Mixing one's own Nutrient's on a budget

Orlando737

Orlando737

Well-Known Member
This may sound a stupid question, but I plan on my current grow to make a mix of my own nutrients.
I've a 4x 4.5 tent, grow for my own pain relief. I grow in soil
I'm on a budget, hard times and I've got 2 bottles of nutes, separate.
One is a Tomato food of 2 :2.5 :4 and the other is a lawn nute of 7: 1.5: 1.5..
Now, I've worked out that equates to 9: 4: 5.5 ratio, which equates approximately to Dyna-Grows 9: 3: 6 veg formula.
My question is it just a matter of getting the ratio's correct or am I wasting my time by trying to work out the science.. and this or that manufacturers brands are a must ?
I would really like to hear if anyone has ever grown this way or has any useful input..
 
Diabolical666

Diabolical666

Well-Known Member
If you are new to growing I would really recommend making it as easy as possible for yourself by getting soil with nutrients in it (not miracle grow, cannabis friendly soil). By doing this you can focus on the plant and its growth with little problems.
 
Orlando737

Orlando737

Well-Known Member
Diabolical666 said:
If you are new to growing I would really recommend making it as easy as possible for yourself by getting soil with nutrients in it (not miracle grow, cannabis friendly soil). By doing this you can focus on the plant and its growth with little problems.
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Thanks, not new, but 'newish'. I'm making my own organic soil, but I've just started it so it hasn't 'cooked' yet.
I've read about MG and will stay well away from it.
Thanks.
 
A

az2000

Well-Known Member
Orlando737 said:
My question is it just a matter of getting the ratio's correct or am I wasting my time by trying to work out the science.. and this or that manufacturers brands are a must?
Click to expand...
It shouldn't be a problem if you're aware of the NPK ratios you're creating, and the strength. There is a spreadsheet to make this easier. Just enter the info from your bottles (if it doesn't already exist in the "products" spreadsheet). Then play with quantities to see how the NPK ratio changes. Adjust them up or down (together) to get the right strength. The PPMs are calculated a little higher than what you'll end up measuring. I just use them as a comparison. For example, if you know some amount of Dyna is what is used. You can enter that amount to see what the PPMs are. Then target that number as you mix other things.

That's how I got to my NPK ratios (in my sig).

I would definitely give it a try if that's what you have to work with. If you can afford $6, MiracleGro Tomato seems to work. I hope to do another using Tomato, All Purpose and Bloom Booster mixed together to get a variety of ratios in veg and bloom.
 
Orlando737

Orlando737

Well-Known Member
MisterBlah said:
I recommend you read my thread on Reverse engineering nutrient blends.

https://www.rollitup.org/t/reverse-engineering-everyones-nutrients.893906/
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az2000 said:
It shouldn't be a problem if you're aware of the NPK ratios you're creating, and the strength. There is a spreadsheet to make this easier. Just enter the info from your bottles (if it doesn't already exist in the "products" spreadsheet). Then play with quantities to see how the NPK ratio changes. Adjust them up or down (together) to get the right strength. The PPMs are calculated a little higher than what you'll end up measuring. I just use them as a comparison. For example, if you know some amount of Dyna is what is used. You can enter that amount to see what the PPMs are. Then target that number as you mix other things.

That's how I got to my NPK ratios (in my sig).

I would definitely give it a try if that's what you have to work with. If you can afford $6, MiracleGro Tomato seems to work. I hope to do another using Tomato, All Purpose and Bloom Booster mixed together to get a variety of ratios in veg and bloom.
Click to expand...
Thanks for the replies. I'll do that...
:peace:
 
A

az2000

Well-Known Member
@Orlando737
I was thinking: I would stay more toward NPK ratio 1-1-1. The 3-1-2 you're targeting is kind of extreme (to start with). For example, I'm experimenting with MiracleGro Tomato which is 1-1-1.2. I'm getting some N toxicity from overfeeding. If I made that mistake with MiracleGro's All Purpose (3-1-2 ratio), it would probably be *a lot* worse.

If you use the spreadsheet, you could start at 1.5-1-2 and see how that goes. Bump it up to 2-1-2 if you wanted to.

Just be aware that 3-1-2 is starting at the extreme side. With the nutrients I use, I can't go above N=2 without getting N toxicity. That's probably because I'm overfeeding and doing 20% runoff each feeding (to mini-flush and avoid salt buildup). If I reduced my strength I could probably go to N=3. (I should try it sometime, now that I think of it.). But, my point is, if you start at the high side you could have trouble. 1.5 to 2 is safer.
 
Orlando737

Orlando737

Well-Known Member
Thanks, I was only going to use it at 1/4 strength anyway as I don't believe the hype on cannabis nutrient bottles anyway, only if I saw any appreciable deficiencies I would up it up to 1/3, max.
 
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