when to feed full strength nutes

[bluntwiz]

hi peeps =)

i was reading on stinky's grow guide that when the first set of 5-fingered leaves come in its now ready to feed half strength nutes. now my question is this :

when you reach this point, when growing in soil how many times would you want to add fertilizer? once a week ? (i water like a couple times on average a week) and when is it time to switch to full strength?

thanks!

bluntwiz Reviewed by bluntwiz on 07-08-2008. when to feed full strength nutes hi peeps =) i was reading on stinky's grow guide that when the first set of 5-fingered leaves come in its now ready to feed half strength nutes. now my question is this : when you reach this point, when growing in soil how many times would you want to add fertilizer? once a week ? (i water like a couple times on average a week) and when is it time to switch to full strength? thanks! Rating: 5

[stinkyattic]

Your plants will tell you. Start at half strength, watch for signs of tip-burn.
Gradually work up to full strength, or if you are comfortable 'reading' the plants, keep increasing the concentration until you DO see the tiniest bit of tipburn, and note that amount. Then, give a heavy feeding with plain water. Refer to the amount that burned the plants, subtract ~10%, and that is your full strength nute that YOUR plants in YOUR system like.

I would feed twice a week and alternate with waterings of plain tap water (unless your tap water is evil and nasty) if the plants need more juice in between. Every week or so, try to give one watering that flows OUT the drain holes. This will help prevent soil salting.

[TheMetal1]

most people seem to recommend that you don't "define" your feeding schedule before you begin it. You should really learn to comfortably identify deficiency symptoms of the plant, and base your feeding schedule accordingly. Think of it as a "living document." You know, like sometimes you eat 3 times a day, sometimes you need to eat more, sometimes less, sometimes you eat more red meat, then next week you want fish. Plants can kinda act like that. Needing specific nutrients at different times once they are used up from the soil. I have also noticed that many people, as you said, begin their feeding after the first transplant once they see 4-5+ nodes. As per Stinky's tutorial, you...

start in your seedling mix
reach 4-5 nodes
transplant
begin with a WEAK feeding.

Since it is your first time (I'm guessing?) I would recommend going even weaker than the recommended half strength, and building upon that. Many people, and companies, recommend that you feed with every OTHER watering. Some recommend EVERY watering. The choice is really yours, and by recognizing your plants signs of deficiency you can provide everything your plants need whether it's every watering, or once a week. Of course you want to maximize your yield by utilizing your nutrients at full strength, but in the first few go 'rounds you wan't to make sure they survive that long. So don't over-do it. Always best to ease into it, so in the future you know what to expect and can customize your own feeding schedule to fit your personal plants. Hope that helped summarize a bit.

Stay and Keep :jointsmile:

Edit: What Stinky said ^^^^^^^^^ :thumbsup:

[bluntwiz]

thanks for the advice guys, i appreciate it =)

actually its not my first time growing... but ive always been super careful when using fertilizer since i heard alot of negative stuff about overfeeding -- in the past, ive always fed my plants with half strength nutes all the way through and have never had a problem with nute burn (obviously) but my yield did suffer i think.
this time around, i want to see if feeding them a bit more will increase yield.

i dont use tap water anymore, the water is just too hard where i live. i just get bottled water (with a pH of 7) and add a couple drops of lemon juice to adjust pH. seems to work.

anyhow, thanks for all the help! :rastasmoke: