What is in your NPK mix? I’m hopig to find top dressings that are quick release. So I will have it in case of an emergency so far the amendments I have been using are working I’ll post some sample pictures of what I use Photos pictures are worth 1000 words
I’m using DOWN TO EARTH organics .... it’s all in boxes, looks like meal and what I’m using isn’t water soluble for the most part.
For a quick fix of individual deficiencies during the grow.
I like the DTE stuff more and more, the more I learn the more I understand how I can use their line of products. There are so many products. I just started learning about release times and nutes. Things like urea.... WIN nutes and soluble nutes. What is the gypsum for? Calcium? Here is my list, with amounts
You are running your doses about just little heavier than me.... .5 cup or so
I was under the same impression about the greensand.
yeah you can definitely overdo the amendments in organics if you're not careful (supersoil being the poster child for this as even sub says don't put small plants into it cause it will burn the fuck out of them). Regarding the greensand, it does not all get used up in the first run, but i definitely saw yield improvements in the first run... I'm not sure why people say that it takes a few runs to see the results. but maybe it was coincidence, i can't say for sure. you could definitely plan on amending it once every 2 or 3 runs in your mix if you want. experiment and keep good data logged so you can compare the results of different runs when you make changes. I have not seen any ill effects using that bloom mix and i've gone as high as 1/3 cup on a plant which is like 6 tablespoons, but it has other inputs in it as well so it's not all high P ingredients. I'm working on formulating my own topdress complex though so I don't have to rely on buying another bag of "x". My current thoughts are crab meal, fishbone meal, kelp, gypsum, and dried powdered banana peels. probably something like 1 part crab, 2 parts fishbone, 1 part gypsum, 2 parts kelp, and 1/2 part banana peels. this will get me in that low-high-medium NPK range for a final product. I think ideally though, i will weigh the inputs and put the mix together based on weight rather than volume. Maybe i'll make one mix by volume, and one mix by weight, and run a side by side with a few plants and see which one performs better.
What size is your typical pot during flower?
just depends on the size of the plant. I'm finding for medium sized plants that 5 gal is getting to be too small with ideal growth, and plants are being very rootbound by the end of flower and depleting all nutrients, so 7 gal would be my target range for medium sized plants. for larger plants i'd go for 10 gal. this is with plastic containers. with fabrics, i'd say 10 gal for medium and 15 gal for large, because of the fact that the plants lose some of the soil volume around the outer portions of the container due to it being hard to keep that area adequately saturated, which is the purpose of the fabric pots in the first place... air pruning roots.
But i'm planning on going no smaller than 7 gal in the near future. FWIW, these are in pumice SIPs and you can see how I set them up on my grow thread (link in my sig). Set up tutorial is a few pages back from the most recent page. I'm really liking the pumice SIPs and will likely be running those when i'm not utilizing my no-tills.
I looked up the auxins and acids you mentioned... I need to read more but they look hormonal and not really organic. IDK am I wrong? One website mentioned it might be good for garden flowers but you might not want to consume the product. I’m just reading and learning
Well, that's because they are hormones... Plants produce these hormones on their own; it's part of their gene expression in their regulatory system of growth. If you are extracting your hormones from a natural source like: coconut water, aloe vera, willow twigs, seed sprouts or whatever the natural source... do you see a harm in that? That is up for you to decide. Now this process begs some questions... Since plants produce these on their own, do they need us to give them these hormones? No. Can we manipulate plant growth with well timed, small applications of the right hormone? Yes.
I am definitely not well informed, but I am still learning!
I willWell, that's because they are hormones... Plants produce these hormones on their own; it's part of their gene expression in their regulatory system of growth. If you are extracting your hormones from a natural source like: coconut water, aloe vera, willow twigs, seed sprouts or whatever the natural source... do you see a harm in that? That is up for you to decide. Now this process begs some questions... Since plants produce these on their own, do they need us to give them these hormones? No. Can we manipulate plant growth with well timed, small applications of the right hormone? Yes.
For example... When you take a clone, and apply a rooting product (typically salicylic acid like that found in aspen buds, willow branches, or aloe vera) you are using hormones to get a stem to produce roots. Another example, auxins are responsible for why plants curve their stem growth towards the light, and why roots curve their growth down into the soil; both are a response to the presence of auxins. Abscisic acid is responsible in catalyzing the mechanism for opening and closing of stomata.
Make informed decisions about what you use in your garden. Be smart about what you use on your plants and if you're not comfortable or unsure with something, then don't use it. Ultimately though... you need to be careful how you interpret what you read, and who the source is and what they're trying to achieve. Most of the studies that are done are with plants that have a great economical value, and the products they tend to use on those plants are things that we as organic gardeners can source from a natural form, they don't need to be created in a lab. For example, Round Up is mainly auxins, (yes there are other things in it as well), but the auxins are concentrated so high they exhaust the plant by basically growing itself to death.
Keep on reading though. This is a great topic to understand if you like to grow basically anything
Yes. Gypsum is a source of calcium and sulfur, if there is a deficiency cal/mag works faster. I like adding some gypsum at the end of veg, mine respond well from what I can tell. I also use it when mixing soils, I believe it is used by most who mix their own soil.
I just looked at Bio-live, looks good..... beneficials and nutrients in one organic box... hmmmm
I just bought the last box of it at the local Hydro. That’s a good sign I think