NutrientsI

[pudder]

Confused by other posts and really don't wanna burn the plants.

so.

I have bought 2 different concentrates. Plant starter by bonide 3-10-3 and miracle grows all purpose plant food 12-4-8. Which of these is best for the seedling stage. They are starting to get to there 3 stage of leaves meaning the separate heights of leaves are forming. I was using the miracle grow soil with time release nutrients in the soil. When should I use a fertilizer? and would the 3-10-3 or the 12-4-8 be better? or should I use one for the vegi stage and the other for the flowering stage. The bodine plant food says its meant for root development so should this be used?

Any ideas???

:rastasmoke::rastasmoke::rastasmoke:

happy smoking.........

[Mr. Clandestine]

I wouldn't recommend using any fertilizer this early in the game. Generally, your soil should contain enough nutrients to get the plants through the first few weeks of life. The fertilizer that aides root development would be the only thing you should use, if you decide you must add nutrients. Even then, I'd only use about 1/4 of what the directions recommend. Young sprouts are easy to overfeed, and you probably won't have much time in between the plants looking healthy & the plants looking completely wilted/dead. By that time, it's too late to do anything for them. You could try flushing the entire soil mix with copious amounts of water...but even if they survived, they'd most likely be stunted.

You want to use a fertilizer that's higher in nitrogen during the vegetative stage, and a fert that's higher in phosphorus (lesser in nitrogen) during the flowering stage. I don't recommend using Miracle Gro, as it's generally pretty heavy on the chemicals. Try to keep it as organic as possible.

I've noticed that adding bone meal (and only a small amount) to the to the potting soil before sowing does seem to add a vigorous start to the life of the young plants. Besides earthworm castings, this is just about the only nutrient addition I'll make to the soil until they've moved into larger pots/stronger lights/etc.

Take it from someone who's made all the necessary mistakes before he finally learned his lesson: Don't love your plants to death! Be patient, and you'll be rewarded in the end.

[pudder]

thanks for the reply. Miracle grow is all I could find in the area. I did not plan on fertilizing this early in the game. But wasn't sure what to use for what I am doing. All i ever see is people talking about numbers. 10-10-10. So this is what I was looking for and I only came across 2 in the area that I live in and that was the 12-4-8 and the 3-10-3. So this is why I bought these but wanted to ask before i actually used them.

I have bought also 3 35w CFLs and another one of those energy savers. i think it was 45w = 150w and output 2100 lumens so I am upgrading my lights and pots. wasn't sure on everything else though. Been doing a shit load of reading ya know.

[Mr. Clandestine]

Been doing a shit load of reading ya know.

Good! That's the best thing you can do. Keep reading, keep learning, and keep enjoying what you're doing. The more you learn, the more enjoyable the whole experience becomes.