Osmocote, my favorite plant food - easy peasy, complete

[Old Uncle Ben]

They started in small pots, then went into 20-30 L containers for a few months.
Thought at my latitude they'd flower over summer (according to past experience with other cultivars).
I was wrong.
So recently potted up to the bigger 30-50 L containers.
They didn't start in these pots.
Partly it's because I can only water once a week, maybe, and the medium volume helps a lot.
Considering they'll veg for at least another month, then 3-4 months flowering, they may just be 10' tall by the time they finish in Nov or Dec.

Curious, where are you growing?

I see you have 4 per pot. You're going to move them outdoors? One option which works well is to remove any stoppage from the drainholes, dig a 3" hole, drop the pot in and kick up native soil around the bottom. The roots will grow out the drainholes into native soil. So you'll get nutrients and water focused to the root system by watering the pot.

This was a sativa cross in July.

Late August. 2 of 4 colas aka Uncle Ben's 4 Main Colas drill. They got huge and supports didn't work. They went over.

 

[Maria Sanchez]

Curious, where are you growing?

I see you have 4 per pot. You're going to move them outdoors? One option which works well is to remove any stoppage from the drainholes, dig a 3" hole, drop the pot in and kick up native soil around the bottom. The roots will grow out the drainholes into native soil. So you'll get nutrients and water focused to the root system by watering the pot.

This was a sativa cross in July.

View attachment 19037808

View attachment 19037810

Late August. 2 of 4 colas aka Uncle Ben's 4 Main Colas drill. They got huge and supports didn't work. They went over.

Subtropics.
They are outdoors, balcony of abandoned apartment, but in this photo inside to avoid a typhoon.
1-3 plants per pot.
I would prefer them in the ground, but guerilla conditions prevail and this is the best option.
What's the sativa exactly? Looks ... Laotian / Thai.

 

[Old Uncle Ben]

Subtropics.
They are outdoors, balcony of abandoned apartment, but in this photo inside to avoid a typhoon.
1-3 plants per pot.
I would prefer them in the ground, but guerilla conditions prevail and this is the best option.
What's the sativa exactly? Looks ... Laotian / Thai.

Don't remember what it was. That was 2007. Big colas though.

 

[Crazy Chester]

I use wood ashes all the time for cannabis and vegetables with no problems I just mix it in my compost and let it get rained on , it's highest in Calcium And is also a good source of potassium, phosphorus, magnesium and aluminum.

Me too - if it's composted with other organic material - it makes good food for the plants. The composting mitigates the negatives of wood ash.

 

[Orange's Greenhouse]

This is a perfect suggestion. Did my first outdoor grow this year and was a bit weary how to fertilize them. The soil is rather poor and sandy but I didn't want to put much effort into it.

In the end I added 100-200 mL of Osmocote (actually Basacote 6M, 16-8-12) per plant (various autos) and the results are amazing. No nutrient burn, no deficiencies, just perfect, large specimens.

For next year I'll probably use less.

 

[Old Uncle Ben]

This is a perfect suggestion. Did my first outdoor grow this year and was a bit weary how to fertilize them. The soil is rather poor and sandy but I didn't want to put much effort into it.

In the end I added 100-200 mL of Osmocote (actually Basacote 6M, 16-8-12) per plant (various autos) and the results are amazing. No nutrient burn, no deficiencies, just perfect, large specimens.

For next year I'll probably use less.

What, no 8 bottles of this and that and draining your bank account?

Easy peasy.........

 

[Orange's Greenhouse]

What, no 8 bottles of this and that and draining your bank account?

Easy peasy.........

My indoor grow is run to waste with coco and a pump. Can't say that the salt fertilizer is more expensive but it makes me think.

Why not mix coco with osmocote and use it in a recirculating system, just adding water to the reservoir when it's low?

 

[Old Uncle Ben]

My indoor grow is run to waste with coco and a pump. Can't say that the salt fertilizer is more expensive but it makes me think.

Why not mix coco with osmocote and use it in a recirculating system, just adding water to the reservoir when it's low?

Because it wasn't designed for that.

 

[Orange's Greenhouse]

Because it wasn't designed for that.

But 8 bottle feeds are designed for cannabis and I wouldn't follow that recommendation either.

I don't see any red flags to that idea. But I'm willing to listen to any objections or suggestions
On the next cycle I'll give it a try and report back in 4-6 months

 

[Brother Nature]

There was another dude on here who had tried it and had poor results, I can’t recall the persons username at the moment, but I think it was documented in one of the blumats threads…

 

[I Care]

as much as you save on materials already running coco, probably no benefit to make a change to an approach that already works.

Promix without the myco and pre buffered coco might be the way to go for an automated irrigation with osmocote. Calculate osmocote as your base soil. Be interesting to know who has monitored grams of osmocote plus/minors per gallon of a their chosen substrate; what that offered for ppm when doing 20% container volume run offs.

I did osmocote this year outdoor but as a supplemental, not as a base.

 

[Orange's Greenhouse]

There was another dude on here who had tried it and had poor results, I can’t recall the persons username at the moment, but I think it was documented in one of the blumats threads…

Do you happen to have a link for me?

as much as you save on materials already running coco, probably no benefit to make a change to an approach that already works.

The idea is to find something simpler. Cost is already low and this might cost a buck more per plant but if my reservoir maintenance is only to add more water instead of weighing nutes and making stock solutions it reduces effort.

 

[xtsho]

Well I didn't make it through the season and had to start supplementing with some Maxibloom every few waterings a few weeks ago when I could tell by the lower leaves that the plants needed some additional feeding. But they did make it close to 3 months with just water.

We had some extreme stretches of heat here early in the summer so I was watering multiple times a day for awhile due to using just 3 gallon pots that would dry out extremely quick. I also used the low end of the application rate and due to the temperatures it lasted longer than what it should have based on the osmocote documentation.

I'm pretty sure that had I used larger 5 gallon containers and applied it at the medium-high rate instead of low that I probably could have made it through the season. I was cautious with applying too much as I'd rather have to add more fertilizer than have overfed plants with clawing leaves from too much.

Overall I'm quite pleased with the osmocote. If I use it again I'll go to 5 gallon pots and bump up the application rate. I think if I do that I'll make it through the season. 3 gallons is pretty small to try and do a water only grow. I've grown plants in the 3 gallon but I was doing the water-water-feed-water water-feed. With the osmocote I was able to go close to 3 months with just watering from the hose. I just need to tweak the execution and I'm sure I can go the entire season without any additional feeding.

I give the osmocote a thumbs up for performance as it did work as advertised under the growing conditions according to their own charts. It was my first time using a timed release fertilizer so I've learned from this grow and will modify things in the future if I use it again.

 

[Old Uncle Ben]

But 8 bottle feeds are designed for cannabis and I wouldn't follow that recommendation either.

I don't see any red flags to that idea. But I'm willing to listen to any objections or suggestions
On the next cycle I'll give it a try and report back in 4-6 months

It is designed for soil and releases ions based on temp and soil moisture. It's smart technology, Higher soil temps and higher watering drills and the more salts are released into the pot or ground.

 

[Old Uncle Ben]

There was another dude on here who had tried it and had poor results, I can’t recall the persons username at the moment, but I think it was documented in one of the blumats threads…

Just another dumbnuts. Hearsay means nothing without something to back it up. I've used slow release prills for decades both indoors and out. Never been a problem.

This group can and will fuck up a wet dream.

 

[Old Uncle Ben]

Well I didn't make it through the season and had to start supplementing with some Maxibloom every few waterings a few weeks ago when I could tell by the lower leaves that the plants needed some additional feeding. But they did make it close to 3 months with just water.

We had some extreme stretches of heat here early in the summer so I was watering multiple times a day for awhile due to using just 3 gallon pots that would dry out extremely quick. I also used the low end of the application rate and due to the temperatures it lasted longer than what it should have based on the osmocote documentation.

I'm pretty sure that had I used larger 5 gallon containers and applied it at the medium-high rate instead of low that I probably could have made it through the season. I was cautious with applying too much as I'd rather have to add more fertilizer than have overfed plants with clawing leaves from too much.

Overall I'm quite pleased with the osmocote. If I use it again I'll go to 5 gallon pots and bump up the application rate. I think if I do that I'll make it through the season. 3 gallons is pretty small to try and do a water only grow. I've grown plants in the 3 gallon but I was doing the water-water-feed-water water-feed. With the osmocote I was able to go close to 3 months with just watering from the hose. I just need to tweak the execution and I'm sure I can go the entire season without any additional feeding.

I give the osmocote a thumbs up for performance as it did work as advertised under the growing conditions according to their own charts. It was my first time using a timed release fertilizer so I've learned from this grow and will modify things in the future if I use it again.


View attachment 19050641
View attachment 19050642
View attachment 19050643

How much for the 3 gal. pots? I dump a small handful into the last of the backfill for a 2 gal. pot.

 

[jokerman]

Just another dumbnuts. Hearsay means nothing without something to back it up. I've used slow release prills for decades both indoors and out. Never been a problem.

This group can and will fuck up a wet dream.

I dont even need the group ,I do that with ease myself

 

[xtsho]

How much for the 3 gal. pots? I dump a small handful into the last of the backfill for a 2 gal. pot.

I think I used about 25 grams per 3 gallons and mixed it in with the soil. I found additional usage instructions which I posted in my last post that were more informative than the directions on the 8lb consumer bag I purchased. We had an extremely hot July and I was watering multiple times a day. I'm sure the soil temp was 90°F for quite awhile. So the osmocote lasted longer than they claim.

As I've said, it was my first time growing with just a timed release fertilizer. Now that I've learned from the experience if I use it again I'm confident that I can make it work through the entire season. I probably should have mixed some more into the top of the soil after the 2 month mark but that would not have been possible because by then the pots were just one solid root mass all the way to the top. My only recourse now is to give an occasional liquid feed every few waterings. I'm definitely going to 5 gallon pots for my outdoor plants for that extra volume.

I've got no complaints with the osmocote at all. I went months with just watering with the hose and not having to deal with mixing anything up. I also had a hard time keeping the pots watered properly as they were drying out so fast in the heat.

It's grower error on my part not the osmocote. I just didn't use enough. I erred on the side of caution because I had never used the product. I'd rather use not enough and have to add later than use to much and fry the plants. As it is they're doing great. The information on it's usage and how it broke down and released in different temperature ranges was out there. I just didn't do my research and adjust.

Live and learn. Next year I know I can make it work flawlessly through the entire season now that I understand how to use it properly.

 

[Orange's Greenhouse]

It is designed for soil and releases ions based on temp and soil moisture. It's smart technology, Higher soil temps and higher watering drills and the more salts are released into the pot or ground.

As I said. I'll report back in a few months and then we can argue the details.

If it releases too little I can always supplement and if it releases to much I change the reservoir. "Wasting" nutrients is no concern of mine. I have a small grow and 5 or 10 Bucks for fertilizer doesn't harm me or the environment.

 

[Brother Nature]

For a cheap grow with osmocote, I'd recommend just a bag of good potting soil and the osmocote, that'll be cheaper than coco. Watering frequency will be less and while I'm all for experimentation, I think there is a good reason people don't use crf's with coco otherwise you'd see it everywhere, but if you want to try it, don't let us talk you out of it. Our larger med/commercial grow is a simple jacks type fertilizer and straight coco coir, it's very cheap and when done right you can recycle the coco and lower your roi even more.