Amino Acids as a growing solution for Veg

Rubisco456

Rubisco456

Member
Does anyone have experience feeding with amino acid solutions for cannabis in veg stage? I'm curious because I can see that amino acids would be a great source of carbon, nitrogen, sulfur, and oxygen (for complex molecules). They can also chelate metal ions that are critical for plants and they plant might be able to save energy because it doesn't have to synthesize them. One additional bonus is that they are buffering agents that can maintain pH albeit either pH9 or pH2 most effectively. I'm considering mixing in a yeast hydrolysate from lallemand as an amino acid source but I'm curious to see if other people have done something similar?

Are there considerations for those that are growing in soil vs. hydronic systems? ..or is this just a terrible idea!

Thanks for any input on this.
 
Rubisco456

Rubisco456

Member
hotrodharley said:
Are you talking just straight amino acids?

www.frontiersin.org

Frontiers | Amino Acids Are an Ineffective Fertilizer for Dunaliella spp. Growth

Autotrophic microalgae are a promising bioproducts platform. However, the fundamental requirements these organisms have for nitrogen fertilizer severely limi...
www.frontiersin.org www.frontiersin.org
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oh shit good question....I was going to add in about 200mg/Liter AA's in addition to my nutrient solution. I feel like feeding with straight AA's would be a bad idea.
 
mudballs

mudballs

Well-Known Member
Decent question from an inquisitive mind.
Amino Acids in Soils
The amino acid pool in soil consists of proteins, peptides, and free L- and D- amino acids. L-amino acids are dominant as they are the breakdown products of living organisms. It is believed that the D- amino acids come from microbial biomass, feces, and pesticides (Vranova, 2012).Jan 25, 2022

Soil already has and they all (even the ones you wanted to add) break down into ammonia and that is pretty much the same as nitrogen fert....using amino acids as a supplement in a grow is just super expensive, classy, ammonia lol.
 
xtsho

xtsho

Well-Known Member
Rurumo

Rurumo

Well-Known Member
I'm doing a test grow using primarily Corn Steep Liquor-all of the N in it is from amino acids. You need to feed a complete formula. A pure amino acid supplement, like a 14-0-0 Soy Hydrolysate, can be used in small amounts as a supplement, but you can't feed just that, you'll end up with deficiencies. Just keep a close eye on your leaves and discontinue if they get too green or curl their tips.
 
Rubisco456

Rubisco456

Member
Rurumo said:
I'm doing a test grow using primarily Corn Steep Liquor-all of the N in it is from amino acids. You need to feed a complete formula. A pure amino acid supplement, like a 14-0-0 Soy Hydrolysate, can be used in small amounts as a supplement, but you can't feed just that, you'll end up with deficiencies. Just keep a close eye on your leaves and discontinue if they get too green or curl their tips.
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I had that same thought, I should have been more clear about what I'd like to do and use AA's as supplements. None of the AA contain Mo, Cu, P, or K. I can only imagine that using straight AA's would cause problems with heterotrophic bacterial growth in both hydro and solid substrates. Corn steep liquor is a great choice, I totally forgot about that stuff.

Something that occurred to me as I type this. is the potential that AA's could feed beneficial microbes in soil which one would hope would be good for your plants.
 
Rurumo

Rurumo

Well-Known Member
Rubisco456 said:
I had that same thought, I should have been more clear about what I'd like to do and use AA's as supplements. None of the AA contain Mo, Cu, P, or K. I can only imagine that using straight AA's would cause problems with heterotrophic bacterial growth in both hydro and solid substrates. Corn steep liquor is a great choice, I totally forgot about that stuff.

Something that occurred to me as I type this. is the potential that AA's could feed beneficial microbes in soil which one would hope would be good for your plants.
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Yep, CSL is incredible food for the soil, just very acidic, so I've found it works best for me if I buffer it with potassium bicarbonate. Very nearly a complete food source, although it does need CA, and I add some epsom salts because I find I need extra in all of my nutrient solutions under strong LED.
 
Rubisco456

Rubisco456

Member
Rurumo said:
Yep, CSL is incredible food for the soil, just very acidic, so I've found it works best for me if I buffer it with potassium bicarbonate. Very nearly a complete food source, although it does need CA, and I add some epsom salts because I find I need extra in all of my nutrient solutions under strong LED.
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You are like the first person I've come across in a LONG TIME that has discuss using buffering agents in growing! I feel like it's a tool/science that everyone is missing out on.

I need to nerd out for a sec but: What concentration are you using your bicarbonate at and what do you use for pH adjustment?...also what do you mean by CA- Citric acid?
 
buckaclark

buckaclark

Well-Known Member
Calcium.Potassium Bicarbonate is what is used for pH buffering more acidic concoctions and for wine making pH adjustments.
 
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Y

youraveragehorticulturist

Well-Known Member
All "organic" nutrients have Nitrogen in the form of amino acids. Kelp. alfalfa, fish guts, etc, etc. Glycine and Glutamic Acid are two that are specifically linked to calcium uptake, and they're in just about every fertilizer that used to be alive.

Hydrolysates are like refined forms of organic nitrogen. So refined that the amino acids are available enough to work as a foliar spray. If you're not into dumping organic stuff onto your soil you can foliar fish or soy hydrolysate to get some of the benefits of amino acids with just a few teaspoons of product.
 
Rubisco456

Rubisco456

Member
youraveragehorticulturist said:
All "organic" nutrients have Nitrogen in the form of amino acids. Kelp. alfalfa, fish guts, etc, etc. Glycine and Glutamic Acid are two that are specifically linked to calcium uptake, and they're in just about every fertilizer that used to be alive.

Hydrolysates are like refined forms of organic nitrogen. So refined that the amino acids are available enough to work as a foliar spray. If you're not into dumping organic stuff onto your soil you can foliar fish or soy hydrolysate to get some of the benefits of amino acids with just a few teaspoons of product.
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Yea I think its also worth noting that there is a difference between Organic nutrients and "organic" nutrients -The former referring to the chemistry and the latter referring to the agricultural practice.

The other added benefit I can see is that some of these hydrolysates also contain some micronutrients that plants need albeit in very low concentrations.
 
Week4@inCharge

Week4@inCharge

Well-Known Member
youraveragehorticulturist said:
All "organic" nutrients have Nitrogen in the form of amino acids. Kelp. alfalfa, fish guts, etc, etc. Glycine and Glutamic Acid are two that are specifically linked to calcium uptake, and they're in just about every fertilizer that used to be alive.

Hydrolysates are like refined forms of organic nitrogen. So refined that the amino acids are available enough to work as a foliar spray. If you're not into dumping organic stuff onto your soil you can foliar fish or soy hydrolysate to get some of the benefits of amino acids with just a few teaspoons of product.
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Hoping it's handy if your having soil problems. Like say your roots aren't or can't produce enough aminos because some dumb ass didn't put enough perlite in his soil. Hoping it helps.
 
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