr peat qtr coir I think? It was a real light mix, that was about 9 yrs ago when I just started.