how often do i add nutrients to my soil?

[thejew]

how often do i need to add nutrients to my plants water in a soil grow. certainly not every time? i don't have any sort of fancy gizmo's like a ppm meter or anything, nor can i afford one right now. all i have to check the pH is a liquid tester that i'll test the runoff with.

so, that being said, any way for me to check the nutrient levels? or will i just have to guesswork it and look for signs of the nutrients being too low/high on my plants?

 

[Cr8z13]

I'm not a soil grower, but I see that many people here add nutes every second or third watering.

 

[thejew]

by the way, i'll be using General Hydroponics FloraNova (7-4-10) for the veg phase

 

[Cr8z13]

Make sure that stuff is well disolved. I decided to switch to a two part formula because I was ending up with nute sludge at the bottom of my rez everytime I emptied it. Oh, and be sure to start out at 1/4 strength and see how your plants respond and don't give any nutes until your plants are a good month old. You may need to raise the pH of the nute solution too, because the nutes lower your water's pH significantly. I don't know if you have a pH control kit, but you may want to look into getting one at some point.

 

[thejew]

well, best i can do to make it well dissolved is whisk it ;p

only thing i'm worried about is... this stuff sat in my garage for 3-4 years, where it can get pretty hot. i had a grow planned way back then that never happened, haven't had a chance to use these nutrients again until now. hope they're still good

so i guess i'll start out adding 1/4 or so nutrients to the plants water every two or three feedings. a month or so after sprouting, that is. see how that works out.

as for the pH balancing, i still have some pH Up and pH Down from back then as well that i'm gonna try out. it's intended for hydro setups i think, but i'm sure it will handle balancing a soil water supply as well.

you mentioned waiting a month before adding veg nutrients, but i'll be doing this grow cabinet style, working with limited space. i'll probably end up flowering early, vegging only long enough to get the structure i need to fill up my small grow-space with buds when all's said and done.

that being said, should i still wait a month before starting nutrients? are less-than-a-month-old plants not ready for them at all? anyone else have some input? first time grower, all advice is welcome ;P

thanks

 

[edux10]

I water my plants about every other day when they are in a one gallon pot (think the size of a big milk jug) I just mix up some nutes in a 5 gallon water jug then feed it to them every other day. They use it really fast in my room. It might differ for you. You have to look at your soil and see when it gets COMPLETELY dry but now too dry to where it has been dryed out for a day. This will dry your roots out.

Not to confuse you but my 3 gallon pots can go 2 days without water. That is why I said it will differ for you. I have little keg cups and they need to be watered a lot when the plants get bigger in them.

Bottom line you need to wait till your soil drys, it may differ for different conditions, once the soil is dry feed em, after feeding them for 2 weeks, flush them out with 3x the amount of water as the pot volume. Ex. 1 gallon pot requires 3 gallons of water. Out of the 3x water you should do the first half just H2o and the second half H2o with 1/4 nutes in it. After that you should remember to feed your plants after the flush. I just learned this and got lazy after the flush and didn't feed for like 5 days (cuz the soil was wet, but it still needed food). Well, my leafs got all yellow from lack of nutes and now I have to wait for more green leafs to grow out and those yellow ones to die off. Set me back a week....

 

[thejew]

thanks edux you answered a question i had on my mind but hadn't even had a chance to ask: flushing. i'll need to do it for sure when it comes time to flower, so i knew i'd have to learn it sooner or later. thanks again.

so what about the waiting period between sprouting and starting nutrient feeding? is starting nutrients sooner than a month after sprouting a bad idea?

anyone know if my four year old nutrients are still good?

thanks guys

 

[Str8y180]

Most potting soil contains enough food for 3 weeks at least. So giving it additional nutes will make the tips burn and stunt the growth. Trust me...some things are best learned the hard way. soil nutes are cheap dude so dont be a cheap ass and buy some fresh shit if your loosing sleep over it.

 

[thelastpirate]

by the way, i'll be using General Hydroponics FloraNova (7-4-10) for the veg phase

OK, Question. Why would you use nutes higher in K than N for the veg phase? It goes against everything I've been told for vegging. Do plants not really need higher nitrogen for vegetative growth?

 

[NotMine]

Hey I belive he is using those nute because he had them laying around his house, your right though nitrogen is in very high demand during veg my old lady loves you dog

 

[northeastern lights]

Fox Farm all the way. If you follow their feeding scheduele you'll be fine. Over the years i've tweaked my own formula. Toss the old crap. Feed every other water. I also use 1 gallon grow bags inside. I use half a gallon per watering, just enough to have a little run off. Depending on temps in summer or winter they get fed once a week to every 5-6 days in summer. I start from clones but i start feeding from seed at 3 weeks. Depends on what kinda soil they're in. happy growing


"Blue skys mean red eyes if my cannibus survives the season, you know i risk my freedom..."

 

[dcd1029]

this is my first time using nutes im currently in the veg stage and its a 10-8-7 the bottle says feeding once a month should i follow that ive been hearing people do its at least every 2-3 waterings ? also if i start them on a nute regiment will there be any flushing invovled or will i flush before the flowering stage very hesitant about doing this i hear so many bad story about what comes with feeding of nutes if done wrong just trying to be safe then sorry

 

[brad187s]

I made my plant only a foot and a half tall its all one bud its been in flowering for a month under a 125watt bulb any suggestion? Just wanna make it beat I can I use fox farm dirt never used nutrients . but I plant on it later today

 

[RM3]

I would first have to ask what kind of soil?

 

[spek9]

I use an organic compost type soil that I buy from a local organic grocery store. It's got basic nutes already, so I don't use any at all until about week 3. After that, I add nutes two out of every three waterings.

I use a hydro nutrient line, created by my local grow shop. It's a 3 part system; 2 parts for veg and 2 parts for flower. Brain dead simple, and leaves no taste after harvest.

You'll know quickly if you're giving too much or too little nutrients by the look of the plants.

-spek

 

[Pothat]

well, best i can do to make it well dissolved is whisk it ;p

only thing i'm worried about is... this stuff sat in my garage for 3-4 years, where it can get pretty hot. i had a grow planned way back then that never happened, haven't had a chance to use these nutrients again until now. hope they're still good

so i guess i'll start out adding 1/4 or so nutrients to the plants water every two or three feedings. a month or so after sprouting, that is. see how that works out.

as for the pH balancing, i still have some pH Up and pH Down from back then as well that i'm gonna try out. it's intended for hydro setups i think, but i'm sure it will handle balancing a soil water supply as well.

you mentioned waiting a month before adding veg nutrients, but i'll be doing this grow cabinet style, working with limited space. i'll probably end up flowering early, vegging only long enough to get the structure i need to fill up my small grow-space with buds when all's said and done.

that being said, should i still wait a month before starting nutrients? are less-than-a-month-old plants not ready for them at all? anyone else have some input? first time grower, all advice is welcome ;P

thanks

I use all fox farm nutrients and soil ..I been growing for five years now. I'm in az so heat in the summer here is a mfkr..I grow 12 at a time .I feed them nutrients once a week on Sunday for me ..rest of week its water ..you dont want to over feed your plants their not dogs lol so they dont eat fast .if you use to many nutrients you may get some nutrient taste in your bud and it's not pleasant. So I say feed em slow be patient and you will be happy