Which GH bloom phases are unnecessary?

Apostatize

Well-Known Member
If you follow GH bloom phases 1-8, you can pretty much tell by looking at a plant which phase it's at regardless of its flowering time. But, for example, phases 4 and 5 have identical nutrients and amounts. If you wanted to simplify your hand-feeding schedule, what are the essential phases?

I'm thinking of only prepping bloom phases 2, 4, and 6-8. Does that make sense? Might save a few pennies, too, idk. It may not be ideal, but I don't think it will burn plants. I'd just stay in 2 for about 2 weeks....
 

Apostatize

Well-Known Member
If you really want to simplify with GH nutes: https://www.icmag.com/forum/marijuana-growing/nutrients-and-fertilizers/189616-the-k-i-s-s-method?t=191645

I get what you're asking, have you looked up the lucas formula ratios? Manufacturer recommendations are usually way too high.
Thanks! I'll check that out. I know it sounds nutso but I don't use a reservoir.... Weekly, I've been using a blender and storing individual gallons of each phase (seedling, early veg, late veg, bloom phases 1 - 8 ... I store gallons on shelves I built in my kitchen. Running perpetual; need all phases, all the time. It completely took over the place and now I'm trying to reclaim space and be more discreet.... Also, to avoid precipitates, I've learned not to mix certain nutrients/concentrates in advance.

So, ... crazy development later, I've now ordered like 1500 x 15 ml centrifuge tubes with caps (the good ones with the black ml marks...) and I'm keeping them in cardboard boxes we used to use at a pharmaceutical lab ... boxes hold 49. I have a long glass pipette (a couple actually), so I don't have to awkwardly handle 2.5 gallon containers ... I'm trying to determine the least # of boxes -- each box will contain the ml/gallon of parts A, B, or C for a particular phase ... and then some of the other boxes might contain a mix of the mixable supplements (e.g., Floralicious Plus + Florablend).

Then, every day ...
I'll just drop in the capsules of whatever I need for the day ... I'll either drop them straight into a sprayer or a gallon container, depending how I feel that day, lol.

In theory, it will be dope af ... and a lot more discreet. But I'm managing my expectations....
 

rkymtnman

Well-Known Member
if you look at the last few weeks in the chart, it's Lucas formula. 1:2micro/bloom ratio

i run 3-1-4 from start to finish with no problems. (Jack's RO)
 

Apostatize

Well-Known Member
Whew, spent the evening in the larger of 2 bloom-dedicated tents, widening the distance between shelves and gaps between shelves (plants growing on 3 shelves, 2 gaps (different heights, different strains -- topped, not topped)) ... now there's room for me to standardize plant sizes and give each room ... no overcrowding, slightly larger plants ... next, I just need to make feeding more efficient ($-wise and time-wise).

Appreciate the insights -- thank you!
 

Treesomewanted77

Well-Known Member
You should try a dry nutrient like jacks or the like and make your feeding much simpler. Sounds way too complicated. Half the stuff your feeding probably isn’t needed anyway as a good nutrient program like jacks is all that is needed from start to finish then you could make up some gallons of stock solution and dose for the phases you want to feed. I’m not so sure I would even grow if it was all that complicated. It’s a weed it required very little to grow and be healthy IMHO
 

Apostatize

Well-Known Member
You should try a dry nutrient like jacks or the like and make your feeding much simpler. Sounds way too complicated. Half the stuff your feeding probably isn’t needed anyway as a good nutrient program like jacks is all that is needed from start to finish then you could make up some gallons of stock solution and dose for the phases you want to feed. I’m not so sure I would even grow if it was all that complicated. It’s a weed it required very little to grow and be healthy IMHO
i hear ya. By the time I'm trafficking (hahaha), I'd use dry. Shipping costs alone are nuts. If only, for example, GH Flora Series were available as a dry. I'm just used to it. I'm learning stuff. Although it ultimately probably depends on the grower, I've noticed superior quality when using more than just the 3-part base liquid GH Flora Series; for example, $150/gallon Floralicous Plus has got to be dong something, but there are a few other supplements I can probably eliminate.

I've heard good things about Jacks, though I've also read comments about it running hot. I'll consider it.

Currently, it's not terribly difficult. The 15 ml tubes came in. So, I have a spreadsheet. I just type in the multiplier (i.e., # of gallons), and all my single gallon doses are multiplied by the #.... I'm loading each tube with a 2-gallon dose of parts A, B, or C for seedling, early veg, late veg; and bloom phases 2 and 4, 7, & 8. Each tube is stored in a box with 30-49 tubes of the same nutrient and dose. And in one box, I'm thinking I can combine 2-gallon doses of Floralicious Plus, FloraBlend, etc. into one tube and multiply 30-49 times.

So, now a ~13-part system is reduced to 4 + the remaining nutes are in such small volumes I might just go straight to the source (e.g., monosilicic acid, Cal-Mag). So, then, it's up to like 6 parts. I probably won't add silica for phase 8 (ripening), maybe not phase 7 either. I have 10 ml glass pipettes and a Ninja blender (if needed). I just combine my capsules into a 2.5 gallon container with spigot, shake, pour into individual gallon containers or sprayers. sIMpLe. haha.

Instead of prepping weekly, I can get most of done pretty much monthly. The ~daily 2-gallon fill-ups will take a couple minutes to prepare. Space-saver though. Current setup with like 80+ gallons in the kitchen doesn't leave you with much cover when maintenance has to come over. hahaha. Fresher, fewer/no precipitates.

Mids are unacceptable.
 
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Apostatize

Well-Known Member
View attachment 4986217
My chart shows 4 and 5 to be different. This is Drain-to-Waste chart for hydro/coco.
We're referring to different columns. You're looking at the columns labeled 4 and 5. But the way I reference the table, I separate veg from bloom; so, I refer to your column 4 as "Bloom Phase 1." Then, I organize the Bloom columns into Phases 1-8 instead of columns 4-12.

It's just easier in a spreadsheet and when you're actually labeling shelves.
 
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Apostatize

Well-Known Member
Thanks! That's a helpful comparison. The only outlier is sulfur. If Jack's is dry, the price has got to be much better. Gotta get through my current stock of nutrients, but this is worth looking into. This is how I like product info presented, otherwise it seems very subjective. Thanks!

And in light of that comparison, I can probably still add whatever Floralicious supplements I want. Great.
 

Apostatize

Well-Known Member
pretty expensive for a PK booster with kelp and aminos if you ask me.
that's before shipping....

a nute ppm by product comparison of base nutes and supplements would be my ideal tool for making buying decisions. when it comes to nutrition, i still want to err on the side of giving plants every possible nute to position them to best express their genetics .... but i'm not looking to throw away money on gimmicks. Supposedly, GH is one of the more affordable product lines.

eventually, i'll go dry. i really need to come up with a quick way to do ppm comparisons ... or just get in the habit ... and define my acceptable ranges ... and buy accordingly.
 

rkymtnman

Well-Known Member
that's before shipping....

a nute ppm by product comparison of base nutes and supplements would be my ideal tool for making buying decisions. when it comes to nutrition, i still want to err on the side of giving plants every possible nute to position them to best express their genetics .... but i'm not looking to throw away money on gimmicks. Supposedly, GH is one of the more affordable product lines.
not to blow your mind, but if I wanted a plants best expression, i'd grow them under the sun in healthy soil.
 

Apostatize

Well-Known Member
not to blow your mind, but if I wanted a plants best expression, i'd grow them under the sun in healthy soil.
pretty sure i wouldn't be an alpha in prison. unfortunately, it's still not cool here. i remember visiting the Emerald Triangle, witnessing the local "point system" and being utterly disappointed by their outdoor. Some ok, mostly trash. Indoor standouts, this was like 10 years ago.
 

rkymtnman

Well-Known Member
pretty sure i wouldn't be an alpha in prison. unfortunately, it's still not cool here. i remember visiting the Emerald Triangle, witnessing the local "point system" and being utterly disappointed by their outdoor. Some ok, mostly trash. Indoor standouts, this was like 10 years ago.
i think my shit's pretty solid and the bottom line is i haven't bought any from a dispensary in probably 9 years. lol. win-win.

but yeah, i get you. i'm skipping kelp this run and using fulvic and Si and SAG.
 

Apostatize

Well-Known Member
i think my shit's pretty solid and the bottom line is i haven't bought any from a dispensary in probably 9 years. lol. win-win.

but yeah, i get you. i'm skipping kelp this run and using fulvic and Si and SAG.
Have you ever used this fertilizer calculator? http://e-gro.org/fert-calc/fert-calc/dist/

I don't want to have to track down nutrient ppm data from product line product labels to compare all possible product combos (since there are so many), but I will if I have to. You'd think someone would have the top 5 compared by ppm or something. Most article are opinion pieces.... Other threads might have product ppm comparisons. Decisions can't be all price, ads, and word-of-mouth. I guess I just need to get better at assessing product nute/supplement ppm ... Excel.
 

Apostatize

Well-Known Member
Spoke with my hydro store owner ... Jack's 321 is good, but they don't sell it ... the store recommends Athena's dry 3-part Pro Core. So, hopefully this thread can go onto compare dry 3-part fertilizers (1) Jack's 321 and (2) Athena Pro Core.

Comments above provide Jack's 321 ppm data; if someone has something similar for Athena Pro Core, I'd greatly appreciate it! [I'll do it myself this fall/winter if no one has it, I have enough GH product to last awhile. PK and Balance data's available online.]

And I'll likely continue to add supplements/biostimulants/translocators ... but that's a thread for another day!
 
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