Nutrients..

Matt121791

Active Member
What nutrients do you use? Whats the nutriotional content of it? And how often do you feed your plant nutes during vegetative, germination, and flowering?
 

mogie

Well-Known Member
The Nutrients:

Nitrogen - Plants need lots of N during vegging, but it's easy to overdo it. Added too much? Flush the soil with plain water. Soluble nitrogen (especially nitrate) is the form that's the most quickly available to the roots, while insoluble N (like urea) first needs to be broken down by microbes in the soil before the roots can absorb it. Avoid excessive ammonium nitrogen, which can interfere with other nutrients. Too much N delays flowering. Plants should be allowed to become N-deficient late in flowering for best flavor.

Magnesium - Mg-deficiency is pretty common since marijuana uses lots of it and many fertilizers don't have enough of it. Mg-deficiency is easily fixed with ¼ teaspoon/gallon of Epsom salts (first powdered and dissolved in some hot water) or foliar feed at ½ teaspoon/quart. When mixing up soil, use 2 teaspoon dolomite lime per gallon of soil for Mg. Mg can get locked-up by too much Ca, Cl or ammonium nitrogen. Don't overdo Mg or you'll lock up other nutrients.

Potassium - Too much sodium (Na) displaces K, causing a K deficiency. Sources of high salinity are: baking soda (sodium bicarbonate "pH-up"), too much manure, and the use of water-softening filters (which should not be used). If the problem is Na, flush the soil. K can get locked up from too much Ca or ammonium nitrogen, and possibly cold weather.

Phosphorous - Some deficiency during flowering is normal, but too much shouldn't be tolerated. Red petioles and stems are a normal, genetic characteristic for many varieties, plus it can also be a co-symptom of N, K, and Mg-deficiencies, so red stems are not a foolproof sign of P-deficiency. Too much P can lead to iron deficiency.

Iron - Fe is unavailable to plants when the pH of the water or soil is too high. If deficient, lower the pH to about 6.5 (for rockwool, about 5.7), and check that you're not adding too much P, which can lock up Fe. Use iron that's chelated for maximum availability. Read your fertilizer's ingredients - chelated iron might read something like "iron EDTA". To much Fe without adding enough P can cause a P-deficiency.

Manganese - Mn gets locked out when the pH is too high, and when there's too much iron. Use chelated Mn.

Zinc - Also gets locked out due to high pH. Zn, Fe, and Mn deficiencies often occur together, and are usually from a high pH. Don't overdo the micro-nutrients-lower the pH if that's the problem so the nutrients become available. Foliar feed if the plant looks real bad. Use chelated zinc.
 

mogie

Well-Known Member
What levels should I maintain for my hydroponic nutrient, temperature, pH and TDS/EC?

I follow and highly recommend the following parameters for hydroponic nutrient solutions for aeroponic, ?bubblers?, drip, ebb and flow, NFT, passive, rockwool and wick systems.

PH 5.1-5.9 (5.2 optimal)
TDS 500-1000ppm, EC .75-1.5
Temperature 68-78f, 20-25c (75f, 24c optimal)

The pH of the nutrient solution is a major determinant of nutrient uptake by the plant. If the pH wanders outside the optimum range of between pH 5.1 and pH 5.9, then nutritional deficiency and/or toxicity problems can occur. For hydroponic nutrient solutions used with inert media, keep the pH at 5.2 for optimal elemental uptake. It is at this point that roots most readily assimilate nutrients. These pH and TDS/EC recommendations may seem low relative to the normally suggested range, but are based upon information garnered from "Hydroponic Nutrients" by M. Edward Muckle and Practical Hydroponics and Greenhouses. They both document the low pH resulting in increased nutrient uptake and my experience has shown discernible health and yield improvements at a ph of 5.2 over higher levels.

On page 100, Hydroponic Nutrients displays both the assimilation chart for organic soil applications and another for inert medium hydroponics, which depicts the vastly different scenarios (see below). The widely accepted soil based chart is frequently misapplied to water culture applications. His research and that done by others, documented in Practical Hydroponics and Greenhouses, indicate that iron and phosphorous precipitate in nutrient solutions at pH levels above 6. Stay below a pH of 6 by all means to avoid this problem and benefit.

The nutrient assimilation rate is further enhanced by the reduction in solution TDS/EC, which reduces osmotic pressure and allows the roots to draw the nutrients "easier". Young, established seedlings or rooted cuttings are started at 500-600ppm. The TDS is increased to 800-900ppm during peak vegetative growth. During the transition from early to heavy flowering, TDS is further raised to 1000ppm. It is then reduced to 400-500ppm during the final 2 weeks of flushing. The plants demonstrate their preference for a lower TDS/EC when running a lower pH by clearly sustaining higher growth rates.

The optimum temperature for hydroponic solutions to be is 24c/75f. At this point, most elements are assimilated highest and atmospheric oxygen is most readily dissolved. Although increases in temperature increase the rate of photosynthesis, avoid exceeding the maximum listed of 25c/78f. Elevated temperatures make some elements more available, but reduce the solution's dissolved oxygen capacity, increasing root disease likelihood.

Nutrient Availability Chart

 

mogie

Well-Known Member
Organic soil composition involves creating a soil medium that has a balanced amount of nutrients - NPK as well as trace elements and minerals - plus organic material that provides food for not only the plant, but also the countless soil microorganisms, fungi, worms, and bacteria that comprise a healthy soil. This soil life breaks down the raw materials of the fertilizers you add so the plants can absorb them, and also plays a part in as-yet undefined processes that aid plant growth and improve soil health.
Below are various "recipes" for both organic fertilizers and organic soil mixes.

Mix and match formulas
Pick one source from each category. The results will vary in composition from 1-2-1 to 4-6-3, but any mixture will provide a balanced supply of nutrients that will be steadily available to plants and encourage soil microorganisms.

Nitrogen 2 parts blood meal
3 parts fish meal

Phosporous 3 parts bone meal
6 parts rock phosphate or colloidal phosphate

Potassium 1 part kelp meal
6 parts greensand

. [SIZE=-1]source: Rodale Encyclopedia of Organic Gardening[/SIZE] [SIZE=-1]
[/SIZE] . More Organic Fertilizer Mixes
2 - 3.5 - 2.5
1 part bone meal
3 parts alfalfa hay
2 parts greensand
2 - 4 - 2
4 parts coffee grounds
1 part bone meal
1 part wood ashes
2 - 4 - 2
1 part leather dust
1 part bone meal
3 parts granite dust
2 - 8 - 2
3 parts greensand
2 parts seaweed
1 part dried blood
2 parts phosphate rock 2 - 13 - 2.5
1 part cottonseed meal
2 parts phosphate rock
2 parts seaweed
3.5 - 5.5 - 3.5
2 parts cottonseed meal
1 part colloidal phosphate
2 parts granite dust
2.5 - 6 - 5
1 part dried blood
1 part phosphate rock
4 parts wood ashes
0 - 5 - 4
1 part phosphate rock
3 parts greensand
2 parts wood ashes
3 - 6 - 3
1 part leather dust
1 part phosphate rock
3 parts seaweed
3 - 7 - 5
1 part dried blood
1 part phosphate rock
3 parts wood ashes
3 - 8 - 5
1 part leather dust
1 part phosphate rock
1 part fish scrap
4 parts wood ashes
2.5 - 2.5 - 4
3 parts granite dust
1 part dried blood
1 part bone meal
5 parts seaweed
4 - 5 - 4
2 parts dried blood
1 part phosphate rock
4 parts wood ashes
6 - 8 - 3
2 parts fish scrap
2 parts dried blood
1 part cottonseed meal
1 part wood ashes
1 part phosphate rock
1 part granite dust
 

mogie

Well-Known Member
You asked for the "nutriotional content" so ya got it. LOL

Better too much info then not enough I guess.
 

Delta-9

Well-Known Member
I got a question mogie. I keep reading that a low N is good for flowering. I am under the impression from reading that 5-15-15 is a good mix for flowering, is that right?

Here's the problem. All the plant food in the stores around me have a high N percentage. What product from Lowes, Home Depot, Walmart, ect. is good for the flowering stage?

Does the N number have to be low? Can I get by with just some MG bloom food?
 

mogie

Well-Known Member
Fertilizers

I use a hydroponics solution even for my soil plants. Basically it has everything a plant needs to live in it since water alone doesn't have these. There are 14 nutrients that a plant needs to survive. But all we are going to talk about are the main nutrients. N-P-k. Nitrogen, phosphorous and potassium. Ever wondered what those 3 numbers on the front of the bottle meant? Well there you go.

During our grow cycle the plant likes a fertilizer high in nitrogen. Something like 20-5-5. It uses the nitrogen for strong stem and leaf growth. After you change over to your flowering cycle you will want a fertilizer that is high in phosphorous and potassium. Something like 5-15-15 should work well.
 

Delta-9

Well-Known Member
None of the products at any of the Home Improvement stores carry plant food that has a low N.

Everyone says 5-15-15 but I can't find anything under than 10-x-x.
 

BBBold

Active Member
This thread has an incredible amount of information, which is the main reason I'm giving it a bump.

Second reason is a question on my own nutrient choice. I'm using Compo's Greenplant (Grünpflanzen Dünger) Fertilizer (well, haven't used it yet, but recently bought it and hope to use it soon...)

NPK values are 7 + 3 + 6.

I'm using soil, indoors with a 600w MH light. Currently in the vegetative growth stage, probably switching to flowering in 3-4 weeks.

I selected this fertilizer because of it's comparatively high Nitrogen value (because I read you want a high amount of Nitrogen for Veg stage).

Any input or feedback on this fertilizer would be greatly appreciated!
 
so guys! i dont knowi f ill get a reply to this, but hey! I moved my plant waay to close to my 400w, i wouldnt say i was new to growing but ive had little success; funds ect. Alot of my leaves were burnt quite severly at the top of my plant also i have just began flowering so the top bud site was burnt to a crisp. i cut the damaged and am just waiting to see what happens.
So my question is; would giving my plant an additional ammount of a mineral that was needed for repair help?
i dont know wat this mineral would be but if it could be done i will do it!!
 
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