Are Boosters and Additives Really Necessary?

My friend was asking me, and I was wondering myself: Is it possible to run a decent grow producing excellent quality yield with reasonable yield (min. 0.5g per watt) with only basic nutrients (NPK + secondary + micro)?

I know that additives and boosters (root accels, enzymes, pk/bud boosters, vitamins, aminos, microbes, microbe food, list goes on and on and on) can and will increase your quantity and quality, but surely one can do very nicely without those, can't one?

My answer to my friend was yes, but my friend is an unbeliever, so I need to prove this to him before he goes spending 130$ on GHE additives box. Can anyone link me to a successful grow of someone who just uses basic nutes?

i spend 10$ on nutes J.R Peters lasts me a few months get about .9-1.1g per watt. Use to play with all the additives years ago and still experimented with one early last year. Trust me there not worth it. But hey "to each there own" this is all IMO

lol that's one monster ass grow man! but then... you spend so much money on it, won't you scrape a couple more bucks to get additives and boosters that are supposed to increase your yield 30%? or do you just not believe in that?

also, how do you not get caught with so much electricity running? don't they rat on you?

look at what Uncle Ben can do and Riddleme (both forum members) i believe they only use Jacks Classic, a basic horticultural plant food\, no snake oils or voodoo juice enzymes or any of that stuff. also a lot of "microbial" additives really only benefit organic growers.

i used basic cheap hydro nutes my first grow and i got more than .5 g per watt.

trying oout some AN now to see what its all about though, you just gotta try it and see what works for you.

I personally like using additives.

Especially 'GENERAL ORGANICS'. I love their 'Bio Weed' and their 'Bio Root' additives... shit does a really great job IMO.

Personally? I love using General Organics nutrients.. they're the bomb IMO.

peace.

that's cool man

but what would happen if you didn't use them is what i'm wondering

would you get a bad crop because of that? poor yield? low quality? no high?

no no and no. I think additives have the possibility of adding a bit of weight. All you need is a complete nutrient system. I think the more additives you add the higher your chance of ducking something up. Ill post pics when I get home

first off i'd like to say thank you to CannabisGuru for your PM concerning my harvest and cure, thanks for the tips, it had come a little late as i had already smoked most of it, hehe. but it will come in handy in about a month when i get to do it again! woo-hoo cant wait.

Also, do you have a journal up or pics, ive been curious about the GO line, seems like a nice an easy way to do organics in hydro. are you in hydro or soil? i use the bio-root to help out clones and seedlings since its a nice 1-1-1 feeding and organic=less chance of burn.
what line-up of nutes do you use? and are you in soil, soilless, or hydro? what does the bio-weed do? i hate walking through the hydro store and lookin at all of these bottles that ALL say they're the best and what not, i need a bit more experience under my belt, i guess the only way to know is to try it out, huh?

and heres some pics of what i got last harvest, i grew out some Nirvana Northern Lights and Barneys farms g13 haze (would love to know a bit of history on this strain if anyone knows). i didn't care much for the NL but i did mess up at the end, i had a few light leaks and some nute burn. i used general hydro's line and a 400w light. got about 10 o's total.







I admit i am trying some additives now, but you should do a grow with the basics first to see what its all about. and then go on from there. additives i am using this run is big bud from AN and kool bloom from GH at the end to help ripen. i think the 'extra weight' is all dependent on light and proper feed schedule more so than additives, but hell you never know until you try, and now i know a bit more about my strain too

asaph said:

My friend was asking me, and I was wondering myself: Is it possible to run a decent grow producing excellent quality yield with reasonable yield (min. 0.5g per watt) with only basic nutrients (NPK + secondary + micro)?

I know that additives and boosters (root accels, enzymes, pk/bud boosters, vitamins, aminos, microbes, microbe food, list goes on and on and on) can and will increase your quantity and quality, but surely one can do very nicely without those, can't one?

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Additives and boosters will only boost the tawdry vendors that sell them. You (or your friend) are about to be duped, or IOW, "a fool and his money are soon departed."

16 essential elements is what you need....a clear understanding of plant nutrition and culture. It's an abundance of healthy leaves produced and maintained throughout the life of the plant that produces bud, not gimmicks.

Good luck,
UB

Uncle Ben said:

Additives and boosters will only boost the tawdry vendors that sell them. You (or your friend) are about to be duped, or IOW, "a fool and his money are soon departed."

16 essential elements is what you need....a clear understanding of plant nutrition and culture.

Good luck,
UB

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Stupid question if you ask me. of course they work. Every product I sell has an intended use and my customers come back based on their personal triumphs. So its up to you to decide. I will say that in a sterile hydroponic environment, you do not want to throw compost on your hydroton and sulfate derived fertilizers do not attract fungi like natural fertilizers.

hoagtech said:

Stupid question if you ask me. of course they work.

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1. What exactly is "they".

2. You're in this for the money. The "intended use" is to empty the pockets of your customers.

There is NO scientific evidence from a non-partisan, honorable group of agriculturists that any enzymes, vitamins and other product crap has any beneficial affect. Plants make their own "additives", they don't need the help of Advanced Shysters. Again.....this biz is all about duping the noob. See my avatar? That's 6" rock hard cola came from cheap genetics, lots of leaves, and a bit of cheap Kmart plant food.

Uncle Ben said:

1. What exactly is "they".

2. You're in this for the money. The "intended use" is to empty the pockets of your customers.

There is NO scientific evidence from a non-partisan, honorable group of agriculturists that any enzymes, vitamins and other product crap has any beneficial affect. Plants make their own "additives", they don't need the help of Advanced Shysters. Again.....this biz is all about duping the noob. See my avatar? That's 6" rock hard cola came from cheap genetics, lots of leaves, and a bit of cheap Kmart plant food.

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I respect your natural methods UB, but claiming hydroponic and soilless additives dont work is bullshit. I try to help my customers find what their looking to achieve their results based on their budgets and requirements. I have no qualms with reccomending composting your plants outdoors, or even wiring ballast kits for free and cutting cloners for my better customers. Your whole "snake oil" theory is for the birds and cantankerous old men. The reason they come back is because it works.

Your avatar looks nice but its brown and lacks color and vigor. You may be the perfect candidate for products like gravity, Superthrive and great white. It will cost you but your profit margin will go up right along with the price adn your house wont smell like shit. Dont be so pushy man, its annoying and makes your ass grow off your forehead

You had a solid point here...

I respect your natural methods UB, but claiming hydroponic and soilless additives dont work is bullshit. I try to help my customers find what their looking to achieve their results based on their budgets and requirements. I have no qualms with reccomending composting your plants outdoors, or even wiring ballast kits for free and cutting cloners for my better customers. Your whole "snake oil" theory is for the birds and cantankerous old men. The reason they come back is because it works.

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But once you went into the critique and sales pitch here...

Your avatar looks nice but its brown and lacks color and vigor. You may be the perfect candidate for products like gravity, Superthrive and great white. It will cost you but your profit margin will go up right along with the price adn your house wont smell like shit. Dont be so pushy man, its annoying and makes your ass grow off your forehead

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... you lost me.

LordWinter said:

You had a solid point here...

But once you went into the critique and sales pitch here...... you lost me.

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Ya but Im not selling anything on here. Im just Mr Hoag. And you make a valid point, its just hard to stay civil when your frustrated I tried to reword it but by the end of the comment I was just pissed because he accused my livilyhood business of being "in it for the money". My store has the lowest steady prices in Washington state. You really think I would keep my discounts if I were "in it for the money"? Thats a dick thing to say UB.

i like adding organic boosters like magnesium in flower some type of seaweed extract in veg and early flower and a carb booster throughout the whole growth..if u dont have it in your soil i would think it would be necessary to add it yourself with liquid/powder additives.

hoagtech said:

Ya but Im not selling anything on here. Im just Mr Hoag. And you make a valid point, its just hard to stay civil when your frustrated I tried to reword it but by the end of the comment I was just pissed because he accused my livilyhood business of being "in it for the money". My store has the lowest steady prices in Washington state. You really think I would keep my discounts if I were "in it for the money"? Thats a dick thing to say UB.

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I get your point, hoag, but the thing is, I get UB's point too. The best way I can think to put this is by just answering the OP's question:

Boosters and additives are useful, and DO HELP, but in most cases are not necessary or essential to a successful harvest of medical quality in soil or other mediums. There are always going to be markets for micronutes and such, but unless you actually have a deficiency in your soil or reservoir, they tend to be over-hyped. It's more than fair to say that a well-balanced, well blended fertilizer or hydro nutrient for the appropriate growth stage is all most folks will ever need.

You were right to defend your own honor, but try to understand UB's point of view as well. He's seen people come onto this and other forums for a long time, having tried this and that "snake oil" product just to have it either not work, or worse... hurt or kill their plants. It's obvious from the claims of some of these products that they're just riding the current wave of success that legitimate product offerings enjoy. As a retailer, you should be at least willing to admit that there are products like that out there instead of just defending the products that YOU offer. It'll go a long way toward proving the integrity of your business, regardless of where you sell your products.

i'm glad this is growing to be a good debate, and hope all sides remain cool. it's an honor having Uncle Ben here as he is well reputed in this site.

but this does not settle this controversy, what we need is an actual side by side grow with and without additives and boosters, where control conditions are good (proper basic nutrition and an experienced grower). surely such an experiment has been made before, anybody knows of one and can link to it?

Noobs need to be told what to use and what to do. You're in the money on that one.

Good luck,
UB

hoagtech said:

Ya but Im not selling anything on here.

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So you're selling snake oil here or where?

Cali.Grown>408 said:

i like adding organic boosters like magnesium in flower some type of seaweed extract in veg and early flower and a carb booster throughout the whole growth..if u dont have it in your soil i would think it would be necessary to add it yourself with liquid/powder additives.

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And I like adding orange peel to my margaritas.