question: how soon should you use nutrients/fertilizer?

[lovingthegreen]

I've got a number of healthy seedlings going, using nothing but potting soil with perlite, feeding them brita-filtered water. My most developed plant is verging on no longer being a seedling, with multiple sets of leaves and lots more on the way. So, I'm wondering when/if I should start using nutrients. The soil itself should have plenty I assume. Do you only use nutrients to speed up growth, or are they ever totally necessary?

I'm kinda wary of using them, just because from browsing the forum it seems like a lot of people's problems are self-generated, mostly from using too much nutrients or too much too soon.

 

[smallclosetgrowr]

depends on how much food is in your soil and how big your pots are. u dont really need to feed until u see signs of N deffieciency, i prefer to start feeding when there 6inches tall.

 

[LAX Skunky BwS]

I've got a number of healthy seedlings going, using nothing but potting soil with perlite, feeding them brita-filtered water. My most developed plant is verging on no longer being a seedling, with multiple sets of leaves and lots more on the way. So, I'm wondering when/if I should start using nutrients. The soil itself should have plenty I assume. Do you only use nutrients to speed up growth, or are they ever totally necessary?

I'm kinda wary of using them, just because from browsing the forum it seems like a lot of people's problems are self-generated, mostly from using too much nutrients or too much too soon.

how old are they?? what kind of soil u using?

 

[lovingthegreen]

depends on how much food is in your soil and how big your pots are. u dont really need to feed until u see signs of N deffieciency, i prefer to start feeding when there 6inches tall.

So not until the soil is depleted then. Thanks for the info.

 

[lovingthegreen]

how old are they?? what kind of soil u using?

The oldest three are about 5 weeks from seed. One of those has stopped growing, mostly, because it had some kind of problem, another is a mutant, though it's doing okay now, the third is my prize plant and is healthy and vigorous. I'm using some generic potting soil from the grocery store, it's called "Aqua Potting Soil" because it holds water better or something. It seems like good soil, the plants like it fine.