So we all know of the classic growers recipe of cutting Nitrogen and boosting Phosphorus and Potassium during flower.
But Ive seen plenty of grows use 20-20-20 or something similar and come out banging. In fact on my backyard outdoor I just run 4-3-2 chicken manure pellets and theres no way youd say the buds are too green, too stretchy, too leafy, or whatever else people say about running higher Nitrogen in flower.
Right now I am currently running Dynagro FoliagePro
9-3-6 and its awesome. I have run their Grow and Bloom before but have read and heard a few times that they clame 9-3-6 is ideal for cannabis. Im seeing totally healthy growth, and fairly good budset considering this is a unheated greenhouse run that started flowering Oct 6. However it is 28 days in and Im wondering if I should switch to some 5-20-20. But part of my screaming “if it aint broke dont fix it!!!”
Plants are not as reliant on nitrogen from.about mid flower on and continuing to pump it in when they plant doenst need or refuses to uptake it causes lock outs and toxicity which is why flower nutrients drop the N significantly and add more P and K… if N doenst drop then you get dark,dark green leaves in flower that tend to witchfinger like overwatering when in fact its N tox… usually coupled by airiness or foxtailing
Most people wouldnt care either way but for trimming and density and wasted space, it takes alot of places that could have just been flower clusters…
Again, alot of anecdotal evidence on certain aspects but no hard, scientific, documented proof of how ot works better or worse either way… damn plants lol
Change your 4/3/2 to a bloom feed ( 10/30/20 ) at same ppm ( after stretch day 21 ) and then gradually raise ppm thru grow adding pk supliment on top of the 600ppm base ( to 800 wk7-8 total )
I use Dyna Gro too @Nixie666, and follow their feed chart so that goes like this…
Foliage Pro, then a little Mag Pro in veg, then in flower Foliage Pro is decreased and Bloom introduced along with the Mag Pro and by week 3 Foliage Pro ìs dropped out.
I use a silica addative too.
This is indoors under LED lighting in pots and you’re outside in the sun and in the ground so your plants may be getting less nitrogen and other elements from the soil?
outdoors isn’t similar to indoor. chicken manure pellets are still slow-release, and feed demands under the sun are high, especially in containers.
you could certainly do worse. good stuff.
my grandfather was a truly wise man. that was something he regularly reminded me about. not sure how you could look at that picture and feel like you needed a whole-ass sea change.
if you really investigate that old chestnut, there are some interesting things to be gleaned from it
I use Remo nutrients elements dry salt line now . During veg it is a 2 part salt mix. In flower it is a 3 part salt mix. Nitrogen is not lowered by adding part 3 in flower but rather ratio is changed by adding more P and K to the existing nitrogen levels that never change during the grow. I used to use his other liquid line and many others that would have a liquid “grow” and would replace with liquid “bloom” bottle during flower that had lower N. after making this switch to the dry nutes a year ago after using his liquid line for years I have noticed zero pattern of more leaf growth while keeping nitrogen levels the same through out the grow as this product is meant to be used at equal parts through out the grow. So far so good and the easiest nute line I have ever used. Do with this info as you will
I feed 20-10-20 thru out the entire grow (with additional mag, cal, sulphur etc) without any issues, usually it works as a great reference point actually.
Once I get a keeper I start twitching lowering N or increasing P on keepers (clones) to see if they react differently on flowering. Some do, some do negative, some do positive. My moonbow (it’s never leafy or fluffy, always dense as fuck) and black energy keepers for example do better on 20-10-20 without changing shit on flowering. So there’s that. And I’ve had them for various cycles.
Dont forget, while nitrogen defiantly isnt as important during late flower, its still important for photosynthesis. I always cut back, but never eliminate completely.
@Nixie666 I think you’re on to something with the results you’re seeing from your garden
You may be interested in this post from the Garden Myths blog by Robert Pavlis
In short, he advises using a 3-1-2 NPK for most plants. This goes against the traditional recommendation to use plant-specific fertilizer. Of course, it will also depend on the base nutrient makeup of your soil and so the exact ratio may need to be adjusted
I am not saying anyone is right or wrong, merely providing a source to back up why this is working well for you. Using a ratio of 9-3-6 would be the same or similar to using 3-1-2 so what you’re doing is in line with what Pavlis is saying
Personally had always used some baseline of nutrients like tripart or any brands micro, grow & bloom nutrients and some vitamins and boosters until couple years ago when my friends older lady asked why he spends so much money on some nutrients for weed. She told him the nutrient powder she buys from the local flower house is 10x cheaper & their flowers and plants look extraordinary. Asked to see the nutrient powder packaging and it was a 1kg small “universal” flower nutrient box branded locally with little to no info on the label costing around 10€ for 1kg. Her flowers looked nice and I knew I had driven past the flower store a couple times and their plants actually looked amazing. So,
drove to the store to ask about their basic nute powder they selling 1kg for around 10€ each. The store manager told me “Oh yes!! Our nutrient powder is the best and same kind is actually used by commercial growers”. Asked to see the original nute package they fill their boxes up with and he went and got it for me, it was called HYPERFLEX-10 with NPK 16-4-23. Looked it up and it’s actually so cheap, 50€ for a 25kg bag.
The NPK ratio is the same used in chili nutes and when looked up the price of nutes with that same NPK ratio it was like 10€ for 200gr in normal stores = 25x higher price. Anyhow the powder is amazing, my friend first used it because he had nothing else but his flowers exploded, got me intrigued.
Now I’ve found kinda the sweet spot on how to use it. I grow in good quality soil so first weeks when girls are small and in seedling stage I only use water. Then add the hyperflex powder to my watering at half dose all the way up until they start flowering. It’s possible to use it throughout the flowering phase which my friend did, might foxtail a bit but it works. Personally I switch to Plagron Terra Bloom all in one flowering nute in flowering with 2-2-4 NPK and couple weeks into flowering I add some boost like Hammerhead with 0-4-12 NPK.
HYPERFLEX-10
A completely water-soluble irrigation fertilizer made from pure, first-class chlorine-free raw materials so that the trace elements are in the best chelated form for plants. Contains 0.1% DTPA iron chelate and 0.12% EDTA iron chelate.
Purified potassium nitrate has been used to manufacture Hyperflex products, so the amount of sodium that is harmful to the plant is significantly lower compared to competing products!
Completely water soluble
High quality raw materials
Suitable for all growing media
Rich in trace elements
N 15.9
nutes and when looked up the price of nutes with that same NPK ratio it was like 10€ for 200gr in normal stores = 25x higher price. Anyhow the powder is amazing, my friend first used it because he had nothing else but his flowers exploded, got me intrigued.