If you water once a week, then use nutes every water?

[Tact]

Basic stupid question guys.

Following my Advanced Nutrients feeding schedule and each week it calls for nutrient feeding.

My question is, if you only water once a week, 5-gallon buckets (retain water for about 7 days, then should you use the scheduled nutes every water? If I did it every other water, they would get nutes every 2 weeks.

 

[HippyInEngland]

Hello Tact

If you only water half as much then you would need to water twice as often, this way you can fit your feed schedule in

eace:

 

[zem]

i used to do it every oter time a long time ago but then i figured that mj is a heavyy feeder or maybe my strains are anyway, i've been feeding every watering for years now. you'll need to flush from time to time tho

 

[Tact]

Thanks guys

 

[jmansweed]

I feed and water once every four to five days. It really depends on your medium. I use pro-mix - real light and airy. Real soil on the other hand, requires much less in my experiences.

I've used AN in the past and found a mid-cycle flush was enough to prevent any build up.

 

[legalize_freedom]

I water/feed once a week, I never run just pH'd water through my plants except when in veg, and the soil still contains nutrients. I have been doing it like this since I started growing indoors, with no bad results. I do flush between veg and bloom, and sometimes once in mid flower, then 10 days out and don't use ferts again.

 

[Alistair]

The Fox Farm feeding schedule is to feed them once a week, every other watering. Well, if I feed and the water lasts two weeks, then as far as I'm concerned it got fed the equivalent of once a week, because the plants are still feeding on what they were given two weeks prior. But, as HIE said, if you water with less water, you will be able to better match up with your schedule. I find the schedule hard to follow perfectly.

 

[legalize_freedom]

Mr Young, I do the FF nutes to. It says to feed every week, and it also says to water in between feedings...yes it is confusing. If your using big enough containers that the medium does not need watering in between feedings then you follow the feed once a week directions.

When I first started doing the indoor growing I called and spoke to someone about it, and thay told me if I only need to water once a week then to just use the feeding schedule. Apparently alot of people grow in 2 gallon pots that will dry out alot faster than 5 gl. That is their reason for saying to feed everyother watering. The 2 gl pots need watered mid week. If you think about it, with only haveing to add water/nutes once a week, if I were to alternate I would only be doing 4 nute feedings on an 8 week to finish strain...I wonder what the differnce in yeild would be if it were to miss out on those 4 feedings...especially if using the solubles, you would only get one feeding of each soluble...if that. There schedule also says to do a rinse (flush) every 2 weeks...so that is where we get rid of any nute build ups. Although I don't do it every 2 weeks usually.

 

[LEFTHAND]

the only way i think you will follow your feeding chart for AN id hydro.. other then that you'll be off here and there a lil.. or you can do what i did when used AN and took there chart and broke it down and made it fit into my feeding times..... other then that shes hard to do..
LH

 

[ifsixwasnin9]

Can you speed up the growing process if you water more often? I always keep my soil moist but I'm new at this. My plants are going into 8th week and I hope I'm doing this right cause it's not as easy as I thought it was going to be. My one plant turned yellow at bottom leaves all of a sudden this week and I'm in troubleshooting mode.

 

[legalize_freedom]

Can you speed up the growing process if you water more often? I always keep my soil moist but I'm new at this. My plants are going into 8th week and I hope I'm doing this right cause it's not as easy as I thought it was going to be. My one plant turned yellow at bottom leaves all of a sudden this week and I'm in troubleshooting mode.

You can not speed up the process...if you could without compromising the yeild we would all be doing it.

It is a good idea to let your pots mostly dry out. Do some reading on the wet dry cycle, I believe there is a sticky on it here somewhere. It basically says to let your medium dry between waterings. If you keep your soil always moist, it can cause root rot, fungus can grow, attract, and house bugs. When you let it dry out it forces your roots to grow, searching for more water. You don't want to let them dry out so much that they wilt...but you do want to let them dry.

If your plant has started yellowing at the bottom, it is either needing nutes, or your pH is out of whack, and locking out whatever nutes you have been feeding. Do you have a pH meter to check your water/ferts before feeding it to your plant?

 

[Alistair]

LF, it is confusing. I've been reading your post, here and on another thread of the same topic, and what you say makes sense. However, you lightly fertilize at half dose, don't you? For example,when I put my seedlings into their 4-8 gallon pots, I gave them each one quart of nutrient solution. Every time I do this, for every grow, it takes at least two weeks to dry out. Okay, then you might think it's time to feed again. But, I know that after these dry out, there will still be plenty of fertilizer in the soil; because not only did I give them a phat dose (a bit too much, in fact) of Grow Big and Big Bloom, but they were transplanted into fresh FFOF soil. Plus, some of the leaves are looking like eagle claws. So, next time I will give them one quart of plain RO water (which will be drunk up more quickly, because the plants are much bigger now) in order that they use up the remaining nutes.

It works for me, but it sounds like you have a better grasp of the situation than I do. I once tried feeding every time like Stoney recommended, but it didn't work for me.

I look at the feeding chart and notice that the plants need lots of N, P, and K, especially N, during vegetative growth, plus an N and P boost one week prior to putting them into flowering. So, I try to meet their needs accordingly. I seem to try something slightly new each time I grow in an effort to dial in a good system.

Thanks for your input.

 

[Alistair]

Actually, I read somewhere ( I believe a sticky on this site) that more frequent watering during vegetative growth promoted faster growing. It must be accomplished by having well aerated soil that dries out fairly quickly. However, you're not going to increase yield, your plants will simply get bigger faster. JMO, of course.

 

[legalize_freedom]

Alaister...right now I'm feeding 1 1/2 the recomended dose once a week, the strain I'm working with is very hungry, even at 1 1/2 times the recommended I still have not achieved the slight tip burn that I desire. I treat every plant different according to it's needs.

I feed 1 gl once a week, because that is what it takes for my pots to mostly dry out, under 1000w of light, and the fans that are blowing on them. If my pots did not dry out in the week I would use less water, but my strength of nutes would still be adjusted accordingly. If my pots dried out before the week was up I would use more water...say a gl & a 1/2. Am I makeing sense to you?...It's kind of hard to explain. The only thing with doing it this way is that I think the soil needs flushed occasionaly, or those nutes will just sit in the soil...well whatever is not being used. Especially I flush between cycles to try to flush most of the (N) out of my soil. Also the 10 days out flush. I hope I answered you in a way that is understandable...I know what I'm trying to say, but not sure how to say it clearly...lol

Forgot to mention when transplanting into fresh FFOF I drop the dose again, to make the plants use whatever nutrients are in the soil. Basically the way I do it is the nutes don't build up in the soil for more than 2 weeks without being flushed out again, and then right away replaced with whatever feeding is required for that week of growth.

 

[Alistair]

LF, I understand what you're saying. Do you also use the Open Sesame and the other powdered nutes as well? I'm really careful with those, myself.

Thanks for the information, good stuff.

 

[legalize_freedom]

yeah I use the solubls also, but I don't go over the recommended dose with them. I am giving them the highest recomended ATM, because this strain is so nute crazy, but I have not increased these, because for 1 I use some other enhancers, from Humboldt Counties' Own, and mainly I just don't feel comfortable adding that much of those chems, so close to harvest. If anything I increase the Big Bloom, the most, because it is basically an organic tea, and hard to overdue it. I think I'll be through this harvest before I find this strains limit, but I will hopefully be able to find it with the clones, because I won't be starting out with a lower dose, I'll start with probably 1 1/4 the recomended, because I know they can take that, and gradualy move up. Yeah man, the solubles are pretty much straight chemicals...I'm careful with them also.