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

[Planter]

The reason I've switched to using GH's dry nutes is not because my CRF buds didn't burn clean and taste good, but rather that since my "just add water" thing didn't work out because my tap water sucks, it's not much more work to add nutes to my RO water along with the cal-mag.

The two-part GH dry nutes give me more flexibility in dosing and juggling the NPK, are cheaper than CRF's, work very well in both soil and hydro, shelf life isn't a problem, and my plants are very happy with them.

Flushing should only necessary if plants accumulate too many nutes, which shouldn't happen with CRF's, but as more CRF-grown plants are harvested and smoked, we'll have more reports and data.

My recent PPP harvest burns with a clean gray ash, and is smelling better and better as it cures. Another couple of weeks and I think it's going to be very good.


"Preharvest flushing puts the plant(s) under serious stress. The plant has to deal with nutrient deficiencies in a very elevated part of its cycle. Strong changes in the amount of dissolved substances in the root-zone stress the roots, possibly to the point of direct physical damage to them. Many immobile elements are no more available for further metabolic processes. We are loosing the fan leaves and damage will show likely on new growth as well.

The grower should react in an educated way to the plant needs. Excessive, deficient or unbalanced levels should be avoided regardless the nutrient source. Nutrient levels should be gradually adjusted to the lesser needs in later flowering. Stress factors should be limited as far as possible. If that is accomplished throughout the entire life cycle, there shouldn't be any excessive nutrient compounds in the plants tissue. It doesn't sound likely to the author that you can correct growing errors (significant lower mobile nutrient compound levels) with preharvest flushing.

Drying and curing (when done right) on the other hand have proved (In many studies) to have a major impact on taste and flavour, by breaking down chlorophylls and converting starches into sugars. Most attributes blamed on unflushed buds may be the result of unbalanced nutrition and/or overfert and unproper drying/curing."

whats GH's dry nutes?

 

[Setting Sun]

whats GH's dry nutes?

MaxiGro and MaxiBloom. Scroll down to the bottom of this sponsor's page:

General Hydroponics - Hydroponics | HIDHut Discount Hydroponics Supplies and Equipment


$30 for 2 pounds of each, which will probably outlast my shelf life

 

[IrishBoy]

the thing about the Maxi is its not always constant with every batch from what GH told me, and i think i got a bad batch last time or the high temps didnt like the Maxi because my girls wouldn't flower at all until i changed to TRF's. the worse thing was all the salt build up, ive heard it dosent do that for most but mine left tons of salts on the bottom even with a paint mixer and warm water. it did make my girls real nice and green, but did come threw in flowering and it was just way too much salt for my girls and things got bad. others seem to love it and thats why i got it in the 1st place. its a very simple way of feeding thats for sure.

for me i am going organics and might stick with the Xtreme gardening products because its as easy as it gets for me and its organic and my plants love it. i just feed them tea 1 a week. not sure how the flowering will do but i will find out real soon.

now for you that are worried about the OC+ having a effect on taste, this is what i am going to do if the XG dosent work out.

get some DM brown organic bottle and buy some earth juice micro blast and you now have a complete micro organic TRF. the DM drown bottle only last for 3 months and is ORMI. NPK is good also 10-2-8 so when u hit flower feed them some bat guano to bump up the P

now that Xtreme gardening has a organic TRF called Mykos30 witch looks like a golden cat liter and also has mycrorizha in it. i really like the fine cat liter mix because its very easy to mix evenly into the soil. they say it will last the whole grow and not just 3 months but i dont know. i have a buddy thats going to just do test with that one products since i add the teas once a week.

micro life is key, never have to adjust PH again! i love it.

 

[Setting Sun]

So how does the Mater Magic stack up against the DM brown, Irish?

I'll tell you one thing, the Mater Magic with with that little red tomato looking bottle is a complete ripoff.

I have to check next time I open a new one, if I ever do, because I think it's about 1/4 full, if that, and at the recommended dosage, I might get 6 pots out of the whole cute bottle.

I'm not sure that they're made by the company now, since DM was acquired by Black Gold.

There is "Envirosafe Laboratories" and "Black Gold" and "Florikan" still listed separately, but as far as cost goes, Mater Magic is a fail.

Enviro-Safe Laboratories, Inc. | Organic Materials Review Institute


I agree that if you're growing in soil, building the soil is the way to go. It's an art too, because if you build it the same way for every strain, it's not gonna work well.

It's an art I'm very much interested in learning, because I love growing in soil, but I also love growing in hydro, and being able to use the same nutes for *both*, with great PH buffering and really good results for ridiculously cheap, is a very good thing for my needs.

I used to grow in tubs with pure lava rock and got pretty decent results, considering I had less than the half a clue I have now, but I also didn't have good nutes back then for that style of grow.

ima have to dust off the lava tub

 

[IrishBoy]

ive haven't used the DM brown bottle yet, but have used the mater magic and for the reason u said i will no longer use it and just go with the brown bottle, but to be honest i think i am going to stick with the Mykos30 for a base. you can smell all the organic goodies. but if going with DM the brown bottle seems to be better because u get more then the mater magic and the brown has the micro life.

Bro IMO its all about the Mycorrhiza its key for growing good roots and having a proper medium. they will adjust ur PH, they will create miles of Hyphae to extent out into ur medium and take all the food ur roots cant reach and they also create more o2 into ur medium. i am sold on organics at this point and time, my girls looks so good i couldn't even explain it. cant beat mother nature been evolving to do for 400+ million years.

i can just see my medium thriving with micro life and fungi, when u get that white mold on top you know its alive. if i move my top soil just a little bit i can seen tons on fragile Hyphae. cant wait to see my roots at the end.

jf going chem TRF's i think DM red is the king. perfect NPK all i add is cal/mag once a week with my coco mix and i dont have no problem i also do PH anything, just R/O water. the DM red is kicking ass so far in my grow. i dont think it can be beat. the nest thing i have done is floir spray my plants with Seaweed going right into flowering bud sites just shot up everywhere right after. its did great in my last grow in 100F+ temps and its doing great in my current grow with cold temps, the temps dont seem to effect the DM comapried to OC+


YouTube - Exclusive root show!

 

[placerville]

If growers are concerned about having OC+ present right before you are ready for the final flush, here is what I do. I have my OC+ prills in small bags (made from pantyhose and a small string attached) and bury them 2-3" under the soil, and water the plants in these locations. Remove them for the final flush if you are concerned.

 

[Marley15]

If growers are concerned about having OC+ present right before you are ready for the final flush, here is what I do. I have my OC+ prills in small bags (made from pantyhose and a small string attached) and bury them 2-3" under the soil, and water the plants in these locations. Remove them for the final flush if you are concerned.

I have seen this idea thrown around for a while now and I think it's a good one. The only thing I would be afraid of is the roots grabbing hold of the bag so when you pull it out u fuck everything up. Besides that it seems solid.

 

[Setting Sun]

Bro IMO its all about the Mycorrhiza its key for growing good roots and having a proper medium. they will adjust ur PH, they will create miles of Hyphae to extent out into ur medium and take all the food ur roots cant reach and they also create more o2 into ur medium. i am sold on organics at this point and time, my girls looks so good i couldn't even explain it. cant beat mother nature been evolving to do for 400+ million years.

mother nature has probably been growing hydroponically longer than soil

it's not about one method "beating" another, it's about the best way of getting to where *you* want to go

 

[IrishBoy]

Heres my DM red plants at 2 weeks CASEY JONES

heres my Xtremem Gardening TRF plants with tea added once a week, now since i change to bloom they are huge comparied to these pics right here. look how healthy and green they are R/O water with no added cal/mag and no PH'ing just so healthy. JACK HERER

I HAVE MOTHER NATURE IN A POT.LOL. YOU KNOW WHEN UR MEDIUM IS ALIVE THATS FOR SURE

 

[placerville]

I have seen this idea thrown around for a while now and I think it's a good one. The only thing I would be afraid of is the roots grabbing hold of the bag so when you pull it out u fuck everything up. Besides that it seems solid.

I think the bottom feeder roots are the most important. I dig the pouches up and either detangle the roots or cut ( I have never seen a negative reaction) the girls will be facing death in a few weeks, so the lose of a few top roots will just give them a preview of their fate.

 

[Setting Sun]

If growers are concerned about having OC+ present right before you are ready for the final flush, here is what I do. I have my OC+ prills in small bags (made from pantyhose and a small string attached) and bury them 2-3" under the soil, and water the plants in these locations. Remove them for the final flush if you are concerned.

It's an idea that's been tossed around a lot around here, but you're the first person I've heard whose done it.

it's a really good idea. How many bags are you using per container?

 

[Planter]

oh yes SS, i remember seeing these in my hydro store. thanks

irishboy. looking great so far and only 2 weeks!!!

 

[placerville]

It's an idea that's been tossed around a lot around here, but you're the first person I've heard whose done it.

it's a really good idea. How many bags are you using per container?

My ladies are on an automatic watering system with 4 small feeder hoses off the main pipe going into each 5 gallon pot.. The hoses are staked over the OC+ bags.

 

[molotov]

The reason I've switched to using GH's dry nutes is not because my CRF buds didn't burn clean and taste good, but rather that since my "just add water" thing didn't work out because my tap water sucks, it's not much more work to add nutes to my RO water along with the cal-mag.

The two-part GH dry nutes give me more flexibility in dosing and juggling the NPK, are cheaper than CRF's, work very well in both soil and hydro, shelf life isn't a problem, and my plants are very happy with them.

Flushing should only necessary if plants accumulate too many nutes, which shouldn't happen with CRF's, but as more CRF-grown plants are harvested and smoked, we'll have more reports and data.

My recent PPP harvest burns with a clean gray ash, and is smelling better and better as it cures. Another couple of weeks and I think it's going to be very good.


"Preharvest flushing puts the plant(s) under serious stress. The plant has to deal with nutrient deficiencies in a very elevated part of its cycle. Strong changes in the amount of dissolved substances in the root-zone stress the roots, possibly to the point of direct physical damage to them. Many immobile elements are no more available for further metabolic processes. We are loosing the fan leaves and damage will show likely on new growth as well.

The grower should react in an educated way to the plant needs. Excessive, deficient or unbalanced levels should be avoided regardless the nutrient source. Nutrient levels should be gradually adjusted to the lesser needs in later flowering. Stress factors should be limited as far as possible. If that is accomplished throughout the entire life cycle, there shouldn't be any excessive nutrient compounds in the plants tissue. It doesn't sound likely to the author that you can correct growing errors (significant lower mobile nutrient compound levels) with preharvest flushing.

Drying and curing (when done right) on the other hand have proved (In many studies) to have a major impact on taste and flavour, by breaking down chlorophylls and converting starches into sugars. Most attributes blamed on unflushed buds may be the result of unbalanced nutrition and/or overfert and unproper drying/curing."

SS, I know you said you use the Gh at half strength. When do you use the maxigro and maxibloom. Maxigro for the veg and maxibloom for flower? And at what stage of each cycle? Thanks in advance.

 

[Setting Sun]

SS, I know you said you use the Gh at half strength. When do you use the maxigro and maxibloom. Maxigro for the veg and maxibloom for flower? And at what stage of each cycle? Thanks in advance.

here's some info:

Rooted Young Plants 1/4 tsp grow, 1/4 tsp bloom
Growth 1 to 1-1/4 tsp grow
Aggressive Growth 1-1/4 to 1-1/2 tsp grow
Early Flower 1/2 tsp. grow, 1/2 tsp bloom
mid flowering 1/2 tsp grow, 1 tsp. bloom
Late Flowering 0-1/2 tsp grow, 1 to 1-1/2 tsp bloom
(optional) Ripening 1/2 to 1 tsp bloom, 1/4 to 1/2 tsp liquid Kool Bloom

"DO I USE MAXIGROW AND MAXIBLOOM AT THE SAME TIME?

Answer: Yes and no. The Maxi series is designed to use one part at a time, but in a time of transition it may be beneficial to mix the two at half strength each (makes a full strength nutrient solution). Use MaxiGro in the vegetative stage and MaxiBloom in the fruiting/flowering stage.
Note: If your plant is not fruiting or flowering plant, MaxiGro is all that you will need to use."

You do need to add mag to these nutes, so I use Botanicare Cal-Mag Plus, which has magnesium, calcium, and 2% nitrogen.

This may add enough N to the MaxiBloom to allow me to use it alone from beginning to end, although adding in a small amount of MaxiGrow would be very easy if necessary.

That was a bowlful of the OC+ grown PPP that I recently harvested.

Burns very clean and tastes very good.

No flushing.

 

[Silent Bob]

Well done Sun!

I've just started some clones in a OC+ and GardenTone mix... plus a bit of aged manure, lime, and bone meal to shake things up. I varied the manure amounts from none to a lot between four buckets, so I'm kind of interested to see if adding something organic adds anything to the OC+.

 

[Setting Sun]

thanks Bob!

that's a very interesting experiment!

I think the manure/OC+ plants will get off to a faster start, relative to the percentage of manure in their pots, and that it will give them an edge throughout the grow.

but I could be wrong

 

[IrishBoy]

That was a bowlful of the OC+ grown PPP that I recently harvested.

Burns very clean and tastes very good.

No flushing.

was this the 1st 300w grow? or the side x side with OC+ mixed with DM?

witch one turned out better as far as taste and clean smoke? were both white ash?

 

[Setting Sun]

No, this was the last PPP grow, with the OC+ mixed with the DM purple.

My first Sunset Kush grow with the Spectra and OC+ had one plant that burned with black ash and was harsh, and one plant that burned with nice gray ash and tasted fine.

Same nute regimen, go figure.

 

[IrishBoy]

No, this was the last PPP grow, with the OC+ mixed with the DM purple.

My first Sunset Kush grow with the Spectra and OC+ had one plant that burned with black ash and was harsh, and one plant that burned with nice gray ash and tasted fine.

Same nute regimen, go figure.

of course it would never be that easy.lol

IYO do u think the dark time helped to give u better smoke on ur last grow?