How/when to use Liquid KoolBloom

[Guest 18340]

Ive read, on these boards, where some people use Liquid koolBloom(GH) for only the first few weeks of flowering, and finsh off with the powdered koolbloom (GH).
But on generalhydroponics.com feeding schedule (drain to waste schedule) it shows to use it throughout the entire flower cycle. Yet ive read GH literature that says to use the liquid first, then the powder. What gives?
Also, do you used the liquid along with the micro and bloom, or in place of the micro and bloom?
Can anybody shed some light on this?
Thanks, Evl...

 

[hydroclops]

Thats a good question, I have heard that also.

But don't remember where.

I have some powdered koolbloom and usualy use itb for abot 4 weeks in to harvest and then i Stop it.
I would love to know the benies of using both.
taging this hoping you get some answers.


Stay safe and high.
.........HYDRO........

 

[yamaha_1fan]

When I do use i use the liquid in the beginning, then the powder the last 3-4 weeks. This is in addition to my normal nute formula

 

[Disguised]

Their "simple" drain to waste program calls for just the liquid. The "expert" program calls for the liquid for the first part of flowering, and then the powder as a ripener in late flowering. There is one point where they suggest over lapping the two products as an "aggressive bloom", I haven't done this personally, but I imagine the ppms are probably pretty high.

Both schedules can be found at the GH website.


EDIT: I forgot to mention that yes you do use the koolblooms along with the base nutrients. Again, check out the chart over at their website.

 

[mister c]

A lot of the experienced people are using the liquid kool bloom during the start AND at the end. No powder at all. They say it is better than the powder, as it is a liquid nute.

They are actually different products....

liquid is 0-10-10, and the powder is 2-45-28

And the liquid is way more forgiving. You can really burn the shit out of everything with the powder.

Some people only use the powder once, as a final burst of pk before flush.

Besides doesn't something about a pink powder that isn't lemonade, make you uneasy???

 

[CaptainTrips]

Why? I mean their 3-part nutes are colored... I used their dry maxi series works great, and they are also colored. I have heard ppl say the dry KB is better than the liquid, but I have no idea. I don't see why a liquid nute would be inherently better than a powder one.

They are intended as separate products, one for early flower, one for late flower...

 

[THCforus]

I use GH flora nutes. At the beginning of flowering I add liquid K bloom and use it throught flower at 1 ml. per gall. For the last few feedings i add .25 mg dry k. bloom and it seems to be just the right amount. I do suppl. co2 though.

 

[Guest 18340]

Well, since all i have is the Liquid koolbloom then i'm gonna try using it for the whole flower run.
Is the powder koolbloom worth the $$$

 

[clowntown]

But on generalhydroponics.com feeding schedule (drain to waste schedule) it shows to use it throughout the entire flower cycle. Yet ive read GH literature that says to use the liquid first, then the powder. What gives?

If you look closely & thoroughly at their website, you may be able to find something that says along the lines of ... "good results" and "better results" or something like that, where the "good results" (or whatever it was titled) shows the use of the liquid throughout, while the "better results" shows the use of liquid at first, switched to powder to finish.

Thing is, a lot of people are/were confused about the fact that the liquid & powder are in fact two completely separate products, designed to be used in completely different ways. I think many people misunderstood that they were more or less the same and simply in different convenient formats, kinda like the pH up/down in both liquid in powder.

Looks like GH is phasing out their 1.5 Lb tubs of the powder and replacing it with 2.2 Lb resealable bags. I didn't check the prices on it to see if the 2.2 Lb in the bag cost the same, or more, though.

 

[smokadepep]

are you able to use koolbloom in guano teas?

 

[thetokemaster]

You should follow the "advanced Recirculating Schedule".....
works great....you will use liquid koolbloom, then 5 ml of liquid koolbloom and 1/4 teaspoon of powder for aggressive flower, then you ripen with only the dry.......
They are different formulas and if you use the dry in the recomended way, it will add some bulk no doubt.

 

[high road]

a little background on kool bloom (dry and liquid), monster bloom, cha ching, beastie bloomz, awesome blossoms, hydroplex, etc...

All of these products are pk boosts. All are the same products, just in different skins. The purpose of pk boosts is to...boost the phosphorus and potassium levels while in flower. Plants can use a lot of these two nutrients, especially during aggresive flower production. Growers have found that by increasing pk levels over and above the pk that is contained in their bloom nutrient, they can increase their yield.

Koolbloom dry and liquid are both pk boosts, they do the same job. You don't need both. Obviously GH would love to sell you both...hence both are included in their 'aggressive' feeding chart. Really, you only need one or the other. Personally neither one would by my choice.

a few more random thoughts...

The liquids are a bit more forgiving...especially in hydroponics. The dry nutrients tend not to have the solubility that the liquids have.

The powders are generally cheaper per gallon of solution.

 

[cannabudz]

I have used both produces... I have used the dry powder in weeks 3-8 in conjunction with base nutrients, I have used liquid KB in weeks 3-8 in conjunction with base nutrients. Both ways seemed to give similar results, no difference that i could tell by my five senses. Then I had some of both dry and liquid sitting on the shelf so i wanted to use them up... and get them off my shelf (was tired of looking at partial containers). So I did this schedule and it worked out very very well for me.. weeks 3-4 got liquid KB, then week 5,6,7 got both Liquid and dry KB at their labeled rate of use, in conjunction with base nutrients of course). Then on week 8 i would just use the KB dry with sweeteners added to that, and No base nutrients. then flush a few days after week 8. Using that method i found that almost all my senses found something new and special about the buds using them together in weeks 5,6,7 did help.. thats my 2cents.. peace..

Cannabudz...

 

[thetokemaster]

The two used in conjunction with the expert feeding schedule definately make a difference, and if you look at the NPK formulas on both the liquid and the dry you will see they are different. If you follow the expert schedule to the t and change your solution every 10-14 days, you will see a difference. The purchase & use of both products together is totally justified in my opinion.

 

[ConceptOfSleep]

I use Liquid KoolBloom along with my regular 9mL Bloom, 6mL Micro formula starting in week 3. I also use a slightly larger dose during weeks 4 and 5 as I taper off the Micro to stop giving the plants Nitrogen... I got the idea from Rez's "recipe", but I still give a lower dose than normal during week 6 instead of cutting it out completely as the plants seem to really swell up.

I run in Coco, if anyone was wondering. For a while all I could find was the KoolBloom powder, but I didnt want to use that as it still has a good amount of Nitrogen in it, which pretty much defeated the purpose. From what I have heard from friends that do use Powder, it was also pretty easy to burn your plants with such high PK levels.

So far no problems with just using the liquid.

 

[Guest 18340]

Can anybody decipher why the powder has N but the liquid doesnt? Seems contradictory to give my plants N in the last weeks of flower.

 

[high road]

The two used in conjunction with the expert feeding schedule definately make a difference, and if you look at the NPK formulas on both the liquid and the dry you will see they are different. If you follow the expert schedule to the t and change your solution every 10-14 days, you will see a difference. The purchase & use of both products together is totally justified in my opinion.

^^Proof positive that marketing works!!

Have you used just one? Have you tried other pk boosts? I have used every single pk boost on the market. I have also followed feeding schedules for most nutrient mfr's...I see no discernable differences in all the pk boosts from all nutrient mfr's.




the phosphorus they use in the dry is ammonium phosphate. The ammonium yields ammoniacal nitrogen...the kind of nitrogen that can burn.

However...the amount of ammoniacal nitrogen that is present in a 2-45-28 dry formula is neglegable. Once diluted there is very little available nitrogen given with proper dosage.

The liquid is derived from magnesium phosphate, which yields...magnesium.

Remember...plants still need nitrogen in flower. Just not nearly as much as veg. No balanced nutrient program should deplete nitrogen completely in flower.

 

[queg]

high road, I get the impression the you've arrived at a better alternative to these commercial products.. care to share what you use?

 

[thetokemaster]

High Road, I'm no scientist, but I see the results in the form of rock hard buds.....however if you have some better products or suggestion I'd love to hear it.
Also, have you ever used budswell, either dry or wet? It's a guano That stuff is awesome but it's very messy so I stopped using it. I added it as a supplement / bulking agent in flower but in hydro it tends to be a mess, so now I only use the dry to mix in with soil for outdoor flowering.

Why the dislike for these products? Plus, the dry koolbloom is like 15 bucks for an ample supply, and the liquid is also a great deal so it isn't like they aren't cheap. Just wondering

 

[high road]

I get rock hard buds as well. I attribute my hard buds to light intensity and genetics more than the nutrient profile I decide to use.

I don't have a problem with using pk boosts. If you feel your plants need more phosphorus and potassium...by all means, use pk boosts.

My problem is with the misinformation spread by growers, grow shops, and nutrient mfr's.

Growing plants to perfection is an art, the art of balance.

When growing a plant to perfection, to it's full genetic potential, all we can do as cultivators is provide the plants with all the prerequisites to solid plant growth. Light intensity, humidity, temperature, co2 levels, nutrient and water levels, etc...

The problem I have with PK boosts is that it perpetuates the thought process that we as growers can 'bulk' up plants by adding more phosphorus and potassium. While in theory this is true. In reality, most commercial/hobby grade fertilizers have enough p&K to sustain proper flower development. By adding additional P&K to your nutrient profile, when the nutrient profile already has enough p&K, you create a nutrient Imballance. Which can lock out other nutrients and create deficiencies and toxicities, thus reducing potential yield.

Again, all we can do as growers of this fine herb or any plant for that matter, is to provide all the necessary requirements for proper growth, and then get out of the way. When we try to make plants do things they aren't genetically designed to do...we invite trouble into our gardens.

Genetics are genetics...you are never going to get a haze to be rock hard no matter how much pk you add. If you want rock hard buds, get yourself a serious indica and put it in a garden with enriched co2 and high light levels.



Having said all that, some strains do require more p&K to do their thing. But in that case you would be adding a pk boost to correct a nutrient imballance in you nutrient profile rather than adding a pk boost to 'bulk' up plants. Get what I saying?

I wouldn't consider budswell a true pk boost. It is a guano that has high pk levels. The difference is the availabilty. Guano's aren't fully available to the plants as true pk boosts are. It needs to be broken down and made available by microbes in your media. If you are growing using a mineral base nutrient, you probably have very little microbial activity in your media, due to all the salts. Budswell and other organic inputs are not going to have the effectiveness you are looking for when used with media's lacking microbial life, because there is nothing there to break it down and make it available for you plants to use.