at what age should I start adding nutrients

medicaloutlaw

Well-Known Member
How old should my plants be when I start adding nutrients? What is a good starter brand and ratio for young plants? Thanks!
 

go go kid

Well-Known Member
umm, what are you growing and what are you growing in? we need to know more details of your grow to be able to narrow down the options
 

go go kid

Well-Known Member
for example, i have just tested my potting compost to see when i need to add nutes, i found out that it lasts for 4 weeks growth and then it needs feeding with a good organic nute solution or tea.
are you soil/coco/hydroponics same as coco in a way. anything you can tell us about your grow is good for your answer
 

medicaloutlaw

Well-Known Member
My soil is Roots Organic. I just scooped out of the bag and didnt add anything. I wanted to use the KISS method to start. I did use some Rapid Start Rooting enhancer 1-.05-1 for the first few days as seedlings. I have some non organic (Roots Lush and FFOF) soils, and some mushroom compost. But thought I would wait to use them when they are bigger and I go to transplant into 5 gallon fabric containers at 3 weeks. Plants are Durban Poison, Maui Wowie and Thailand. Plants are under a 600 MH at the 400watt setting 30" above and growing nice even after a early burn (my first of many mistakes to be made). I had a guy mentoring me through all this and he gave alot of good information for later in the grow - when I get there ....but he disappeared and now Im lost :confused: Im reading and reading but there is so much information here I cant always find what I need to know even though I know its here. The grow is in my signature I try to post photos every other day.
 

go go kid

Well-Known Member
yes, thats the best way to do it b 4 you get to know your soil. im not familiar with mother earth terra, but from what i have read, its good for seed to plant, well about 4 weeks growth if its like our (uk) potting compost. but i think its better than that and will last you longer. just water untill the first round leaves turn yellow and feed with a good organic fertilizer. im experimenting with intence nutrients on a plant or two this year.
i usualu use a good potting compost with an organic soil improver mixed in and some soil amendments like fish blood n bone meal/pellets, chichen manure pellets and some seaweed meal.
you should look into alfalfa meal to use in your grow. look into organic teas to feed the plants with also.
im useing bone meal rock phosphate and im making my own potassium phosphate from scratch, whjich involves maling my own phosphoric acid from scratch and useing natural chemicals from scratch, facinating stuff, but beyond the reach of most first timers.
byut theres great info on super soils you maywant to look into for your next grow or the one after. i sugest you KISS keep it simple stupid (dont take offence, its just a saying). the simpler the better

so start with a good organic fertilizer, just use the search engine for ideas.
watch n read your plants, like waiting for those first leaves that open when you sow a seed in some seed and potting compost or mother earth terra (from what i have read. use some pearlite with it, say 20 % with the soil, this keeps the soil open which means its got air and water holding properties.
then after the seed has popped its head out of the soil, use a spray bottle to water it for the first few days, then use a small shot glass of water or two to water it/them for a few days. or you can put your pot of soil in a saucer or water tray and put water in the bottom of it, dont leave loads of water in it, just enough to allow the soil to suck it up, you can tell when this happens, as the surface of the soil will be moist to the touch and you can get a good visual of the wetness of the soil. a lot of new growers over water or under water there seeds and seedlings. you can avoid this if you just put enough water in the saucer or tray as ui have explained.
put your seed into a 6" tall plant pot to start with or a solo cup with holes in the bottom and keep it moist with a spray bottle. most soiles will come moist . untill it pops its head up out of the soil. this is when you put it under the light, not so close that it cooks it, but keep the light within the recomended distance from the light or you will burn it.
to make things simpler, talk to us about your set up, grow space size, tent or designated area of the grow space.
light your going to use
or if not sure of what to use, tell us your budget and whare you have to grow in.
sorry if this is overload info for your first time and just tell us your grow space and your cash that you have too spend and we can help from there
 
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DoobieDoobs

Well-Known Member
Im reading your Roots Organic's soil ingredients and they look ok, a lot of good amendments im in it, kinda like FFOF, in a web page named aurorainnovations they say the nutrients can last from 1 to 3 weeks, depending on the pot size I suppose. What are you feeding them, will you continue with the organic way or will you go the bottled nutrients way?

If you are going the bottled nutrients way, you should wait until some of the lower leaves start getting a little yelow like suggested above, and start feeding your plants with 1/4 the strength. For exemple, if your bottle says to use 4 ml/liter then start with 1ml/L, then next week try 1.5 ml/L, then 2 ml/L and so on until you see a little but of nutrient burn on the tip of your leaves, then continue with that dosage or lower it a little. I did a grow with AN nutrients and I never went past 3/4 of full strength.
If you go the Organic way, then just pot up with the same mix or FFOF mix you got, add a little perlite, compost, and you are good to go. Then add some dry amendments like suggested above, ahead of time. For exemple if I plan on transitioning to flower in around two weeks, then I'll top dress something like bone meal or zeofert, because those are the only amendments I have with PK, there are better choices out there, one or two weeks before transitioning, giving them time to decompose.
 
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Millo

Well-Known Member
I've read everywhere ( in soil ) only start giving nutrients after 21 days ( 3 weeks ) from sprout.
Also start with half the dosage and slowly work your way up.
 
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