Anyone use dry ferts?

Xul

Xul

Active Member
Hey everyone!

I was just curious if anyone mixes up their own dry nutrients rather then a premixed formula? I initially got into growing plants via my past aquarium hobby and always used DNF nutrients (kno3, k2so4, k2hpo4, etc) so when i decided to give cannabis a try, I used what I was use to and already had.
So I just wondered if anyone does the same or their thoughts on this vs a hydroponic premixed line.
Obviously this requires knowing how many ppms of each nutrient to use, but i found a chart online and been using it as a basis.
If anyone shares this method, i'd be curious to see what your numbers are!

Thanks and Cheers everyone!
 
BleedsGreen

BleedsGreen

Well-Known Member
Mega Crop are dry nutrients but not like kno3, K2hpo4 etc it is "formulated" for marijuana growing containing everything in the one bag. I am trying them on a run now and so far so good, many others on here use that and other dry nutes for hydro. Good luck!
 
Xul

Xul

Active Member
I've been using them in coco for a while and they certainly work, just wondered what sort of experience people have had in comparison and what levels they use...my numbers sit around 1000ppm in veg (don't have the chart handy at the moment) which sounds like it's in the right ball park. I know you want ½ or ¼ strength nutes starting in dwc based off my readings on this forum :)
 
BleedsGreen

BleedsGreen

Well-Known Member
I keep my PPM around 700 - 900 for veg depending on the strain I am running, some like more some want less I try to let the plants tell me,
my tap water comes out at 56 PPM
 
Xul

Xul

Active Member
Yeah, i use tap water and currently don't have a ppm meter (though i just ordered one) to know what's in my water. I've just been dosing my ppm based off numbers i got from "the fertilator" that converts dry ferts to teaspoons.
I definitely don't have things down to perfection by any means but things generally run smooth unless i have pest issues. Gnat larvae greatly messed up one of my grows and my current one is lacking due to spider mites, but my mites are down (thanks to no pest strips, no signs at the moment), so here's hoping the next round is much better!
 
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churchhaze

Well-Known Member
Xul said:
Hey everyone!

I was just curious if anyone mixes up their own dry nutrients rather then a premixed formula? I initially got into growing plants via my past aquarium hobby and always used DNF nutrients (kno3, k2so4, k2hpo4, etc) so when i decided to give cannabis a try, I used what I was use to and already had.
So I just wondered if anyone does the same or their thoughts on this vs a hydroponic premixed line.
Obviously this requires knowing how many ppms of each nutrient to use, but i found a chart online and been using it as a basis.
If anyone shares this method, i'd be curious to see what your numbers are!

Thanks and Cheers everyone!
Click to expand...
Check my signature.
 
blake9999

blake9999

Well-Known Member
I use Mega Crop.feed the seedlings @ 2 grams per gallon, then 5 grams per gallon once they in the ground. It's just too easy to use and I found no plant problems since I started using it. One part mix contains everything a growing plant needs.
 
Rahz

Rahz

Well-Known Member
Maxibloom and Maxigro aren't DIY but between the two you can get a pretty good spread of elemental ppm rates. Straight Maxigro at 4g/gallon provides 105/23/123. 50/50 bloom/gro at 2.5g each per gallon provides 99/58/153 and straight Maxibloom at 6g/gallon provides 79/104/184.

I generally run 50/50 from veg to 2nd week of bloom then run 2g gro and 4g bloom per gallon (106-80-184) and finish last week or two with straight bloom. I do want to get around to running 6g bloom the entire flower cycle to see what changes. Haven't done it yet because it seems a little light on the N especially for the first half of the flower cycle. I'm currently putting bloom/gro up against Ionic Soil, silica, MOAB and shooting powder. Basically KISS -vs- a recommended brand + bloom boosters.
 
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Xul

Xul

Active Member
My veg ppm sits around 1000ppm, flower is about 1300-1500ppm...do these numbers sound good? Well this what i use with coco...i'm keeping my dwc veg levels around 600ppm since everything i read seems to keep it a bit lower
 
Xul

Xul

Active Member
Very true! I've only done.a couple grows so i'm still very inexperienced and experimenting...my plants in coco do quite well, but my dwc plant isn't doing as well, the roots are growing and there's slow growth but it's not taking off like i thought it would...it also got transplanted from soil so the shock may have set it back...i'm going to push on and i will try another round with a fresh clone right to dwc, if it doesn't go well then i'll stick with coco i think :)
 
Jypsy Dog

Jypsy Dog

Well-Known Member
Xul said:
Very true! I've only done.a couple grows so i'm still very inexperienced and experimenting...my plants in coco do quite well, but my dwc plant isn't doing as well, the roots are growing and there's slow growth but it's not taking off like i thought it would...it also got transplanted from soil so the shock may have set it back...i'm going to push on and i will try another round with a fresh clone right to dwc, if it doesn't go well then i'll stick with coco i think :)
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See if this helps with your DWC. I grow in both Coco/DWC. Love them both.
http://www.ilovegrowingmarijuana.com/hydroponic-growing-schedule/
 
Xul

Xul

Active Member
Jypsy Dog said:
See if this helps with your DWC. I grow in both Coco/DWC. Love them both.
http://www.ilovegrowingmarijuana.com/hydroponic-growing-schedule/
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Thanks for the guide! I do notice the plant starting to pick up a bit now, as well as more root growth and the new growth looks good! So it can't be going too badly :)

Here is an image for a basic guide I found online, listing ppm levels of each micro/macro. If anyone has experience with this and has any input, I'd love to hear what you think. ALSO, these are my levels in coco, I'm going lower in the DWC, which at the moment is around 600ppm.
Nutes.jpg
 
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churchhaze

Well-Known Member
Xul said:
Thanks for the guide! I do notice the plant starting to pick up a bit now, as well as more root growth and the new growth looks good! So it can't be going too badly :)

Here is an image for a basic guide I found online, listing ppm levels of each micro/macro. If anyone has experience with this and has any input, I'd love to hear what you think. ALSO, these are my levels in coco, I'm going lower in the DWC, which at the moment is around 600ppm.
View attachment 4137006
Click to expand...
Just a warning: "If anyone has any experience" is RIU speak for "if you like to listen to yourself talk".

Right off the bat, I think your P is a bit too high. I wouldn't go below 30ppm P or above 60ppm. 100ppm is asking for problems, and 400ppm could easily cause precipitation.

150-250ppm N seems right on the money. 300ppm is a bit high even for veg.

150-200ppm K looks good.

75-100ppm Ca is too little imo unless you have VERY hard water.

Mg 75-100ppm is a bit high imo. I'd be looking at 40-60ppm.

S 25-75ppm should all be good

Fe 15-25pm is too high. I used to run that high. 1-6ppm should be adequate (lean toward 6ppm at high intensity light levels)

Cl is fine, but getting it lower will compete less with nitrate.

Mn is too high imo. It should be around 0.5ppm - 2ppm

Cu should be near 0.

Zn should be around 0.05 - 0.10ppm


But like you're probably noticing, as long as you have all the essential elements, you will grow a plant just fine.
 
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churchhaze

Well-Known Member
Here's what I'm currently using (I don't suggest using this mix as it's tailored for my water)

mix23-result2.jpg

My advice is to start off with a well known formula like Hoagland or one of University of Florida's tomato formulas and to dial in from there.

If you look at all the formulas built into the hydrobuddy database, you can get find the min-max concentrations each recipe uses to get a good idea of the highest and lowest you should consider making everything, then it's just a matter of dialing in.

edit: this is for DWC with very hard water.
 
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Xul

Xul

Active Member
churchhaze said:
Just a warning: "If anyone has any experience" is RIU speak for "if you like to listen to yourself talk".

Right off the bat, I think your P is a bit too high. I wouldn't go below 30ppm P or above 60ppm. 100ppm is asking for problems, and 400ppm could easily cause precipitation.

150-250ppm N seems right on the money. 300ppm is a bit high even for veg.

150-200ppm K looks good.

75-100ppm Ca is too little imo unless you have VERY hard water.

Mg 75-100ppm is a bit high imo. I'd be looking at 40-60ppm.

S 25-75ppm should all be good

Fe 15-25pm is too high. I used to run that high. 1-6ppm should be adequate (lean toward 6ppm at high intensity light levels)

Cl is fine, but getting it lower will compete less with nitrate.

Mn is too high imo. It should be around 0.5ppm - 2ppm

Cu should be near 0.

Zn should be around 0.05 - 0.10ppm


But like you're probably noticing, as long as you have all the essential elements, you will grow a plant just fine.
Click to expand...

Thanks a lot for these numbers! I assume these are just for veg? Can you give me some values for flowering too? It will give me something good to compare to and a chance to experiment. I'm just using tap water which comes up at about 50ppm and around 7-7.4 ph
 
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churchhaze

Well-Known Member
Xul said:
Thanks a lot for these numbers! I assume these are just for veg? Can you give me some values for flowering too? It will give me something good to compare to and a chance to experiment. I'm just using tap water which comes up at about 50ppm and around 7-7.4 ph
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I'm actually using this formula for both veg and flowering. I honestly am not sure what I would change to make flowering and veg versions. (haven't gotten to that level of detail). Maybe use less P for a veg version? Sometimes it's hard not to see veg and flower versions of nutrients as marketing, but maybe I'm the one missing something.

My water comes out of the tap at around 300-400ppm, so I'd avoid my particular mix. (it replaces a lot of calcium nitrate with nitric acid). So basically if i was using softer water, I'd be using more calcium. Even then, I'd still want to dial in before I told others it's a good formula for them to follow.

The key to getting DIY nutes right is dialing in, just like you would with premixed nutes. Once growth looks healthy/strong, I try to avoid changing things (I say this after 24 iterations, so take that with a grain of salt)
 
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