Nutrients

[toolman0114]

My blue mammoth plants are about a week old, growing indoors in soil, when should I start adding fertilizer? And what is a good general purpose fertilizer? I assume 20-20-20 is too strong?

 

[brotherbuddz]

I didn't start applying nutes until the third set of leaves were produced. I usually just start out with 1/4 of the recommended dosage and i used Schultz all purpose at the beginning(10-15-10). Then a week later I would start introducing Cal-Mg+. I don't go hard with the nutes, they are applied once every two weeks after i first used it. I used more of the Cal-Mg+ then i did with the Schutlz. After about a month then i switch to Botanicare pure blend grow and tea.

 

[toolman0114]

Thanx, I'll try to find those, or something similar

 

[DaTrueWhiteMa]

1/10 first week,2/10 second,4/10 3rd week,6/10 4 week,10/10 5th week,something like it,adjust by PPM meter if you have,or just start slowly increasing and spectate,different strains react difrently,some need more some less,soil nutes too,if have any or not have has diference.

 

[toolman0114]

That helps a lot. Thanx

1/10 first week,2/10 second,4/10 3rd week,6/10 4 week,10/10 5th week,something like it,adjust by PPM meter if you have,or just start slowly increasing and spectate,different strains react difrently,some need more some less,soil nutes too,if have any or not have has diference.

 

[brotherbuddz]

The schultz all purpose plant food you can find anywhere i bought mine at the local walmart for like 7 bucks. The other stuff I had to find at a hydro ponics shop or you can get it online although I feel it is cheaper to just go to a hydroshop.

 

[toolman0114]

I stopped at a local hydro shop on my way home from work. I bought the PH Perfect Micro, Grow, & Bloom. I usually hate stuff that needs mixing, but the guy told me put a little less than a teaspoon of each one into one liter of water. Told me equal parts of each works well, but can play with the ratios, maybe a little more bloom when the plant "blooms"

 

[Plato420]

When adding nutrients its important to consider also what kind of soil you are using. If your soil runs hot like Fox Farm Happy Frog or Ocean Forest adding anything but water for 2-4 weeks after potting might not be optimal for your plants growth. Also consider what strain your growing and find out any info that could already be out there. Some strains are super sensitive so I would say do lots of research and consider all factors of whats in the soil prior to adding nutrients.

If you have a soil base that is lightly charged or no charge at all you could water with Nutes your first watering. Just make sure to follow the instructions on the label and a good rule of thumb is to start at 1/2 or 1/4 strength of what the label calls for.

Seedlings are more sensitive than a plant that has been vegged for a couple of weeks so make sure to listen to what the plant is asking for and judge from there. I use General Organics line of nute's currently with happy frog soil and will add a bit of Bio Root and Cal mag once or twice in the first 10 days. 5ml of each to 1 gallon of water.


There is also a style of growing called TLO or True Living Organics which is a process of mixing soil amendments into a base soil mix then letting it incubate for a period of time prior to use. The goal of TLO is to let the plant absorb the nutrients it needs from the soil without having to add or force feed with bottled nutrients. So thus having everything the plant needs already in the soil makes for a just add water grow.

Anyway be intuitive with your plants, observe them then begin to add things slowly till you get the hang of it. Keeping a detailed log will help keep your feed schedule on point. I hope this helps a little when deciding when to feed your plants.

 

[toolman0114]

I added the PH Perfect micro, Grow, & bloom as stated on the label. 4ml of each per liter of water. They looked ok last night, but this morning they are a little droopy, I will add some extra water to flush a bit.
Will my babies recover????

 

[Plato420]

Hey Toolman what size pots are you using also are you starting with a pure water from a Reverse Osmosis system or are you using Tap water?
What size are the plants Currently.
what is the soil mix they are in.

Also if your able to post a pic that also helps.

When you water be sure to water with enough to saturate the entire pot approximately 10-15% of the water should run out the bottom of the pots. Also you want to be careful watering two days in a row, over watering can also cause wilting and weak root development also.

When watering the pots should be light and the top 2inches of soil should be dry but not bone dry. Also its best to water when the lights come on in your room or with 6 hours. Just as long as you don't water before the lights go off in your cab.

Hope they perk up for you.

 

[toolman0114]

They seem to have perked back up when I checked on them after work.
Let me try to answer everything in order
- 3 gallon pots
- Using bottled water
- one plant is about 3" (2 weeks old) 2nd plant is about 2" (1 week old) the one week one plant was stretching so I braced it and piled more soil around the stalk.
- soil mix was just cheap potting soil.
I do not water until it drains out the bottom, was worried about over watering. I will water around the outside of the pot so I don't drown the plant.

 

[Plato420]

Hey Toolman!

Nice LED and set up! Things are looking good to me from what I can see in the pic the plants look healthy.

I can see you have a fan, is it blowing directly on the plants? If not Its always good to have the plants fluttering in the breeze so it refreshes the CO2 around the plants leafs. Also having air in an out of the grow area is essential for getting the CO2 needed for the plants growth.

I would say stick with the nutes you are using and while they are young go easy at first maybe a water, water, feed for the first two weeks or increase as you see fit since your soil is a basic potting soil.

Also since your using bottled water you might want to research using distilled water. I am not sure on this so please do some investigating prior to running distilled but I think its similar to RO water. You would want to add cal mag if you do decide to run Distilled. I'm not 100% sure but some bottled water might not be good for the plants because of salts or additives added for the taste of the water.

Anyway hope this helps and I think your doing good bro! Keep up the good work!

 

[toolman0114]

Thanx Plato, I've been out of this for too many years and didn't have all this internet stuff for help. Since it look good, I'll stick with it
Would I be better off using tap water?

 

[Plato420]

Hum Tap water is okay only if your not organic. Most tap water has a version of chlorine in the water called Chloramine that is bonded to the water molecule and will kill organic matter. You can use it but I don't think its optimal.

Reverse osmosis water in my opinion is the best because you already know the approximate ppm which will be very very low like .004 PPM then add nutes and cal mag and your good to go. If you can't get RO water I would say try the tap water with an over the counter charcoal filter like a Brita or something. It wont remove the Chloramine but will help control the dissolved solids and other unknown contaminants.

I tend to try to stay away from city water because of all the dissolved solids and unknown chemicals that might be in the water. But it will probably be better than going with bottled water. You can pick up an RO filter for around $200 for the entry level models.

 

[labexperiment]

When watering your plants the medium should be thoroughly wet so as the medium dries out, from the plant drinking the water and some of it being absorbed into the air the roots reach out to find more water. The next time you feed them there will be more roots for your plant to get more nutrients hence growing faster. Your plants will not drown from being thoroughly watered till it runs out the bottom, as long as you don't water every day. Only water when the medium is mostly dry(the pot will be quite light), you will see the leaves start to drop a lot if you waited too long. Do not mistake an hour before lights out relaxing for, lack of water drooping. Checking the weight often before watering will give you a lot of experience to know when you should be watering at a more optimal time.

If you need further clarification please ask and I will try to explain better, or maybe more scientifically. I hope this helps you as it was intended to do.

Good luck.

 

[toolman0114]

Thanx lab, that does clear up a few questions.