The growing large plants, outdoors, thread...

[OrganicBuds]

So some of you guys are saying to up the nitrogen right now, but dave royal over at EWF is saying to ease into it with balanced NPK...any thoughts?

Anyone still running PPD foliars and when do you plan do keep doing it until?

I would say listen to Dave on this one for sure, he knows his stuff for sure.

The way I look at it, your plants should already have everything they really need for stretch. The time to press a little would be in early July. The plants you say are a little yellow, a foliar application would be the best answer for this.

I have found in the past if my plants are slightly yellow in August then it's an uphill battle from there. PBP is great for a mild nutrient for organic plants, however will never fix a N deficiency at this point in the year. PPD or now known as Ocean Grown used stand alone as a foliar will be the best weapon in a N deficiency. 1 tbs per gal of water, applied 2-3 times in a week.

Me personally, I will apply PPD or OG once a week for another 2 weeks or so. AACT's every week or two as well. If I feel the plants need a root drench feeding, I love PBP, Fox Farm Organic Bloom and for a little stronger kick when needed Roots Organics extreme serene. All great products. Don't forget a couple cups of EWC per container goes a long way this time of year, my favorite organic fertilizer.

 

[Cep]

thanks...most of my plant are full green and healthy, but i do have a few that are showing yellowing which has me worried...definately gotta spot treat those with some dynagrow or PPD.

what are any adverse effects of too much N in early flower? im real tempted to hit them hard because i want them to get a real healthy vigorous stretch. im thinking about using some PBP grow because its 3-2-4 so not too much N...and has a few PK for the upcoming flower boost.

would love to hear some other thoughts about what other folks are feeding their plants during this crucial transition period.

I've seen some longer than usual internodes and leafier buds with plants that got maybe too much N during flowering. Although I can't prove it was nitrogen in excess, it is the most simple answer for what I observed.

If foliar feeding is going to stop after week 1 or 2 then it helps to know exactly how much is in the soil and if its enough to carry the plant an other two months. If not, I like top dressing or using teas to supply the extra N. OB's use of castings is a good idea imo. My initial mix was pretty hot so I'll probably dump a light fish based tea and continue to try and increase microbial activity. I don't have ideal soil (low in Boron and a few other trace mins) so I don't want to try and push them too hard. High N foliars and teas might be the best thing for those who have dialed soil mixes and a lot of it. Maybe someone who is more knowledgeable can chime in.

Whats making me cautious about overdosing with nitrogen is seeing all the shitty, watery produce in the grocery stores. My friend brought over blueberries and they were molding the next day. No surprise that they had a brix reading of 4.

 

[milkyjoe]

That watery brix is a sure sign of nitrate usage. Nothing quiet matches the growth response of CaNO3 and nothing destroys brix quiet like it either.

Ferti Nitro is a great protein source that you can add to water and fertigate. Damn near equal response to CaNO3 and no negative brix effect

http://www.ferti-organic.com/products/amino-acid-fertilizer-grade/

I get it from Custom Hydro...fair warning he is a good friend of mine so yea the CH may be a little spam but the product is solid. So is CH imo.

Better yet is to keep dialing your original soil mix yr after yr until you don't need these crutches...but hey, if that was easy we would all do it.

 

[oldhaole]

The time since the last post has been a busy one. Last week a weak tropical storm passed offshore. Wind gusts of 50 MPH tore thru my gulch and the plants for about five hours. Thankfully there was not very much rain.

A few pages back someone asked if the frames work well in windy conditions. I said I didn't know, had yet to experience a good blow up here over Summer.

Well....That no longer holds true. The frames worked like a charm. I lost only two bottom branches off of one single plant. We expected far more damage than what happened. Here's a shot of a ten foot plant doing the hula in the wind.

After the wind...

The plants bounced back amazingly well. Here we are five days after the storm and the largest of the plants are pushing thru twelve feet.

The smaller ones aren't too small either...

The strech is here. Only two of the six have shown flowers....so far I have not added anything other than a one time hit of some compost tea. The soil in the gulch has been amended each year and I only grow the one crop in these holes. When the holes go fallow I plant clover and add compost, then dig it in and turn it over a couple of months before the big plants are put in.

I believe that there is almost no such thing as too much N. These plants will not exhaust the available N before flower. Milky Joe is right;

Better yet is to keep dialing your original soil mix yr after yr until you don't need these crutches...

Cops in choppers? I know you are refering to CA. but we have them here too. I get a visit each year. This is what happens when you have too many in flower here. Pic from a couple of years back.

 

[Cep]

That watery brix is a sure sign of nitrate usage. Nothing quiet matches the growth response of CaNO3 and nothing destroys brix quiet like it either.

Ferti Nitro is a great protein source that you can add to water and fertigate. Damn near equal response to CaNO3 and no negative brix effect

http://www.ferti-organic.com/products/amino-acid-fertilizer-grade/

I get it from Custom Hydro...fair warning he is a good friend of mine so yea the CH may be a little spam but the product is solid. So is CH imo.

Better yet is to keep dialing your original soil mix yr after yr until you don't need these crutches...but hey, if that was easy we would all do it.

I suppose I don't have to be so trigger shy if the N is coming from aminos instead of salts.

@Haole
Way to weather the storm dude. I love how durable this plant can be.

 

[Veg N Out]

All my big plant people jumping on all these amino acid based product like PPD , Ferti Nitro , or using the Albion glycinate minerals...These are bells and whistles. They don't grow the crop to size. What grows the big plants isn't what you spray on them, it is their battery.

You are expecting the plant to live from May to October in the same soil, this is a huge load on the biology and exchangeable nutrient matrix. Don't concern yourself with a foliar schedule if you can't make it to finish healthy on the soil alone. Figure out how to make the soil work with the water you have.

Big batteries make big plants. Spraying all this stuff on plants in a big battery adds more charge to the battery and makes them bigger. Focus on building them from down low to make them big up top. You wont find big plants at the bottom of the jug of any of these fertilizers.

 

[Cep]

Don't concern yourself with a foliar schedule if you can't make it to finish healthy on the soil alone.

The battery analogy is true, as evidenced by the grows that contain smart pots and mounds. Even the smart pot growers are upgrading to 800's and 1000's. I feel like that is one of the bigger advancements this thread has made for the outdoor community.

I'm concerned that I can't make it to the finish line on the soil alone and am doing everything I can to keep the root zone thriving. However, I have the time for foliars so why not? I would assume that every bit of N I can safely get in the leaves in the next week or so is some that is not going to be drawn from the soil, leaving extra "charge" for the last half of flowering.

 

[Greeseyder]

How's about some PIC UPDATES! C'mon guys throw some new pics on
Nothing huge this year but a great test run! I'll try to get some decent ones with my cell..

 

[Veg N Out]

The battery analogy is true, as evidenced by the grows that contain smart pots and mounds. Even the smart pot growers are upgrading to 800's and 1000's. I feel like that is one of the bigger advancements this thread has made for the outdoor community.

I'm concerned that I can't make it to the finish line on the soil alone and am doing everything I can to keep the root zone thriving. However, I have the time for foliars so why not? I would assume that every bit of N I can safely get in the leaves in the next week or so is some that is not going to be drawn from the soil, leaving extra "charge" for the last half of flowering.

The point I was trying to make is that you'd be better off spending the time and money next year getting it right than using these expensive bells and whistles that really don't work as well as they should unless every thing else is dialed in first. Best of luck & have fun in the garden.

FWIW - Why spend money on expensive water like PBP or Dyna grow? Just mix some PPD or Ferti Nitro with water and root drench them. Don't pay more money for stuff you already have at home.

 

[wallywombat]

Great thread everyone truly inspiring. needing some help hoping someone in here can take alook at my soil recipe and tell me if it will be suffient for big plants here's the link https://www.icmag.com/ic/showthread.php?t=268216 all help or pointers would be great as its my first time using smart pots and I would like to have great results like you guys and gals

 

[milkyjoe]

The battery analogy is true, as evidenced by the grows that contain smart pots and mounds. Even the smart pot growers are upgrading to 800's and 1000's. I feel like that is one of the bigger advancements this thread has made for the outdoor community.

I'm concerned that I can't make it to the finish line on the soil alone and am doing everything I can to keep the root zone thriving. However, I have the time for foliars so why not? I would assume that every bit of N I can safely get in the leaves in the next week or so is some that is not going to be drawn from the soil, leaving extra "charge" for the last half of flowering.

If your soil is short on N the problem is it is probably short on other, even more important things...Ca, sulfur, etc. If you spray N without the mineral support you are going to jeopardize the health of the plant more than if you just leave the N out.

If you are sure it is just N go ahead. But if you are not sure you are taking a risk.

I would spray some epsom salt, like 2 grams per gallon on a plant first. If brix goes up N is not the problem...minerals are.

 

[Cep]

@Milkyjoe
Yes, thats where I was going in post #7368. My first attempt at adjusting according to Albrecht's suggestions put the base cation saturation at 76.9% Ca, 10.4% Mg, 6.5% K and 4.5% H. Some trace mins are low (0.5 ppm B, 0.8 Cu) the others were given a "medium" value on the soil test. I purchased a liquid trace mineral product and foliar fed with it a day before the high N foliar to try and compensate for possible trace deficiencies.

Nitrogen is at 136ppm, listed as "very high", sulphur also "very high" at 844ppm. I used primarily gypsum to supply Ca. This was right before heavy spring rains and I figured since sulphate is highly mobile much of it would wash out. Current test results are coming in 2-3 days to confirm or deny that. This use of gypsum was inspired by Tom's original mix from the beginning of this thread and I based my calculation on that. It supplies adequate Ca and more than adequate S in my opinion based on my test results. This can be risky as FatherEarth reminded me off high S can kill of soil biology, particularly fungi.

In the future I would like to increase the Phosphorus (93ppm) and get it closer to the K value(416). I've got a bunch of high P guano and some rock phosphate left over to get started on that this fall.

 

[Veg N Out]

August Stretch in Full Effect

August Stretch in Full Effect

The August Stretch is in Full Effect @ the Summer Camp. Everything I have put in to the garden this year is returning exponentially. Soon harvest time will be upon us and another trip will be chalked up to the tally books and memory banks​

 

[Greeseyder]

Looks amazing Veg! How tall & what's # guess per plant?

 

[Veg N Out]

High , Maybe a few grams per plant on the yield guess? No way to know till the end. They are 7' tall and about 10' wide.

So I guess they're more medium sized. Here's a big one. 11' x 12' ...

 

[ELBURRO]

OG OG SD X STARFIGHTER PLANTED JULY 17TH

 

[mendo420]

pics??
the 800's are ROCKING!

 

[FatherEarth]

The August Stretch is in Full Effect @ the Summer Camp. Everything I have put in to the garden this year is returning exponentially. Soon harvest time will be upon us and another trip will be chalked up to the tally books and memory banks​

All other matters aside, looking like superior health dwelling in that garden. Thats what it should look like, giant robust green globes, not a leaf out of place. Nice shot. People out there throwing neg rep around need to stop and take some notes. Friendly or not, this dude grows some of the best trees in this thread. Hats off, haters step aside.

Respect,

FE

 

[anonymousgrow]

LOL. I love the little pissing matches. We are all on the same team. Everyone's plants are looking super.

 

[OLDproLg]

Part of the rag i guess.......

Pissing an dissing anybody thats involved with weed
JUST SUCKS.

You know how many times i log in to read som'm in the morning,
just to see pissing matches here......every week for 2 years ive been out????????
Chill out an try smoking some sativas for ounce!!!!

in the meantime,KEEP THEM PUMPIN FOLKS,its just cool to see BIG plants
RIGHT!!!...try sayin som'm like this"great job,enjoy your harvest",its not to hard!
lg