Using All Purpose Fertilizer for hydroponic growing.

[GrassMonkey]

Has anyone ever grown hydroponically with a commercially bought fertilizer such as Schultz or Miracle-Gro? Currently I am using General Hydroponics and while it does a decent job I'm not that impressed. I have everything dialed in but still get smaller sized buds and gaps between the nodes on the colas. I have a growing plan outlines by the company and over the years have followed it to the T. And the last couple of years I've eliminated a few of their ingredients and have seen no difference in the growth taste or quality of my plants. Seems to me I've been pissing my money away and nutrients I really didn't need and I'm wondering how crucial some of these really are? Wondering if I could go with something like Schultz throughout the entire growth cycle and maybe get better results? Does anyone have any experience or knowledge if this is possible? I'd be very interested in any information anyone has regarding this issue.

[Slappy]

I made the switch from GH base to Cutting Edge. Less water, so lucas ratio 5-10 instead of 6-12. I hate GH lucas, that is why almost all the flower in the dispo looks and smells the same. I do not use the whole line-up, as I've created a blended formula using GH, CES, Aurora,Roots,Techniflora, Botanicare, and Fox Farm, and AN.

Edited September 28, 2019 by Slappy
forgot AN

[GrassMonkey]

Hi Slappy, 

Thanks for the response! I guess I have led a sheltered growing life, LOL, but what is Lucas ratio, and dispo?

Could you give me an example of how you're using these nutrients throughout the grow? I have only learned the General Hydroponics schedule and a very ignorant of other ways to hydro.

[GrassMonkey]

I just realized I used the word fertilizer when I meant to use the word nutrients. I must have been a little over medicated when typing this post, lol!

[Slappy]

9 hours ago, GrassMonkey said:

Hi Slappy, 

Thanks for the response! I guess I have led a sheltered growing life, LOL, but what is Lucas ratio, and dispo?

Could you give me an example of how you're using these nutrients throughout the grow? I have only learned the General Hydroponics schedule and a very ignorant of other ways to hydro.

Lucas is a Micro and Bloom ratio that has enough nitrogen that you don't need to use much Grow, if any at all. I thought that's what you meant by eliminating ingredients. LOL. Dispo is short for dispensary. I used to use General Hydroponics at 3ml Micro to 6ml Bloom for clones, 6ml Micro to 12ml Bloom and so on and so forth. Now with Cutting Edge Solutions I use 2.5ml Micro to 5ml Bloom for clones, 4ml Micro to 8ml Bloom and so on and so forth. It's really easy to make the switch from GH to CES because the base is very similar. Just a little less water.

[GrassMonkey]

Thanks for that Slappy!

I believe that makes a little more sense to me now as I followed the GH chart which has similar numbers. One of the main ingredients I eliminated was floralicious plus. Supposedly it makes your plants taste and smoke smoother. Extremely expensive stuff and after I eliminated it I could not tell a difference or neither could anyone else who had tried my medicine. All it did was make my plants and house smell to the point I almost lost my job, lol! They have me using some humic acid but I'm starting to wonder if that's even necessary at this point.

What do you think about using something like Schultz. Use the same formula from beginning to end? Just make sure it's dissolved very well before adding to the barrel. I've had pretty good success using Schultz in soil, I can't see any reason why it wouldn't work in a hydro system, unless I'm overlooking something. I could add some cool Bloom towards the end to help the flowers. Just don't know because I really have no one to help me with this and and thinking I can get better results. What are your thoughts?

[Slappy]

12 hours ago, GrassMonkey said:

Thanks for that Slappy!

I believe that makes a little more sense to me now as I followed the GH chart which has similar numbers. One of the main ingredients I eliminated was floralicious plus. Supposedly it makes your plants taste and smoke smoother. Extremely expensive stuff and after I eliminated it I could not tell a difference or neither could anyone else who had tried my medicine. All it did was make my plants and house smell to the point I almost lost my job, lol! They have me using some humic acid but I'm starting to wonder if that's even necessary at this point.

What do you think about using something like Schultz. Use the same formula from beginning to end? Just make sure it's dissolved very well before adding to the barrel. I've had pretty good success using Schultz in soil, I can't see any reason why it wouldn't work in a hydro system, unless I'm overlooking something. I could add some cool Bloom towards the end to help the flowers. Just don't know because I really have no one to help me with this and and thinking I can get better results. What are your thoughts?

Diamond Nectar is the ish! Don't stop using that. I have no experience with Schultz, but can imagine there's some sort of slow-release nitrogen like most standard nutrients. That's the whole point of using a hydro base at the very least. As I've mentioned before to others, you don't have to use the whole line up. Pick a base, add your favorite PK, pick whatever silica, your diamond nectar, some carbs, some beneficial microbes, B-vitamins and the like. All nutrients work, you just have to find the right ratio. However, every brand of nutrient Base can be used at a Lucas Formula ratio. Just may need to tweek it a bit. I even run Jungle Juice in a similar fashion. Just remember to use hydro friendly nutes only in your reservoir.

Edited October 1, 2019 by Slappy

[glued gorilla]

If you are looking for simple powdered nutes, Veg Bloom or Peters are both great choices and produce quality. I would not recommend Shultz or mirucle grow

[Wild Bill]

Try Dyna-Gro, I've used it for years.

[Willy]

Im a house and garden fan. give great yeilds and consistant growth. I have seen plants grow an inch a day like you can see it grow if you sit there long enoughh,,, lol

https://www.house-garden.us/

Edited November 30, 2019 by Willy

[jonnynobody]

On 9/28/2019 at 4:50 PM, GrassMonkey said:

Has anyone ever grown hydroponically with a commercially bought fertilizer such as Schultz or Miracle-Gro? Currently I am using General Hydroponics and while it does a decent job I'm not that impressed. I have everything dialed in but still get smaller sized buds and gaps between the nodes on the colas. I have a growing plan outlines by the company and over the years have followed it to the T. And the last couple of years I've eliminated a few of their ingredients and have seen no difference in the growth taste or quality of my plants. Seems to me I've been pissing my money away and nutrients I really didn't need and I'm wondering how crucial some of these really are? Wondering if I could go with something like Schultz throughout the entire growth cycle and maybe get better results? Does anyone have any experience or knowledge if this is possible? I'd be very interested in any information anyone has regarding this issue.

If you're trying to grow bigger flowers get a bigger / more light. Plants make their own food through photosynthesis, and they will grow bigger flowers if they have more light. General Hydroponics makes excellent products and is a great choice. I run maxi grow and maxi bloom. I occasionally use a cal-mag supplement on certain strains that require it. I always add floralicious plus in flower. I wouldn't use all the other voodoo products they sell, but their flora and maxi series are outstanding products and priced reasonably.

When I upgraded from two 600w lights to two 1000w lights my cola size doubled as did my yield. I went from 1# with 2x600w to 2# 4grams with 2x1000w. Fertilizer didn't change and had no relevance to flower size. Light did. Upgrade your light. Leave your fertilizer alone.

Edited April 16, 2020 by jonnynobody