Proper usage of Advanced Nutrients with soil.

[Rusty Trichome]

See, I actually like the way AN does their stuff. It's not that the stuff in their additives are missing from the base nutes, that's just stuff to add in on top of the base nutes if you want to.

Soooo...it doesn't matter what the PLANT needs, it's the GARDENERS desire that they are quenching...? :wtf: I'd much rather have something that works, rather than something someone told me works...Sell me something I need, not something I think I might need...

The way I see it, they give me the flexibility to only use the particular things I want. I don't have to use some grab-bag multi-tool thing when all I really want is a screwdriver.

Under this reasoning, you should have a bottle of nitrogen, a bottle of phosphorous, a potassium bottle, a micronutrient bottle, a heavy metals bottle...
Most other nutrient companies offer, what the basic understanding is at the moment, what a plant needs. If your nutrients need ammendments just to properly function...something is wrong with the nutrients.
To me it appears that AN would love to have us purchase all of their products, (because you "NEED" them) before discovering that other product lines already contain most of what your cannabis plants need. I chose to skip this step, and purchase the all-inclusive multi tool, rather than purchase the wrong screwdrivers for the wrong reasons.

You seem rather level-headed, but most of those that use either the Lucas formula, or the AN product line, have an almost anal approach to their cannabis. Seems they forget about the keeping it simple rule, and no ammount of reasoning will skew them from their pre-ordained growphobia's which run on the misguided assumption that their techniques are the best and only solution.
Are my techniques the best and only? IDK...but I do know that everyone can have great success in growing their meds without breaking into retirement funds to do so.

There's a limit to how many things you can cram into a given volume of water. If they were to add them to the base, as you suggest, things would start to fall out of solution and build up a layer of crud at the bottom of the bottle. They'd have to add more and more water to dilute it so it would stay dissolved and we'd be paying more and more for them to cover the cost of shipping the extra water.

Weak response. Shake before use.
Keep in mind, there are more folks all around the world that have great success using other nutrients without having to purchase every ammendment product known to man. How is it that these other nutrient companies don't need, nor do they offer, all these overpriced ammendments, but AN has a house full of 'em? Why are some of AN's ammendment products nothing more than diluted molasses or cane sugar extracts? Seems someone is taking advantage of the new gardeners confusion with pretty labels and a "we're too frigging cool, regardless that we are taking you to the bank" attitude, and I have a problem with that.

What are you getting in return for you excess cost? More trichomes? More bulk? Better photosynthesis? More flavor? Better CBD:CBN ratios? This is what we all strive for, but AN isn't the only path to achieve this. Matter of fact, it's not, in my opinion, the best path.

A common "trio" and a bottle of unsulfured molasses is all I use, as I've come across nothing better.

Obviously, if you are using AN, and can afford it, and are having success...keep on keepin' on. But there is a softer, easier, cheaper way to the same result. :thumbsup:

[Cattsy]

I highly recomend anyone new to using Advanced Nutrients give them a call on their 1800# THey're SUPER helpful, will help you customize based on what you're seeing with your plants, how you're feeing, what you're growing in etc etc.

My grandma spent a couple hours on the phone with them and they not only helped with some nute problems they were having but just some other general info too.

[killerm8r]

Soooo...it doesn't matter what the PLANT needs, it's the GARDENERS desire that they are quenching...? :wtf: I'd much rather have something that works, rather than something someone told me works...Sell me something I need, not something I think I might need...

That's not even remotely what I said. You've already made up your mind about what you want to hear so I won't bother you further on this point by trying to say something else.

Under this reasoning, you should have a bottle of nitrogen, a bottle of phosphorous, a potassium bottle, a micronutrient bottle, a heavy metals bottle...
Most other nutrient companies offer, what the basic understanding is at the moment, what a plant needs. If your nutrients need ammendments just to properly function...something is wrong with the nutrients.
To me it appears that AN would love to have us purchase all of their products, (because you "NEED" them) before discovering that other product lines already contain most of what your cannabis plants need. I chose to skip this step, and purchase the all-inclusive multi tool, rather than purchase the wrong screwdrivers for the wrong reasons.

You misunderstand and misaddress most of what I say. Additives exist for those who want to get more from their plants. I've grown plants using nothing but AN's base nutes and had no problems at all. I've grown plants with AN's base nutes and some additives and likewise had no problems at all. The difference is in the quality and quantity of the yield.

There's nothing WRONG with a plant that doesn't yield enormous buds. But in every single instance where I've grown with varied levels of additives I've gotten better results with them than without.

You seem rather level-headed, but most of those that use either the Lucas formula, or the AN product line, have an almost anal approach to their cannabis. Seems they forget about the keeping it simple rule, and no ammount of reasoning will skew them from their pre-ordained growphobia's which run on the misguided assumption that their techniques are the best and only solution.

I'm not the one attacking the way someone else grows. That'd be you, busily attacking all things Advanced Nutrients.

Weak response. Shake before use.

There's a difference between soluble salts and insoluble salts. Without a chemistry background I wouldn't expect many people to understand this, but it is not remotely uncommon for the combination of soluble salts in fertilizers to include individual ions that together would be insoluble.

Salt A and Salt B may individually be highly soluble, but in combination can form Salt C that is far less soluble.

More importantly, Salt C may stay happily in solution until it reaches a certain concentration at which point it precipitates taking the concentration of ions in solution down much further than it would otherwise happily tolerate and be exceptionally resistant to dissolving back into solution.

In short many salts, once precipitated, cannot be easily re-dissolved into solution.

Consider calcium carbonate (hard water scale). What was once nicely dissolved in water precipitates out and will not go back into solution no matter how much you scrub it with clean, fresh water.


This is why there's a limit to how concentrated a liquid fertilizer can be. Solid dry fertilizers are not simply dehydrated liquid ferts. They're grains of many different fertilizer salts in certain proportions. In solid form the components that could form insoluble solids are kept separate in different solid salts.

Keep in mind, there are more folks all around the world that have great success using other nutrients without having to purchase every ammendment product known to man. How is it that these other nutrient companies don't need, nor do they offer, all these overpriced ammendments, but AN has a house full of 'em? Why are some of AN's ammendment products nothing more than diluted molasses or cane sugar extracts? Seems someone is taking advantage of the new gardeners confusion with pretty labels and a "we're too frigging cool, regardless that we are taking you to the bank" attitude, and I have a problem with that.

What are you getting in return for you excess cost? More trichomes? More bulk? Better photosynthesis? More flavor? Better CBD:CBN ratios? This is what we all strive for, but AN isn't the only path to achieve this. Matter of fact, it's not, in my opinion, the best path.

A common "trio" and a bottle of unsulfured molasses is all I use, as I've come across nothing better.

Obviously, if you are using AN, and can afford it, and are having success...keep on keepin' on. But there is a softer, easier, cheaper way to the same result. :thumbsup:

You've made up your mind, that much is clear. You're not really asking questions, you're preaching from your soapbox.

You ask "Why are some of AN's ammendment products nothing more than diluted molasses or cane sugar extracts?" without bothering to back that up by first proving it's true. And yes, I know exactly what you'll cite if I ask you for your source and those guys aren't even remotely impartial (and they don't actually prove it to be true, they simply say it is.)


You talk a big talk about letting people do what works for them. You also walk a big walk about trying to tell everyone that uses AN they're "doing it wrong".

Isn't it just possible that AN isn't the big boogy man you want it to be?