Switching to Fox Farm Nutes - will I need Cal/mag & Liquid Karma?

So, been a dyna gro fella myself....but since I'm using FFOF and the FF nuts have neato bottle art, I'm going that route.


So I am writing to ask about the supplemental nutes I use most times....and if I'll need them if I go with the FF stuff.


I will be using the following:

Grow Big
Big Bloom
Tiger Bloom

I also got Sledgehammer but dunno If I need to flush with it, can't hurt I guess.



So I use liquid karma and cal/mag too. Am I gonna need them with the above nutes or no?

I know NOTHING about nutes really, and I've done reading it just isn't computing (besides it easier to just ask and hope someone answers my call! )

nutes are over rated in my opinion, start with a good soil base and you shouldnt need much of anything for a entire grow.

unless your doing hydro

just my 2¢

are you using RO water?

i would use everything you got there. use the sledgehammer every 3 or 4 weeks with your flush

kbo ca said:

are you using RO water?

Click to expand...

No, just tap water so I might not need the cal/mag? I assume that is why you were asking about RO?

drolove said:

i would use everything you got there. use the sledgehammer every 3 or 4 weeks with your flush

Click to expand...

Ok so I should flush with that sledgehammer? I am still new to the idea of flushing mid-grow....as I always thought it was an end-of-the-road type of thing. I'll give it a go though, why not!



Thanks for the replies.

yeah you might not need it. If your ppm reads over 400 you most likely have enough in your tap, so you can save a little cash on that.

I grow soiless (Promix) and use FF - (Grow Big, Big Bloom, Tiger Bloom only). I find that I need Cal Mag. Liquid Karma seems to be much like Big Bloom.

kbo ca said:

yeah you might not need it. If your ppm reads over 400 you most likely have enough in your tap, so you can save a little cash on that.

Click to expand...

Yeah, I have yet to get a PPM pen. I will though, just haven't yet. I still am rather lost as to what and how exactly PPM is, or how it works.

Nitegazer said:

I grow soiless (Promix) and use FF - (Grow Big, Big Bloom, Tiger Bloom only). I find that I need Cal Mag. Liquid Karma seems to be much like Big Bloom.

Click to expand...

Yeah I don't know jack about this stuff, I'll have to take a peek at the ingredients of both, perhaps they are similar.

ppm is just a reading of how many particles are in your water. when you run water through an ro membrane, the Parts per million (ppm) is 0 or close to it because there is almost nothing besides hydrogen and oxy gen in it. A ppm reading doesn't tell you what particles make up the reading, but you can get a good idea. When a proper dose of cal mag is added to RO water it should be right around 400 ppm. My tap comes out at 650 to 700.

840/2 said:

Ok so I should flush with that sledgehammer? I am still new to the idea of flushing mid-grow....as I always thought it was an end-of-the-road type of thing. I'll give it a go though, why not!



Thanks for the replies.

Click to expand...

ya sledgehammer is a flush only additive. fox farm recommends flushing with is every 3 weeks of flowering. i usually feed, water, feed, water, feed, flush, feed with a little extra. i water/feed my plants every 4 or 5 days. and i use it the last 2 watering before harvest. GOOD LUCK WITH YOUR GROW MAN!

kbo ca said:

ppm is just a reading of how many particles are in your water. when you run water through an ro membrane, the Parts per million (ppm) is 0 or close to it because there is almost nothing besides hydrogen and oxy gen in it. A ppm reading doesn't tell you what particles make up the reading, but you can get a good idea. When a proper dose of cal mag is added to RO water it should be right around 400 ppm. My tap comes out at 650 to 700.

Click to expand...

Ok that is what i meant. So when we get a reading of 400ppm....we know not what those 400 outta 1,000,000 particles actually are made up of......we just know they are there?

That being said, your tap water shows 650-700......how do you know what makes up that 650-700? Couldn't it be something not at all related to calcium or magnesium??? This is how I get myself all confused and lost!

drolove said:

ya sledgehammer is a flush only additive. fox farm recommends flushing with is every 3 weeks of flowering. i usually feed, water, feed, water, feed, flush, feed with a little extra. i water/feed my plants every 4 or 5 days. and i use it the last 2 watering before harvest. GOOD LUCK WITH YOUR GROW MAN!

Click to expand...

Yikes.....when I water...I always feed too. I've never only given just water save when I flushed last go'round.......should I be giving plain ole' water??!??!?! I water/feed about every 4 days, 3 in pots are light. I don't have burnt edges so I don't think I'm over-fertin'.....but perhaps I am!

if you don't use distilled or Reverse osmosis water then you don't need Cal-mag...it is already in natural water, tap water, spring water, mineral water, and bottled water...so...

I feed every watering unless the plant looks like I shouldn't...I find that in flower they will start to tell me it is too much, so I give them plain water and then when they next feed it is less than before...and then I go from there...plants require less and less the farther in flower they get...and I don't know about you, but i think that just sucks because it is the time I want to add the most stuff hoping to eek the most out of every single little leaf on there to do it's very best to make the most bud possible...and I think I probably have caused yields to be less by overdoing it in mid-late flower...Not this last cycle, but recently.

840/2 said:

Ok that is what i meant. So when we get a reading of 400ppm....we know not what those 400 outta 1,000,000 particles actually are made up of......we just know they are there?

That being said, your tap water shows 650-700......how do you know what makes up that 650-700? Couldn't it be something not at all related to calcium or magnesium??? This is how I get myself all confused and lost!

Click to expand...

Well unless you have let the water sit then it could be partly chlorine.

but here is what usually makes up the ppm of water

Copper
Iron
Manganese
Calcium
Magnesium sulfate
and other sulfates

blah blah blah forget it...here I found a chart that lists it all out, http://water.epa.gov/drink/contaminants/index.cfm#Inorganic and I didn't know half of them were there...but any of those things could make up your original tap ppm...but calcium and magnesium and iron and manganese are all there...so when people say I think it is this micro nute deficiency or that one...you just ask if they use RO or distilled water...if they don't use those waters then they do not have those deficiencies.

oooh and that one list is just the inorganic things in water...there is another list of organic..anyway numerous lists all telling you what is there and how it might poison you...
It's nice I got to look that up today...just what I need...a reminder that there is arsenic in the water.

840/2 said:

Yikes.....when I water...I always feed too. I've never only given just water save when I flushed last go'round.......should I be giving plain ole' water??!??!?! I water/feed about every 4 days, 3 in pots are light. I don't have burnt edges so I don't think I'm over-fertin'.....but perhaps I am!

Click to expand...

if you dont have any burnt tips then you should be fine. depends on your set up, some people can feed every watering, some one week then not the next. really depends on how the plant looks, not a time range. hell some people never feed their plants, their starting soil is just that fertile i guess. feed your plants if the start turning light green.

840/2 said:

Yeah, I have yet to get a PPM pen. I will though, just haven't yet. I still am rather lost as to what and how exactly PPM is, or how it works.



Yeah I don't know jack about this stuff, I'll have to take a peek at the ingredients of both, perhaps they are similar.

Click to expand...

Use the fox farm soil feed schedule.View attachment 2138333 its simple to understand.

Thanks for all the tips and info fellas!

Just a word of caution, IMO the sledgehammer is detrimental to plant health. It would appear that sometimes (mine included), adding it to the flush stunted the growth and eventually caused plant issues... just try straight water if you need to flush. IMHO

you will need cal mag using the complete ff line or you will see a deff in late flower around weeks 3-4 so make sure
you have it in there early espically if you have a hungry little girl