[VerdantGreen]

yeah i dont use a ppm meter, dont really feed my plants much above whats in the soil.

so would need to know what ppm is 'full strength' GH and then could work out a vague comparison for a liquid organic feed..

[TheRealHash]

Idk what nutes he's using but I generally use 1/4 strength.

[rik78]

superb experiment, many thanks for take the time and care to make it happen.

something else to comment, for sure some genetics will tolerate better than other the high N dosis. I dont think the Thai you gonna pop next will be more delicate to N thant less say some NL or DC

[Mikell]

Interesting. Apologies for not jumping in sooner, don't take it as a lack of interest. I assume others are like myself, watchers

I grow organically for the most part, but find everything of interest. I use a very light mix for seedlings, along the lines of VD but with a pinch of kelp and alfalfa. Some experimenting is definitely in order. I was going to do a few germination rate seed pops, might as well add to the experiment as neither will interfere.

I'll rep at you later, seems I'm click happy these days hehe

[Dave Coulier]

Originally Posted by VerdantGreen

interesting stuff dave, thanks for the well executed comparison!

so my seedling mix is 'unferted' except for about 10% EWC

can you tell me what percentage of 'full strength' the 160 ppm feed is?

then i can try to convert it to the correct strength of basic 'organic grow' liquid feed.

i generally start at about quarter strength for seedlings and clones.

VG

Thanks for dropping in VG. Im glad you enjoyed the comparison. Ive got more upcoming on my lists to do, so stay tuned.

As for % numbers, the 160N is the highest Ive ever fed on a regular basis, but I can tell you the total PPM of the feed is 650/EC 1.3. That includes the Agsil 16H as well.

Im no organic expert, so trying to extrapolate my results and apply them to an organic garden is beyond my scope. Although, I do recommend experimenting and more experimenting afterwards.
Its fun and you'll generally learn something useful. The next experiment I run, will be retesting feed rate for seedlings as my area under my T5's is really bare atm. Im going to run 160N, 180N, and 200N. Maybe a bit more growth can be coaxed out yet..

Originally Posted by rik78

superb experiment, many thanks for take the time and care to make it happen.

something else to comment, for sure some genetics will tolerate better than other the high N dosis. I dont think the Thai you gonna pop next will be more delicate to N thant less say some NL or DC

Thanks for chiming in Rik. Im glad you got something out of it, and hopefully the information will prove useful to someone out there starting some seeds.

As for the Thais, Ive already popped them. All 3 have been getting fed 160N for the first two weeks of life. They're all looking nice and healthy, but Ill definitely monitor their EC levels in the media very closely as I go forward with them.

Originally Posted by Mikell

Interesting. Apologies for not jumping in sooner, don't take it as a lack of interest. I assume others are like myself, watchers

I grow organically for the most part, but find everything of interest. I use a very light mix for seedlings, along the lines of VD but with a pinch of kelp and alfalfa. Some experimenting is definitely in order. I was going to do a few germination rate seed pops, might as well add to the experiment as neither will interfere.

I'll rep at you later, seems I'm click happy these days hehe

Dont sweat it Mikell. Ive run a few grow journals, and Ive realized most people that are involved in the thread do so silently. They enjoy reading them and looking at pictures, but it can take some goading to get them involved.

Im glad to see you are going do some some experimenting. Learning is exciting! I hope you'll find a new organic mix that produces superior seedlings to what you're used too.

Dont be afraid to feed those seedlings folks. They're hungrier than you may realize. Have some fun and do some experiments with your feed levels and move on from there. There's so many tweaks we can do to our garden to improve performance it practically makes me giddy.

[Dave Coulier]

Ive got a few pics left to share with you all from this experiment, so enjoy.

This is the same plant from the "Which was fed nutrients?" pic. Its the most vigorous one out of the bunch. It also broke the surface 12 hours ahead of the rest, and its put that extra time to good use.

Day 25


Day 21

[Dave Coulier]

What a sad looking group of plants these are. N deficiency is very evident along with the stunting that goes with it.

Day 21 Control Group

[vostok]

Originally Posted by Dave Coulier

You'd be surprised how much fuel really is in the tank of the cotyledons. Those leaves can provide the plant the jump start it needs, but pretty soon they run out of juice if not fertilized shortly after germination.

Future pic updates will updates provide a clearer picture. Stay tuned!

Great Pics Too!
by week 3 I'm often foilar feeding with urine(mine)
1x teaspoon to a pint hand sprayer
filled with warm water and applied
2-3 times per day, as often with foilar feeding
you can't nute burn them ..lol

[ISM2]

Great experiment! Makes me think I'm holding my little ones back from their full potential.
Thanks for taking the time to document this.

[stihgnobevoli]

Very excellent experiment dave. But i'm afraid you original premise was a bit off. The old rule isn't "Don't feed your seedlings till after week 2" it's "Seedlings don't need food till after the cotyledons start to yellow and fall off which usually takes up to week 2."

if you look at your pics. around Day 11 seems to be when the feeding started making a difference. which would most likely be when the cotyledons ran out of food. you actually proved the old adage true.

But at the same time you have provided a wealth of information as to how much food you can start your seedlings off with.

Thanks very much for the experiment.