Potassium content of Floranova
- Thread starter Rahz
- Start date
xtsho
Well-Known Member
I've used it alone in the past. It provides the plants with what they need. I stopped using bottled name brand nutrients because I got tired of paying for them. Now I just mix the salts myself for a fraction of the price.
But what's low about it? It's a well balanced nutrient. Many of the issues people have during flower is due to an overuse of boosters and other additives.
FloraNova Grow 7-4-10
FloraNova Bloom 4-8-7
But what's low about it? It's a well balanced nutrient. Many of the issues people have during flower is due to an overuse of boosters and other additives.
FloraNova Grow 7-4-10
FloraNova Bloom 4-8-7
Rahz
Well-Known Member
9 ml Floranova per gallon provides 95/83/138 ppm elemental NPK... not terrible but K still a bit low. I normally run Maxigro/bloom 50:50 (2.5g each per gallon) and get 100/50/150 NPK.
I agree on the overuse of boosters. I haven't seen increased yields using more gro/bloom than the formula above. Not sure I want to go below 150 with K though.
I'm wanting to play around with liquid nutrients partly because I'd like to decrease my mixing time not waiting on the dry to dissolve, but also thought I would see if I can find something that provides better yield than maxigro/bloom. I have identical dual tents, good for comparison.
Another issue I have is that 9ml Floranova per gallon is putting P at 83, which can make it difficult for beneficial bacteria to grow. I like keeping the P below 70... but it sure would be nice to have a 1 part liquid nutrient. I'll probably try it just to see what happens. If they had dropped the P a bit and added more K I would be really excited about it.
I'm also reading that some liquid nutrients are more PH stable than others. Any recommendations and I might give it a try. I'll be keeping track of PH so I can see how the buffers perform compared to Maxi series.
I agree on the overuse of boosters. I haven't seen increased yields using more gro/bloom than the formula above. Not sure I want to go below 150 with K though.
I'm wanting to play around with liquid nutrients partly because I'd like to decrease my mixing time not waiting on the dry to dissolve, but also thought I would see if I can find something that provides better yield than maxigro/bloom. I have identical dual tents, good for comparison.
Another issue I have is that 9ml Floranova per gallon is putting P at 83, which can make it difficult for beneficial bacteria to grow. I like keeping the P below 70... but it sure would be nice to have a 1 part liquid nutrient. I'll probably try it just to see what happens. If they had dropped the P a bit and added more K I would be really excited about it.
I'm also reading that some liquid nutrients are more PH stable than others. Any recommendations and I might give it a try. I'll be keeping track of PH so I can see how the buffers perform compared to Maxi series.
rkymtnman
Well-Known Member
this last run I ran 10 g MGro and 2 g MBlo for a 3:1:4 ratio. trying out Fatman's bloom NPK. they did fine with it, nice and green with a bit of purpling right at the end.
homebrewer
Well-Known Member
I'm curious, do you have a link to back up the claim that the growth of beneficial bacteria is impeded by those phosphorus levels?
On a broader level here, the potassium levels in floranova are perfectly fine. You can easily add more, it *may* give you sturdier branches but it still wont prevent branches from snapping nor will it do anything for yield or overall health.
Rahz
Well-Known Member
I looked for a link but couldn't find. It was years ago I read it. I remember it was from a commercial farming article. Whether that means it's time tested or should be taken with a grain of salt I don't know. How it transfers to water cultures I don't know but don't see how it would be much different. I also suspect microbes established in a root system would be somewhat shielded from whatever levels are actually toxic. This could mean establishing microbial colonies with lower P in veg would allow for higher levels in flower. It may be related more to keeping P in fields low since you can't just lower P content in soil.
At any rate, other things I've read suggest P levels over 70 ppm aren't very useful. I'd be interested to know if anyone has results that contradict that idea. I've played with PK boosters and didn't see any notable yield increase over the 100/50/150 formula.
Anyway, I'll try 10 ml per gallon (105/92/153) and see how it goes. The bottle suggests 10-15 ml per gallon during flower I just don't see how 160 ppm N makes for a good flower formula.
I've also picked up some Ionic Bloom (3/2/6) which is also a 1 part liquid nutrient. At 15ml per gallon it comes out to 118/34/197. Just like the Floranova feed chart, they suggest a PK booster during heavy flower.
rkymtnman
Well-Known Member
tried that not too long ago: first Ca deficiency I've had in many years. just a heads up
and i've read that less than 70 for P too somewhere but can't remember where.
rkymtnman
Well-Known Member
well water, 0.2EC. guess you have to call them to find out.
homebrewer
Well-Known Member
This is a useful link: https://www.gardenmyths.com/salts-dont-kill-plants-or-microbes/
Rahz
Well-Known Member
I saw that, but it's just comparing organic to synthetic. At some concentration salts will slow bacterial growth just like it can have negative effects on plants.
I'm playing around with mixing Floranova and Ionic Bloom in the changeout. 5ml Floranova and 8 ml Ionic Bloom per gallon provide NPK values of 116/64/182. It's difficult to get the N much lower without dropping the P or K substantially but I like those numbers.
I'm playing around with mixing Floranova and Ionic Bloom in the changeout. 5ml Floranova and 8 ml Ionic Bloom per gallon provide NPK values of 116/64/182. It's difficult to get the N much lower without dropping the P or K substantially but I like those numbers.
xtsho
Well-Known Member
"Nitrogen rather than P inputs led to decrease in soil pH, and soil pH was more important than other nutrients in shaping bacterial community structure according to the Mantel test and CCA analysis, which is supported by previous studies
Soil chemical properties and bacterial community were markedly influenced by N and/or P input in a subtropical fir plantation in southern China. Our results showed that N input influenced bacterial abundance and community composition while P input did not."
Effects of Nitrogen and Phosphorus Inputs on Soil Bacterial Abundance, Diversity, and Community Composition in Chinese Fir Plantations
Soil chemical properties and bacterial community were markedly influenced by N and/or P input in a subtropical fir plantation in southern China. Our results showed that N input influenced bacterial abundance and community composition while P input did not."
Effects of Nitrogen and Phosphorus Inputs on Soil Bacterial Abundance, Diversity, and Community Composition in Chinese Fir Plantations
rkymtnman
Well-Known Member
so you are pretty happy with the 2-1-3 NPK profile for bloom?
i really like 3-1-2 for veg and after reading a bunch of Fatmans and others NPK profiles, i tried the 3-1-4 for bloom.
i was a Lucas guy from the start: after everything else is static, the nutes is the only thing i mess with lately.
Rahz
Well-Known Member
I'm pretty happy with it. I've tried straight Maxibloom and didn't see any notable difference between that and 2-1-3... shrug. I'll keep playing with it though.
Interesting article, but I'm having trouble getting their data into a ppm equivalent. I think 20-30 ppm is common for fields because they have to deal with phosphorus runoff and cost issues so they may have not come close to reaching 70 ppm in their testing.