Newbie fertilizer question

I

Innerorbit

Well-Known Member
Hello,

Working on my very first grow (Nirvana’s northern lights) in Fox Farms Ocean Forest soil in 3 gallon buckets.

I’ve just been using plain water so far and things are going well but when I switch them to flower (probably at the 6 week mark) I want to start feeding them. From what I’ve read this will be about the time they use up the nutrients in the soil so I may even start feeding at half strength at the 4 week mark to see how they react before switching to flowering and feeding at full strength.

Just looking for some recommendations on what/how I should feed them. I’m all about simplicity and efficiency so if I can achieve good results with one product that’ll be ideal. If things continue to go well I want to try Hempy buckets next and feeding with just Maxi-bloom (Lucas formula) so this may be my only soil grow as an fyi (so multiple expensive, organic products aren’t what I’m looking for). Not sure if the Maxi-bloom could be used in this soil grow?

Thanks in advance!
 
Innerorbit said:
Hello,

Working on my very first grow (Nirvana’s northern lights) in Fox Farms Ocean Forest soil in 3 gallon buckets.

I’ve just been using plain water so far and things are going well but when I switch them to flower (probably at the 6 week mark) I want to start feeding them. From what I’ve read this will be about the time they use up the nutrients in the soil so I may even start feeding at half strength at the 4 week mark to see how they react before switching to flowering and feeding at full strength.

Just looking for some recommendations on what/how I should feed them. I’m all about simplicity and efficiency so if I can achieve good results with one product that’ll be ideal. If things continue to go well I want to try Hempy buckets next and feeding with just Maxi-bloom (Lucas formula) so this may be my only soil grow as an fyi (so multiple expensive, organic products aren’t what I’m looking for). Not sure if the Maxi-bloom could be used in this soil grow?

Thanks in advance!
Click to expand...
Megacrop green leaf nutrients
 
Innerorbit said:
Hello,

Working on my very first grow (Nirvana’s northern lights) in Fox Farms Ocean Forest soil in 3 gallon buckets.

I’ve just been using plain water so far and things are going well but when I switch them to flower (probably at the 6 week mark) I want to start feeding them. From what I’ve read this will be about the time they use up the nutrients in the soil so I may even start feeding at half strength at the 4 week mark to see how they react before switching to flowering and feeding at full strength.

Just looking for some recommendations on what/how I should feed them. I’m all about simplicity and efficiency so if I can achieve good results with one product that’ll be ideal. If things continue to go well I want to try Hempy buckets next and feeding with just Maxi-bloom (Lucas formula) so this may be my only soil grow as an fyi (so multiple expensive, organic products aren’t what I’m looking for). Not sure if the Maxi-bloom could be used in this soil grow?

Thanks in advance!
Click to expand...
i hate to be mr negative but imo fox farm is absolute unadulterated crap. i realize ppl may argue that but seriosly they are literally wrong imo. the quality control over there is an absolute actrocity. i am not saying this because of a video it is from personal xp, however my xp was literally exactly like this video. i would 100% transplant into something thta wont kill your plants :)
fyi this was a 4-5 part series if you care to watch it all. it is ridiculous fox farm is in business
but gl my freind and stay stoned
 
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Here are my plants. So far so good it seems with just water. They all look very similar except for one that I took an up close photo. It looks like a different pheno perhaps...more lanky and thinner leaves (although it still appear healthy). Gonna let them go maybe another 4 weeks and switch to 12/12.
 

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Ok, took them out of the tent and got a couple more pics in regular light including close-ups of the weird one and a a couple tiny light brown specs on some of the leafs.
 

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Innerorbit said:
Ok, took them out of the tent and got a couple more pics in regular light including close-ups of the weird one and a a couple tiny light brown specs on some of the leafs.
Click to expand...
looks like splatter from compost tea i get similar spots. i think if you leave the residue eventually it stains/burns it a bit. do you foliar spray? you could try foliar spray with water after your tea see if that stops em from forming. or just not worry about it at all unless it is something else and i'm wrong. i cant take pics atm but i think i have them to rn because it is hard to water as close as mine are together without splatter on leaves.
they look super healthy to me
 
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I haven’t fed them anything yet. Just water occasionally when the soil starts to get dry and I’ve been spraying them with water a few times a day which seems to help keep the humidity up in tent.
 
Budzbuddha said:
Ok ..... first off , whatever led you panel you have SWITCH all switches to on.

Classic noob mistake is to run a single blue channel for veg. All switches on ... all the time.
No matter what .
Click to expand...

Interesting, I was under the impression that the veg spectrum was perfectly suited for this stage of growth but I got them both on now. Thanks for the tip.
 
Innerorbit said:
Hello,

Working on my very first grow (Nirvana’s northern lights) in Fox Farms Ocean Forest soil in 3 gallon buckets.

I’ve just been using plain water so far and things are going well but when I switch them to flower (probably at the 6 week mark) I want to start feeding them. From what I’ve read this will be about the time they use up the nutrients in the soil so I may even start feeding at half strength at the 4 week mark to see how they react before switching to flowering and feeding at full strength.

Just looking for some recommendations on what/how I should feed them. I’m all about simplicity and efficiency so if I can achieve good results with one product that’ll be ideal. If things continue to go well I want to try Hempy buckets next and feeding with just Maxi-bloom (Lucas formula) so this may be my only soil grow as an fyi (so multiple expensive, organic products aren’t what I’m looking for). Not sure if the Maxi-bloom could be used in this soil grow?

Thanks in advance!
Click to expand...
You could use maxi.

Lordhooha said:
Megacrop green leaf nutrients
Click to expand...

I haven't used it but I hear good things about megacrop..
 
Budzbuddha said:
Ok ..... first off , whatever led you panel you have SWITCH all switches to on.

Classic noob mistake is to run a single blue channel for veg. All switches on ... all the time.
No matter what .
Click to expand...
/agree
Innerorbit said:
Interesting, I was under the impression that the veg spectrum was perfectly suited for this stage of growth but I got them both on now. Thanks for the tip.
Click to expand...
Way to take good advice! Most marketing crap from manufacturers is just exactly that; crap.
outliergenetix said:
i hate to be mr negative but imo fox farm is absolute unadulterated crap. i realize ppl may argue that but seriosly they are literally wrong imo. the quality control over there is an absolute actrocity. i am not saying this because of a video it is from personal xp, however my xp was literally exactly like this video. i would 100% transplant into something thta wont kill your plants :)
fyi this was a 4-5 part series if you care to watch it all. it is ridiculous fox farm is in business
but gl my freind and stay stoned
Click to expand...
I wonder if this is regional. Different states have different laws about agricultural products, maybe where you live allows them to sell poor quality soil and they are offloading their B grade stuff to your state.
I am 100% hydro in the flower room but have used Happy Frog and OF many times. I even made some clones by sticking cuts right into OF under a humidity dome, no root hormone, nothing else. No nute burn, no problem. No dog in the fight, just wanted to offer my experience, and a possible reason for yours (not that that would be okay, but they wouldn’t be alone in doing shady stuff in the world of making a buck.
Lordhooha said:
Megacrop green leaf nutrients
Click to expand...
I don’t use it, but I would give a strong second vote for MegaCrop, based on reading the label and knowing some great growers who are using it to excellent effect.
 
Innerorbit said:
Ok, took them out of the tent and got a couple more pics in regular light including close-ups of the weird one and a a couple tiny light brown specs on some of the leafs.
Click to expand...

They are plenty green ... thanks to the FFOF . Maybe a bit too green . I would still keep a water feed going as this is showing plants are gorging on available Nutes. FFOF can run weeks before any noticeable depletion . So much so you can still flip cycle on same soil and flower without adding anything.

You can help your girls by doing some LST on them to “ open up ” middle for air exchange and light.
Even a light defol on the very bottom fans . I say add NO NUTES . It is about as green as it gets.


All that nitro needs to be used off ...
 
My opinion on FFOF ...
ALL bagged soil have good and bad batches.

FFOF is nute heavy no doubt , and have used it like super soil ( bottom 1/3 container ) with something lighter for fill ( happy frog / or a peat mix ) . Definitely will burn some strains and a little harsh on seedlings sometimes , but once a plant acclimates to it ... its off to the races.

I picked rocks , bark , and various things from different bags of soil . Sometimes had to screen it.
But overall it’s fine.

Another decent mix is E B STONE Recipe 420 ... kind of a mild version .
 
Put some dry FFOF in an empty pot and get a feel for the dry weight, so next time you water you can tell the difference in the weights. After you water, wait till the pot decreases in weight by about 70% before watering again. It looks like your plants are a bit droopy, I suspect due to being wet constantly. If you allow the pot to get close to being dry, this will encourage root growth which will translate to better and more rapid growth of the plant above the roots. My first plant was in FFOF, and I collected a lot of nutes while growing it. Once it turned out to be a male, I switched to hydro and that was 5 years ago. Your plants look almost blue which might be a slight N toxicity, so there's still plenty left in the soil in my view.
 
Budzbuddha said:
They are plenty green ... thanks to the FFOF . Maybe a bit too green . I would still keep a water feed going as this is showing plants are gorging on available Nutes. FFOF can run weeks before any noticeable depletion . So much so you can still flip cycle on same soil and flower without adding anything.

You can help your girls by doing some LST on them to “ open up ” middle for air exchange and light.
Even a light defol on the very bottom fans . I say add NO NUTES . It is about as green as it gets.


All that nitro needs to be used off ...
Click to expand...

Thank you and others for the reply. I’m happy to hear my plants are looking good. I’ll continue with just he water for now and possibly through to the end of the grow. How can you tell if they have used up all the nitrogen in the soil and need added nutrients? Will they turn lighter in color?

I have done a little reading up on LST after you suggested it and it looks pretty easy. Any specific recommendations on that?
 
Basically at the stage you are currently , you can “ gently and carefully “ open up the branch areas with some garden string or similar ( so it doesn’t cut into branches ) and not over forcing the branches otherwise they may snap.

After you can , lightly clear some of the inner fans and remove the tiny underdeveloped sprouts that were trapped in the dark middle. Which will cut down on the Larfy shit ( popcorn nugs ) that will not match the tops. It will allow the main tops get all the energy it needs.

It’s a learning thing so there is some experimenting......

BEF9BF36-A5F4-477B-949C-B39A1EDB3605.jpeg

Here , I just let it grow in it’s normal shape BUT just used some string to pull it open around the mid area plus pulled a few leaves.

E9CA265C-54CA-4BD7-B8F5-D470D4F19275.jpeg

LST can be done right from the beginning also .... which is a careful bending and support of main stalk to allow lateral growth.

Here is an alternate way , you can do next time.

8FAF7D07-89CF-4067-8F3B-A2FDBB572A9E.jpeg
 
Remember to PH anything you add to your soil and track the PH from the run off after feeding. If your PH is outta whack your plant will show all kinds of issues you'll assume are excess nutes or deficiencies etc and no matter what you throw at it you'll end up making it worse. From what I understand ffof is kinda of a hot soil and it could take a week or more from the start of the problem before you notice the damage already done and soil can be long and difficult to correct. If possible use a digital meter as alternative methods won't be as accurate. GL!
 
Cool, thanks again. I'll get some garden string and drill some small holes around the edge of the bucket to tie too. Then trim it up lightly. I'll post some pics later to update, maybe in a couple weeks when I'm ready to switch to flowering.
 
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