Cheap alternatives to overpriced hydroponic nutrients

[Surfandgrow]

Does anyone have exp. with Jacks and coco? Im starting to hear that its not good with coco. Any info would be great!

 

[Fresh Starts]

Jacks is fine with coco- it works best when adding in epsom salts @ 1gram per gallon IME. A healthy watering schedule that keeps the medium saturated is key.

 

[Surfandgrow]

My current watering schedule is half a gallon on day 1 per 3 gallon smart pot with coco, half a gallon day two, 1 gallon day three, flush day 4 with 1 gallon RO PHed. Repeat process. DTW.

 

[Fresh Starts]

Why the flush? Ample runoff during the previous water rings should be enuf

 

[Surfandgrow]

Just to prevent any buildup. I do a 2 week flush week 8 and 9 and my leaves still barely yellow. I bet with the Jacks in coco Ill have to flush like that.

 

[Fresh Starts]

When you start the flush you can run lots of plain water through the coco to drop the EC of salts. After that has been done stick to a low EC food dose.

 

[Surfandgrow]

I just got my jacks in. I got CaNO3 and MgSO4 and the MOST. Im in week 3 of flower and growing in coco. Any ideas what to start my grams per gallon at? This will be my first attempt to switch nutrient regiments in 5 years. I was thinking of trying the 3 grams jacks, .5 grams epsom and 1.8 for the cal/nit. Im using RO and even though the jacks has traces in it I was still going to use the most at .5 grams/gallon as well. Any thoughts?

 

[Fresh Starts]

Use 1 gram per gallon epsoms- magnesium stops the high potassium levels from being antagonistic in coco. Every thing else looks good

 

[Surfandgrow]

@thewhitelotus you can get CaNO3 at MBFERTS.com for $23 free shipping for a 25 lb bag. I just mixed up a 5 gallon practice solution to run on one of my flowers just starting week 4. I used 2.5 grams Jacks, 1.67 grams Cal/nit, .5g epsom and .5 grams of MOST. My PH in RO came out to 4.9 and 740 ppm with an EC of 1.5. Any ideas? Why is my PH so low?

 

[Surfandgrow]

@Fresh Starts Im going to mix another batch right now at the above measurement + .5g additional MgSO4 and write down my levels. BRB!

 

[Surfandgrow]

I mixed 3g jacks, 1g epsom, .5g MOST and cal/nit @ 1.8g all per gallon into a 5 gallon bucket these were my levels. PH 5.3, EC 1.7 PPM 840 will this profile work for veg and flower or is the one above better. Is there a better formula then what Im trying? Should my veg and flower ratios be different? Lower ec in veg? Maybe 1g/ gallon jacks and .67g cal/nit?

 

[Fresh Starts]

I mixed 3g jacks, 1g epsom, .5g MOST and cal/nit @ 1.8g all per gallon into a 5 gallon bucket these were my levels. PH 5.3, EC 1.7 PPM 840 will this profile work for veg and flower or is the one above better. Is there a better formula then what Im trying? Should my veg and flower ratios be different? Lower ec in veg? Maybe 1g/ gallon jacks and .67g cal/nit?

The jacks and Cal/Nit mix by weight you are using (3g jack + 1.8 Cal/Nit) is correct to use from veg till harvest- just remember to flush using a low EC food dose during the end. If you start to see leaf edges curl- start to push the Epsoms to 1g per gallon right away. I find IME that it is absolutely needed in pure coco.

As for the PPM don't be too wary of the numbers you will not burn your plants.

 

[Surfandgrow]

I tried both formulas. Im going to water two GDP at 1 gallon a day for 5 days and see how they do.

 

[tweedy]

I know people have mixed feelings on mixing up intermediary jugs of things like jacks but for basic salts thought these links might be handy.

 

[Owlfarm]

This was a great thread to read. Took awhile to get the whole thing done, and understood for the most part. I jumped on the jacks train a few months ago, but have been suffering from terrible yields. After reading this thread I figured out I needed to be dissolving the nutes. I was just dumping them in the res and there would be a pile of mixed salts in the bottom. My res is pretty cool too so it didn't dissolve well. It seems like everyone else is getting good yields though, so I'll keep trying. Is the 3-2-1 method still what alot of you guys are using? Do you think my lack of yield was related to improper dissolving?

 

[GR33NL3AF]

I tried both formulas. Im going to water two GDP at 1 gallon a day for 5 days and see how they do.

Are you monitoring your runoff? Flushing coco is a horrible idea... Rather feed your plants lightly, and raise it over time, while monitoring your runoff. Then if your feed becomes excessive lower your ppms, don't flush. Sea Green will help remove salt buildup.

 

[Fresh Starts]

This was a great thread to read. Took awhile to get the whole thing done, and understood for the most part. I jumped on the jacks train a few months ago, but have been suffering from terrible yields. After reading this thread I figured out I needed to be dissolving the nutes. I was just dumping them in the res and there would be a pile of mixed salts in the bottom. My res is pretty cool too so it didn't dissolve well. It seems like everyone else is getting good yields though, so I'll keep trying. Is the 3-2-1 method still what alot of you guys are using? Do you think my lack of yield was related to improper dissolving?

Easier to mix salts in a small container of hot water and stir that until dissolved fully then add to rez. Mix jacks and Cal/nit seperately.

When mixing small batches it is ok to use the 3-2-1 method- like 1-5 gallons. If you are mixing for big reservoirs (10-50+) keep in mind the correct mixing ratio is 3-1.8-1 and that you will stray from optimum results unless you do the math.

 

[Owlfarm]

Thanks for the info fresh start. I just mixed up a few rooms with the 3-1.8-1 ratio and I'll see how it turns out. Are you running this same ratio all the way through? Or are you altering it at all for different phases? What EC are you running at different phases? And are your yields with jacks comparable to other nutrient lines you've used? I put .5 gram a gallon bloom booster in too, but I'm wondering if that will throw off the numbers...

 

[Fresh Starts]

Are you running this same ratio all the way through? Or are you altering it at all for different phases?

Yes, I feed the same hydroponic formula from veg through flower.

What EC are you running at different phases?

My nursery and vegetative plants receive EC @ 1.2
My flowering plants receive EC @ 1.5-1.6 until I flush for the last two weeks with EC @ .3

And are your yields with jacks comparable to other nutrient lines you've used?

I have recently hit my goal of 1 gram per watt with jacks- some thing that was harder to achieve with my other 6 part nutrient line.

I put .5 gram a gallon bloom booster in too, but I'm wondering if that will throw off the numbers...

The bloom boosters are not required. I absolutely do not use them and I have better yields without them. Healthy plants driven by a balanced diet provide better buds than plants that have phosphorus and potassium crammed down their throats. Bloom boosters add P and K to the medium but that doesn't mean the plants are going to intake it optimally. I don't know how many times I'll say this- but Jacks is a balanced formula! A balanced elemental formula aids in Phosphorus and Potassium synthesis already. To understand this concept research protagonist and antagonist relationships between elements in fertilizer solutions.

If you see PK boosters at the hydro store and you get a boner thinking about massive yields that are promised by a label on a bottle just remember you are being marketed to and your moneys are being spent on snake oil. If the boosters work its because the line they are designed to be plugged into are deficient in PK to begin with.

 

[EveryOneSmokes]

The jacks and Cal/Nit mix by weight you are using (3g jack + 1.8 Cal/Nit) is correct to use from veg till harvest- just remember to flush using a low EC food dose during the end. If you start to see leaf edges curl- start to push the Epsoms to 1g per gallon right away. I find IME that it is absolutely needed in pure coco.

As for the PPM don't be too wary of the numbers you will not burn your plants.

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This is an okay mixture, u need to re formulate and add a couple more key ingredient to make it a solid profile..

At these ratios u running a high nitrogen which is the reason why the flowers are looking a little airy.. But that's just my .02 cents...