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New Organic Nutrients from General Hydroponics

quinoa64

Member
Summary for the beginner

Summary for the beginner

Jumping on this late, but whatever. 20 pages in and here's what I've learned:

1) Not recommended for DWC -- of course that's where I initially tried them, with predictable results. Don't use an airstone, just use the tube.

Note that foaming can be controlled with a little vegetable oil. And don't try to "fix" the smell by adding H2O2 like I did. :shucks:

2) Use in coco seems to be fine. I'm going to try inoculating with bokashi starter, but you could use any source(s) of beneficial bacteria. People seem really happy with earthworm castings (EWC) as a microbial source.

3) Don't let mixed nutrients sit around, they can go sour. I haven't experienced this, but I keep mine in a green 2L bottle, and I wonder if the green light is preventing something smelly from growing?

4) A lot of people like one or more of the products in the line, but don't use the main BioThrive Grow/Bloom nutrients.

In short, it seems that Your Mileage May Vary. People who love this line really love it. I have a bunch sitting around, so will try again in coco. :thank you:
 

cultiv8

Member
"People who love this line really love it"? Really? Do people who hate it, hate it?

Personally, I wouldn't recommend it in any kind of traditional hydroponics. IE. anything where you're actually running sans-media or nearly sans-media. The "soil-less" or coco pots where you don't have reservoirs, aeration, pumps or sprayers are probably fine.

General Hydroponics just has never made anything that ran clean enough for my taste. If I have to break it all down and clean out clogged pump filters and spray nozzles every damn week it's not really a hydroponic nutrient in my book.

That's a big reason I don't use GH and do use Advanced Nutrients. I have half as much trouble (usually even less) with it clogging, gunking, sliming, or otherwise becoming the Cleaning Job From Hell that I've seen from GH.

If you really like to clean then sure GH is fine. And you can usually save a little money. Time is money though, and I'd rather spend my extra money and keep my extra time for myself.

Just my 2c
 

oejack9

Member
I picked up a GO box from these guys for my current grow....The base nute's gave good results....I like the bio root the root mass definatley looked better at transplanting then expected..I like the calmag....or more correctly any plant I have given it to likes it alot...I also like the bio bud alot as a little go's a long way and it had noticable results within 2 applications IMHO.I haven't used the diamond black or the bioweed...I try to keep it simple however I am about to start using the bioweed on my vegies.So far I have nothing but good things to say about the G.H. GO line.....I doubt I'll use everything in the box as I do also use A.H super nova and dark energy when needed....I use myco with out trichomadia from earth juice....and I have been experimenting with GroTek monster bloom....so far everything is ahead of where I expected....all good stuff depending on how you feed...I tend to feed at half strength with the exception of the monster bloom...that I cut down to about 1/8th strength...no burn so far and excellent results...I'm running Mandela's BTB,Nervana's ICE,and I inherited 3 Great Whites..no sure who's gene's those are...all look good and are putting on weight daily for now...all are in happy frog in 5 gallon smart pots...the thread is in the organic soil grow section....I'm trying to keep weekly photos of progress so we shall see how they finish.....and what kind of yeild we get...oh I do plan on hitting them all up with some purple maxx in the last few weeks of flower...May The Green Be With You.
 
Old thread, but would love to hear anyone's recent discoveries using GO. I recently picked on Grow, Bloom, BioRoot, BioBud, CaMg and was told by the store clerk how to use them.
This is what he said:
Veg:
5ml BioRoot
10ml CaMg
15ml BioGrow
Flwr:
5ml BioBud
10ml CaMg
15ml BioBloom

I'm on Pure non-amended Coco with RO water. He also said not to bother with PH'ing anymore. First thing I noticed with the veg room was immediate yellowing.
 

jbones81

New member
:tiphat:hay brother just wanted to respond to your post on that go line that's some good stuff have had some great results with it my schedule with it was as fallows on the veg I ran 10 ml on the grow 5 calmg 10 bioroot and 5 on the bioweed good stuff seaweed and other goodies in it on week 1 week two put
veg week1
10ml grow
5 calmg
10 bioroot
5 bioweed good stuff​

week2
15 grow
5 calmg
10 bioroot
5 bioweed​

week3 the same as week 2​

bloom week 1
10 bloom
5 calmag
10 bioroot
2.5 biobud​

week 2
15 bloom
5 calmg
10 bioroot
2.5 biobud​

week 3
15 bloom
5 calmg
5 biobud​

week 4
20 bloom
5 calmg
5 biobud​

same on week 5 and on week 6 then on week 7 bloom back to 15 ml to the end. also pick up sum great white cant stress that enough it really push's things forward I hope this helps you I did 8 runs with this nutrient line with great results. I am now using biobizz that's some real great stuff when you are done trying gen hydro line give biobizz a shot 100% organic outstanding resaults :yes::yes:
 

Granger2

Active member
Veteran
I think their feed chart is pretty good, realistic. Don't overlook the fine print on the chart that says you can double the
BioThrive for "heavy feeding plants." I think the GO BioWeed is one of the best seaweeds on the market. Up there with BioBizz Algamic. Both are cold processed and green. Smell like the sea.

I'm really impressed to my surprise with the GO BioRoot. Massive white roots. Good luck. -granger
 
:tiphat:hay brother just wanted to respond to your post on that go line that's some good stuff have had some great results with it my schedule with it was as fallows on the veg I ran 10 ml on the grow 5 calmg 10 bioroot and 5 on the bioweed good stuff seaweed and other goodies in it on week 1 week two put
veg week1
10ml grow
5 calmg
10 bioroot
5 bioweed good stuff​

week2
15 grow
5 calmg
10 bioroot
5 bioweed​

week3 the same as week 2​

bloom week 1
10 bloom
5 calmag
10 bioroot
2.5 biobud​

week 2
15 bloom
5 calmg
10 bioroot
2.5 biobud​

week 3
15 bloom
5 calmg
5 biobud​

week 4
20 bloom
5 calmg
5 biobud​

same on week 5 and on week 6 then on week 7 bloom back to 15 ml to the end. also pick up sum great white cant stress that enough it really push's things forward I hope this helps you I did 8 runs with this nutrient line with great results. I am now using biobizz that's some real great stuff when you are done trying gen hydro line give biobizz a shot 100% organic outstanding resaults :yes::yes:

Thanks!

Let me get this straight:

Veg week1
10ml grow
5 calmg
10 bioroot
5 bioweed

Veg week2 and ON you only increase the Grow to 15ml's?


I think their feed chart is pretty good, realistic. Don't overlook the fine print on the chart that says you can double the
BioThrive for "heavy feeding plants." I think the GO BioWeed is one of the best seaweeds on the market. Up there with BioBizz Algamic. Both are cold processed and green. Smell like the sea.

I'm really impressed to my surprise with the GO BioRoot. Massive white roots. Good luck. -granger

Granger, I don't have a bottle of the BioWeed but I feed Bountea compost tea once a week to my veg, which includes:
7% Kelp extract
7% Humic Acid
3.75% Fermented soybean meal
3.75% Fermented Cottonseed meal
8% Yucca Schidigera
9% Dehydrated fish powder

What do you mean about "Don't overlook"? Do you mean I should consider heavy feeding or not?

Are you guys PH'ing?

I was dealing with Thrips and mite issues and I just trashed my veg room. I don't really know if the deformity on half my teens had to do with the mites/thrips etc... but a couple friends of mine said that the deformity of 2-3 finger leafes had to do with PH issues.

Thanks!
 

Granger2

Active member
Veteran
Should you feed heavily? That's up to you depending on what else you're using. I would hit them heavily weeks 3-6.

The need to pH depends on your water and plant response. I have really high lime, high pH, high alkalinity water. I pH it to about 7, then mix nutes, and the pH of the nute mix is usually within range. Also, pHing with Citric Acid [Earth Juice Down], changes some of the Ca, Mg, etc. in the lime to more plant available citrates. Good luck. -granger
 

jbones81

New member
hay bradybunch yes that's right with the veg and as granger says the box says double up for heavy feeding plants you need to watch the plant the only problem I ran into was a cal mag def in the 5th week of flower
 
Should you feed heavily? That's up to you depending on what else you're using. I would hit them heavily weeks 3-6.

The need to pH depends on your water and plant response. I have really high lime, high pH, high alkalinity water. I pH it to about 7, then mix nutes, and the pH of the nute mix is usually within range. Also, pHing with Citric Acid [Earth Juice Down], changes some of the Ca, Mg, etc. in the lime to more plant available citrates. Good luck. -granger

I have a water softner that using potassium instead of salt to exchange the hardness of the water. The soft water line out goes into an RO unit where the water then comes out at .1EC or 0PPM with a PH 7.9. Some times I use condensation water from a/c's / dehumi with a PH 4.2. I've explained this to the stores clerk that talked me into GO and he said that it doesn't matter what PH I start out with that the GO will adjust.

I've read GH's response to other growers question about PH and it makes sense that you only ph nutes when they are synthetic not organic.

The symptom I noticed before I trashed my veg room was 2-3 finger leaves. I noticed way more issues from broad mites, thrips, eggs of all kind, so I knew I didn't want to flip sick plants so I trashed them but it kept me wondering about the nutes ph...

hay bradybunch yes that's right with the veg and as granger says the box says double up for heavy feeding plants you need to watch the plant the only problem I ran into was a cal mag def in the 5th week of flower

Ok, I'll look out for that, Thanks!
 

Granger2

Active member
Veteran
Brady,
I've learned to scoff when different mfgrs say pH doesn't matter. I and many others have found out otherwise, the hard way. I would say that with organics, especially in soil, you have a broader range, but, like with Earth Juice, following their chart, the nute mix ends up about 4.3. And that's in my very hard water. I grow in coco, and that pH is way too low. Causes problems.
Good luck. -granger
 
Brady,
I've learned to scoff when different mfgrs say pH doesn't matter. I and many others have found out otherwise, the hard way. I would say that with organics, especially in soil, you have a broader range, but, like with Earth Juice, following their chart, the nute mix ends up about 4.3. And that's in my very hard water. I grow in coco, and that pH is way too low. Causes problems.
Good luck. -granger

I think your absolutely right Granger, so its not a matter of synthetic or organics, its just that the plant in coco will uptake better water or nutes between 5.6 - 6.2 always trying to end up at 5.8?
 

Granger2

Active member
Veteran
I purposely let the pH swing within the range and occassionally even a bit outside the range. That's because the some nutes are more available at different pH levels.
 
I purposely let the pH swing within the range and occassionally even a bit outside the range. That's because the some nutes are more available at different pH levels.

Granger,

Like I mentioned before, I had to trash my whole veg room after finding traces of ALL sorts of spider, thrips and deformities from not PH'ing for like a month.

I have to make these nutes work b/c I was part of a big wholesale order and I got the opportunity to buy 6gl of grow/bloom, 2.5gl bioroot and 1gl of biobud for dirt cheap.

Question:
Since GO swings the ph readings for like an hr after mixed in with RO, when do you advice to ph? before adding nutes to 7.0 (RO water comes out at 7.9) or after adding nutes?

Thanks Granger!
 

Granger2

Active member
Veteran
Brady,
I'm new with GO and have been using it with veg. I'm getting ready to transplant into 3 gal AeroBags to bloom them out, and I'll be switching out to Earth Juice mostly. Since I've finally got it dialed, I'm not changing just yet. If I change, I may go back to BioBizz. Up in the air.

I've been happy with GO, and will keep using their BioRoot and BioWeed. I pH my water just before mixing nutes, and apply right away. I wouldn't be surprised if your RO gets closer to 7 if you bubble it for 12 hours or 24. I usually mix my high lime/pH/alkalinity Carbon Filtered tap half and half with RO, bubble for about 24 hours, pH to about 7 w/Citric Acid, mix nutes, check pH, apply. Sometimes the pH isn't quite low enough so I use EJ Catalyst as pH down.

Sometimes its a little low, but I go ahead with it. I don't want it out of range twice in a row, so if needed, I add my 8.3 tap to bring up the pH. I'm in coco, so I want to stick close to 5.8 to 6.2. Good luck. -granger
 
Brady,
I'm new with GO and have been using it with veg. I'm getting ready to transplant into 3 gal AeroBags to bloom them out, and I'll be switching out to Earth Juice mostly. Since I've finally got it dialed, I'm not changing just yet. If I change, I may go back to BioBizz. Up in the air.

I've been happy with GO, and will keep using their BioRoot and BioWeed. I pH my water just before mixing nutes, and apply right away. I wouldn't be surprised if your RO gets closer to 7 if you bubble it for 12 hours or 24. I usually mix my high lime/pH/alkalinity Carbon Filtered tap half and half with RO, bubble for about 24 hours, pH to about 7 w/Citric Acid, mix nutes, check pH, apply. Sometimes the pH isn't quite low enough so I use EJ Catalyst as pH down.

Sometimes its a little low, but I go ahead with it. I don't want it out of range twice in a row, so if needed, I add my 8.3 tap to bring up the pH. I'm in coco, so I want to stick close to 5.8 to 6.2. Good luck. -granger

Granger,

If desired ph is 5.8, I will experiment with ph'ing my RO water first to 7.0 and see where it settles after mixing grow/bRoot/camg.

Thank you thus far with your advices.

If I can now get an identity on the bug I found on my early harvest. (posted in the infirmary)

Brady
 

iamgrowerman

New member
Coco can be a pain in the ass for some nutrient lines. My experience has been so hit or miss, even grow-to-grow using the same lines.

Apparently Advanced Nutrients is aggressively developing coco versions of practically their entire line. I love the idea of coco, particular as it's so renewable and makes use of what is otherwise a big garbage problem.

I'm thinking I'll try coco again when the new stuff hits my local store.
 

smog

Member
i wanted to use go in ffof with humus and wc added... im on a budget so i only got the thrive bloom and the root i used only act tea in veg.. 2 weeks into flower i tried it on 3 healthy plants 10 mil bloom 5 root ph was 4.8, a few days later they turned sick ive been flushing with 7.2 ph but the damage is done, they turned yellow with rust spots from the veins out, the water only ones are still looking good 3 weeks in now
 

Slazz

New member
i wanted to use go in ffof with humus and wc added... im on a budget so i only got the thrive bloom and the root i used only act tea in veg.. 2 weeks into flower i tried it on 3 healthy plants 10 mil bloom 5 root ph was 4.8, a few days later they turned sick ive been flushing with 7.2 ph but the damage is done, they turned yellow with rust spots from the veins out, the water only ones are still looking good 3 weeks in now
I've used it in soil a lot like FFOF, but amended myself and never had checked the pH, and never had an issue. And that's using 20 ml per gallon of the bloom. Might be something else going on here?
 

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