General Hydroponics grow chart for ebb & flow

The GH recirculating grow chart lists thirteen different different nutrients. I want to be thorough, but I also know that GH wants me buying as many of their products as possible. I have no problem buying everything on the list, but I don't want to be a sucker, either. Can anyone offer me some guidance? Thanks in advance, everyone!

hit me up on a DM, i've got #14 and #15 that GH won't tell you about.

just kidding.

3 part micro, grow bloom and cal/mg (when needed). then try some additives one at a time and make up your own mind

I run GH nutes for years in a recirculating system and used the whole line always. Recently I cut out the rapid start and I can't notice the difference. I'm having a hard time getting the armor si in my hydro store so watch for that. I use the FloraNova as a base though not the 3 part flora series but just my preference. Cyco has something like 16 bottles in the line.

Like @rkymtnman said you can start with just those basics and it'll work. The FloraBlend is good, so is Floralicious plus. I pay over $60 CDN for a gallon of FloraNectar which is a lot for sugar.

Thanks for the advice so far. I've been growing for a few years in soil, then recently switched to RDWC. I really enjoyed the switch to hydro; I felt a lot more in control of the process, but stuck to a very simple Botanicare regimen for my first couple of crops. I've just switched to ebb & flow (a much simpler and more reliable system IMO), and now that I'm hyper-focused on quality, I don't want to miss anything in the nutrient department. If using the entire line is effective, I'm on board.

MustGro said:

I run GH nutes for years in a recirculating system and used the whole line always. Recently I cut out the rapid start and I can't notice the difference. I'm having a hard time getting the armor si in my hydro store so watch for that. I use the FloraNova as a base though not the 3 part flora series but just my preference. Cyco has something like 16 bottles in the line.

Click to expand...

I found Armor Si (and every other GH nutrient) on eBay for reasonable prices. Normally, I am all about supporting local business, but in the case of grow supplies, I avoid brick & mortar operations like the plague.

mwallace said:

I found Armor Si (and every other GH nutrient) on eBay for reasonable prices. Normally, I am all about supporting local business, but in the case of grow supplies, I avoid brick & mortar operations like the plague.

Click to expand...

so in my experience, i like silica, sulfur and kelp.

mwallace said:

If using the entire line is effective, I'm on board.

Click to expand...

probably not.

rkymtnman said:

probably not.

Click to expand...

Thanks... in the process of trimming a few off the list right now.

You don't need all of that to grow quality flowers. Look into jr peters Jacks 321. Simple affordable and great results. I use the pure and simple formula for my recirculating system. There is a thread on here about it.

rkymtnman said:

so in my experience, i like silica, sulfur and kelp.

Click to expand...

me too! Kelp and epsom salts (don't need much-I'm using 1/4 teaspoon per 3 gallons water) are the best bang for your buck "boosters" beyond the basic line. I LOVE extra sulfur. The only other thing I think makes a noticeable difference is fish hydrolysate (free amino acids), though possibly soy or whey based aminos would work just as well. A well functioning microbiome also tends to result in excellent flavor, whether using mineral salts or organics, and these supplements all feed that. You don't "need" any of these to grow good bud with GH nutrients, but I think the resulting bud comes very close to my outdoor soil grows as far as terpenes and overall dankness. I'm using these with Maxibloom now, so basically the exact same as Flora series nutes.

I think some of these work well purely by feeding the microbiome-the aminos, seaweed, carbs, etc. Those rhizobacteria, Trichoderma, mycorrhizae, etc, generate more active metabolites than we can comprehend, even in a grow using mineral salts. A healthy microbiome featuring trichoderma produced the same yields using 25% less mineral salt based nutrients as one using the full dose in one study I read recently. So, you know they are still alive and doing their job, just not as active as in an organic situation. I very well could be completely off base though LOL.

Rurumo said:

The only other thing I think makes a noticeable difference is fish hydrolysate

Click to expand...

do you have a link to what you use?
i tried a powdered amino/kelp/humic mix from kelp4less but it mixes up like shit. doesn't dissolve well at all no matter how i try to mix it. so i went to a liquid kelp which mixes up nice. but i want to get some aminos in there.