Osmocote, my favorite plant food - easy peasy, complete

[Old Piney]

Plant doesn't care about organic purists' cult. It only cares about the right NPK and micros and having a constant supply of water. Witness hydroponics, water culture.

Not a “ cult” member , I use some Peters for seedlings ,cutting and inside the topic Is gorilla grows and osmocoat not hydro. It's hard to beat a good soil amendment like compost that can be brought in or collected on site for NPK, micros and moisture retention and so much more in a gorilla grow. The closer we stick to nature the less problems, not a cult just the facts as I've experienced

 

[da kine]

Used to use Osmocote as a topfeed (out of doors) after making sure there was sufficient compost in the soil before putting it on. More or less used as precautionary measure only. Firm believer that if you give the plant enuf available organic medium, they will feed on that first and foremost, and basically ignore anything else ya put on the table.

 

[Old Uncle Ben]

I put the osmocote in the holes when I transplant. Then I topdress around the beginning of August with cow shit and organic rose food... With weed being legal now, the company should come out with an osmocote that is designed for cannabis.

And what would that be? See, "they" have you hooked too. "Cannabis specific" foods is a marketing gimmick.

You'd be better off applying the prills in the top inch of so of back fill, depending on the nature of the hole and your watering technique. Nutrients will flow top down @radioman .

Again, this food is perfect for cannabis, am talking plant nutrition, science. Some folks just can't think outside of the box having been programmed by cannabis marketing shysters and internet forum sychophants for years. Call it a paradigm if you will.

Come on people, save some money and headaches. Get off the cannabis conman's teat and free yourself. Learn plant nutrition. Here is an (edited) ditty on the subject of bloom foods abuse I wrote many years ago which has been posted in many forums including the original OverGrow, Cannabis World and Planet Ganja:

The never ending abuse of Phosphorous to enhance flowering

A common mistake for growers when they reach the flowering stage is to start hitting the plants with a high P fert like a 10‑50‑10, continuing to use this blend exclusively, and when their plants start experiencing a deficit of N, Ca, Mg or micros as reflected by the dropping of lower leaves and chlorosis, they wonder why. Plants flower as a response to long nights (or chronological age if equatorial), not because of food blends high in P (or K). A ratio of 10‑30‑10 is WAY too high in P. The plant will only take what it needs and compete for other elements that may be more important at the time.

You may have heard that too much N can inhibit flowering. No question about it, exclusive use of a plant food that is rich in N such as blood meal, a 5‑1‑1 blend, or ammonium nitrate/sulfate may inhibit flowering especially if the phosphorous level is low, but most balanced blends have sufficient amount of P to do the job. The question is ‑ "how much P is enough to support a good flowering response and still retain my leaves?"

Manufacturers/horticulturists will give you element analysis and what effect the elements have on plant growth, but remember this does not necessarily mean you will get better yields. Using a high P fert exclusively during flowering can actually work against you due to impending leaf drop. It's an abundant amount of healthy leaves going into 12/12 and maintaining their health until harvest that produces a lot of bud, not high P, or low N foods.

I rotate fertilizer blends as the plant *requires* them, not because it is "the thing to do." For example, when your plants are going thru the stretch phase during early flowering, they may need more N, especially if you're getting some yellowing in the lower leaves. Give up the cannabis paradigms and give them what they need. You may want to return to a mild high P fert when the stretch ends, maintaining the foliage in a healthy state of growth until harvest for maximum yields. A 1‑3‑2 blend such as Peter's Pro Blossom Booster, 10‑30‑20, is a good choice because of several factors ‑ it is higher in nitrate N and Mg and has a good micro package. It is sold under the Jack's Classic label.

There are many foods I stock in my toolbox. Dyna-Gro is another excellent brand. I use a lot of their Foliage Pro - 9-3-6.

Stay away from cannabis specific foods. They market unsuspecting newbies who don’t yet have a handle on plant nutrition and soil chemistry.

Uncle Ben

Just took this pic of my only indica left. It's getting another glorious Texas sunbath today. This plant is in perfect form and color, flowering along at 3 weeks 12/12.

Tio

 

[Old Uncle Ben]

It's hard to beat a good soil amendment like compost that can be brought in or collected on site for NPK, micros and moisture retention and so much more in a gorilla grow.

I have hauled a good 100 cu. yds. or so of free horse manure using a 4.5 cu. yd. electrically controlled dump trailer pulled with my pickup. Back up to the garden spot, hit the dump button, done. Horse farms will gladly give manure to you free, but, MAKE SURE they don't spray their fields with a broad leaf herbicide, at least not within the last year or so, ask them. Such herbicide examples are dicamba, picloram and 2-4D (albeit short lived). If in doubt test your compost or manure on sensitive plants like beans, peppers, or maters.

Our landfill also offers high quality (clean) double grind mulch for a very cheap price of $10 for 3 cu. yds. 3 cu. yds. is a HUGE amount of goodies. The floor of this cabin sits about 6' above the ground for reference. This load is about 2X the size of a large pickup bed, rounded over.

Good luck,
Uncle Ben

 

[Old Piney]

I started way back when with sacks of composted horse manure haled out into the weeds the best was from straw bedding .Now I just collect leaf compost on site and worm castings and a little lime , one or two shots of week chicken manure tea and that’s it

 

[ledo]

I’ve hauled thousands with a barrow & my back, machines & synthetics are cutting corners - equate to swag - haha

5-6 lbs outdoors in upstate NY - sativa too, proper fade into mid November- great year

 

[Hasselhoff1337]

First year using osmocote. Used cow manure mainly in the past, and wood ash in the last trimester of the grow and some liquid nutes every now and again. Has worked fine but had a P deficiancy last year on some plants. Gonna go for a set and forget type of deal this year, hoping osmocote lives up to the hype .

Im 100% a noob btw but fun to see you sometimes hit the right spot haha

 

[Old Uncle Ben]

First year using osmocote. Used cow manure mainly in the past, and wood ash in the last trimester of the grow and some liquid nutes every now and again. Has worked fine but had a P deficiancy last year on some plants. Gonna go for a set and forget type of deal this year, hoping osmocote lives up to the hype .

Im 100% a noob btw but fun to see you sometimes hit the right spot haha

Wood ashes are highly caustic, do not use.

Apply Os. and let it go from start to finish. IOW, "don't fuck with it"!

 

[Hasselhoff1337]

Wood ashes are highly caustic, do not use.

Apply Os. and let it go from start to finish. IOW, "don't fuck with it"!

I guerilla grow in pine forest so I need to raise the PH anyway i did a PH test mid season last year and it came out a bit low at 5,5. Plants didnt look bad though!

i just realized caustic may have nothing to do with Ph lol. If you have some time Big Ben could you please tell me more?

Btw does cannabis like horse manure?

 

[Old Piney]

wood ashes contain lye caustic alkali that must be leached out first . I just don't get the Osmocoat thing it's slow release long-acting, not what you want for cannabis .Maybe just some garden food if your not in to organics

 

[Old Uncle Ben]

wood ashes contain lye caustic alkali that must be leached out first . I just don't get the Osmocoat thing it's slow release long-acting, not what you want for cannabis .Maybe just some garden food if your not in to organics

You can't leach wood ashes. For starts you'll have a sloppy mess and lose the nutrient value which is K.

Osmocote Indoor-Outdoor Plus is a perfect food for cannabis regarding complete nutrition and is the same as "organics" since it's a slow release food. I use the best of both worlds combining organics with synthetics.

It's especially nice for those who want a perfect one hit food and low maintenance too. Now, if I was a betting man, I'd bet you've been brainwashed by The Herd into flushing drills, another feel good myth, so you won't be convinced otherwise. I use a 5-6 month food on cannabis, a 8-9 feed for my greenhouse.

I guerilla grow in pine forest so I need to raise the PH anyway i did a PH test mid season last year and it came out a bit low at 5,5. Plants didnt look bad though!

i just realized caustic may have nothing to do with Ph lol. If you have some time Big Ben could you please tell me more?

Btw does cannabis like horse manure?

Yes, horse manure is excellent, well balanced nutrition regarding macros, IF, the pile has been composted to a temp of 170F and most important, you know your source and can be assured that no broad leaf herbicides (such as 2,4D, dicamba, trichlopyr, etc) has been sprayed on the field where rancher's horses graze. I've hauled 100's of cu. yds. of the stuff stockpiled at a horse ranch. If you want to haul it in bulk to your place for future use, recommend renting a electrically controlled dump trailer to haul it. I've unloaded/shoveled my 16' trailer by hand....never again.

Caustic = Basic

Uncle Ben

 

[Old Uncle Ben]

...., hoping osmocote lives up to the hype .

Hype? The only hype you find is in cannabis forums. If I had a nickel......

About 12 years ago a local vineyard owner bought it by the pallet, stacked 50# sacks. We, the field planters, applied it to 12,000 grape "benchgrafts" while planting. About 1 handful per grafted vine. That's about how much I'd recommend for newly planted outdoor cannabis transplants per seedling, scattered in a 3' diameter.

Got a 50# bag in recently. I've used it on everything for decades. If you know anything about plant nutrition (as opposed to following forum BS which is so rampant), you'll see what a perfect blend of salts this is.

I love the N ratios - ammonical for slow release, nitrate form for faster release.

UB

 

[BuckeyeGreen]

Osmocote lasts different lengths of time based on the temperature and types of plants being fed. Osmocote has been tested for decades so it is well known how it works.
Also you have to over feed either with the initial feeding or over time if you feed too often, 3 to 4 times the recommended amount before you see signs of over feeding. There is plenty of room for error if you fail to read and follow the feeding instructions.

https://greenhouse.hosted.uark.edu/Unit08/images/H5124_spec.pdf

 

[goingrey]

Osmocote lasts different lengths of time based on the temperature and types of plants being fed. Osmocote has been tested for decades so it is well known how it works.
Also you have to over feed either with the initial feeding or over time if you feed too often, 3 to 4 times the recommended amount before you see signs of over feeding. There is plenty of room for error if you fail to read and follow the feeding instructions.

https://greenhouse.hosted.uark.edu/Unit08/images/H5124_spec.pdf

Surely it's better to add more later.

Just dig a cup sized hole, fill it up, cover it up. Works with some others at least don't know about Osmocote.

 

[Hasselhoff1337]

Surely it's better to add more later.

Just dig a cup sized hole, fill it up, cover it up. Works with some others at least don't know about Osmocote.

Oh ok! I put 3 grams per litre of soil and mixed it all together. Should work anyway i guess . Btw 3gr/L is like 7,5grams/gallon (an eight is 3 gr i think)

 

[goingrey]

Oh ok! I put 3 grams per litre of soil and mixed it all together. Should work anyway i guess . Btw 3gr/L is like 7,5grams/gallon (an eight is 3 gr i think)

Better to have it mixed in but hard to do that when adding more later..

 

[BuckeyeGreen]

Of course it’s better to add more later if needed, that goes without saying. The point is that it is actually hard to add too much and as I stated, you have to add 3 to 4 times the recommended amount to see any signs of over fertilization.

I didn’t say not to fertilize in the future. I said, in regards to over fertilization, that if you add too much initially or if you add TOO much, not the recommended amount, in the future, don’t worry because Osmocote gives you plenty of leeway. I was trying to make the point that the recommended dose is very light but still very effective and over fertilization can only happen if you don’t read and follow the directions.

I’d have to go look on the bag to be sure but for containers I think the dose is one supplied scoop full of fertilizer (3 tablespoon) for 2 gallons of potting soil. In order to see any signs of over fertilization in the plant in that 2 gallon pot you’d have to add in 4 scoops of fertilizer. So if you are worried about burning your plants with Osmocote, don’t.

You have to monitor your conditions as far as temperature goes and realize when it gets hotter more fertilizer is released and is used up. Watch the condition of your plants and it could be that most of the fertilizer is gone but the plant is still very healthy and doesn’t really need more fertilizer.

I fertilized the recommended amount for all of the giant zinnias I grew last year. I started them from seed indoors, transplanted and fertilized in very early May. They looked great all the way until a hard frost in late October, early November. These plants were all over three feet tall and two to three feet wide and flowered many, many times. After reading the fertilizer instructions I could have added more fertilizer but the plants didn’t need any more.

The fertilizer instructions are a good guide but they are not to be rigidly followed. If the plants look really healthy, watch them and if they never show signs of any deficiency, lack of vigor or color in the case of flowers, then they will probably finish with no additional fertilizer. Marijuana is similar in that way.

You know after a certain point that you don’t need to give it any fertilizer. Now a fertilizer company may tell to feed nearly all the way to harvest and maybe in some cases that works. When I use liquid fertilizers I seldom feed after the fourth week of flower, sometimes into the fifth with longer flowering plants but usually not after the fourth week.

Osmocote is a very easy to use, very slowly released fertilizer that is effective in many applications, an 8 lbs. bag will last a long time, fertilize many plants and is cheap to use.

I’m also a big fan of organic fertilization. I’m finishing up a large sativa that has been in a six gallon pot for over 15 weeks now and it has been a breeze to grow with organic fertilizers. You can use both methods and enjoy both methods. Osmocote is an alternative for people who want something that is cheap, easy to use and effective.

 

[Old Piney]

You can't leach wood ashes. For starts you'll have a sloppy mess and lose the nutrient value which is K.

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. As for osmacoat I will agree we disagree

 

[Charles Dankens]

I have used it on about 10,000 field grown seedling trees, vineyard, 65 shrubs and trees around the house, greenhouse grown tropical fruit trees, etc. Need to post some cannabis pix tomorrow when I get on another computer.

Folks need to save their money and heartaches that cannabis specific foods and their con artists are known for.

UB

Sometimes gardening is about more than maximizing what you can extract from the earth.

 

[cola]

Yes. More often than not, it is what you can add to the earth, and this will likewise augment your plant's response.