What do you feed your mothers?

Hello everyone. Just started using Jack’s all purpose 20-20-20 for my mother plants, and I’m having a hard time dialing it in. Plants were beautiful, but now I’m getting tip burn, and red leaf stems. That’s at only 400 ppm. Going to lower it to 385 and see how that works out. So I was wondering what do my fellow OG’ers use to feed they’re moms.

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I just use foxfarm grow big

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Im switching to water till they need food them a very light feeding…I want slow healthy growth…it takes time to "feel’ your plants out to see what they like. If me and a plant cant get along then they must go. Thats the idea is we each have our own energy and the idea is to find a plant that can match our energy. I got 2 possibly 3 now that we work together…the rest Im tired of fighting with. Trying to figure them out…pop as many beans as you can and keep the plants that work with you!:slight_smile:

Also I just started feeding my plants at 4 months old…

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I hear you on fighting plants lol! I’ve been growing this particular plant for almost 3 years now and had her dialed in using the maxi grow, but recently switched to Jack’s because I figured the 1-1-1 ratio would be good for moms to keep them slow and steady. I’m using Coco coir as my medium, so I have to feed every watering.

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I like those fabric pots and bottom feeding i got one plant responded really well to it…Im switching to all fabric and bottom feeding also SOG is the way once you figure your mom out. Slicing and dicing…for me!

DWC seems like a lot of work…Im lazy!

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I do drain to waste coco in pots, and I need a good amount of run off to avoid salt build up. The fabric pots would just absorb all the water and I would get no run off so I switched back to plastic. They are great for rinsing the coco in though, and I use them all the time for that lol! And your absolutely right about SOG. I run scrog now though in my flower tent, and just veg a little longer.

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That can be defeated. I put coco smart pots on short plant stands inside my drain tray and it keeps that 10% DTW off the pots themselves.

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Maybe I’ll have to try that.:thinking: I use little drain stands also now that I didn’t use before when I was using the smart pots. What do you think are some of the benefits of using the smart pots with coco?

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I don’t actually use smart pots and coco. I use 2 gallon pails with lots with drain holes in them. Those really need to be on stands.

Perhaps smart pots drain more evenly or limit access for fungus gnats?

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I’m not sure myself. I haven’t used them in so long, I forgot any benefits they had. I was thinking maybe hold moisture longer than the plastic pots, but I think the opposite maybe true actually.

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My mothers are small plants and i feed tap water with 20% run off. Then do not feed again until the leaves droop. This ensures the dirt dries enough to stop the fungus gnats getting out of hand. I have given up on fighting them and am now having to coexist with them by just keeping their numbers down. If any spots appear on the leaves of a mother then they get literally a few grains of a generic slow release fertiliser dropped on top of the pot. If they start to look pale I add a tiny amount of a pure nitrogen fertiliser to its next watering. It works well enough that i have not had any of them produce permanent issues and it is minimal fuss.

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I will move to organic for my mothers once i figure it all out. Keeping mothers in organic could be hard. Finding the balance between keeping all the microbes alive and the plants growing out of control could be tricky I imagine.

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I keep mine in downsized pots of plastic and try to trim roots regular. Nutrients are mega crop at a low ppm like 600 or 700, alternating with low dose big bloom and once a month cal mag. Lighting seems to be the key in keeping growth under control. I grow in soil and try to let them dry out between feedings. I just repotted my year old momma in the same pot by trimming her roots and addding new soil in the bottom and sides with a handful of kelp mixed in.

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this is basically what i’m trying to get to, altho im growing in coco, probably doesnt help keep them growing slow :joy:

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I’m in Coco also. The 1-1-1 ratio of the Jack’s is keeping them tame, but it’s also triggering a few deficiencies. I’m using calimagic as my cal/mag supplement and not cal-nit, or epsom. Didn’t want to go through the hassle for just a few moms, but I’m wondering if that’s part of the issue?

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Alfalfa/kelp tea and an occasional top dressing.

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i run the canna line up and i’ve basically been feeding only B at half strength and normal amounts for calmag/seaweed extract with some silicon thrown in. it’s definitely been tricky to find a good balance, my stems are a bit flimsy at the moment i think because of the lack of N (or light?) which makes the clones all wilt super quick

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Are you running that for your mom’s? Maybe a little more silica will solve the flimsy stem issue. I was having the same problem, and I upped my silica to 1.25 ml a gal, and that seems to have solved the issue for me.

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Can I do that for coco also?

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I haven’t tried it in coco, but I don’t know why not. I use 1/2-1c of each alfalfa and kelp in 5 gallons of water. Let it sit 24 hours stirring occasionally, and water it in. You can strain the alfalfa and kelp out or not. Since you’re in coco, you might still need to add a cal/mg supplement, and some silica never hurts.

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