Should I be watering to runoff?

[GardenWeasel77]

I am a first time grower. I am growing in ffof. As of late my plants have become nutrient deficient. I have been topdressing with down to earth dry fertilizer.

My question is, should I be watering until runoff or is that just flushing all my fertilizer out?

 

[drsaltzman]

FFOF is good for three weeks.
After that you have to feed, and yes, water until runoff.
Dry fertilizer is not as efficient as liquid fertilizer if it's not mixed into the soil.
You're better off finding a liquid fert you can use. Or at the very least, make a tea with your dry stuff and use that to water.
Sitting dry ferts on the top of the soil is not the way to go in FFOF.

 

[GardenWeasel77]

FFOF is good for three weeks.
After that you have to feed, and yes, water until runoff.
Dry fertilizer is not as efficient as liquid fertilizer if it's not mixed into the soil.
You're better off finding a liquid fert you can use. Or at the very least, make a tea with your dry stuff and use that to water.
Sitting dry ferts on the top of the soil is not the way to go in FFOF.

Yeah. I will probably switch to ff trio next go round. I dry amended six days ago. When should that start to take effect you think?

 

[maranibbana]

I am a first time grower. I am growing in ffof. As of late my plants have become nutrient deficient. I have been topdressing with down to earth dry fertilizer.

My question is, should I be watering until runoff or is that just flushing all my fertilizer out?

If you’re doing Organics you do not need to water to run off.

You also don’t need to top dress very often if your using an organic top dress with fast and slow release fert.

don’t ph the water, and unless you have really hard water no need to filter it other than for the chlorine/clormarines

don’t listen to synthetic soil or coco or hydro guys they do not do it the same as organics

 

[Sade]

If you’re doing Organics you do not need to water to run off.

You also don’t need to top dress very often if your using an organic top dress with fast and slow release fert.

don’t ph the water, and unless you have really hard water no need to filter it other than for the chlorine/clormarines

don’t listen to synthetic soil or coco or hydro guys they do not do it the same as organics

FFOF is not organic.

 

[maranibbana]

Less is more, 3 weeks in a fresh soil is nothing. You could get away with feeding nothing until the flip, then hit it with one nice top dress at flip, and then harvest and hit it with another top dress to reset and repeat

 

[maranibbana]

FFOF is not organic.

But you get the idea “when u want to use organic inputs and allow microbes to eat it and make it bioaviable to your plants”

 

[Sade]

Whatever you get the idea “when u want to use organic inputs and allow microbes to eat it and make it bioaviable to your plants”

Lol I understand where you are getting at. Microbiological life will be extremely small in that soil due to no carbon pools not being stored which is a extremely beneficial food source for microbes.

 

[maranibbana]

Lol I understand where you are getting at. Microbiological life will be extremely small in that soil due to no carbon pools not being stored which is a extremely beneficial food source for microbes.

That can be fixed easily

and my suspicion is over fertilization caused imbalance in proper microbe life or the little that was there and ph becomes off and makes things look like it’s deficient.
I’ve seen so many people go through this in soil when they add organic inputs.

they pour more and more bc they don’t see the instant results and or tinker too much and end up causing an imbalance

 

[drsaltzman]

Less is more, 3 weeks in a fresh soil is nothing. You could get away with feeding nothing until the flip, then hit it with one nice top dress at flip, and then harvest and hit it with another top dress to reset and repeat

If you build your own, sure.
FFOF doesn't last very long.
And it's not going to let dry ferts through as readily as a homemade soil from scratch.
I grow in soil in pots. FFOF or Roots 707. Use liquid ferts after 3, maybe 4 weeks. 1/2 strength all the way.

 

[DaFreak]

Yes, water to run-off

 

[Sade]

That can be fixed easily

and my suspicion is over fertilization caused imbalance in proper microbe life or the little that was there and ph becomes off and makes things look like it’s deficient.
I’ve seen so many people go through this in soil when they add organic inputs.

Yep you just dont till the soil releasing aggregated pockets of stored carbon. In a few years all commercial farmers will have to grow Notill in order to help begin reversing global warming.

 

[maranibbana]

Yep you just dont till the soil releasing aggregated pockets of stored carbon. In a few years all commercial farmers will have to grow Notill in order to help begin reversing global warming.

 

[maranibbana]

If you build your own, sure.
FFOF doesn't last very long.
And it's not going to let dry ferts through as readily as a homemade soil from scratch.
I grow in soil in pots. FFOF or Roots 707. Use liquid ferts after 3, maybe 4 weeks. 1/2 strength all the way.

All that aside, op is wondering what’s going on. It seems like op is trying to run a living soil run. Maybe not. But if not then op shouldn’t be using organic dry ferts and should switch to synthetics. If op is trying to run living soil then op doesn’t need to feed like you do. In fact op could get away with an inoculation drench and then feeding nothing in veg, and then top dressing at the flip, and then another top dress and microbe drench at harvest to reset.

 

[drsaltzman]

All that aside, op is wondering what’s going on. It seems like op is trying to run a living soil run. Maybe not. But if not then op shouldn’t be using organic dry ferts and should switch to synthetics. If op is trying to run living soil then op doesn’t need to feed like you do. In fact op could get away with an inoculation drench and then feeding nothing in veg, and then top dressing at the flip, and then another top dress and microbe drench at harvest to reset.

He's a new member in the Newbie forum.
I don't think he's trying anything complicated.
What's going on is he's using a soil that has a 3-4 week charge ... and top dressing.
His plants are not getting what they need.
I don't think it's microbes. I think he's just starving them with that technique.
Get some liquid ferts if possible or make a tea with what is available. Top dressing in FFOF is not enough.

 

[drsaltzman]

And a bag of Recharge will help with your microbes. It lasts a loooooong time.

 

[Skuxx]

How old are your plants and what size pots? You have deficiencies 6 days after amending? There might be something else going wrong. I never water to runoff using down to earth amendments + FFOF. I don't see the point.

 

[maranibbana]

And a bag of Recharge will help with your microbes. It lasts a loooooong time.

Recharge is a very nice booster agree with that

And I hear you now, he can’t get the action fast enough from the top dress, so adding something like fish hydrolase or anything along those lines like your saying will give them the boost till the dry can even begin to work.

 

[GardenWeasel77]

He's a new member in the Newbie forum.
I don't think he's trying anything complicated.
What's going on is he's using a soil that has a 3-4 week charge ... and top dressing.
His plants are not getting what they need.
I don't think it's microbes. I think he's just starving them with that technique.
Get some liquid ferts if possible or make a tea with what is available. Top dressing in FFOF is not enough.

Yes you are correct. Unfortunately I do not have any liquid nutes on hand and will have to make due this run. I did make a tea with my dry fert. However I fear this is not enough. I hope I can make it through flower.

 

[GardenWeasel77]

How old are your plants and what size pots? You have deficiencies 6 days after amending? There might be something else going wrong. I never water to runoff using down to earth amendments + FFOF. I don't see the point.
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They are in 3 gallon pots. I transplanted at the end of November which I think is part of the problem. I have been amending and re amending since O started seeing deficiencies. The deficiencies started around the same time I upgraded to a more powerful light. I think that caused my plants to use up a lot of nutrients quickly.