Growing Without Bloom Nutes By Farside05

[multiVortex]

If we're digressing for a minute, just want to add that I've always thought about having a little cactus garden.

 

[Dkmg01]

Let's get back to basics.... A review

Bloom Boosters are said to increase the number of flowers on your plant. Nonsense. They don’t work, and can actually make your soil toxic, making it more difficult for your plants to grow.

Bloom Booster – What is it?
Bloom Booster fertilizer is a fertilizer with a high middle fertilizer number – it is high in phosphorus. It may also have a higher than normal amount of potassium.

There is no such thing as a Bloom Booster fertilizer!

Any fertilizer with a high level of phosphorus can be considered to be a bloom booster fertilizer, even if the label just calls it fertilizer.

If you look at the fertilizer numbers in bloom booster products you quickly realize that every manufacturer’s formulation is different. That’s odd! If there was a special formulation that boosts flowers you would think all manufacturers would use the same formula? They don’t, because there is no such thing. These are just packages of fertilizer with the words ‘bloom booster’ slapped on the label.

Bloom booster fertilizer is nothing more than a marketing gimmick to get you to buy more fertilizer. Many people grow plants for the flowers, and so manufacturers are using your desire for more flowers to sell more products.

Bloom Boosters, Do They Work?
Will a high level of phosphorus increase the number of flowers?

The answer to this question is a bit more complex than it seems. Plants need a certain amount of phosphorus to grow properly. If they get enough phosphorus along with the other needed nutrients, plants will grow to their best ability and produce lots of flowers. If they can’t get enough phosphorus and other nutrients then they under perform.

Adding phosphorus to soil that already has enough phosphorus, or adding it to one that is deficient in one of the other nutrients, will NOT make plants grow better. You are just wasting a natural resource or worse, making your soil toxic.

Adding a bloom booster to soil that already has lots of phosphorus, will NOT increase the number of blooms.

It turns out that in North America, few garden soils have a deficiency of phosphorus, which means that in most of these soils bloom booster does nothing to boost blooms.

If you check bloom booster fertilizers you will notice that some include minor nutrients, along with some nitrogen and potassium. If the fertilizer fixes any deficiency in these other nutrients, plants will perform better. Except for nitrogen, most garden soils do not have a deficiency in these other nutrients.

Do Plants Use a Lot of Phosphorus?
Lets have a closer look at the nutrients plants need. How much phosphorus do plants need?

When rose tissue is analyzed, the fertilizer numbers are in the ratio of 6-1-4 (ref 1). They contain much less phosphorus than nitrogen or potassium. According to Jeff Gillman (ref 3), “there is usually more calcium, magnesium and sulfur in plant tissue than phosphorus”.

So why would a fertilizer ratio of 1-5-1 (Peters Professional Super Bloom Booster), be good for plants?

Phosphorus is critical for plant growth, but plants don’t need a lot of it. The American Rose Society says “Commercial growers of roses for cut-flower production typically use fertilizers with a 3-1-2 NPK ratio.” I think these guys know how to produce blooms!

Plants do not need high levels of phosphorus to bloom well.

Phosphorus Can be Toxic
High levels of phosphorus in the soil ties up iron so that plants can’t absorb it. This leads to an iron deficiency in the plant, leading to interveinal chlorosis.

Excess phosphorus also inhibits the development of mycorrihizal fungi which are very important to plants. These fungi provide water and phosphate to the plant. For more details on this see Mycorrhizae Fungi Inoculant Products

Excess phosphorus is toxic to plants.

Does Potassium Boost Blooms?
Some of the bloom boosters also provide an increased level of potassium, and some people feel that potassium is important for flower production.

Potassium is essential for plants to grow and flower properly, but high potassium levels will not increase flowering. As reference 2 points out – flowering is controlled by hormone levels – not nutrient levels.

What About Containers?
In reference 3, Jeff Gillman quotes Timothy Broschat and Kimberly Klock-Moore from the University of Florida “Most container grown plants require only minimal amounts of P for optimal growth and … applications of high P fertilizer will not promote either roots or shoot growth in plants as popularly believed.”

Don’t use bloom boosters for containers.

Phosphorus Does NOT Promote Flowering
There is little evidence that phosphorus promotes flowering. Bloom boosters are not needed, nor do they do help your plants, unless you have a phosphorus or potassium deficiency in the soil. The only way to know this, is with a soil test.

Stop adding phosphorus to your soil!

References:

1) The American Rose Society – Phosphorus Fallacies – too Much of A Good Thing

2) The Story of Flowers – The Potassium Myth: Potassium and Flowering | The Story of Flowers | Adam Dimech

3) “The Truth About Garden Remedies”, book by Jeff Gillman

Wow thank you good sir for this knowledge!

 

[Maritimer]

Liebig's Law would say that a plants growth rate is going to be dictated by the scarcest resource.
Back to basics and the original premise of this thread, "Growing Without Bloom Nutes".

Wow.
This makes sense to me, so it must be skewed.
I am surprised it would occur to a botanist that such a basic premise would need postulating.
Then again, mechanical engineers told us "A chain is only as strong as it's weakest link.".
Perhaps the chain developers will introduce a product line designed to strengthen weakest links.
Wanna buy some Chain Boosters anyone???

Silly Rabbits

 

[farside05]

Wow.
This makes sense to me, so it must be skewed.
I am surprised it would occur to a botanist that such a basic premise would need postulating.
Then again, mechanical engineers told us "A chain is only as strong as it's weakest link.".
Perhaps the chain developers will introduce a product line designed to strengthen weakest links.
Wanna buy some Chain Boosters anyone???

Silly Rabbits

Chain Boosters. Awesome analogy!

180 yr old law, yet here we are, almost in 2020, and cannabis growers want to disregard it. Maybe they have "sanctuary tents" where laws don't apply.

 

[farside05]

Day 72, Day 37 from Flip

Ho hum. I'm bored. Feed, wait a couple days till the pot is light, repeat. If only someone would start a good argument...lol

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• farside05
• Dec 28, 2019

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• farside05
• Dec 28, 2019

 

[MrSauga]

Thanks farside! and bookmarked!

 

[Preston9mm]

If only someone would start a good argument...lol

Religion? Or politics?


I'm good at this game!

 

[Skybound]

Religion? Or politics?


I'm good at this game!

Me too. I've chased away family members on Facebook when debating current politics. Me and Woody do this kind of shit on RIU or other sites and we've opted to keep it (mostly) off 420 on account of this board being so chill. I for one like to argue as it allows the varying positions to be thoroughly discussed and the underlying truth of a matter to be brought to the surface.

 

[farside05]

Religion? Or politics?


I'm good at this game!

I prefer plant related topics, although I started one the other day between two co-workers on who's dog was cuter. Then I just stepped back and watched. I like throwing gasoline and watching fires...lol

 

[Preston9mm]

I prefer plant related topics, although I started one the other day between two co-workers on who's dog was cuter. Then I just stepped back and watched. I like throwing gasoline and watching fires...lol

Let me snap a pic from 100ft away and ask when to harvest!


That should do it!

Maybe even bust out the old blurples...
..... and bring up how necessary it is to flush before harvest..

 

[farside05]

Had to duct tent exhaust into the attic. Although I hate heating the space just to pump that heat outside, I can't get the humidity to stay much under 65%, even with the newly procured small dehumidifier. In an hour it's dropped from mid to low 60's to 53% and I think it's still falling. Mission possibly accomplished other than the extra electric from the heater running more, which I'm sure it will.

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• farside05
• Dec 28, 2019

 

[farside05]

Let me snap a pic from 100ft away and ask when to harvest!


That should do it!

Maybe even bust out the old blurples...
..... and bring up how necessary it is to flush before harvest..

I got a topic... Safety harnesses when working in high places. Are they a necessity or just for pussies?

Sorry, couldn't resist.

 

[Preston9mm]

I got a topic... Safety harnesses when working in high places. Are they a necessity or just for pussies?

Sorry, couldn't resist.

I think we all know the answer to that!


Momma ain't raise no pussy!


....tis but a mere flesh wound. LoL

 

[farside05]

I think we all know the answer to that!


Momma ain't raise no pussy!


....tis but a mere flesh wound. LoL

I've changed a wall outlet or two, while drunk, without turning off the switch or throwing the breaker. It's like an adult game if Operation. See if you can complete the job without your nose turning red.

 

[Preston9mm]

I've changed a wall outlet or two, while drunk, without turning off the switch or throwing the breaker. It's like an adult game if Operation. See if you can complete the job without your nose turning red.

My wife & I have gotten in the habit of "pouring salt in the wound" when we do dumb shit like that.


I'll zap myself... she'll reply "well, don't fucking do that!"

She'll stub her toe... I reply.. "well, don't fucking do that!"



When I fell outta the attic...

Her reply, "Thankfully my Caddy wasn't parked there"

LoL... we like to live on the wild side!

 

[multiVortex]

I'm having humidity issues as well. I went and got a big ass dehumidifier Thursday, and it's been running for almost 48 hours now.

The room is 38%, and the tent last I checked was finally getting down below 50%. For at least a day, if not two, it was more like 70%. No bueno when entering flowering. Hoping there aren't any resulting issues.

I kicked the exhaust fan up a notch from setting 4 to 5 (175 cfm to 220 cfm), so hoping that helps too. It's a bit much as it's turning the air over twice a minute (in theory), but whatever it takes. It's not killing the tent or anything, so that's ok.

Like your setup, I'm also exhausting into the same "room", but it really isn't so bad. This "room" is actually half of the basement, so really shouldn't be that big of a deal. With the "room" humidity being 38%, I think it will catch up eventually. If it's not acceptable by this afternoon, I'm going to bump the exhaust up to 265cfm (setting 6 of 8.)

Ho hum. I'm bored. Feed, wait a couple days till the pot is light, repeat. If only someone would start a good argument...lol

I got nothin... yet.

 

[DrCannaCanadian]

I got a topic... Safety harnesses when working in high places. Are they a necessity or just for pussies?

Sorry, couldn't resist.

Hey @farside05 , just making the rounds to a few of the MC grow journals as I settle into this site.

@InTheShed just showed me a shot of his plants using just MC - incredible! - and it really has me interested in no bloom nutes - but it sure is a paradigm shift for me!

Safety harnesses, bah humbug!

We never let Grandma get up on the roof, at night, in her wheelchair, in the winter with one of those silly things on

 

[DrCannaCanadian]

My wife & I have gotten in the habit of "pouring salt in the wound" when we do dumb shit like that.


I'll zap myself... she'll reply "well, don't fucking do that!"

She'll stub her toe... I reply.. "well, don't fucking do that!"



When I fell outta the attic...

Her reply, "Thankfully my Caddy wasn't parked there"

LoL... we like to live on the wild side!

Yo! Funky Monkey - three current journals - which one do you suggest I visit first

And I agree - never dent a Caddy - that's just bad mojo when that happens

 

[Blazinjones]

Hey farside hope ur having a great holiday so far an tht ur new years goes great as well. So i got some new growth going on on my R.L.T that was having the issues. well some of the new leaves great and a few others are still doing tht weird bending shit an its got that claw folding going on on a few leaves also. So wondering if i shud jus put her on the 6/5/5 schedule an jus let her go. Or shud i dump a bunch of tap water an do a flush again?

 

[Preston9mm]

Yo! Funky Monkey - three current journals - which one do you suggest I visit first

And I agree - never dent a Caddy - that's just bad mojo when that happens

The "Hunting a Unicorn" thread is my perpetual journal.

The others are random group projects