Bloom booster regimen for each flowering stage

sweetis

Member
So I've been researching a lot into the different flowering stages to determine which bloom stimulators/boosters and PGRs to give for highest yields etc...

It is my understanding that the bloom stages for a typical indica are as follows:

weeks 1-3: Stretch
weeks 2-5: Increase in flower sites
weeks 4-7: Calyceal hyperplasia (ie more calyx production)
weeks 6-9: Calyx swelling and increased terpenoid production

I would like to know what products you have found to maximize the plant's potential during each of these phases.

My current regimen (besides base nutes) is as follows:

During stretch I have just been transitioning slowly to flower nutes. What do the plant's even need during this phase besides lots of HPS light with MH side lighting and correct nute ratios?

During the increase of flower sites phase, I generally begin the high dose PK boosters, sugars and such. The only product I have found specifically designed for this phase is Bud Ignitor, anyone used this or recommend something better?

During the calyceal hyperplasia phase I continue feeding the plants PK boosters (dry KoolBloom for added stressors), canna boost, lots of carbs, and I start giving them my high P fungal flower tea. I would like to know what encourages the plant to add more calyxes. There are many products out there that increase terpenoid production and calyx size/weight but at the expense of other plant processes. What have you found to support/enhance the plant's calyx production?

During the calyceal swelling phase, I give continue the prev regmen but with much less N and I add shit like snow storm, jazmonic acid, and I increase the flash frequency of my UV-B lights. I think I have this phase pretty much in the bag, I used to add gravity during this phase but I am considering avalanche instead. I also continue to foliar spray cannaboost (in light qtys).

So, I'm all for giving the plants as much shit as possible but I obviously don't want all these ridiculous drugs interacting with each other and minimizing each other's effects.

If you actually read all of this please post what you have found to work and help spread some knowledge on how to grow the best medicinal shit possible.
 

chuck estevez

Well-Known Member
honestly, i have found that using nothing but veg nutes with 0 boosters produces the best and biggest yields. All the B.S booster crap is just to get your $$$$$$$$$$$
 

burgertime2010

Well-Known Member
I disagree. There are nutritive demands that differ in a developing plants cycle. Veg nutes alone will work as he says, however, the odds are all that N will hinder flower onset a bit. I would use bud blood as a trigger at 1/2 strength on the day of flower initiation.
 

HankDank

Well-Known Member
my new favorite, designed with MJ in mind!
blueplanetnutrients.com

Liquid Blue is designed to maximize the fattening and hardening of buds by providing plants with a 1:4 of ratio of elemental Phosphorus to elemental Potassium.
Once a plant has fully transitioned into the flowering phase, and bud site development is maximized, a bloom booster with a 1:4 ratio of elemental phosphorus to elemental potassium is needed to produce more structurally sound buds (dense bud formation throughout the calyx cluster). This is where Liquid Blue comes into play. After the first half of the flower phase, growers should begin transitioning to a lower phosphorus (P) / higher potassium (K) bloom booster. Elevated levels of phosphorus are no longer needed to maximize development of bud sites but elevated levels of potassium is necessary to plump and harden buds and maximize the yield of high-value plants. Although Potassium does not form a structural part of any plant component or compound, It is required for various metabolic activities and physiological functions. It is agreed throughout the plant science community that elevated levels of potassium are unequivocally required for maximum yield of flowering plants.
Liquid Blue is formulated for use in all hydroponic, aeroponic, coir, soil, and soil-less growing mediums.
 

charles lewis

Well-Known Member
let add my 2 cents. 1st their is nothing you can feed the plant to just create more bud sites besides veggin longer. & chuck is 1/2 right, not with feeding it veg all the way but some of them bloom booster are just hype. its says it right on the labels. 12-14-18, 0-5-5, 0-30-30, etc. all they are is constrained doses of bloom food. i would just up my food. but you can benefit from feeding them N in the bloom stage, thats how you can get more bud sites, but you indoors growers will run into space problems.

im a outdoors guy & i dont use any of them boosters & my colas cant even fit into my water bottle i use at the gym. lol
i just up the food & add molasses. but in my soil i also add high amounts of N & P so the ladies will always have some when they needed not just when i feed them!
 

chuck estevez

Well-Known Member
I grow indoors, I have used all the boosters and bloom foods. I get bigger,better tasting buds and lots of them by using nothing but dyna- gro foliage pro. I have doubled my yield and doubled the quality. You just can't argue with those results. Some people are learning that all the booster/bloom foods are just a Mj industry gimmick to make money. Try veg nutes only sometime and you will be turned.
 

Guido Sarduchi

Well-Known Member
BUD BLOOD.... first 6 to 8 days of Bloom ... everytime without question. Ive used it and not used it. Look at the number of people reporting issues in wk. 2 or 3 of flowering or small flowers. Its always under either bad lighting or just using reg. bloom ferts.They suck up tons of Phosphate and Potassium the first week. It makes a difference. Also you forgot a stage which is the stress stage. Many growers will turn off light for two days. Guys I know all do the same and ive seen the difference.... Shut off your lights for 2 and half days. first day even 36 hours dump ice(soil systems only) over and over again. Plant for sure gets the feeling its dying and puts off its final bit of whatever it has left.

My friend has a room with 3 lights ..600watt.. same as me. Hes been growing a while and i didnt listen to either of those tips my first grow. He put out 3 lbs... I got just over 1. Just those two things changing and more then dbled on my second run.
 

sweetis

Member
Thanks for everyone's reply. I should have been more clear though I understand well when to feed each specific nutrient however I was more concerned with the hormones that each of these products have included with them.

@ Chuck "Some people are learning that all the booster/bloom foods are just a Mj industry gimmick to make money."

LOL yeah advanced nutrients comes to mind...

@ Charles "1st their is nothing you can feed the plant to just create more bud sites besides veggin longer"

You're right I understand, I didn't mean extra flowering sites but instead I meant more calyx production per site... sure the obvious things like more light/co2/blah blah good environment are key, but I already have that down! I am instead looking for an additive that increases the plants calyx production

If anyone is interested, to accomplish this I have found 2 things...
1) 730nm far red light at lights off to induce the Pr state quicker which effectively rewards the plants with 2 hours extra darkness (or light) which I assume could either speed ripening or increase growth respectively

2) H&G top shooting powder, this sounds like bullshit to me, but via a mechanism called "optical drought" they cause iron-loading or simulated iron toxicity in the plants which convinces them of certain death and so on to produce more calyxes. This sounds like it just causes stress.

Again, I know for a fact the first one works, the second sounds like BS. Can anyone confirm or offer alternatives?

Name me some drugs!! I'm all for doing research/side by side experiments

@ Guido

Yeah I do the dark phase before harvest, ice water flushes lots of molasses etc

@HankDank
Thanks dude that sounds awesome, I need high K bloom nutes like yesterday and my hydro store doesn't have blue planet so Im thinking about going with hammerhead
 

Izoc666

Well-Known Member
I agreed with Chuck, its TRUTH.

but its up to you that you have the desire to use PK booster. Hope that you will have open mind to do the expriement side by side that will improve your practice.

Good luck with your grow :D
 

Wavels

Well-Known Member
Chuck is correct.

Dyna Gro foliage pro or Jack's Classic Citrus FeED is all you need from start to finish.
Plants love 'em.
Simple is better.
 

chuck estevez

Well-Known Member
Chuck is correct.

Dyna Gro foliage pro or Jack's Classic Citrus FeED is all you need from start to finish.
Plants love 'em.
Simple is better.
just picked up some of that citrus feed, going to do a few with that and see what i get. Just finished some jillybean and got 9 zips off 2 plants with the FP
 

sweetis

Member
Awesome, I've never heard of Dyna Gro before, I'll check it out. I'm using GH flora series base nutes which have been working very well during veg and early flower... it's the swelling phase where GH drops the ball.

I agree there's so much shit out there with most of it being BS. You gotta appreciate how well you can do with just basic nutrients and a good environment, which I lose sight of from time to time. But after the success I've been getting with chitin, triacontanol and jazmonic acid I can't help but think there are other awesome, safe additives out there that are well worth the trouble.
 

charles lewis

Well-Known Member
A @sweet im all 4 u! tryin to find out how to make things better! trial and error research always works great. i really respect how you are doing your homework on the actual plant produces what it does! but this is my take on it or what i would do if i was in your shoes. go all organic in a soil grow, not soil-less cause that's b.s. but anyway, in my soil i would measure everything i put in N-P-K. I would also make sure i use mix of fast and slow release nutes. keep notes on whats what. using the same strain with diffrent plants 5/6 however many you start with. then when flowering comes compare.

I think that's the only way you will find you answer cause everyone in here will add their 2cents of what they thinks work & no one here has tried everything & not every product is exactly alike.

but once you have found the mix that works then take that info and find the synthetic mix that suites your needs.

just my 2cents
 

MrMeanGreen

Active Member
ritzotonic, cannazym, superthrive, veg nutes, bud blood, flower nutes, npk, boosters, folair sprays blah blah the list goes on. They all pretty much promise a 30% increase in yield.Fuck me, these products alone will triple you final weight.
 

DemonTrich

Well-Known Member
I use the technaflora recipe for success nute kit. follow that, but I also add a watering of gravity (was free (0.1/0.1/0.1), 5ml/gal, molasses 1tblsp/gal. feed full strength, water/gravity, water/molasses, feed full strength. sometimes ill skip a watering and do a feed if its early on in my 8-10 week flower schedule.
 

Darth Budder

Well-Known Member
So, I need to do a little more research but i found this, its basically what Uncle Ben says, but in a less hostile and condecending manner (No Offence UB, I Love you and your advice ;)). I wondered if high p and k were bullshit, how come all the fertilizer companies have been doing it for years. Why did anyone belive them in the first place? I think understanding this is key to understanding why bloom boosters are really snake oil.

Among container growers you often find common belief that high-phosphorus (P) content fertilizers are a requirement for promotion of root growth and/or flowering. Fertilizer blends like 15-30-15, and even 10-52-10 are sold under names that imply that you actually NEED these formulas for plants to bloom well and to produce strong roots. Lets examine that idea in a little more depth.

While anecdotal evidence abounds, there is very little scientific evidence to show any need whatsoever for such products as they pertain to container culture. I’ve mentioned in other posts that high-P fertilizers are a historical carry-over from when it was most common for plants to be started in outdoor soil beds, the soil in which was usually still quite cold at sowing time. Both the solubility of P and plants’ ability to take it up are reduced in cold soils, so it was reasoned that fertilizing with high levels of P insured that at least some would be available during periods of growth in chilled soils.


We know that tissue analysis of leaves, roots, flowers - any of the live tissues of healthy plants will reveal that P is present in tissues at an average of 1/6 that of nitrogen (N) and about 1/4 that of potassium (K). Many plants even contain as much calcium as P. If we know that we cannot expect P to be found in higher concentrations in the roots and blooms than we find in foliage, how can we justify the belief that massive doses of P are important to their formation?
I am still finishing this article, but i wanted put it out there:
http://forums.gardenweb.com/forums/load/plumeria/msg0710344424206.html
 

Uncle Ben

Well-Known Member
So, I need to do a little more research but i found this, its basically what Uncle Ben says, but in a less hostile and condecending manner (No Offence UB, I Love you and your advice ;)). I wondered if high p and k were bullshit, how come all the fertilizer companies have been doing it for years. Why did anyone belive them in the first place? I think understanding this is key to understanding why bloom boosters are really snake oil.
You find this one hostile and condescending? https://www.rollitup.org/marijuana-plant-problems/158144-never-ending-abuse-phosphorous-bloom.html
 
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