DILEMMA: Time Release Plant Food

Hello to everyone,

I have a bit of a dilemma. For the first time in 35 years I am currently using a time release plant food (Ozmocote 20-6-12 ), that feeds for up to 4 months. My babies (looking excellent!), which are a variety of indica/sativa are 2 months into the (indoor) vegetative cycle. Excluding the indicas, the average height of the sativas is around 2.5 ft. Due to time constraints, I need to induce flowering within the next couple of weeks. Okay here is the dilemma, if you haven't figured it out by now. I feel as if I have painted myself in a corner. The soil containing 4 months worth of time release nutrients (mixed into the soil), have about 2 more months of feeding. Remember that the nitrogen is 20 and the phosphate 6. I am savvy to the fact that before and during flowering, nitrogen levels should be reduced, while phosphate levels should be raised. Keeping in mind that the Ozmocote has another 2 months worth of nutrients left, could someone please offer any ideas or suggestions as to just what I should do with 2 months worth of vegetative nutrients to go and the induction of flowering around the corner (2 weeks). Should I perform a careful transplant of said babies into a more neutral growing media and then manually feed them something like Vigoro Bloom Builder (water soluble) 10-52-10? Or, since sativas are known to continue vegetative growth while at the same time flowering, should I leave them in the growing media that they are currently in and just manually feed them nutrients that are low (5) in nitrogen and high in phosphate? I feel like such a "veg" head for allowing this oversight to happen in the first place. Any and all suggestions/advice would be greatly appreciated.

Thanks,
stillsmokin'

This is a dilemma...

Personally i wouldn't fancy the repotting route... and just because the soil holds UP TO 4 months worth of nutes does not mean they will last that long. If they do then you've pretty much had it.

2 months worth of nutes is the entire flower period (maybe). However, the great thing about cannabis growers is that most of us like to saturate our plants rather than feeding them dribbles. With the saturation nutes should be washed out of the media at a faster rate than the manufacturers will tell you.

I think you're just going to have to play by ear and just buy some phosphorous, adding that on its own untill you see signs of the plants needing nitrogen.

Thank you for your reply. Yeah that's true ("great thing about cannabis growers is that most of us like to saturate our plants rather than feeding them dribbles"), they are saturated to the max with Nitro. I agree with you about not going the transplant route, too risky and not to mention time consuming when the time could be spent smokin'!! Perhaps your suggestion of adding supplemental phospho to the equation and monitoring the need for nitro along the way is best. Thanks again for your help.

No problem... if you can call it help. All I did was say the same thing as you. I'm sure you just threw this out here in the hope that someone else had done the same thing... and could offer you more practical advice.

Unfortunately, I think your situation is a very very rare one. I've never come across it before.

Would you mind keeping us up to date on what happens?

Absolutely no problem. I just bought a new digital camera and I wll document and post the progress/growth soon.

I actually just went to Lowes tonight and bought the same stuff.

I used half the recommended amount per plant

I also bought 15 - 30 - 15 Lilly Miller Flowering plant food

Will use that when I switch to flowering stage


Will see how it works out...


HOWS THAT FOR A BUMB EHHH?!