tips on foliar feeding

lochem

lochem

Well-Known Member
growing with 45 W and 50 W and 55 W CFLs...
can anyone provide any tips on when to start foliar feeding, how often to do it, when to do it, (ie before going to dark hours, etc,)

what to put in the spray bottle....
ive heard of mollasses but im not sure what kind, (unsulphured?)
thanks in advance;-)
 
hairylemonberry

hairylemonberry

Member
i would recommend using super thrive, 1/4 ml to each gal. spray em down 1nce a month under and on top of the leaves. make sure u let your water set out though if ur using tap. N with the mollasses i only use when im flushing for the last 1 to 2 weeks with no nutes. on my hydro set up i foliar feed the plant then spray the roots a little just for the heck of it, donno if it makes much difference but nothing bads come of it. message me on my profile if u have anymore questions
 
lochem

lochem

Well-Known Member
if i cant get any superthrive where i live, what would you suggest instead? and did you mean once a week? you said once a month...
 
lochem

lochem

Well-Known Member
also, what about the water hitting the flowers... should i be careful to only spray the leaves?
 
Potentrx7

Potentrx7

Active Member
dont foliar during budding... most people stop 1 week into flower or so. basically once areas get dense enough to not properly ventilate (bud structure) you do NOT want to put excess moisture there.

A lot of people dont even foliar feed at all and yield great results... Sometimes its not worth the risk.
 
lochem

lochem

Well-Known Member
bigv1976 said:
Why do you want to foliar feed?
Click to expand...
only because alot of people do it and say its good. thats all. isnt that what the forum is all about; reading other people's replies and posts and gaining useful information. helps alot, the answers one can find here. so ive been reading all over the place about ppl foliar feeding, and want to learn about it
 
lochem

lochem

Well-Known Member
Potentrx7 said:
dont foliar during budding... most people stop 1 week into flower or so. basically once areas get dense enough to not properly ventilate (bud structure) you do NOT want to put excess moisture there.

A lot of people dont even foliar feed at all and yield great results... Sometimes its not worth the risk.
Click to expand...
can you elaborate on the potential risks? thanks
 
lochem

lochem

Well-Known Member
PurpleRhinoceros

PurpleRhinoceros

Active Member
Foliar feeding is not to be done during flowering. But it's possible to just foliar feed the fan leaves. But you don't want that food in your buds.

http://www.humboldtnutrients.com/beneficial-knowledge/growing-tips/foliar-sprays/

Ok, they used to have better information, i could have just copied that here. I think I will:

"Foliar sprays are used to directly feed open leaf stomata (pores) & are vital to maintaining a healthy, happy garden. Too many gardeners ignore this important, yield increasing practice. Foliar sprays are effective in the morning, and most effective at the end of the day, when the garden is approaching the dark cycle. A consistent foliar spray regimen reduces pathogens and parasites like mites, leaf miners, and powder mold."

I use neem oil just as a preemptive attack against bugs. Sticky is humboldt's version of organic dawn detergent. It's just something to help oils disburse in water. But I'd recommend a bottle of Sticky over a few drops of dawn any day. Actually I don't approve of using dawn. You can even get something like Dynagro Protek to make a good foliar spray
 
MoNk0

MoNk0

Well-Known Member
I'm assuming he is saying without the proper ventilation to get rid of the extra moisture this is a chance of mold on bud sites? Just a thought
 
lochem

lochem

Well-Known Member
MoNk0 said:
I'm assuming he is saying without the proper ventilation to get rid of the extra moisture this is a chance of mold on bud sites? Just a thought
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sorry monko, didnt quite understand this. can you clarify?
 
lochem

lochem

Well-Known Member
PurpleRhinoceros said:
Foliar feeding is not to be done during flowering. But it's possible to just foliar feed the fan leaves. But you don't want that food in your buds.

http://www.humboldtnutrients.com/beneficial-knowledge/growing-tips/foliar-sprays/

Ok, they used to have better information, i could have just copied that here. I think I will:

"Foliar sprays are used to directly feed open leaf stomata (pores) & are vital to maintaining a healthy, happy garden. Too many gardeners ignore this important, yield increasing practice. Foliar sprays are effective in the morning, and most effective at the end of the day, when the garden is approaching the dark cycle. A consistent foliar spray regimen reduces pathogens and parasites like mites, leaf miners, and powder mold."

I use neem oil just as a preemptive attack against bugs. Sticky is humboldt's version of organic dawn detergent. It's just something to help oils disburse in water. But I'd recommend a bottle of Sticky over a few drops of dawn any day. Actually I don't approve of using dawn. You can even get something like Dynagro Protek to make a good foliar spray
Click to expand...
great, this sheds some light....
so how often should this be kept up? are there any good indications of when to foliar feed again?
also, how does foliar feeding affect the regular watering regimen? if one waters the plant twice a week, if they foliar feed as well, does that make it less necessary to water the medium?
 
MoNk0

MoNk0

Well-Known Member
I don't know lol, kinda high... I was just saying in my thoughts, I understood what he was saying as - don't spray when flowering due to lack of air to bud site, causing extra water from spray on bud sites to mold could be wrong.. probably wrong lol :)
 
PurpleRhinoceros

PurpleRhinoceros

Active Member
Yeah, you def don't spray buds for the fact they could mold.

I first noticed the importance of foliar feeding after spraying merely water on my plants each morning. The ones I sprays SHOT in comparison to the ones I didn't spray. After adding nutrients I learned that they have to be sprayed with light light doses of nutrients when foliar fed. But its all fun learning. Now i just foliar feed to prevent nutrient deficiencies and prevent infestations.

Neem oil works best in the fact that acts a a birth control and prevents bugs from reproducing. So you gotta catch them early. If you keep your fan leaves soaked in a neem solution, any bug that comes around for a bite, wont be leaving any spawn to eat any further. Preventive measures.

Foliar feeding with nutrients keeps the leaves a healthy green, while allowing me to feed lightly regularly. Probably saves me nutrients in the end. Any deficiencies get corrected by my foliar feeding, so I never really have any. Just have to get used to making low dose solutions.
 
PurpleRhinoceros

PurpleRhinoceros

Active Member
lochem said:
great, this sheds some light....
so how often should this be kept up? are there any good indications of when to foliar feed again?
also, how does foliar feeding affect the regular watering regimen? if one waters the plant twice a week, if they foliar feed as well, does that make it less necessary to water the medium?
Click to expand...
I'm pretty sure most people only do it once a week. I spray regular water in between. It's sorta an adaptation of the rule of thumb for top feeding your plant.

Edit: changed Day to Period to prevent confusion
Period1: Water w/ nutrient solution
Period2: Rest
Period3: Water w/ RO water
Period4: Rest
Repeat

But yeah, I foliar-feed once a week and foliar-water in between foliar feeds. I feel spraying with plain water is flushing my leaf-roots or something.
 
PurpleRhinoceros

PurpleRhinoceros

Active Member
Simple: any spray bottle, weekly batch of nutrient solution, RO water,
1. Fill spray bottle quartway with what ever nutrient solution your plant is scheduled for this week.
2. Fill the rest of the bottle up with RO water.
3. Spray
 
lochem

lochem

Well-Known Member
PurpleRhinoceros said:
I'm pretty sure most people only do it once a week. I spray regular water in between. It's sorta an adaptation of the rule of thumb for top feeding your plant.

Edit: changed Day to Period to prevent confusion
Period1: Water w/ nutrient solution
Period2: Rest
Period3: Water w/ RO water
Period4: Rest
Repeat

But yeah, I foliar-feed once a week and foliar-water in between foliar feeds. I feel spraying with plain water is flushing my leaf-roots or something.
Click to expand...
ok cool....
sorry, whats RO water??
 
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