Do I need nutrients with fox farm?

[Hipponipple]

I just started in solo cups with the ocean forest fox farm soil. I have been using distilled water. Do I need to be adding in some 2-0-0 since it is distilled water or am I good for now? I planned on transplanting it to a 2 gallon pot and sticking with that for the rest if the grow, using happy frog. I haven't looked into the next steps yet but anticipate using nutrients to feed later.

 

[CloudyAmberDay]

Ideally you would want to start your seeds in happy frog soil and transfer to ocean forest. Ocean forest can be a little much for seedling while happy frog has less organic fertilizer. If your seeds are in ocean forest they should be fine with just distilled water. I even know of people just using water throughout the entire grow with both soils. You most likely would suffer on yield and they yellow up kind of early, but the buds sure taste good. Anyways, aside from my rambling, here's what you should do. Keep watering them with just water and when you transfer them keep using water for the first two weeks. Usually a good sign of them being hungry is the cotyledons and lower leaves will start to fade and turn yellow, then you know they are hungry. You also want something that is more balanced then a 2-0-0, although this would green them up. If you want to go the bottled route neptunes harvest has some 2-4-2 and 2-6-4 liquid fertilizers for the flower cycle. You could also top dress with different dry fertilizers or even make your own soil. So keep it simple, keep giving them water and let them do their thing. Try to avoid overfeeding if you can, once you burn those delicate root hairs you'll be dealing with some serious plant stress including the risk of overwatering. Keep it simple and have fun, good luck!

 

[Creeperpark]

I just started some Brazilian Sativa in some Fox Farms soil mix too. I'm only using rainwater and not allowing any discharge so all the nutrients stay in the dixie cup. When they outgrow the cups, I just up-pot to a one-gallon pot with new Fox Farms soil. Only rainwater for the whole grow and no discharge out the bottom. Happy Gardening

 

[zachrockbadenof]

i'm using fox farm ocean forrest, and the full line of their nutes - on their chart it says u can feed the plants twice a week- i'm growing in 5gall pots and usually water only twice a week - so should i be giving them nutes with each watering?? sounds like a lot of nutes...

 

[flylowgethigh]

I hit mine with microbes each feeding as well.

 

[Creeperpark]

Just use rainwater with FFOF and no fertilizer until up-potting into the flowering container. Then I give them a light dose of fertilizer with every watering. Here they are now after the first light feeding. Only 260 ppm of fertilizer mixed with rainwater.

 

[moose eater]

i'm using fox farm ocean forrest, and the full line of their nutes - on their chart it says u can feed the plants twice a week- i'm growing in 5gall pots and usually water only twice a week - so should i be giving them nutes with each watering?? sounds like a lot of nutes...

If your CEC is stout, then you can water them regularly with FF, either the full regimen, or select items, being careful not to get a lock-out from imbalance.

I've used FF with homemade soilless mix in the past, and while I used it a couple times per week, I only fed at 1/2 to 2/3 strength. Something I'd advise with their products and a good well-endowed mix.

I've switched my feed sources, but I still use the FF Sledgehammer, Microbe Brew, Big Bloom (less so when I'm already banging high on K, as their Big Bloom Extract/Tea concentrate is higher in K if I recall correctly.

Their Grow Big has been fine here and there for vegging smaller plants or addressing a blanket deficiency issue, but I've mostly staying with the organics in my mix and switched to Nectar of the Gods Herculean Harvest for Ca and P, Hydrolyzed Fish Fertilizer from Neptune's Harvest (2-3-.?), FF Microbe Brew and the mate to that (the name of which currently escapes my mind), some limited frequency and amount of ProTekt for silica and a minor dose of K, Full Power, and Safer Grow's Biomin Liquid Ca. at 1-0-0.

On rare occasion I still use <1/8 tsp of Beastie Bloom, Cha Ching, and their 3rd, earlier powdered concentrate, but while those tend to run really good numbers on P, they also often contain too much K for my mix, which inadvertently already typically has sufficient K.

 

[Three Berries]

I use Happy Frog and Miracle Grow veg and flower and full strength when they need watered, once a week when small , every three days otherwise usually. Using a lot of CO2 though and cheap LEDs. Almost have to go with a calcium drip feed.

 

[Greenluv74]

I am doing the same. I went with half OF and half HF with 10% perlite. I gave 1/3 strength of nutes towards the end of veg when they started showing deficiencies. I noticed some burnt tips. Since transplanting into 5 gal pots, flipping to flower, and keeping the same soil mix, I'm just going to give PH balanced water with blackstrap molasses. Given that this is my first grow, I'm so tempted to add some Tiger Bloom but not sure if i should.

 

[Three Berries]

I'm getting near the end of a auto grow with FF OF. Didn't really know what was going to happen. Total of about 3 gal of soil, I amended with 1 cup DS Lime, 1 qt perlite, ½ cup KMgSO4. Kept the watering to a minimum and used 50/50 well rain water about 250 ppm ca/mg with a bit of iron.

At 8 weeks it appeared to show sings of nute deficiencies so I started with first some Ca++ and Mg++ on top. Then started adding full strength Miracle Grow Flower nutes, some Epsom and Molasses, pH up with KHCO3 if needed. Usually the 50/50 well and nutes came out to 6.6 for pH.

I only ran to run off a couple of times and the pH was mid to upper 6s. Now at 10 weeks and a couple days it's showing some nute burn so it's getting water and diluted nutes for the duration. Should be around another 3 to 4 weeks.

The seeds I sprouted on a paper towel and then put in a very small peat pot with ProMix BX. That worked better than directly in the hot OF. Next grow in the OF with an auto will be using a 8oz solo cup of ProMix Bx in the pot to start the seed in.

Run off today with rain water only was 6.9 and 4955 ppm!

So looks like I should have started adding full nutes around 6 weeks and then cut back at 8 or so, same with the well rain water ratio.. Height is becoming an issue. Ca++ has only been added a couple of times. Epsom was 1/4 tsp per gal until the 8 week time then I doubled that.

Maybe I should have ran to run off more? I usually have been watering about a quart twice a day for the last month. The plant has been maintaining a good RH with temps in the mid/lower 70Fs. To get run off I have to water about a 1/2 gallon and then get 10 oz or so. But this throws the water schedule and RH way off.