Foliar Feeding & Liquid Light, Miracle Food or Hoax?

[Opie Yutts]

Iâ??ve never foliar fed, so I guess itâ??s time to start. Heard good things. Actually Iâ??ve been hearing good things for years but have been reluctant to put another 4 or 5 items in my storage area, and an additional reoccurring dent in my bank account. My wife is absolutely thrilled when I pull that crap, and itâ??s been going on ever since I told her years ago that she can be happy now, because Iâ??m pretty much done spending money on the project, other than for the basic stuff like one veg nute and one bloom nute, and some PH down. Iâ??m not sure how many times I told her I was done, but itâ??s at least several or more. Sorry babe. Love ya and thanks for your semi-patience. The supply area reminds me of the Stephen King story where the plant matter slowly took over the guy, and he eventually became mostly a plant before killing himself. The area for my nutrients stuff just keeps spreading and growing, and has breached the boundaries of the nutrients cabinet. I think thereâ??s a peppermint Schnapps in the back that I could take out for a little more precious space. Quick tip: Get various sizes of squeeze bottles from a candy/cake making supplier. Theyâ??re awesome for storing and dispensing nutrients, chemicals and mixes. You get to control the flow from the bottle by where you cut the tip off the spout, and they have a cap the does OK at keeping stuff in when you shake it. Plus you can store them away from the bulky jugs. I love em, but I digress. A lot. Sorry.

Today I bought both Dutch Masters veg and bloom Folitech, and their wetting agent called Penetrator. As many of you probably know, that stuff is for foliar feeding. Tomorrow I will return them and get Liquid Light instead. At least I am leaning very heavily in that direction. It does everything that the Folitechs do, plus some greatly improved stuff. Or something. Check this out from the mfg, and hereâ??s where I am forced to ROF and LMAO:

Designed to massively increase the amount of light your plants can use, LIQUID LIGHT will turn your plants into light processing power houses - using over 60% more of the light you provide!. Get 600w performance from a 400w light â?? with LIQUID LIGHT its easy!

Liquid Light specs and directions:
http://www.dutchmaster.com.au/products/products.php?product=2
Dutch Master home page:
http://www.dutchmaster.com.au

Iâ??m not wrong here am I? Dutch Master is generally accepted as top of the line stuff, right?

Are the instructions for foliar feeding in the above link pretty much the way you people foliar feed? Or is it more likely that Liquid Light is an abnormal foliar feeding agent? I am very worried about this:

1. Ensure your lights are on and will be for at least the next 3 hours. This is very important!
2. Make sure your lights are a minimum of 18 to 24 inches from the tops of your plants then spray your plantsâ?¦ at some point they say to spray until it pools and runs off.

Nooo. Please, you are not supposed to leave standing liquid on your leaves under bright light, or it acts like a magnifying glass in the sun focused on a frog, and fries the living daylights out of it. So what the heck are they trying to do to me? Iâ??ve got enough crap going on that I donâ??t need the aggravation of a fried crop, of which Iâ??ve spent many, many hours with. Certainly more than my pets. I hope not more than my family. Of course I could move the lights back a safe distance, but that would defeat the whole purpose of Liquid Light. Either that or I completely misunderstand what the concepts are here. The other stuff Iâ??ve read about what time of the day to foliar feed, says as soon as the lights come on or 10 minutes or so before the lights go out. Also what about their Max FX which you are supposed to spray on alternate days? Plus, they have some more things they want you to add. So much crap for some foliar feeding, but if it would even do ¼ of what they claim, it would be well worth the money and effort. Has anyone used these products, and if so do you do it according to the directions?

To make an extremely long and drawn out question short, What do you people use to foliar feed and how and when do you do it. Time of day, number of days, anything. What kind of sprayer do you use? I got one of them fancy schmancy pump up ones with an extended, aimable brass nozzle. I just hope it sprays nice and fine and thorough instead of in hot spots. Iâ??ve been looking for a good one for years and have bought at least 8. This is the most expensive one Iâ??ve bought so far, but itâ??s not the best there is, Iâ??m sure. It was like $25 or something.

Thanks very much, and Iâ??m very sorry for the long and broken up, rambling, drawn out question. I could go on, but Iâ??m pretty baked right now and itâ??s kinda hard to be eloquent and keep a straight line of thought. More baked than Iâ??ve been in several days, and notice that I choose to spend it with you guys. Love ya, sniffâ?¦

By the way, I know the top of the fridge is not the best spot for nutrients, since heat comes up the back. Iâ??m arranging another space in a few days. I have a mini refrigerator. What are anybodyâ??s thoughts on storing nutrients and stuff in a fridge? Seems like it can only be a good thing. They have the Clonex in the fridge at the hydro store. Wow, my neck is sore. I need a VR suit in a gravity-free pod when Iâ??m using the computer.

Opie Yutts Reviewed by Opie Yutts on 01-04-2008. Foliar Feeding & Liquid Light, Miracle Food or Hoax? Iâ??ve never foliar fed, so I guess itâ??s time to start. Heard good things. Actually Iâ??ve been hearing good things for years but have been reluctant to put another 4 or 5 items in my storage area, and an additional reoccurring dent in my bank account. My wife is absolutely thrilled when I pull that crap, and itâ??s been going on ever since I told her years ago that she can be happy now, because Iâ??m pretty much done spending money on the project, other than for the basic stuff like one veg Rating: 5

[Opie Yutts]

...

[Opie Yutts]

Oh and there's more. Some gallon containers of stuff in the laundry room and cloning gel in the fridge. Soon I'll need several rooms.

[Mr. Clandestine]

I'm kinda eager to hear some replies on this, too. I've foliar fed before, but only when I wanted to treat a plant for a specific issue. I've never done it as part of a nutrient regimen.

By the way, Opie: Hilarious post! And keep on smoking, chief...it brings out an entirely different kind of eloquence in you. The humorous kind.

[OLDJIMMYBONES]

dam opie, quite a collection you have there.

now i gotta go to the store, feel like i have nothing in comparison. (pic)

but on topic, never heard of foliar feeding, but looks very intresting (Foliar feeding - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia) hope it works out for you

[OLDJIMMYBONES]

found a few articles that may be useful

Foliar Feeding Factsheet - Gardening Australia - ABC
foliar feeding
Foliar Feeding of Plant Nutrients

or maby not thought there were prity intresting though

[BeachBum420]

Must be some Miracle Grow in those piles HeHe

[Opie Yutts]

No, the MG is in a cupboard in the laundry room, right by the Osmocoat. Both haven't moved for about 5 years.

[rhizome]

Oh man, that's nothing. Ya shoulda seen the pantry last time I ripped out. :wtf:
Wait'll ya start thinking about getting a pesticide applicator's cert- that's the mark of somebody who's losing it. Or buying very specific compunds from chemical suppliers...

Have ya discovered Crop Production Services, Inc. yet? Ya can get anything,:thumbsup:
but ya gotta buy a pallet.:wtf:

I kinda think of foliar feeding as a medicinal treatment- It's something that I do as a respose to a situation, not as part of a regular nutrition regimen. What I'm putting on, and the concentration, are dictated by symptoms.

At one point, I ran a big system that had to be maintained at a pH of >7.5 ( Don't ask- there were fish involved) Macro availability was w/in tolerance, but there were absolutely no metals available. I'd run a micro supplement (used a couple differant- Greenair Mineral Matrix, Cropking's micro to 100-150ppm), a little ferrous sulphate, Proteckt, and some seaweed as a wetting agent ( also GA). ( Ca & Mg avail due to all that lime for those damn fish)

(Hit that space a couple of times w/ Cal-Nite as well, but special circumstances.)

For that we used a compresser and an auto-body sprayer. Caution- Protekt will hose on an auto sprayer.

In less surreal circumstances, I like a 1/2 gallon pump sprayer for most stuff- keep the pressure real high and the aperture real small- particle size counts. You want the finest mist you can achieve. You can get a really fine mist with a hand sprayer, but the mechanism fails damned quick. Metal tips hold up better than plastic. Wands aren't as handy as they seem.

Foliar's my preferred method for growth regulators- I really like Bushmaster and Purple Maxx as foliars- 3ml/g on the purple, more like 2 on the bushmaster.

Really, anything where there's a fine line between effective and toxic, I'll try to go foliar- you have much better dose control building a level over a couple of days , rather than pouring something into soil where it will take several days to be effective. Most toxicities will first show as leaf symptomology, but at that point the whole plant has a systemic toxicity that's gotta work it's way through. If you keep your application concentrations really low, and build tissue levels w/ repeated doses, it's easier to catch things before they go to far.

Doesn't work as well for the macros- you're just trying to move to many ions in the wrong direction. Way too easy to build toxic concentrations in leaf tissue way too fast.

Oddly enough, a little electrostatic charge will really help penetration on a foliar. Remember, there's leaf surface penetration and there's canopy penetration- the best chemistry on Earth won't help if you're missing stuff.

I like to spray from a couple feet back, to give the mist a little space to particularize ( is that even a word?)- :hippy:more like a fog, less like a monsoon.:hippy:

Pardon my stonedness.

[Opie Yutts]

rhizome,

You use your mouth prettier than a $20 whore. The things you know about that I've never heard of continue to surprise me. Thank you for dropping in and giving me more things to research. I hope you donâ??t mind a couple six more questions.

Wait'll ya start thinking about getting a pesticide applicator's cert- that's the mark of somebody who's losing it.
Wow, taking it to the boundaries and beyond.

Or buying very specific compunds from chemical suppliers...
Iâ??ve actually wanted to look more into this, but Iâ??m too afraid I will invent some miracle food and become a rich snob.

Have ya discovered Crop Production Services, Inc. yet?
Not yet, but I will.

I kinda think of foliar feeding as a medicinal treatment- It's something that I do as a respose to a situation, not as part of a regular nutrition regimen. What I'm putting on, and the concentration, are dictated by symptoms.
Iâ??ve read a lot of things lately that say it is a good idea to feed through the leaves as well as the roots. And Iâ??ve read that it is a very good way to fix deficiencies because you will see results in a matter of minutes instead of days or weeks. The plant gets extra food over the nutrient EC maximum. I figure that's gotta be a good thing. I'm forcing food down the stomata. Is this naive?

For that we used a compresser and an auto-body sprayer. Caution- Protekt will hose on an auto sprayer.
I think Iâ??m getting a better idea of the scale of your projects.

In less surreal circumstances, I like a 1/2 gallon pump sprayer for most stuff- keep the pressure real high and the aperture real small- particle size counts. You want the finest mist you can achieve. You can get a really fine mist with a hand sprayerâ?¦
Yeah, thatâ??s what I was thinking and I hope this newest one does that.

â?¦but the mechanism fails damned quick.
Oh way to rain on my parade.

Really, anything where there's a fine line between effective and toxic, I'll try to go foliar- you have much better dose control building a level over a couple of days , rather than pouring something into soil where it will take several days to be effective.
Iâ??ve never thought about that advantage but it makes perfect sense.

If you keep your application concentrations really low, and build tissue levels w/ repeated doses, it's easier to catch things before they go to far.
Are you saying that you can actually increase the thickness of the foliage, or is it like the cellular structure, or well what do you mean build tissue levels? Is this done with silicone? Lord I probably sound like an idiot.

Doesn't work as well for the macros- you're just trying to move to many ions in the wrong direction. Way too easy to build toxic concentrations in leaf tissue way too fast.
Glad you asked. So it works fine for micros like Iron? Because you asked me once if I was sure my N deficiency wasnâ??t really Fe chlorosis. The more I learn about that and compare it to my plants, the more I think it is. What do you recommend I foliar spray to improve the iron content. I may try some CalMag. If I understand correctly, youâ??re saying foliar feeding doesnâ??t work well for the macros like N,P,K but it does for the micro nutrients?

Oddly enough, a little electrostatic charge will really help penetration on a foliar.
So how do I do DIY that without electrocuting myself?

One last thing I've been wondering but keep forget to ask. Can you basically foliar feed with anything you feed the roots with? With the exception of the macro nutrients not being absorbed as well, would the micros be about the same thing? Bleahg - I can talk, what I mean is, can I mix up my grow nutes and foliar feed with them during the veg cycle, and can I use my bud nutes to foliar feed during the budding cycle? Etc.?

Thanks again for all your help rhizome, and anyone else jumping in here.