Nutrient Use: More or less?

I know people who have tried both ways and swear by both. I was wondering what people's opinions on here were on the topic.
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Is it better to feed your plants in 1/2 and 1/4 strength nutrients more frequently or full strength nutrients more sparingly?

All perspectives are welcome

BeatenByTheWorld said:

I know people who have tried both ways and swear by both. I was wondering what people's opinions on here were on the topic.
->
Is it better to feed your plants in 1/2 and 1/4 strength nutrients more frequently or full strength nutrients more sparingly?

All perspectives are welcome

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Well I don't know about watering less because you are using full nutes...

But I have never used what the label says from GH to Advanced, they all want you to use more so they can sell you more. I cut it at least in half. And I up the PPM when the plants can handle it. You plants will let you know what they need.

Here's a perspective: half and quarter of what? Someone's opinion. I don't use a feeding schedule where I feel I need to alter it because that means I don't trust it from the get go. I use Humboldt Master A & B nutes and I follow their feeding schedule exactly. A feeding schedule is for following, or discarding in favor of one you can follow.

flush feed water water flush feed water water

that is what I think. if you feed too much then the water water makes it better and you can fix it after the flush.

I use lucas formula as base, if the plant shows signs of needing more or less I adjust from there.

smppro said:

I use lucas formula as base, if the plant shows signs of needing more or less I adjust from there.

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Lucas formula is pretty good from what I learned adding cal mag is good with lucas formula because the plant will run out of those nutes unless the ppms are too high in the other things.

ok.... lol let me rephrase.
indoor well draining soil grow. Keeping Ph at 6.5
Assuming 1tsp per gallon is the directed dosage for a given nutrient.
Also assume plants are healthy and stable at the beginning of this cycle with no deficiency or damage.

Is it better to

Water,
water 1tsp nutes,
water,
water,
water 1tsp nutes,
water,
water

OR

Water,
water 1/2 tsp nutes,
water,
water 1/2 tsp nutes,
water,
water 1/2 tsp nutes.
water

OR

Water,
water 1/4 tsp nutes,
water 1/4 tsp nutes,
water 1/4 tsp nutes,
water 1/4 tsp nutes,
water

(each option continuing the pattern and assuming the plant doesn't run out of or get to much of any given nutrient to cause lockout.)

My question is in regards to the plants preference for feeding.

Too much nutrients hurt the plant, my questions are
Can you constantly give them nutes if the dose is low enough?
Is that better than giving a full dose only as needed?
What effects would this have on roots and micro organizsms(or fungi) added to or naturally formed in the soil?

smppro said:

I use lucas formula as base, if the plant shows signs of needing more or less I adjust from there.

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Cosign on that.

And OP, I wouldn't give nutes at every feeding - that's begging for salt buildup and nute lockout.

Soil needs to be flushed between feedings to make sure all the nutes are gone before feeding again.

Water,
water 1/4 tsp nutes,
water 1/4 tsp nutes,
water 1/4 tsp nutes,
water 1/4 tsp nutes,
water

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This would be the best schedule. It's better to feed in small doses more often, than to feed in larger doses less often.

highpsi said:

This would be the best schedule. It's better to feed in small doses more often, than to feed in larger doses less often.

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always better to use less nutrients than to use too many. Start out slowly and then add more if you think the plants need help.

Works for me, anyway.

And this generally applies to all brands of nutrients, from Advanced Nutrients to GH and others. All plants are different, so they all need different things. The labels aren't wrong, they're just not very flexible...

And OP, I wouldn't give nutes at every feeding - that's begging for salt buildup and nute lockout.

Soil needs to be flushed between feedings to make sure all the nutes are gone before feeding again.

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If you use micro-organizms you dont need to worry about salt buildup. or nutrient lockout for that matter unless you completely deprive them or drown them in one particular nutrient, thats just irresponsible.

I suggest using Piranha and Tarantula together. Or tarantula and voodoo juice. Any one of those products alone will help tremendously, but if you use the micro organisms with the micro fungi the organisms will thrive and colonize better and your plants rootzone will explode, more roots = more leaves and shoots = more buds.

Elementary my dear watson

Its expensive BUT I saw a guy on ebay that sells sample sizes like 10-15grams for less than 15$ after shipping which is its normal price if it were actually sold in those increments. VooDoo juice however is harder to find a deal on because it is a liquid.... And yes it has a smell and theres nothing wrong with it lol.

Get it and only use it on some of your plants so you can visibly see the difference. My buddy did this and was blown away.

highpsi said:

This would be the best schedule. It's better to feed in small doses more often, than to feed in larger doses less often.

Click to expand...

1/4th feeding at watering wont work out. I tried it for a couple of weeks and I ended up with chlorotic plants. If your medium requires watering every 4-5 days its really not getting alot of nutes when you do water. Plus your plant needs more food as it gets bigger.

I haven't been able to figure out the right dosage of nutes that allows me to feed at every watering. Its alot easier to fertigate plants that arent growing as fast as Marijuana, so Im opting for water/full strength nutes/water or feed based on how the plant looks now, rinse repeat.