Fertilizer

[adahen]

I am going to be repotting my plants into a bigger pot and i know that there is good fertilizer out there. Right now i use Humex Fossil Force what else can any one recommend ? Thanks in Advance

 

[Old Salt]

I am going to be repotting my plants into a bigger pot and i know that there is good fertilizer out there. Right now i use Humex Fossil Force what else can any one recommend ? Thanks in Advance

Some folks are moving to Mega Crop. It's a single part fertilizer good from seed to harvest. I'm going to try it with my next grow.

 

[adahen]

My husband used to grow and he has left optimum 02 and fossil force here. Wish he were still here to ask what else he used cause his crop was unbelievable...so was going to go to the store he bought from too the guy there was really helpful so figure i will go back there today and ask for help since i am a newbie at this stuff. Thank you for your help i will check out Mega Crop for sure

 

[Old Salt]

Good luck with your grow!

 

[adahen]

Went to the store and he recommended Pure blend pro till they get bigger so hopefully this works he seemed knowledgeable

 

[OverGrower]

In general you need three parts as a series for your total plant life. You will need a grow nutrient, or typically called the vegetative nutrients; these are higher in N -- Nitrogen, with lower and balanced levels of P and K; phosporus and Potassium which the plants use throughout life but moreso in flowering. The second and crucial bottle of nutes is the micro nutrients, and this bottle will have a little of all the micros needed throughout life. Third and final bottle and all you need are these three, is your bloom, or flowering nutrients. This is higher in P and the K levels, but still keeps a low dose of going Nitrogen. It's something that takes years in my opinion and it's a changing system, most change over the years just how they grow.

For 10+ years I've used General Hydroponics three bottles of those I just mentioned, or Fox Farms Grow Big(vegetative), Big Bloom(micros), and Tiger Bloom(flowering). Extremely detailed because I see that you are new, and the best advice you can be told is to buy those three bottles and stick to a path, in my opinion. Take care.

 

[Old Salt]

In general you need three parts as a series for your total plant life. You will need a grow nutrient, or typically called the vegetative nutrients; these are higher in N -- Nitrogen, with lower and balanced levels of P and K; phosporus and Potassium which the plants use throughout life but moreso in flowering. The second and crucial bottle of nutes is the micro nutrients, and this bottle will have a little of all the micros needed throughout life. Third and final bottle and all you need are these three, is your bloom, or flowering nutrients. This is higher in P and the K levels, but still keeps a low dose of going Nitrogen. It's something that takes years in my opinion and it's a changing system, most change over the years just how they grow.

For 10+ years I've used General Hydroponics three bottles of those I just mentioned, or Fox Farms Grow Big(vegetative), Big Bloom(micros), and Tiger Bloom(flowering). Extremely detailed because I see that you are new, and the best advice you can be told is to buy those three bottles and stick to a path, in my opinion. Take care.

The General Hydroponics' Flora Trio is just the plant nutrition base. As a minimum, you need to add CALiMAGic, Liquid KoolBloom, and Dry KoolBloom to the base. I've used this from the start with a coco/perlite substrate in a drain-to-waste system. I went with this as General Hydroponics has been around the longest, and I thought I'd have the best chance of getting help when I needed it. Although this will work, the market has changed, and there are other options.

There are several two part nutrient solutions available, such as the Canna A + B.

I'm moving to a one size fits all solution of Mega Crop. Several of our more experienced growers have tried it, and had great results.

Regardless, @adahen seems to be looking for an organic solution, rather than a chemical one. That eliminates the GH Flora Series, and many other nutrient lines. The Pure Blend Pro GRO seems to fit her requirements.

 

[adahen]

The General Hydroponics' Flora Trio is just the plant nutrition base. As a minimum, you need to add CALiMAGic, Liquid KoolBloom, and Dry KoolBloom to the base. I've used this from the start with a coco/perlite substrate in a drain-to-waste system. I went with this as General Hydroponics has been around the longest, and I thought I'd have the best chance of getting help when I needed it. Although this will work, the market has changed, and there are other options.

There are several two part nutrient solutions available, such as the Canna A + B.

I'm moving to a one size fits all solution of Mega Crop. Several of our more experienced growers have tried it, and had great results.

Regardless, @adahen seems to be looking for an organic solution, rather than a chemical one. That eliminates the GH Flora Series, and many other nutrient lines. The Pure Blend Pro GRO seems to fit her requirements.

Are the chemical nutrients better?

 

[Old Salt]

Are the chemical nutrients better?

Not really. Many claim that organically grown cannabis tastes better than that chemically grown. They claim there is a chemical aftertaste to the chemically grown plants. I wouldn't know, as I use a rosin press, and put the rosin into tasteless capsules.

The difference is in the type of nutrients. Chemical fertilizers directly feed the plant. The nutrients are all bio-available out of the box. Organic fertilizers feed the micro organisms in the soil. The micro organisms convert the fertilizer into bio-available nutrients. The top contender in the organic camp is probably Doc Bud's High Brix Blend or DBHBB. It seems a lot more work, and expense than I'm willing to put into it. There are alternatives, as many make their own living organic soil or LOS.

The way you are growing seems to be LOS. The GH Flora series are used in chemical fertilized grows. as are many of the multi-part liquid fertilizers. Many of them kill off the natural organisms in soil. Your choice of fertilizers appears to replenish, and feed the organisms in the peat.

 

[OverGrower]

Yeah, the whole "chemical fertilizers" or "don't use MiracleGro!" suggestions are goofy because phosphorus is phosphorus, potassium is potassium to the plant. Just don't overdo the nutes and don't run them heavy all the way through chop.

@Old Salt Mostly agree except I don't agree you need to always run CalMag, or calcium and magnesium supplements, and I have not for over a decade. I'm not running any at all now 5 weeks into flower, and if you start to see a slight uptick in want for calcium or magnesium, you can water in a bit of Epsom salt and it's plenty. Also, the "trio" series is not "just" a base, it's the entire cycle needed. Calcium and magnesium are only micro nutrients and the plants actually need a very very tiny little bit of it in most cases. Most the time you see folks with brown rusty speckles concerned they need more "CalMag," and typically they are overdoing CalMag.

 

[Old Salt]

Yeah, the whole "chemical fertilizers" or "don't use MiracleGro!" suggestions are goofy because phosphorus is phosphorus, potassium is potassium to the plant. Just don't overdo the nutes and don't run them heavy all the way through chop.

@Old Salt Mostly agree except I don't agree you need to always run CalMag, or calcium and magnesium supplements, and I have not for over a decade. I'm not running any at all now 5 weeks into flower, and if you start to see a slight uptick in want for calcium or magnesium, you can water in a bit of Epsom salt and it's plenty.

I run 35% of the recommended strength for all components, except for CALiMAGic. At 35% I was seeing a deficiency with that, so I increased to 45%. The plants are happy, so I can't complain. The difference in CALiMAGic between us is probably the water we use. My well water has more than ten times the WHO allowable arsenic content, so I use an RO, and add more CALiMAGic. I'd bet you use tap water with a higher mineral content.

 

[OverGrower]

You make a very great point here, I do run tap water and I do wonder what the calcium and magnesium contents are for it, but have also ran well water over the years with no added CalMag. But hey, I also have 100% clone success and don't use any gimmicky rooting agents! Thanks for your input, and I believe you're onto something there.

 

[Elvin]

Some folks are moving to Mega Crop. It's a single part fertilizer good from seed to harvest. I'm going to try it with my next grow.

Mega Crop will send a free 300g sample to you for shipping costs ($5 or so; it's been a while) haven't tried it yet but it supposedly contains chitosan which is the active ingredient in Bud Factor X according to a commentator on a different site.

 

[Elvin]

Check out Kelp4Less. I'm using their Cal Mag and their 10-50-10. Their prices are great; I'm slowly switching as I run out of my Fox Farm's Gringo Rasta quarts.
I'm also using chitosan (the active ingredient in Bud Factor X) and Triacontanol ( the active one in Humboldt County's Own Snow Storm Ultra Bloom Stacker) bought on eBay.

 

[clrwatrtom]

welcome! i'm doing my 1st grow using FFOF and Reefertilizer Nutrient system from Canada and i'm loving my results so far.
Good luck with your grow.

 

[adahen]

Not really. Many claim that organically grown cannabis tastes better than that chemically grown. They claim there is a chemical aftertaste to the chemically grown plants. I wouldn't know, as I use a rosin press, and put the rosin into tasteless capsules.

The difference is in the type of nutrients. Chemical fertilizers directly feed the plant. The nutrients are all bio-available out of the box. Organic fertilizers feed the micro organisms in the soil. The micro organisms convert the fertilizer into bio-available nutrients. The top contender in the organic camp is probably Doc Bud's High Brix Blend or DBHBB. It seems a lot more work, and expense than I'm willing to put into it. There are alternatives, as many make their own living organic soil or LOS.

The way you are growing seems to be LOS. The GH Flora series are used in chemical fertilized grows. as are many of the multi-part liquid fertilizers. Many of them kill off the natural organisms in soil. Your choice of fertilizers appears to replenish, and feed the organisms in the peat.

Thank you so much your advice is helping me with all of it

 

[Weaselcracker]

A bit confused about something in this thread. If you’re growing in LOS would it be usual to need to add a bottled nutrient like the Botanicare PBP?
I’ve used the Botanicare stuff for years. It’s fairly decent. Starting to phase it out now for a couple reasons.

 

[clrwatrtom]

Yeah, the whole "chemical fertilizers" or "don't use MiracleGro!" suggestions are goofy because phosphorus is phosphorus, potassium is potassium to the plant. Just don't overdo the nutes and don't run them heavy all the way through chop.

@Old Salt Mostly agree except I don't agree you need to always run CalMag, or calcium and magnesium supplements, and I have not for over a decade. I'm not running any at all now 5 weeks into flower, and if you start to see a slight uptick in want for calcium or magnesium, you can water in a bit of Epsom salt and it's plenty. Also, the "trio" series is not "just" a base, it's the entire cycle needed. Calcium and magnesium are only micro nutrients and the plants actually need a very very tiny little bit of it in most cases. Most the time you see folks with brown rusty speckles concerned they need more "CalMag," and typically they are overdoing CalMag.

Bam! another learning moment.