Hi there! I have come across several discussions about the possible lack of calcium in the solution especially when switching to proportions close to 4/2 & I also analyzed the difference of micronutrients in the mix for bloom from different fertilizers, including athena pro line with which grovers get great results. And I would like to note the significantly higher calcium levels in their solution, even in the mix for bloom.
So what do you guys think about just replacing jacks calnit with something with more calcium?
Look at the proportions of Haifa Cal Prime - maybe thatās what weāre looking for? 17/23.5ca
I will attach a chart from Greengenes Garden video, note the athena calcium content, and besides, athena also recommend a very high target ec 3.0 for the whole cycle. And I havenāt yet seen any complaints that calcium blocking other elements.
Guys also I wonder how many of you are using A/B/epson parts only for full cycle. Without adding 10-30-20 or ultraviolet or finish or other their products. I think thereās more marketing than actual benefit. Saying that in a balanced solution the plants themselves will take what they need.
But I could be wrong, perhaps someone has made comparisons?
For now, my plan is just to reduce nitrogen levels a bit by jumping to 4/2 from 1st week of bloom. Maybe replace calnit with something with more calcium as I mentioned in a previous post to copy athena bloom and thats it.
Haifa calprime or pure cal are good options. Some percentage of ānormalā calcium nitrate is actually calcium ammonium nitrate (CAN). Those two products purify out the ammonium content.
However if you were relying on ammonium for some amount of ph control or root zone ph control, you will lose that by switching to a nitrate-only feed.
In coco, I have had good results using these products and using a lower pH input (~5.8/9 instead of 6.2) in drain to waste. I prefer it too, because NH4 tends to swing the pH rapidly because it uptakes about 3-4 times faster than NO3.
Edit: I should add that it is my theory that NH4 in coco is the main difference between it and hydroponic media. If you remove it, you can use a lower pH. When NH4 is present, it is retained in the root zone for longer and has the acidifying effect from H+ exchange when it is taken up.
Yeah Iām totally ok with a small percentage of ammonium. My current fertilizer even has a little more. As far as I know Ammonium helps to lower ph, and since my tap water is 6.5 itās a great option. This is probably done on purpose, because calcium oxide, on the opposite, increases ph.
It is a mystery to me why there is such a high percentage of ammonium in Jacks Finish 7-15-30 - 3% from 7 in total. Perhaps plenty of K will unbalance the phā¦ do not know.
Right now Iām trying to figure out the hydrobuddy and itās a pain. It doesnāt work well on a macbook and the interface is cluttered for me. It seems to take a few hours to figure out how it all works.
Perhaps someone here could put together a mix based on 4/2 jacks with Haifa Cal Prime as a part B with lower N and higher Ca ?
Based on the Greengenes Garden chart, getting something in between the Jacks 4/2 and Athena bloom would be a great numbers. It seems that the main competition now is between these two.
I will go with this on bloom in the next cycle.
I would aim for calcium at 100-110ppm & N 110-120
Here I call @North_4th@LD50@8k_feet
Iām not too familiar with that product. Usually MKP is slightly acidic, but provides more phosphorus than potassium. DKP is slightly basic and provides more potassium than phosphorus.
Iirc, you donāt use finish with calcium nitrate, correct? I know that bloom has no calcium and if you canāt use it very long or you get problems.
Cannabis is not especially sensitive to chloride, and is usually calcium hungry. Tomatoes are similar, but are even more calcium hungry. Hydroponic tomato growers will regularly supplement calcium with calcium chloride up to 100ppm chloride, which actually provides a substantial amount of calcium. Typically in stage 3 formulations, tomato growers will use 200ppm calcium.
In late bloom, you generally want to keep N low to prevent over vegetation (which increases yield but decreases potency). Since sulfur is usually already substantially over supplied, and there are no other valuable anions to provide, calcium chloride is a good option. You can easily make up the difference in what you need, well below the toxicity limit of around 200ppm chloride.
Iām fairly new to salts but I am going by what @DefNSmokn has recommended to me. Though he is running Jackās part A and I am currently running the Athenaās āgrowā. we are both using the same generic calnit with a agriculture grade epsom salt. He goes full term with his and I plan to try to go full term as well with the athenaās to see if there is any noticeable difference. should be interesting.
I have run many grows with nothing more than base 3/2/1 unaltered throughout the cycle and pulled down many pounds of terpene rich face melting reefer.
At this point Iām just nerding out to find what else can be tuned with Jackās.
@lefthandseeds that bloom formula with haifa looks realy good i dont have jacks but peters proffesional combi sol 6-18-36 with yara calcinit as i wrote on you ā¦ from scratch . Would you recomend this new for hydro on mapito(glasswool) im growing perpetual every 2 weeks a new set of clones so i have 5 sets of every 2 weeks and watering from below so 1 fertlizertank for all stages my cones go direct on 12/12 have to keep them small and have ledlights aim +/_ 1.2 -1.4 ec
Can you guys tell me where you get agriculture grade epsom salt? Is it different and which option is better for money?
Iām not in the U.S. and this product is not on our shelves. I order everything by mail.
