Is there a concensus on feeding less more often?

Let's say I'm feeding 4-6ml per gallon of liquid ferts every other watering in soil or peat. Has it been proven beneficial to feed 2-3ml per gallon every watering instead?

I think if the plants can take it, feed them as much as they can eat as often as possible. Get those brix up as high as possible and you'll be rewarded. Happy gardening and hope you're having a lovely day or night wherever you are!

IMO, so many variables come into play.


In the past I went with bigger pots of coco, big enough to allow me to hand water just once a day. In this setup I can push the plants to their limits nutrient wise. Also if your pushing your plants with higher EC's, I also believe you need to be pushing their environments to reap the benefits... meaning 1200 Co2 with higher heat and humidity.



In the new setup I'm building out now I plan to run small pots, filled with coco, and eventually work my way up to 4-6 small feeds per day. With this style you will see faster more hydro type growth. Your nutrient strength should be lowered, which will also cause less salt buildup and less need for runoff.

I start new clones on the tables at 1.2ec. When I put them into bloom at the end of week 3, usually end of week 3 which is strain dependent, I have them feeding at 1.3-1.4ec. And keep em there till 2 weeks before flush and drop it down to 1.2-1.3EC. No need to run high EC/PPM as I don’t think the plants really benefit from it and I’ve seen it lead to other problems. Occasionally I’ll miss my mark When adding my base and hit 1.5-1.6 but it’ll only stay at that level for a couple days until the next water addition. Sometimes less really is more. Find the nute line you want to use, IMO the less bottles of fancy shit the better, learn to use it and learn to read your plants. Unless you’re going organic, get a good ph and EC/ppm meter. When using Chem ferts they make or break you

Feeding a low EC with every watering is much better than feeding heavy every other feeding using soil-less mixes. The reason is better pH management! If you maintain a steady pH the plants will only take what they can use without burnt tips. However if you are using rockwool or hydro media you need to run heavy EC with every watering.

When I'm running a constant low EC with every watering its important to allow a little dis-charge out the bottom with every watering.

Its important for a little discharge, but one has to be careful not to allow too much discharge because the ppm or EC will drop over time. If too much liquid is discharged the EC will need to be raised in the future intake liquid. That's why I always get readings of the discharge liquid to monitor EC. .

An example would be... 296 ppm or 0.6 EC of nutrient and water, "cal-mag included", is added to the top with every watering. A test taking 500 mL of the discharge water will yield 1490 ppm or 2.8 EC out the bottom. As the dis-charge water drops in EC out from the bottom, I can increase the EC at the top.

If I added 700 ppm or 1.4 EC "Manufacturer recommends" to the same container the dis-charge would be toxic to the roots and substrate and burn the plants. Using constant low EC with soil-less mixes is the best way to maintain a stable pH and soil environment.

Listen to the plants.. 2 things croak the girls, too much water or too much food (I guess not enough oxygen in the roots too) I grow DWC so I only have to worry about light and temperature. I know what the pH of my water is which I adjust to 5.75 kinda sorta. I feed once a week 50% of the nutes recommended amounts.



If the plants look green and not praying,leave them alone. Worry about learning how to maximize light.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XdfW2p-lHN0 watch this..

Girls will recover overnight

Oh man there was a thread a few years back where he did this and explained it as doing the same thing as weightlifters, they eat a lot of smaller meals during the day to keep their metabolism high. I don't know if had any truth to it though.

Bike riders do the same, but plants really only want to grow , girls have no need for winter fat per se also plants don't burn energy like an athlete so my guess is its not the same.

I think the weight lifter analogy is meant to mean its more beneficial to lower your EC and feed smaller amounts multiple times per day. Keep in mind you need to run much smaller pots and a medium mix that drys out quicker.


I can tell you from experience in Coco you will get better results from 2-6 feeds per day in smaller pots, somewhat root bound than feeding one a day in a bigger pot.

Yes no and maybe ALS

Yes no and maybe ALS

LaymanWayans said:

Let's say I'm feeding 4-6ml per gallon of liquid ferts every other watering in soil or peat. Has it been proven beneficial to feed 2-3ml per gallon every watering instead?

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If hydro then yeah makes sense water every 3 minutes with a mild solution vs usually just water and feed every 2nd

If soil then no nope nah
Alternate feedings are good to reduce salt build up, U get a flush every other time

But more importantly gives U a chance to see if they need more food or if it's too much by seeing if they get hungry by the time U feed

Should be looking slightly darker day after feeding

If they go way darker then they were hungry and probably need more fert

If nothing happens they probably just right and would back off the fert til U can get a slight fade before feed


Mostly though it's just growers way

Your way works best for you

My way works best for me

If

I agree that in GENERAL it CAN be beneficial to feed/water more often. I think ultimately it depends on your grow media and EC.

I am a commercial cannabis grower in Denver who has grown in rockwool, coco, and peat mixes using manufactured nutes.

Imagine roots are surrounded by a thin film of soil solution nanometers thick. Shortly after watering this solution becomes extremely nutrient poor because the plant’s roots are extremely effective at uptaking nutes. Nutrients move towards this zone SLOWLY by passive diffusion and the plants roots grow towards more rich soil solution.

If growing in a low CEC soil (ie rockwool), one can feed frequently and with high ec, fostering vigorous hydroponic growth by frequently rejuvenating the soil solution surrounding the roots.

In a high CEC soil (coco), nutrients accumulate in the media and a lower starting EC is smart. Even smarter to measure runoff EC/ppm.

If the soil holds a lot of water (peat moss) waterings must be less frequent and some growers rely on higher ec/ nutrient concentration. I would start with a low ec and measure runoff ec. Do not overwater in peat moss as root rot is possible.

In an organic system, there should be an ample supply of bacteria (hopefully fungi too) who live and die over time. When microbes die, their intracellular nutrients should become available to the plant and other organisms. Nutrients are released in a slow continuous equilibrium. Generally these systems foster slower growth and nutrient release but with less maintenance. Less maintenance is key: your time is valuable.

I would NOT recommend organic systems to starting growers as they require the most expensive soils and most knowledge.

At the time of this comment peat moss is the cheapest medium i mentioned. Followed by coco and followed by rockwool.

If you have the system to water 4x daily or more id recommend rockwool in a 5-7 gal pot. If handwatering, coco/peat mixes are viable. All result in similar yields given small differences in time and discipline. I would strive to feed as frequently as the media will allow (dont overwater coco or peat). Good question, ive enjoyed others’ responses and i hope i added to the conversation.

CEC = cation exchange capacity= capacity to hold (positively charged) nutrients

CEC = cation exchange capacity= capacity to hold (positively charged) nutrients is Key. Cannacoont69 thank you for your super insights.

Looking for the relationship between CEC and DWC I stumbled across this
https://manicbotanix.com/substrate-science/
Enjoy a lot of reading but it makes sense

resinryder said:

I start new clones on the tables at 1.2ec. When I put them into bloom at the end of week 3, usually end of week 3 which is strain dependent, I have them feeding at 1.3-1.4ec. And keep em there till 2 weeks before flush and drop it down to 1.2-1.3EC. No need to run high EC/PPM as I don’t think the plants really benefit from it and I’ve seen it lead to other problems. Occasionally I’ll miss my mark When adding my base and hit 1.5-1.6 but it’ll only stay at that level for a couple days until the next water addition. Sometimes less really is more. Find the nute line you want to use, IMO the less bottles of fancy shit the better, learn to use it and learn to read your plants. Unless you’re going organic, get a good ph and EC/ppm meter. When using Chem ferts they make or break you

Click to expand...

Exactly how I do it

Lots of plants dont like wet feet.