Trying to save on Nutes

SnoopyDoo

SnoopyDoo

Well-Known Member
Hey guys, I've been using GH's FloraSeries trio forever. No complaints and I really like it because I know what to do with it, when to do it, etc. But I'm looking to reduce costs and maybe just go with some salts; no reason to pay extra for pre dissolved salts. Plus salt is easy to clean up and salvage when spilt, doesn't stain the floor, etc.

Obviously the GH FloraPro and MaxiPro lines jump out at me. Especially FloraPro, but I haven't priced it yet and it looks like only comes in 25lb bags.

I see MaxiCrop and Jacks get mentioned alot - any others I should consider?

Can I just get raw "no-name" salts and try to replicate the NPK ratios from the FloraSeries line up? Are there any recipes for using no-name salts? Where do the mirco nutrients come from if use NPK salts instead of a nutrient line?

I grow in Sunshine #4 Peat (not the advanced Coco) in plastic pots if that matters. Hand watered daily.

TIA.
 
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PizzaBob

Active Member
Well you gotta be either a tinkerer or a big time grower to think that going in another direction is beneficial.
Based on your line of questioning you don’t appear to be a tinkerer or you’d have been looking into this long ago. So are you a mid to large grower? Like over 100kw in lights? Even there you were running a warehouse you could get comm pricing and have 275 gallon totes drop shipped to you.
You can’t beat the quality of GH flora series at that price pointy. And you have it dialed in. I can’t see how trial and error of trying to mix your own salts is going to be worth it. My bet is that the setbacks will far outweigh the savings. There are far better ways to save a buck.
 
SnoopyDoo

SnoopyDoo

Well-Known Member
LOL - I don't think I'd want 100kw in lights. I've done plenty of tinkering, but the GH FloraSeries has always been my go to. I did a few runs with the Technaflora line. I used Ionics and Cyco before, but I always come back to GH. GH is cheap and reliable. I can see some advantages to salts. If it's cheaper and cleaner, then why not? I think I could dial it in a run maybe two.
 
farmingfisherman

farmingfisherman

Well-Known Member
Tinker away! I've not done anything other than organics but I mix and match with what is available for standard garden growing for the bulk of my stuff, Dr. Earth mainly.. But flower time I mix and match my stuff and have had decent results to show for it. I'm amazed and overwhelmed when I look at nutrients in a grow shop.. Next outdoor grow I'm making my own mixture from a local natural nutrient supplier. @SnoopyDoo The products you mentioned I'm assuming are organic correct?
 
kovidkough

kovidkough

Well-Known Member
people will tell you megacrop has too much n for flower. my solution was a cheap strainer and I filter out the white calnit balls and stash those away. I do this to only a portion of my bag I save the rest for veg . works great in hempy, no clue about DWC, it burns my soil plants
 
TintEastwood

TintEastwood

Well-Known Member
kovidkough said:
I've actually been wanting to pick your brain on what happens to MC 1 part when you remove the calnit little balls. my goal was reducing N in flower and I use your ppm charts, very handy
Click to expand...
That's a cool method.

Maybe you could weigh the balls to help know how much N/Ca you are removing/adding.

I still have a sack of MC v1.0 and a small bag of 2.0. Then I went to Jacks. That was before MC had a 2Part.
 
Hot Diggity Sog

Hot Diggity Sog

Well-Known Member
SnoopyDoo said:
Hey guys, I've been using GH's FloraSeries trio forever. No complaints and I really like it because I know what to do with it, when to do it, etc. But I'm looking to reduce costs and maybe just go with some salts; no reason to pay extra for pre dissolved salts. Plus salt is easy to clean up and salvage when spilt, doesn't stain the floor, etc.

Obviously the GH FloraPro and MaxiPro lines jump out at me. Especially FloraPro, but I haven't priced it yet and it looks like only comes in 25lb bags.

I see MaxiCrop and Jacks get mentioned alot - any others I should consider?

Can I just get raw "no-name" salts and try to replicate the NPK ratios from the FloraSeries line up? Are there any recipes for using no-name salts? Where do the mirco nutrients come from if use NPK salts instead of a nutrient line?

I grow in Sunshine #4 Peat (not the advanced Coco) in plastic pots if that matters. Hand watered daily.

TIA.
Click to expand...
There is lots of great info from @churchhaze, @Skybound420 and others.
Here are 2 links to get you started:

DIY Hydroponic Nutrients in 5 minutes

Pour salts in bottles: Part A: Calcium Nitrate Potassium Nitrate Iron DTPA (10 or 11%) Part B: Monopotassium Phosphate Magnesium Sulfate Manganese Sulfate Sodium Borate Zinc Sulfate Sodium Molybdate Fill the rest of the bottles with RO/distilled water. Potassium Hydroxide flakes if you need...
www.rollitup.org
www.420magazine.com

Making Your Own Nutrient Concentrates

This is my attempt to compile and condense all of the information I've collected from other grower sites and share it here on 420 in hopes of generating more feedback and ultimately learning more myself. I grew with General Hydroponics for years, but could never seem to nail down a perfect feed...
www.420magazine.com www.420magazine.com

I'm also embarking on my 1st attempt at raw salts so feel free to check out my journal from time to time as I document my experiences.
 
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PizzaBob

Active Member
MickFoster said:
What he said ^^^^^^^^
The best value in my opinion is GH MaxiBloom.........from start to finish.
Click to expand...
Agreed. I know a few growers, mostly Outdoor, that buy the 50lbs pails. At 200 bucks it’s def one of best KIS methods and cheap.
One guy I know that kills it just uses maxibloom (mainly to supplement in bloom) and his tea. He built a vortex tea brewer for all the extras like humic acid, beneficials and he can boost P with bat guano.
A relative of mine, at my recommendation, uses just maxibloom and floralicious plus in 25 gallon smart pots of promix with excellent results. She’ll add calnag + when using rain water.
But they aren’t tinkerers. It’s simple and it works. I’m more of a tinkerer myself and have looked into mixing my own nutes as well. So I’m pulling up a chair.
 
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