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Good nutrient system for a newbie?


hero4u

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Hello again!  I am a newbie grower and i will be starting from seed and will be growing in soil.   Im looking for a good nutrient system that will work well for me!  I will be using two 300 watt LED grow lights and will be utilizing a grow tent.   Im looking a for a nutrient system that will be easy enough for me to use as a newbie but STILL have great flavor, denseness, etc.    

Any suggestions.  I am ALL ABOUT FLAVOR!  So looking for a system that will help with flavor as well!  

THANKS AGAIN!!!

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For 2 yrs now I’ve been using “Great Lakes” super soil. Just add plain ole ph’d H2O. My BEST grows EVER by far! Fantastic flavors, huge amounts of trichomes, huge buds and healthy plants. Also, I use fabric pots or A.K.A. Smart Pots, the 5 gal. size, plants thrive in these. No over watering, plant roots get lots of air and thrive like crazy. What I love about the Great Lakes Super soil is that there’s no need for adding nutrients, a no brainer. Save on not spending $$ on nutes. I get for $20 a bag which is enough to fill 3 five gal. Smart pots. 

I used to use cocoa core and perlite with adding nutrition. The Super soil IMHO opinion and experience is a much better way to grow. 

*I apologize for my misinformation...I was using 3 gal. Smart Pots which 1 bag of the Great Lakes super soil by Detroit Nutrition Co. will fill 3 of 3 gal. Smart Pots. I’m now, as of this weekend, going to all 5 gal. Smart Pots. Here’s the Detroit Nutrition Co. website...https://detroitnutrientcompany.com/collections/frontpage/products/great-lakes-water-only-soil    They retail their smart soil for $29 a bag...but if you’re anywhere close to Cheboygan, Awesome Blossoms indoor growing store sells it for $20 per bag. 

 

 

Edited by Icebox
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6 minutes ago, Icebox said:

For 2 yrs now I’ve been using “Great Lakes” super soil. Just add plain ole ph’d H2O. My BEST grows EVER by far! Fantastic flavors, huge amounts of trichomes, huge buds and healthy plants. Also, I use fabric pots or A.K.A. Smart Pots, the 5 gal. size, plants thrive in these. No over watering, plant roots get lots of air and thrive like crazy. What I love about the Great Lakes Super soil is that there’s no need for adding nutrients, a no brainer. Save on not spending $$ on nutes. I get for $20 a bag which is enough to fill 3 five gal. Smart pots. 

I used to use cocoa core and perlite with adding nutrition. The Super soil IMHO opinion and experience is a much better way to grow. 

I looked around and it sells for about $25 for one cubic foot. That's enough for one plant maybe. 

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1 hour ago, Restorium2 said:

Sounds like it would work good but it might be too hot for the young plants. Not very adjustable for different strains. 

ProMix, and adding nutes, gives you a blank slate to start with for seedlings and cuttings. Then it's infinitely adjustable. 

I’ve zero seedling plant hot/burn issues and I transplant the seedlings as soon as they have second set of leaves. I’ve not had any Nutrition deficiencies with the several varieties of Cannabis strains that I’ve grown since I’ve been using it as my growing medium. White Widow, Northern lights, Blueberry Bliss, Harlequin, Anubis, Copacanna, Annapurna, OG Kush, Strawberry Kush, Amnesia Kush, BlackBerry Kush...to name a few.  I’ll be starting some Girl Scout Cookies and Death Star soon. The only thing that I’ll add is M.O.A.B. in the last 1-2 weeks of flowering to juice up that trichomes. Some will mix in a little more wormcastings and clay powder into the Great Lakes super soil. 

Edited by Icebox
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  • 2 weeks later...

You can always start out with the Grow Big and see how you like it. If it meets expectations, then you can get one or both of the Blooms when you are ready to flower. Fox Farms also makes great soils. I've used (and reused) both Happy Frog and Ocean Forest blends.

Make sure that you adjust the pH of your water supply as necessary, using pH down (most likely) or pH up (rare instances). You can get a cheap pH test kit for less than $10 - either a paper strip or a liquid dropper.

The only other thing that I would recommend is Thrive Alive - Red.  I've tried the Thrive Alive - Green formula too, but the Red just has that "something" extra. Consider it to be an all-purpose tonic and supplement to your normal fertilization routine. A little bit of Thrive Alive (like a capful per quart) goes a long way.

Edited by mishigami bear
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Let me also add that I have had unsatisfactory experiences with LED lighting and grow tents. The LEDs that I used were from 2010, so things may have improved since then. I found that the LEDs did alright for vegetative growth, but the flowering was just too weak. Even with 600W of LEDs, there just wasn't the bud growth or canopy penetration that one could get with a 400 W HPS light.

Likewise, I never really had a satisfactory experience using a grow tent (mine was 36" x 36" x 72"). I always had issues with bugs and my plants just seemed to suffer. My best success was using HPS lighting in a small room or closet.

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With the FoxFarms, they have the powder amendments you can add too. I use all three. One starts the budding earlier, then you use the one that boosts the blooms, towards the end you use the finisher. They are pricey and you don't have to use them. 

I use a product like the Thrive Alive, it's Super Thrive. I just use it for cuttings.

LEDs are THE BOMB! They finally made it to the adult table and they are awesomeness. I bought one 1400 and it's working like nothing else I've seen in HPS lights.  I would suggest getting a PAR meter if you are going to venture around the light world. 

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I have used various and the latest and greatest nutrition on the market throughout the years. Nutrition that were highly recommended by growers with a whole lot  more experience than myself.  And all those various nutritions worked great. But for me what it came down to was this...since I’m putting this in my body/others that are close to me (my patience), I wanted a grow product that is more of an all natural product as close to nature as I could get, without growing my plants in the ground in 100% natural soil. I don’t want chemical residues in my buds or my plants at all.  There’s a slew of grow products out there on the market. It can be confusing for a newbie grower. Each individual needs to decide what they want in their bud and what they want from their plant. For me, I’ve found what I use, “super soil” with 100% pure well water, gives me both an amazing size bud in abundance and a bud that I can say is 100% organically grown, which that is very important to my patients plus myself. Peace ✌🏻 

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As for grow lights...I started with 1,000W HPS lights because I was able to buy them used barely used for 1 grow. I paid $200 for 2 sets that included variable ballast and gull wing hoods. Remember this, the more wattage/lumens equal higher yields. But, also higher electric consumption bill. Around 2-3 years ago when CMH grow lights came out I decided to give then a try on half of my grow to see if there was any value in changing over from HPS lighting.  The CMH grow lights touted they use a fraction of the electricity, the light spectrum is closer to the suns spectrum, no changing out bulbs from vegetation to flowering, cooler running, bulbs last up to 5 years, all the while getting a better and bigger yield from your plants. For this experiment, I had 2 completely separate grow rooms that were separated by a wall, 5’x5’x7’. I was amazed throughout my complete grow by the difference in the growth of the plants under the CMH lights vs HPS lights and by the size plus quantity of the buds! My plants grew faster and healthier looking vegetation under the CMH lights. Same plant strains, same growing medium and same nutrition for both rooms. Plus the yield of buds was by far much more in size and weight with the CMH vs HPS. AND...what made my wife happy, was the electric bill...the CMH lights lowered our electric bill. Now that I’ve gone with 100% CMH grow lights, our electric bill is only 1/4 of what it used to be when I was using HPS lights. Now I realize there’s a significant difference in electricity usage in using 1,000W vs 300, 400 or 600W HPS grow light setups. I just wanted to share my grow experience in the use of 2 different light setups that I’ve personally used. BTW...A very close friend of mine that has been a grower for 40+ years, and is also a strain breeder/developer, also has gone to all CMH grow lights...they’re that good. 

Edited by Icebox
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When it comes to plant lights, the PAR meter does the talking, no BS involved. With my new LED I'm more worried about having too much light than not enough. Growing side by side, my 1000 air cooled HPS is less than a foot off the canopy and my LED is over 3 feet above the canopy and still beating the 1000 with PAR.

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15 minutes ago, mishigami bear said:

Thanks for the updates on LED grow light technology. I'm glad to hear it. I'll probably take the plunge and buy something in the next year or so.

Any particular manufacturers that you recommend?

I'm cheap and skeptical so I bought a used light off of Craigslist.

I bought a Maxsisun 1440. The original owner bought it off Amazon and only used it once. Too much for his tent grow.

I also bought a hydrofarms PAR meter.

The LED blows away my 1000 HPS with a Hortilux Bulb. 

I've only used it for veg and 3 weeks of bloom, side by side with the 1000.

It's at least as good as the 1000. So far it looks like the buds will be nicer but it's only just starting to bud, 3 weeks in..

That's where I'm at. The PAR looks fantastic!

I will switch browsers and provide a link.

This website STILL doesn't support all browsers that every other sites use. Can't use Microsoft so I have to switch to cut and paste. 

Edited by Restorium2
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  • 2 months later...
On 12/29/2018 at 10:31 AM, Restorium2 said:

I'm cheap and skeptical so I bought a used light off of Craigslist.

I bought a Maxsisun 1440. The original owner bought it off Amazon and only used it once. Too much for his tent grow.

I also bought a hydrofarms PAR meter.

The LED blows away my 1000 HPS with a Hortilux Bulb. 

I've only used it for veg and 3 weeks of bloom, side by side with the 1000.

It's at least as good as the 1000. So far it looks like the buds will be nicer but it's only just starting to bud, 3 weeks in..

That's where I'm at. The PAR looks fantastic!

I will switch browsers and provide a link.

This website STILL doesn't support all browsers that every other sites use. Can't use Microsoft so I have to switch to cut and paste. 

Would love to see your finished grow with using the LED. Keep us posted. 

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17 minutes ago, Restorium2 said:

It turned out good. Better than the 1000 HPS right next to it, same strain. 

I'm switching over to all LED for the summer. Less heat! Less power consumption. 

 

Great to hear👍🏼  My 350W CMH lights out performs my 1000 MH/HPS lights also, by far, and only 140W of usage. I looked on Amazon last night and saw the Maxsisun 1440 selling for $268.00, not bad price point. I saved on my wishlist so I will revisit later.   

Thank you for sharing your crop outcome using the Maxsisun LED. Do you grow photo period or Auto?  Which strains?

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16 minutes ago, Icebox said:

Great to hear👍🏼  My 350W CMH lights out performs my 1000 MH/HPS lights also, by far, and only 140W of usage. I looked on Amazon last night and saw the Maxsisun 1440 selling for $268.00, not bad price point. I saved on my wishlist so I will revisit later.   

Thank you for sharing your crop outcome using the Maxsisun LED. Do you grow photo period or Auto?  Which strains?

The Maxsisun 1440 is discontinued so I had to pick another brand. Currently reviewing some others and will get back with what I found is the best bang for the buck.

I grow all older strains. OG Kush, Chem D, Headband. Aero, hydro, and soil.

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