Nutrients

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rascal

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Hi guys and girls
Ive been using some advanced nutrients which are 4 years old ! I think i have run into some nutrient lockout issues now is this because there old nutes or what ?
Should i throw them away ? And how is the best way to sort out lock out problems ?
 
Nutrient lockout can be caused by several things. I would suspect that 4yo nutrients are probably not too good as they have probably become chemically binded to each other on a molecular level. The best way to straighten out lockout is to fflush the medium with straight water (3 times the amount of water as the volume of the container), allowing the water and chemicals within the medium to drain away. Then begin again with ffresh nutrients after the medium dries a bit.

Your issue is most likely a lockout from old nutes but pH is a critical element to any grow. If you are in an organic based soil then you need to adjust your nutes to around 6.5, and iff you are in soilless or hydro you need to set pH to around 5.8

I would contact Advanced nutrients and ask them what the shelf life is for their nutes without telling them yours is 4yo. If you tell them the age they will automatically tell you to buy new(even if your stuff is only 6mo) as they want to sell nutes. But I greatly suspect that 4yo is too old. I very much like advanced nutrients Jungle Juice 3 part for MJ grown in coco/hydro but haven't tried it in soil/soilless. :)
 
Hushpuppy. it is working great for me in soil.
 
I wouldn't use 4 year old nutrients unless it was my only option. jmo
 
What is your pH? I would be way more inclined to believe that you have nute lockout because of improper pH than that the nutes are bad.
 
Thanks for your replies , firstly I forgot to say im growing in soil , I always ph my water to 6.2 - 6.5 even though some people say theres no need to with soil and I always check the ph when I feed even though the nutes are ph perfect !
Another question with some nutes I find there very acidic especially earth juice , so how do you work around these ? The hemp goddess said floranova bloom was as well ?? Don't like adding ph up to my nutes !
Also im going to buy some fresh ones next few days but not sure what to buy this time ?
 
I always ph my water to 6.2 - 6.5 even though some people say theres no need to with soil and I always check the ph when I feed even though the nutes are ph perfect !

I would stay away from 6.2 and try and go with 6.5. 6.3-6.8 is the range with soil and if your meter is off a bit and you use something with a ph of 6.2 what's to say the actual ph is not 6.0? I ph everything that goes into my soil to 6.5 once I start feeding. Oh and unless you are 100 percent Organic you need to ph water and feed in soil.


Don't like adding ph up to my nutes !

The buffers in my nutrients (GH 3 Part) usually leave my feed in the range for hydro but far below that of soil. I always have to add UP to my nutrients all the time.

Jmo
 
After mixing, does the nutrient buffer down or what?

I personally wouldn't use old nutrients...
 
I don't know if you do this or not but with any nute brand that is pH buffered, you really need to make up a "batch" and allow it to set with aeration for at least 6hrs before making any adjustments to pH as it needs to do its chemical activity. Also, aerating the water/solution is very good ffor the roots as it gives them lots off oxygen.
After allowing the solution to set, make adjustments to get to 6.5 then allow it to set for another 6-12hrs then check and make final adjustment before using.

The only time pH checking is not as critical is when using organics in soil/soilless the reason ffor this is that in organics the microbes in the soil control the pH, but even then it is advisable to make certain of pH on occasion until you have a well established grow with consistent pH reading.
 
Well on the earth juice nutes for example they say on the bottle ...do not adjust ph .And when I ec to a mild strength say 0.7 the ph is around 5.0 ! Even after letting it stand for 24 hours . Suffice to say I wouldn't use . That's why I bought the advanced line.
 
The key to that is the Earth Juice is organic and there is not a need to pH adjust because it is organically chelated with microbes. Once an organic setup is running and balanced, adding the earth juice, even though it has a different pH, will not hurt the system because the microbe herd will control the pH. Also, when running organic soil, one should have a sufficient amount of dolomite lime added to it to buffer the soil to acceptable levels.

I have used the Earth Juice with Jungle Juice and had excellent results but there is a trick to mixing organic nutrients and synthetic nutrients. Normally, you shouldn't mix liquid organic and synthetic nutes, but AN says that these 2 can be mixed together but you have to use Hygrozyme in equal parts with the earth juice so that it can be beneficial to the plants.

Now there is another issue that can cause you grief with pH and that is your source water. If the pH is way off in one direction, that can cause you problems. Also, if the source water has an abundance of dissolved chemicals such as high amounts of lime or heavy metals, these can have a profound affect on your solutions. I always recommend that people have their water tested for TDS prior to beginning a grow.
 
Thanks for your replies , firstly I forgot to say im growing in soil , I always ph my water to 6.2 - 6.5 even though some people say theres no need to with soil and I always check the ph when I feed even though the nutes are ph perfect !
Another question with some nutes I find there very acidic especially earth juice , so how do you work around these ? The hemp goddess said floranova bloom was as well ?? Don't like adding ph up to my nutes !
Also im going to buy some fresh ones next few days but not sure what to buy this time ?

No experienced grower will tell you that pH is not important. Unless you are growing totally organic, pH is CRITICAL. Plants can only uptake nutrients at certain pH levels. I have linked a chart that shows nutrient uptake at different pH levels. In soil with a pH of 6.2 to 6.5, you are locking out P, Ca, and Mg.

No, I didn't say that FloraNova was very acidic, I simply said that it didn't work well for me. If nutes are too acidic, you pH up. Whether you like using pH adjusters, it is a part of growing and you need to do it. Correct pH is vital, just as much as any other growing requirement. Your only other choice is to grow totally organic.

http://www.marijuanapassion.com/forum/showthread.php?t=1908
 
Thanks, Hushpuppy & Hemp goddess for your help. My tapwater is neautral at 7.0 ph but I will always use 6.5 ph from now onwards. So Hemp Goddess why do you think the flora nova bloom never worked for you ? Because thats what Mandala seeds recommend ? What bloom nutrient in soil would you guys use then ? Not organic I cant get fox farm here in uk ,I tried earth juice called sugar peak here which I didnt like ! Also what do you guys think of mollasses ?
 
Just been looking at the jungle juice ,which one did you use hushpuppy ...the 2 part or 3 part ?
 
I use the General Hydroponics Flora 3 part--you use all three in different proportions depending on what phase of growing you are in. I don't know why I do not have good luck with the GH Flora Nova Bloom. I like a 1 part nutrient, but something always seemed lacking when I used it. I am sure it is something I am doing, but for the life of me, I can't figure it out. I may just have to try it again and figure it out.

Molasses is only for organic grows. If you are growing with chemical nutes, save it for your pancakes.
 
Essential fatty acids are those acids that are required by the body in order to function properly but are not produced by the body. Many of these essential fatty acids are present in Cannabis.
 
I know the contents can precipitate and dissolve into concentration (i.e. crystals) over time and that could definitely throw off ph....
 
Greeneyes , im throwing my old nutes away :mad: . If you use the 3 part jungle juice or Gh flora 3 part do you guys recommend the lucas formula or not ??
Hemp Goddess we only put lemon juice and sugar on our pancakes over here :yay:;)
 
I recommend not start out without using the Lucas formula--just follow the manufacturer's recommendations until you get a feel for things. I always use some kind of grow nute when vegging (Lucas uses no Grow) anyway--I believe they need the N when vegging. Once you have run a crop or two and have a feel for the nutes, then decide whether to go with Lucas or not. I also add Cal-mag during flowering. My tap water is very low in ppms and they need a little more cal-mag than the 3 part nutes provide.
 
I use the 3part Jungle Juice. AN also offers a 2part Jungle Juice that is pH buffered but I haven't tried it as I grow in hydro and like the 3part that isn't buffered so that I can control the pH myself. The GH Flora is very similar to the JJ3part, so either one that you can get is good. I have never tried the Lucas formula as I have had such good results using the JJ 3parts in ratio to each other, and only cut out the grow nute part when in flower. :) I also use cal/mag additive with the JJ
 

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