Does anyone mix their own nutes from raw salts? I started doing it after prices started going up and after realizing I could hit the elemental values I was aiming for much easier with individual salts. Micros are a bit tricky but just need a scale that will measure into the millionths of a gram. Been doing a lot of experimenting with ratios and values but it’s been working pretty good so far.
4 Likes
@SeymourGreen yes, @lefthandseeds does! He started with Jacks and Masterblend and found it easier to just go from elemental salts to hit his metrics accurately at all stages of growth:
I think he found that the Custom Hydro micros were the best overall but definitely read his thread he’s super deep into it at this point and has gotten things pretty dialed!
There’s also a great thread by @LD50 comparing different fertilizer products and their combos if you want a baseline comparison of one against another or some inspiration for mixing:
5 Likes
You have a good source for those salts?r
1 Like
@crownpoodle Custom Hydro Nutrients or NPK Industries/RAW are both easy sources
https://customhydronutrients.com/
You can also get stuff like Epsom, Calnit, MKP, micros like Peters S.T.E.M etc from farm supply places locally or pay for a small pallet as truck freight, if we’re talking it being worth getting some 25-50# bags:
Here’s a cool video on YouTube going over a bunch of the stuff Lefty is teaching in his thread from a guy who does something similar:
Me? I just ordered 4# each of Jack’s 20-20-20 and 10-30-20 from Walmart.com and I’m gonna just cruise with that for a while before I start mixing my own, but it does seem like it’s worth doing if you’re more of a precise tinkerer than me when it comes to growing. I’m going to use these two through veg and most of flower and then just switch to SulPoMag/langbeinite and kelp for that K boost to finish
5 Likes
Thank you. I figured you had done your homework. I’m set now on nutes, but maybe I could be set better too.
1 Like
Custom hydro is definitely the spot to go for salts if you’re in the USA. Npk industries is pretty overpriced IMO. Plus the owner is very knowledgeable on nutrients too.
Daniel from science in hydroponics knows his shit. He’s the one who made the hydrobuddy program. I would definitely check out his blog on https://scienceinhydroponics.com/blog-archive and check out his youtube vids like @Dirt_Wizard posted above. They even flew him to the USA to be part of a few episodes of that cannabis class that’s available through utah state university.
Some people also use masterblend as a good base to start with.
6 Likes
Love jacks! I hit a real tight spot with money a while ago. It made me look at different fertilizer companies. My buddy’s would run Mills while I did jacks 321. My fertilizer cost for almost 2 years of non stop growing was cheaper than 1 cycle for them. They would never admit the quality was the same 
9 Likes
Cool! It sounded like Custom Hydro was the place everyone prefers, and I didn’t know that guy in the video made Hydrobuddy! I will get to custom salts someday but for now I’m locked in on Jack’s with kelp and langbeinite replacing the Bloom Booster for the final phase of flowering, the simplicity of the whole thing is worth a little extra to me, I think. I feel too scattered in life to be mixing custom nutes right now but I would love to be there in the future.
$18/lb here: www.groworganic.com
9 Likes
Yep, I’m one of those people who does custom salts. If anyone’s curious, you can check out my ongoing grow diary and see my target ppms. So far its doing great 
3 Likes
5 Likes
Cool, thanks! Added them to my calculator sheet 
4 Likes
@Jetdro swears by this stuff in his Octo’s. I think he finishes with Jacks 5-12-26
5 Likes
I’ve had a really nice harvest or two since finding a $1 sealed 4oz tub of Bloom Booster while thrifting and then integrating fertigation with that into my normal organic recycled soil routine. I found that Osmocote Plus Indoor-Outdoor was pretty good but I needed to add it in earlier, so that its exhausted the N in the 15-9-12 by the end of flower. I am going to keep trying that for a time release option especially outdoors and for plants I give to people, but the results with Jacks are very easy to control.
The mixing is so simple and instant at room temp that I don’t mind making fresh jugs for each watering, versus some other stuff I tried like Megacrop that was shit to dissolve and smelled bad too. So far I’m super impressed with how refined and simple the Jack’s/Peters products are, they are neat and simple to use. I’m a cook by trade (one of them) and I’ve used a lot of dry mix cleaners and sanitizers etc, the ease of mixing and dissolving is of primary importance for me, IMO products that don’t dissolve well shouldn’t really be sold as soluble, if I have to shake hell out of it, that’s just a fine granular.
Started using the 20-20-20 to green up a bunch of neglected small plants that have been kicking around, lots of cloning experiments and some Big Don moms that I’m throwing into flower to fill out my tent. The results are basically overnight, the leaves that will come back are already filling back up and looking healthier. I even have a tray of rooted cuts from the Vortex coop I’m doing right now that have been in Root Riots for weeks now, I clipped leaves and hit them with some Jack’s AP and Maxicrop, they’re already perking back up nicely.
11 Likes
By the way, if anyone goes in on a 50# bag of the new zero nitrogen finisher and wants to trade me a pound to try, I’ll send seeds or we could talk about other options too.
Edit: got hooked up by an OG!
10 Likes
Does anybody have a proposed strategy for incorporating the 0-12-26?
I’m currently running 3-2-1 at about 2.3EC, I’m at day 38 of flower. Probably 30 more days left.
I was thinking 2 more weeks of a 50/50 mix of the Part A’s, then 100% of the zero nitrogen for the last 2 weeks. Or should I just move to the -0- now? Here’s where I stand on flower development, it’s an AG NL#2
5 Likes
Hey @Tripl3fastaction another user @LD50 is doing some great analyses of various fertilizers, I think integrating this one into the Jacks regimen is coming soon:
5 Likes
NPK Explained Through the Phases of Building a Skyscraper 
N (Nitrogen) - Structural Engineering: In the early stages of a skyscraper, it’s all about stacking beams and setting a structural foundation. Similarly, plants initially thrive on a hefty dose (For Jack’s it’s 150ppm) of Nitrogen to bolster vegetative growth. But as construction progresses, you wouldn’t continue pouring all resources into beams; focus shifts. Plants, too, gradually transition from structural to reproductive, reducing their Nitrogen needs. When? Around the same time that the stretch is complete.
P (Phosphorus) - Electrical Engineering: Every floor and room of a skyscraper relies on a continuous supply of electricity. Phosphorus is the electrical supply to the building, first for construction and then for future occupancy (bud maturity / seed formation).
K (Potassium) - Commissioning Engineering: Think high end HVAC, Security and Communication systems. Early in construction, you ensure basic amenities for worker safety and comfort. But as the skyscraper nears completion, it’s about upgrading to premium security and top-tier HVAC systems. Similarly, while plants need a touch of Potassium in their early life, it’s during the late flowering phase that they flourish (bud maturity), enhancing their quality, aroma, and resilience.
Honestly this analogy is as close to how I think about NPK for cannabis and peppers. Jack’s is all about a 150N dose. Experiment by reducing to 120N in weeks 4-5, and 100N in weeks 6-7, flushing (0N via water or a 0-#-# product).
Disclaimer: I’m not yet smart on how much Mg (moderate?), Ca (moderate-high?), S (moderate-high?), or micros to provide in late flower.
I’ve been using this for weeks 7-8 (and usually flush for 9+):
It’s essentially a diluted Jack’s Part A, and this has the effect of reducing micros during late flower compared to Jack’s newer offering:
Which I don’t think is a good thing necessarily. I’ll do some more tinkering here thanks for the bump @Dirt_Wizard
5 Likes
They’re just saying that by using 0-12-26, instead of making amendments and diluting 5-12-26, you can keep a constant rate of micronutrients.
For 0-12-26, the goal is to reduce nitrogen in late flower and I would guess that it only trades the nitrogen anion for sulfur (using potassium sulfate instead of potassium nitrate in the formula). It should be a drop-in replacement for 5-12-26 with the same rates.
5 Likes
This year I diluted my 5-12-26 and cut cal nit last two weeks and hit it with
Down to Earth OMRI Organic Solution Grade Potassium Sulfate 0-0-50
Worked awesome.
2 Likes
@The_Lazy_Hippie or others:
What is the suggested mixing ratio of Jack’s 0-12-26 per bag instructions?? I can’t find a link to a feed schedule online. Just looking for grams/gallon or tbsp/gallon.
If I hinge the equation around Iron (3% by weight) here is my XXX recipe vs pure Part-A only Jack’s 0-12-26:
1 Like