Foliar Feeding. I call bullshit!

I was writing in another thread, but I wonder what other people think about foliar feeding? Here was my post, and yeah this guy was having a problem caused by his foliar feeding;

Foliar feeding is like Voo Doo magic with very little data to constitute it's usage. It basically just generates income for the shops, and manufacturers.

Mari Jane isn't really designed to absorb nutes, or minerals through it's leaves. It can do so in a very limited capacity, but in a grow room you'd never need it, and think about the possible negatives? The way foliar feeding works is you are allowing the stomata to absorb nutrients. That's not really what they are there for, they are to exchange Co2 to oxygen, and just breathe. The system the plant uses to draw nutes, and water through the roots depend on the stomata as well! I think the risk of clogging the stomata, burning the leaves, uncontrolled moisture, and a myriad of other negative possibilities (look at your example!) far outweigh any perceived benefits. Plants just don't eat like that, and there is no reason to mess with it. You should have no problem delivering all your plants needs through the root system. Just look at the way the thing was designed by nature! Your time would be much better spent trying to deliver MAX air exchange, >75 degree temps, 5000 lumens a sq foot, proper PH for your medium, and a great root system. If you nail those five things you can deliver a tremendous amount of nutes to your plant. I feed very heavy, but I've got plants that can actually utilize it.

I have used foliars before, but just for a few specific reasons when I had to deliver something to the plant in a pinch.

ya man i have tried it but i usually dont see an improvement and then i use more and they get pissed lol

Part of the trouble is that foliar feeding was originally developed for plants with slow transpiration, like trees in orchards. Cannabis has a fast-acting circulation, and foliar feeding simply isn't necessary. Add to this that foliar nutes are usually ionic in nature, and you get a narrow-to-nonexistent window between "no effect" and "leaf burn". Jmo. cn

I get the same benefit from foliar feeding as I do molasses, unnoticeable.

It makes me chuckle.Let the roots do the work.

This makes a lot of sense. Was looking at the Optic Foliar line but will likely rethink that now.

Foliar feeding never made any noticeable difference for me so I stop doing it + Leafs are the lungs of your plant not their stomach.

I foliar my outdoor with kelp during veg and the plants look prime. You can also foliar with sulfur or copper sulfate as a fungicide. It can also be a fast acting method to correct deficiencies.

Foliar feeding, while not the most practical, is the most efficient method of delivering nutrients to a plant when done correctly. The nutrients can go straight to the leaves via the stomata and not have to travel through the root and xylem. Im not just blowing this out of my ass, either. I took a lot of horticulture classes in college


I think people run into problems when they foliar feed with solutions that are too strong, or they spray while the suns up/HID lights are on and get leaf burn.
I do believe that it's beneficial when done correctly and in moderation.

Look into Dutch masters liquid light an saturator. I just stop after a week to 2 weeks into flower depending on size of buds

everything i have read says that foliar feeding is where it's at.. i once started a thread on another forum asking about it, and plenty of people chimed in, and the general consensus was that it really makes a positive difference to plants..
the stomata can indeed intake nutrients, which are quickly distributed to the rest of the leaf.. of course one could always clog the stomata if too much nutrient mix is used..
it's also true that some nutrients aren't able to translocate, or move from one part of the plant to another.. phosphurus and iron are two such chemicals that don't translocate well..