Can a 4-4-4 fertilizer take me all the way through to harvest?
- Thread starter bobj1598
- Start date
bobj1598
Well-Known Member
I have not yet applied it. It's the PROMIX organic granulated fertilizer, OMRI brand. In PROMIX herb & vegetable mix. 5 gallon grow bags.
I have three different bags of the fertilizer, all with different NPK values. It's literally the same exact stuff, just formulated with different amounts of potash, phosphoric acid, and nitrogen. I can add two fertilizers together and change the NPK values, which is what I was planning to do for flower.
HGCC
Well-Known Member
You might want to poke around the organics area to see if anyone can offer more helpful advice, but...
I believe the promix medium you have already has some nutrients added. That should suffice for a bit to get through some of veg. I couldn't say how long whatever is there would last, but I would assume a month. That's roughly how long I would expect the granules you add to stay active as well, so I would take that into consideration when you are looking at mixing stuff to try and adjust your npk levels.
Hope that helps, sorry I couldn't really give specific advice. I would plant into that promix and not add anything, then every 3 or 4 weeks take a look at what you think the needs will be for the next period and add it in.
I believe the promix medium you have already has some nutrients added. That should suffice for a bit to get through some of veg. I couldn't say how long whatever is there would last, but I would assume a month. That's roughly how long I would expect the granules you add to stay active as well, so I would take that into consideration when you are looking at mixing stuff to try and adjust your npk levels.
Hope that helps, sorry I couldn't really give specific advice. I would plant into that promix and not add anything, then every 3 or 4 weeks take a look at what you think the needs will be for the next period and add it in.
weedstoner420
Well-Known Member
Yes, but...
Edit: I responded to the title, not the actual post... To really KISS on a first grow, I'd say: equal parts perlite, compost (or worm castings), and peat (or coco coir), plus 2-3 cups dry ferts per cubic foot (7.5 gallons), mix thoroughly. Use the largest containers you can and keep veg time fairly short. Basically you don't want the soil mix too strong, but you want enough of it so your plants don't run out of food. Then just water and wait. Top dress after they set buds if you feel like it, using no more than the label recommends.
Edit: I responded to the title, not the actual post... To really KISS on a first grow, I'd say: equal parts perlite, compost (or worm castings), and peat (or coco coir), plus 2-3 cups dry ferts per cubic foot (7.5 gallons), mix thoroughly. Use the largest containers you can and keep veg time fairly short. Basically you don't want the soil mix too strong, but you want enough of it so your plants don't run out of food. Then just water and wait. Top dress after they set buds if you feel like it, using no more than the label recommends.
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myke
Well-Known Member
5g is too small,good for veg.Ive done gaia 444 start to finish.Keep in mind the N in gaia is water soluble 40% i think. A good mix is 50/50 444 and something like a 248 would make a good flower mix.
Either way you have to have bigger pots soil, covered to get good life to break down the organic food.
Either way you have to have bigger pots soil, covered to get good life to break down the organic food.
calvin.m16
Well-Known Member
Yeah but don't expect the best yields. I ran just base nutrients on a row of plants and did my normal MPK supplementation through bloom and the plants with MPK were noticeably more frosty and yielded 20-30% more bud. I think a lot of it depends on the particular plants you're growing.
Supplements "may" help of course but some do help just gotta experiment and see for yourself sometimes. I would say its fine to use base nutrition through veg but if you want the most in bloom you will need to crank up the potassium & phosphorus levels.
Supplements "may" help of course but some do help just gotta experiment and see for yourself sometimes. I would say its fine to use base nutrition through veg but if you want the most in bloom you will need to crank up the potassium & phosphorus levels.
bobj1598
Well-Known Member
okay, so here's what I'm thinking about doing. And again, this is just me theorizing, doesn't mean I'm going to, just a thought.
what if I were to underapply the 4 4 4 fertilizer and then supplement/augment the feeding at certain intervals throughout my grow with a liquid concoction? I'll have some base nutrients on top of the soil so that my plants won't immediately starve. I have three bags of fertilizer all with varying NPK levels. If I combine the flower and potassium fertilizers (3 7 3 & 4 4 8 respectively) that would give me roughly an NPK of 3.3 - 5.5 - 5.5, I can apply that during flower for an immediate P&K boost. Would this work?
Popop
Well-Known Member
It would work. But using that many fertilizers is a dangerous game imo.
Wouldn't take much to go askew and you would have a hard time finding the culprit.
Use sparingly
Herb & Suds
Well-Known Member
You really got your heart set on using that 4-4-4 don’t you?
I don’t know the answer primarily cause I have never tried
But then I don’t use spikes or time release Fertzs
And I haven’t tried because I want accurate control
You will probably know more about this working or not by trial and error/success
Good luck
bobj1598
Well-Known Member
well it's not that I have my heart set on it, I just don't which of the 3 bagged fertilizer amendments would be more beneficial to apply at the beginning of veg: 7 3 3, 3 7 3, or the 4 4 8. I've been told that all three NPK values are important to plants at all stages of growth, therefore, it seems most fitting to apply a neutral, even solution to my growing medium. Again, I never wanted to add any fertilizer, PROMIX lied to me. Their bag says it would feed my plants for up to three months. I didn't even get three WEEKS of nutrition before my plants began starving to death! I was looking forward to coasting through this grow with my feet kicked up and having to do next to nothing, then my plants started to turn yellow and I started freaking outYou really got your heart set on using that 4-4-4 don’t you?
I don’t know the answer primarily cause I have never tried
But then I don’t use spikes or time release Fertzs
And I haven’t tried because I want accurate control
You will probably know more about this working or not by trial and error/success
Good luck
bobj1598
Well-Known Member
the beautiful thing about the PROMIX bagged granular fertilizer (aside from being OMRI certified), is that the material used to make the fertilizers is all the same. I don't know what it is, but it looks like dog food. They all have different amounts of nitrogen, phosphoric acid and potash in different increments. But the fertilizer is comprised of mostly the same materials. It's not like one fertilizer has fish in it, another has bone meal, another with seaweed, etc.
myke
Well-Known Member
Ive used the prilled 448 for my outdoor garden,mix it in the soil and every time you water it gets a shot of food.Worked well.
bobj1598
Well-Known Member
Hate to break it to you, but I messaged GG and asked if their Power Bloom fertilizer was water soluble. This was the response I received (I was originally going to supplement my granular fertilizer with Power Bloom for a nice flower fertilizer)
myke
Well-Known Member
The N in 444 is 3% water soluble or at least thats what the web says.I hit the extra 0 by mistake.
https://www.gaiagreen.com/product-page/all-purpose-4-4-4
bobj1598
Well-Known Member
Hey no worries, I just figured I'd pass the info along that I received from them via email.