The Lost Art of Foliar Feeding

spl1

Well-Known Member
The lost art of foliar feeding

One of the things I see most people asking about how to increase their bud size, they want the newest big bloom gut buster on the market, and run out to send large amounts of money on it.

FOLIAR FEEDING is the easiest and cheapest ways to increase your size and weight, I use Miracle Grow for foliar feeding plants it works great, but just about any water soluble fertilizer will do. I take that the bottle says per gallon and dived it by 8 and that’s what I start per gallon on new just rooted clones or seedlings that have a true set of leaves. Mist very lightly in the first week.
In the second week I start to drench the leaf system with foliar spray, this will do a couple of things.

1.The plant will start to grow like hell this is due to the fact that it is taking in water and Nitrogen threw the leaf system.
2.This also makes the plant intake more fertz in the root and micro root level.
3.It will make the plant stem system stronger from the extra weight of water it is trying to keep the leaf system up. (Heavier Buds)
4.The best part is it helps keep the bugs from invading your plant, Mites do not like foliar sprays with fertz in them.

I try to foliar feed the plants on their wake up cycle doing this daily will grow big ass buds and monster plants.

The third week I step up the fertz to ¼ tsp per gallon and every week after I step it up until it is full strength or the plants shows signs of over nut burn, whichever comes first.
Also threw out the day you can mist with water to help the plant take more of the dried on Fertz and this also keeps the humidity up a little bit.

Now the flower cycle foliar feeding, I like to use Miracle Gro Bloom Booster with Superthrive.

I mix the bloom booster full strength and add ¼ tsp of superthrive per gallon of water and foliar feed with this for up to four weeks in flowering. Of course this is all dependent on the strain and flower time.
Superthrive does have growth hormones that do get absorbed in the leaf system right were the plant will be blooming and could possibly make the root system a little stronger. Since Superthrive has never been tested in a lab on Mary Jane, we can only go off of what it has been tested on.

I also add 1/4 tsp of dish soap per gallon to help the plant soak up nut threw the leaves by keeping the water wetter longer on the leaves.

Here is my full foliar mix during veg per gallon, the red is the minimum and the blue really kicks the plant into over drive:

1 tsp Miracle Gro all purpose plant food 24-8-16 (any water soluble plant food will work)
1/4 tsp (1ml) Superthrive
1/2 tsp (2ml) Dyna-Gro Pro-Tekt 0-0-3

1/4 tsp Epsom salt
1/4 tsp dish soap
1/4 (1ml) Folic Acid I use Humboldt Nutrients FlavorFul but any brand will work
1/4 (1ml) Humic Acid I use Humboldt Nutrients HumBolt but any brand will work
1/4 (1ml) Enzyme I use Humboldt Nutrients ProZyme but any brand will work

Here is my full foliar mix during Bloom per gallon, the red is the minimum and the blue really kicks the plant into over drive, I due this until I see a 1/4"DIA size buds on the top colas then I stop:

1 tsp Miracle-Gro Bloom Booster 15-30-15
1/4 tsp (1ml) Superthrive
1/2 tsp (2ml) Dyna-Gro Pro-Tekt 0-0-3
1/4 tsp Epsom Salt
1/4 tsp dish soap
1/4 (1ml) Folic Acid I use Humboldt Nutrients FlavorFul but any brand will work
1/4 (1ml) Humic Acid I use Humboldt Nutrients HumBolt but any brand will work
1/4 (1ml) Enzyme I use Humboldt Nutrients ProZyme but any brand will work
1 tsp (5ml) sweet carbohydrates I use Humboldt Nutrients Humboldt Honey but any brand will work
1 tsp (5Ml) Ginormous 0-18-16 this is made by Humboldt and it does what it claims

P.S. This is the same nut I feed all my dirt based plants and is use the same nut for the foliar, I like to keep it simple.

I hope you guys like this it has served me well for over 15 years.
 

SeriousSmoker

Well-Known Member
i love foliar feeding, ill explain my method as it is a bit different.

During VEG i use two different nutrients for foliar feeding.
I spray growth plus at 3 different occasions, once right after rooting, once half way through veg and once the day before flipping. It works amazing.
I also spray Rhizotonic from Canna every third day during veg which keeps the plants looking immaculate.

During flower i spray Canna Boost and it works INSANE when done properly ->the first time i used it my results were 5850 grams for 6000 watts

spraying notes: Spray early in the day ideally as soon as lights go on before plants get too hot. If you spray in the middle it can burn and damage the plants if they are too hot, and if you spray near the end of the light cycle the moisture will not be able to be absorbed/evaporate fast enough and it can cause many fungus', foliar spots, rot etc. Spray the underside of leaves for all nutrient application to reach the stomata and have quickest and most efficient nutrient absorption. If spraying to PREVENT either bugs, mildew, etc spray the tops of plants all over. When spraying in flowering try to avoid direct spray on big bud sites and i say cut out all sprays or at least slow the frequency between intervals as i have seen over spraying damage buds.

All in all im a big fan of foliar feeding!!
 

HookdOnChronics

Well-Known Member
I have actually been considering foliar feeding. I am using MG nutes right now. "MG - All Purpose Plant Food" Was used for veg. I am now 44 days into flower and am using "MG - Bloom Booster" For flower nutes. How far into flower can you floiar feed? What I am concerned about is spraying the buds, that just doesn't seem like a good idea to me..... Good post!
 

spl1

Well-Known Member
I have actually been considering foliar feeding. I am using MG nutes right now. "MG - All Purpose Plant Food" Was used for veg. I am now 44 days into flower and am using "MG - Bloom Booster" For flower nutes. How far into flower can you floiar feed? What I am concerned about is spraying the buds, that just doesn't seem like a good idea to me..... Good post!
I stop spraying when I have about a penny size bud on the most of the upper half of the plant. I like MG it works well and when you grow 100 plants out side it is the most cost effective way to do it. The pic in my avatar is a MG grow out side last season before I had to move to the rocky's
 

spl1

Well-Known Member
i love foliar feeding, ill explain my method as it is a bit different.

During VEG i use two different nutrients for foliar feeding.
I spray growth plus at 3 different occasions, once right after rooting, once half way through veg and once the day before flipping. It works amazing.
I also spray Rhizotonic from Canna every third day during veg which keeps the plants looking immaculate.

During flower i spray Canna Boost and it works INSANE when done properly ->the first time i used it my results were 5850 grams for 6000 watts

spraying notes: Spray early in the day ideally as soon as lights go on before plants get too hot. If you spray in the middle it can burn and damage the plants if they are too hot, and if you spray near the end of the light cycle the moisture will not be able to be absorbed/evaporate fast enough and it can cause many fungus', foliar spots, rot etc. Spray the underside of leaves for all nutrient application to reach the stomata and have quickest and most efficient nutrient absorption. If spraying to PREVENT either bugs, mildew, etc spray the tops of plants all over. When spraying in flowering try to avoid direct spray on big bud sites and i say cut out all sprays or at least slow the frequency between intervals as i have seen over spraying damage buds.

All in all im a big fan of foliar feeding!!
Yep it is the fastest way to gain big fat buds, after all isn't it why we really grow.
 

spl1

Well-Known Member
interesting i never even considered doing this kinda assumed it would burn the fuck out of my leaves.

what would you recommend using that works well but is not too expensive?
Any water soluble fertilizer take what they are saying per gallon and divide it by 8. Watch how your plant reacts you should see the leafs reaching for the light after a few day, like they want to get bigger. After about the first week ramp up the fertz to 1/4 in a gallon of water, and the week after 1/2 or more if the plant shows no signs of stress.

I start even my clones on full nut spray from day one.
 

Whey2Sly

Active Member
:bigjoint:what about using lets say my old asthma machine it puts out a very,very fine mist im thinken the stomata has a small opening and a mist would work better than a spray.. lets say ur working with a few plants indoors?????????????
 

buttery420

Active Member
interesting i never even considered doing this kinda assumed it would burn the fuck out of my leaves.
Same here...do you do it as soon as the lights are switched off? I'm using a 9/2/6 NPK fertilizer, this won't damage my leaves if I spray the diluted formula straight on there?
 

spl1

Well-Known Member
Same here...do you do it as soon as the lights are switched off? I'm using a 9/2/6 NPK fertilizer, this won't damage my leaves if I spray the diluted formula straight on there?
I do it the as soon as they wake up from the sleep time. how old are they? if there a nice size they can take 1/4 strength first go around ans see how they react, your not going to burn them.

I spray after topping and I even spray my fresh new clones with the same spray bottle that I spray my normal plants with full nut.

this is a perfect thread mate..thanks for all the info
Thanks, glad you stopped by.

:bigjoint:what about using lets say my old asthma machine it puts out a very,very fine mist im thinken the stomata has a small opening and a mist would work better than a spray.. lets say ur working with a few plants indoors?????????????
I like to keep things really simple and spray has worked will for over 15 years for me. Plus I don't know how much fertz would really be carried over do to the fact that they are much heavier than water molecule vaporized.

Give it a try it may work, you never know.
 

DankShasta

Active Member
fuck foliar feeding for indicas, it raises the humidity too high, and it is inefficient when it doesn't fuck your humidity. On top of that you aren't really duplicating a natural process, not in FEEDING them. Some water? Sure, but plants in nature are not getting their N-P-Ks through any foliar process, at least nothing measurable. I do spray my buds with some water here and there, especially at the end of flowering, but just Phed tap water. This is a bunch of mumbo jumbo, and a waste of time/nutes, in my opinion.
 

tea tree

Well-Known Member
i just started to try foliar spray for kicks. I made up a concotion and sprayed it on my house plants and they took the hell off. Foliar spraying is also the fastest way to deliver nutes to your plants and is good for correcting deficiency. Also it is good to establish healthy microganisms on your leaves to keep bad ones away.
 

spl1

Well-Known Member
fuck foliar feeding for indicas, it raises the humidity too high, and it is inefficient when it doesn't fuck your humidity. On top of that you aren't really duplicating a natural process, not in FEEDING them. Some water? Sure, but plants in nature are not getting their N-P-Ks through any foliar process, at least nothing measurable. I do spray my buds with some water here and there, especially at the end of flowering, but just Phed tap water. This is a bunch of mumbo jumbo, and a waste of time/nutes, in my opinion.
Commercial greenhouses have been doing this for years to get extra crop growth's a year. So if they are growing something that they normally get 2 crops a year, they can foliar feed the nut and have been able to get one more crop per year.

Spraying Ph'd or any water at the end of the bloom cycle is a good way to possibly get mold during your dry time. But to each there own.

Buy the way do you have any pics to share? Thanks for stopping by.

i just started to try foliar spray for kicks. I made up a concotion and sprayed it on my house plants and they took the hell off. Foliar spraying is also the fastest way to deliver nutes to your plants and is good for correcting deficiency. Also it is good to establish healthy microganisms on your leaves to keep bad ones away.
House plants are a great place to try out this on for a week if your unsure. I feel that plants can take a stronger nut threw there leaves than they can roots per day.

I easily doubled my dry weight doing this 15 years ago. Plus the THC resin on the leaves were off the chart, makes nice bubble hash.(freebie nothing not-ha)

Thanks for stopping by and keep up the good grow
 

imburne

Well-Known Member
I did a foliar spray the other day with 10% skim milk and the rest RO water for the powder mold issues I have. Normally I just spray with RO water only. Well I will tell you they really perked up!! Not only that but it killed the mold that was on any leaf I hit it with. I could tell the leaf really perked up with it. So I will be playing more with foliage feeding. I just hate the thought of spraying it on everything else besides the leaves.
 

spl1

Well-Known Member
I did a foliar spray the other day with 10% skim milk and the rest RO water for the powder mold issues I have. Normally I just spray with RO water only. Well I will tell you they really perked up!! Not only that but it killed the mold that was on any leaf I hit it with. I could tell the leaf really perked up with it. So I will be playing more with foliage feeding. I just hate the thought of spraying it on everything else besides the leaves.
There is so many advantages to foliar spraying, I just don't understand why more people don't do it.

You get a stronger plant, bigger buds for less, more product in the end for bubble hash, molds tend to stay away on plants that have bee floiar feed, crazy growth, and no more mite infestations.


Thx for your help spl1 : ) One more question, what will spraying molasses on the leaves do to the plant?
I have never used molasses ever in my growing, I have always used other sources of the hydrocarbon to get the extra sugar the plant needed.
It could plug up the leafs pores.

In the ground you have Enzymes and Bactria breaking molasses down to a usable Ion for the plant.
If you do use it try it on a very small area on the biggest plant and see what happens, keeps us posted on it.

I do not use molasses is because I have enough Nitrogen in my fertz. The reason farmers back in the day would use molasses is because it was cheaper than fertilizer. See when you use molasses in the soil it is food for the bacteria and enzymes that live in the soil, they break done the molasses and the byproduct is Nitrogen. the plant can't do a thing with molasses until it is broken down to a usable Ion.

That's why I don't use molasses.
 
The lost art of foliar feeding

Here is my full foliar mix during Bloom per gallon, the red is the minimum and the blue really kicks the plant into over drive:

1 tsp Miracle-Gro Bloom Booster 15-30-15
1/4 tsp (1ml) Superthrive
1/2 tsp (2ml) Dyna-Gro Pro-Tekt 0-0-3
1/4 tsp Epsom Salt
1/4 tsp dish soap
1/4 (1ml) Folic Acid I use Humboldt Nutrients FlavorFul but any brand will work
1/4 (1ml) Humic Acid I use Humboldt Nutrients HumBolt but any brand will work
1/4 (1ml) Enzyme I use Humboldt Nutrients ProZyme but any brand will work
1 tsp (5ml) sweet carbohydrates I use Humboldt Nutrients Humboldt Honey but any brand will work
1 tsp (5Ml) Ginormous 0-18-16 this is made by Humboldt and it does what it claims

P.S. This is the same nut I feed all my dirt based plants and is use the same nut for the foliar, I like to keep it simple.

I hope you guys like this it has served me well for over 15 years.
i love the idea of foliar feeding plants, but i have a few questions.

when is a good time to STOP foliar feeding during bloom?

and

what is the purpose of using epson salt?
 
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