humates/fulvics

[ScuzyRoach]

I have used the Organicare line by Botanicare products as my foliar sprays for years w/ good results. Thats all i really use when they are small and under my T5's. Their fulvic acid used to be called Fulvex and then they had Humex. I think they just have Humega now as their soil conditioner and Huvega (mag. supplement). Very affordable for use as foliar sprays. I suggest using their Seaplex as well for the foliar.
Just my 2 cents worth.

 

[leadsled]

The above statement is true, but original material will depict how much fulvic is present and the sources will vary greatly. For example true leonardite only contains around 2-3% fulvic in the parent material while other sources can contain 5-7 times as much fulvic. Processing also has allot to do with the end product as well. Heat and large amounts of chemicals will lower efficacy. As Blaze pointed out not all humic substances (humic and or fulvic) are created equally. This statement rings true for both the raw material and finished products.

If a product smells like ammonia then ammonia was probably used in the extraction process. Ammonia is not preferred as an extraction solvent to make high quality humic . Be careful as some people smell what they think
is ammonia but it may be residual compounds form other extraction alkalis like KOH. Liquid humic products (I am referring to true humic i.e. black products) are in a alkali environment which catalyzes hydrolysis (break-down) of the product overtime. The one saving grace is that the fulvic fraction will still be stable because of it's chemical structure. That is if there is any significant fulvic in there in the first place.

That being said the only way to know how one product stacks up against another it to test them out. I have found that foliar tests are the fastest but a little subjective when comparing products but can provide quite a bit of info vs a control. Microbial stimulation is less subjective but you have to make sure there aren't other humic like materials in any of the other tea ingredients that will throw off the test. But if they give good stimulation to the microbes in the tea they will do the same for your plants! :happy Also pay attention to the bacterial to fungal ratios on your tea reports. It is easy to stimulate bacteria but more difficult to raise the fungal to bacterial ratios, that is the key when it comes to tea stimulation.

I use HumiSolve for outdoor plants and it does not take long to solubalize also I have never found a need to strain any sediment (not enough to mess or plug things) even when I messed with it for aeroponics.

Mostly I use Ful-Power with all my sprays and in my reservoir. I have tried most on the market and never found a fulvic product that compares to it. I find that chemically extracted fulvic products give way too much nutrient value that causes fertilizer imbalances or conversely they don't provide enough fulvic because they lower the application rates to avoid the aforementioned nutrient antagonizations.

Anything that will chelate nutrients (i.e. simple sugars, amino acids, fulvic, citric or other sequestering agents) can help "flush". But we should take a step back and really define what you mean by flushing. When it comes to soils if you are trying to flush you want to leach away excess salt minerals out of the media. When you are trying to "finish" a plant you want to encourage the plant to use up nutrients "in the pipeline". I think finishing is what most people are trying to achieve. The idea is to rid any nutrients that are free in the plant to be incorporated through the biological labyrinth if you will. The end result will be a product that produces minimal ash that will be white instead of black and tar like with a metallic taste. So now things that catalyze metabolic processes and have no nutrient value are going to be more appropriate. This equates to fulvic, citric, simple sugars and avoiding things like molasses and aminos. The humic fraction is not appropriate because it is too large to enter the plant and therefore cannot positively effect the utilization of nutrients within the plant.

Good info, well put and to the point.

 

[SurfdOut]

thanks for all the info guys...

 

[Shady]

Great thread! I recently started using Mad Farmer's NUTS at around 8 ml/gal instead of the higher range on the label... Should humic acids be treated like an additive and used in moderation? :thinking

Seems like quite a few farmers are foliar feeding with FulPower... What are the benefits, and at what strength and pH do you foliar feed? :wondering

 

[Seamaiden]

I treat humics the same way I do microbes--they are Agents of Chelation and thus stretch your nutrient dollars farther.

Based on Blaze's, Bio's and other posts here and elsewhere, as soon as I've run out of Humax I'll be switching to HumiSolve and FulPower. Unless you folks know of a better source for pricing, I'm just gonna go direct.

Shady, I don't have FulPower, so if I need/want to foliar with anything I use the Humax. I keep pH closer to neutral or <7, but won't mess with it too much. If you do use something like Humax you'll need to make a large adjustment down in pH.

Strength of foliar feeding is usually (this is a rough approximation based on everything I've ever foliared) 1/3-1/4 strength of root application rates. So, if I use 1oz/gallon to root feed, I'll cut that down to 1/4oz (1/2 tablespoon, or 1.5 teaspoons).

 

[Shady]

Thx for the info seamaiden! Yeah I've heard many good thing about FulPower... :cool

 

[robz]

I use bud candy from Advanced. It has all the acid you need bro

 

[Original Grower]

humic for soil, fulvic for hydro.

most companies sel equal versins of these from advanced to gren planet wholsale. very common at all grow/greenhouse supplies. ive used alot and they all work awesome, og

 

[Mmmmasonite]

Mad Farmer's N.U.T.S. is a clean fulvic acid that you can use to naturally lower ph and break down nutes mid week through your rez change.....Peace

 

[mrbong73]

I've heard a lot of good things about the LC-10 plus 7. But haven't tried it yet.


I use Bioag's Ful-power Fulvic for foliar and their CytoPlus USA as a soil drench and in my ACT.

Very high quality and the prices are delivered to your door.

 

[Seamaiden]

Right now I only have BioAg's 6% Ca and their Mg product (can't remember the %!), but I want more. I love it/them! Great tips, many thanks for sharing with us, mrbong.