Nute Schedule

[snowman4839]

I got some FF Grow Big and just started using it at 1 teaspoon per gallon because my plant is like 4-6 inches tall. Bout to go to one and a half teaspoons next watering. I know the the instructions say to use nutes every other watering but what do you guys suggest? It seems like switching on an off would be bad but I'm still a newbie. I mean it seems like you just keep adding until you see nute burn then back off some and just keep watering it at that concentration every time. What do you guys think?

 

[Hillcrest]

Down loAD the proper schedule from the website. It isn't the same concentration every time.
It will tell you the expected EC of nutes to mix up each week........ starting low ..... increasing up to flower... and then decreasing to harvest.
It isn't switching on and off........ watering inbetween helps STOP nute burn or the EC would just continue to rise.
EC= measure of strength of nutes.... (basic form)

 

[Mother's Finest]

You need to keep a few things in mind. First, all fertilizers have some degree of both an instant- and time-release effect. Some are more time release than others but none are all absorbed immediately by the plant. Nutrients from previous fertilizations sit in the soil and when you feed the plants every time, they pile up and can start burning the plant after future feedings. These old ferts degrade and may become toxic over time. Harmful microorganisms will begin to overpower the beneficial ones as toxic sludge builds up.

Watering every other time allows the plant to make use of ferts still in the soil from the last feeding. It also has a flushing effect. To wet all of the substrate from top to bottom, some water will have to run out during the process, flushing away old crap. Never giving your plants plain, pure water might be like a person never cleaning the container they eat and drink from each day.

 

[PeteSwitch]

I know the the instructions say to use nutes every other watering but what do you guys suggest?

Fox Farms nuked the shit out of my plants on the 1st 2 grows. After talking with the guy from my hydro shop he told me that the formula was made for tomatoes. I don't think this is a valid statement but I know that A very safe start for your Fox Farm nutrients is to go 1/4 to 1/2 strength every other watering, watch your plants with a very VERY sharp eye to see if your plant has been overfed. If you see your plants showing any sign of extreme stress whatsoever on Fox Farm, flush them immediately and dial you nutrients back by 1/4 to 1/3.

Another variable to consider is the strain you're growing. Is your strain a heavy or a light feeder? What are the plants requirements and what does the breeder recommend for nutrients & PH levels. The Fox Farm nutrient schedule was created in a very stable & extremely controlled environment. The schedule may not apply to the real world and growing MJ.

Remember to start out light & work your way up. Crawl before you walk kind of mentality.

 

[snowman4839]

aight that's a good explination Mother's Finest. Thanks a lot

Well shit. I already had my jug premixed and pH'd. I guess I need another jug for straight water.

 

[snowman4839]

Fox Farms nuked the shit out of my plants on the 1st 2 grows. After talking with the guy from my hydro shop he told me that the formula was made for tomatoes. I don't think this is a valid statement but I know that A very safe start for your Fox Farm nutrients is to go 1/4 to 1/2 strength every other watering, watch your plants with a very VERY sharp eye to see if your plant has been overfed. If you see your plants showing any sign of extreme stress whatsoever on Fox Farm, flush them immediately and dial you nutrients back by 1/4 to 1/3.

Another variable to consider is the strain you're growing. Is your strain a heavy or a light feeder? What are the plants requirements and what does the breeder recommend for nutrients & PH levels. The Fox Farm nutrient schedule was created in a very stable & extremely controlled environment. The schedule may not apply to the real world and growing MJ.

Remember to start out light & work your way up. Crawl before you walk kind of mentality.

Makes sense. It's white widow and I'm still pretty new so I'm not sure about if it's a light or heavy feeder. It said use 2-3 teaspoons per gallon for normal feeding and I started with 1. Also my plants have been begging for nutes for like a week but it took forever to get them.

 

[Snow Crash]

Work up your feedings week by week, not watering by watering.

Figure, for this week stick with 5ml per gallon (1 tsp.) until 7 days has passed since the first time you used that.
If everything is chillin then you can bump it up to 7.5ml per gallon (1 and 1/2 tsp.) and use that same formula for a week.

It will take some time before a plant shows stress. You can cause serious damage increasing nutrients when the plant already has too much but has yet to show the problem in the leaves.

Don't go over 10ml (2 tsp) per gallon with the Grow Big. Odds are good that if you see a deficiency it will be Cal-Mag related. It is important to use dolomite lime as a top dressing every month or so with the FF systems. You always want to get plenty of run off when feeding at these levels. This is extra solution that will drain out of the planter and remove built up salts ensuring the media is evenly saturated and washed of excess. Always remove the run off from the drain pan.

Every two or three feedings it is okay to do a "1/2 strength" feeding to make sure the media is clean and healthy and dialed in. If the plant needs something extra it will let you know. The focus here is on getting the right ratio of elements in the soil. You can't just throw lots of "food" at the plant and expect it to take up everything. Uptake is based on a delicate balance of osmosis through the root cell wall membrane. If the dirt is super saturated with elements it will interfere with the uptake and the plant will show a deficiency as a result of toxicity.

So stay clean, stay fresh, keep the ratios in balance. Grow Big is fine for growing with, just don't go overboard with it and keep an eye on the cal-mag. Tiger Bloom should be used at never more than 5ml with 2ml or so of the Grow Big during the beginning of flowering (to week 4). From then on you can pretty much rely on Big Bloom alone at 10ml to 15ml per gallon.

There are many other superior products for growing cannabis than Fox Farms. Keep your eyes open. Personally, I used a combination of Roots Organic and Botanicare coco media, and a variety of liquid nutes from Canna nutrients, Botanicare nutrients, Advanced Nutrients, DynaGro Nutrients, and others.

 

[PeteSwitch]

Makes sense. It's white widow and I'm still pretty new so I'm not sure about if it's a light or heavy feeder. It said use 2-3 teaspoons per gallon for normal feeding and I started with 1. Also my plants have been begging for nutes for like a week but it took forever to get them.

Out of curiosity, what soil are you using & do you have a soil moisture meter & PH meter?

 

[snowman4839]

Out of curiosity, what soil are you using & do you have a soil moisture meter & PH meter?

Well one is in my own mix and one is in Miracle Grow Moisture Control just to compare how they grow. The miracle grow is growing thicker but that might just be the pheno. I'm not sure I'm using the terms correctly but the MG one seems more indica-dom (thick) and one in my mix seems to look like more satvia-dom (spread out) but they're both about the same size so the one in my mix is probably like half/half. They're both doing fine. Both got a little burned in the beginning but they're growing strong now. They're about a week behind because of an awful transplant. I don't have a moisture meter, I just water every 3-5 days depending on how it feels (moisture of soil and weight). I have a nice pH meter. It's a EcoTestr pH2 and it costed like $70 and I've read reviews that people use em for growing cannabis too. I pH every time to about 6.5-6.8. Usually around 6.5.

 

[snowman4839]

Work up your feedings week by week, not watering by watering.

Figure, for this week stick with 5ml per gallon (1 tsp.) until 7 days has passed since the first time you used that.
If everything is chillin then you can bump it up to 7.5ml per gallon (1 and 1/2 tsp.) and use that same formula for a week.

It will take some time before a plant shows stress. You can cause serious damage increasing nutrients when the plant already has too much but has yet to show the problem in the leaves.

Don't go over 10ml (2 tsp) per gallon with the Grow Big. Odds are good that if you see a deficiency it will be Cal-Mag related. It is important to use dolomite lime as a top dressing every month or so with the FF systems. You always want to get plenty of run off when feeding at these levels. This is extra solution that will drain out of the planter and remove built up salts ensuring the media is evenly saturated and washed of excess. Always remove the run off from the drain pan.

Every two or three feedings it is okay to do a "1/2 strength" feeding to make sure the media is clean and healthy and dialed in. If the plant needs something extra it will let you know. The focus here is on getting the right ratio of elements in the soil. You can't just throw lots of "food" at the plant and expect it to take up everything. Uptake is based on a delicate balance of osmosis through the root cell wall membrane. If the dirt is super saturated with elements it will interfere with the uptake and the plant will show a deficiency as a result of toxicity.

So stay clean, stay fresh, keep the ratios in balance. Grow Big is fine for growing with, just don't go overboard with it and keep an eye on the cal-mag. Tiger Bloom should be used at never more than 5ml with 2ml or so of the Grow Big during the beginning of flowering (to week 4). From then on you can pretty much rely on Big Bloom alone at 10ml to 15ml per gallon.

There are many other superior products for growing cannabis than Fox Farms. Keep your eyes open. Personally, I used a combination of Roots Organic and Botanicare coco media, and a variety of liquid nutes from Canna nutrients, Botanicare nutrients, Advanced Nutrients, DynaGro Nutrients, and others.

Aight. I have some cal-mag lime so I should be good and will probably add some soon. I got the FF 3 pack for soil. So use the grow big now and then when do I add in the tiger bloom?

 

[Snow Crash]

Wait until after you flip to 12/12. Figure, remove 2ml of Grow Big for every 1ml of Tiger Bloom you add. Say in week one of 12/12 you use 8ml of Grow Big and 1ml of Tiger bloom. Then in week 2 you use 6ml of Grow Big and 2ml of Tiger Bloom. Etc. By the end of week 4 you're using about 4ml of Tiger Bloom and 2ml of Grow Big.

This will gradually change the npk profile and help the plant stack flowers and transition. This is an important time not to burn the plant.
Around day 35 of flowering you can basically cut out the Tiger Bloom (maybe 1ml per gallon until day 42) and just rely on the Big Bloom and the soil organics to do the work for the rest of the grow.