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Science behind pumping 800ppm Potassium

bsgospel

Bat Macumba
Veteran
Are... Are we on the same side or...I can't tell haha. Calcium - yes. Limiting factors - yes. Are we talking about high K or surpassing what we know...?
 

Lyfespan

Active member
Are... Are we on the same side or...I can't tell haha. Calcium - yes. Limiting factors - yes. Are we talking about high K or surpassing what we know...?

high calcium allows for more K is what im seeing. also its not one source for things, calcium nitrates, sulfates, carbonates, and chlorides are being used here as well as many different forms of K. :tiphat:
 

jidoka

Active member
It is an interesting theory.

I can offer my observations and you can draw your own conclusions. It is not uncommon to see 7-8% K in tissue analysis. It is also guaranteed you are going to to see more, darker ash.

It is also guaranteed soil tests are fucked up at that point.

My highest yields/best quality has been around 2.5-3% K in tissue
 

slownickel

Active member
ICMag Donor
Veteran
An experienced agronomist didn't think it possible a couple years ago to have quality and run these #'s. More details would be helpful for the discussion but,mostly sure it was run in a 'soil mix'. I've seen this plant once balanced with high calcium become extremely hungry to the point you can almost feed with abandon. Production is increased obviously. The more K you get in the plant properly,the higher the quality and yield.

It is being done...and very well! Science may just have to catch up,huh?

Wow, love to meet that guy!

If one understands the cycles, pushes the cycles, it is pretty amazing how far we go and still get amazing quality and at the same time increasing yields. Important to have both.

High K at the end of the cycle(s) matures up everything. Which at the end of flower means moving everything up to the flower.

I insist that folks stay a week ahead of what they plan on doing, one week early. So if the program is to mature up and I have enough Ca to cover my bet, I will push 13 gr of K sulfate per gallon on ONE PLANT, one week ahead of time. If I see positive response, the plant has spoken. We're good to go.

This can be confirmed with a refractometer.

This is all about nutrient density. Knowing when to push and knowing when to pull.
 

jidoka

Active member
Slow...so k2so4 definitely increases terpene levels compared to mkp when used this way, yea?

If you go a hair early do you see the cycle time cut by a week or two? Ever use it to balance out finishing time to equalize work flow? Like make an 8 week strain last 9 or a 10 week strain finish in 9
 

jidoka

Active member
Slow...here is another question that would not apply to soil but let’s say a hydro feed in rockwool. I try to absolutely minimize Na, Mg and K during frame build. Would you see any reason early for K to be more than 1/2 Ca? Given CaNO3 being my N source

Edit...and by minimize I mean almost to the point of symptoms showing but not quite
 

slownickel

Active member
ICMag Donor
Veteran
Slow...here is another question that would not apply to soil but let’s say a hydro feed in rockwool. I try to absolutely minimize Na, Mg and K during frame build. Would you see any reason early for K to be more than 1/2 Ca? Given CaNO3 being my N source

Edit...and by minimize I mean almost to the point of symptoms showing but not quite

Seems to be the right proportion.....
 

slownickel

Active member
ICMag Donor
Veteran
Slow...so k2so4 definitely increases terpene levels compared to mkp when used this way, yea?

If you go a hair early do you see the cycle time cut by a week or two? Ever use it to balance out finishing time to equalize work flow? Like make an 8 week strain last 9 or a 10 week strain finish in 9

Most definitely terp increase with the KS.

Most definitely! On lots of crops you can push maturity, but you better have everything right if you push!
 

canna.ballistic

Active member
Another little gem of information from SlowNickel ... I very much appreciate when some numbers are given, as it gives me a reference to apply to my grows ... thanks to SN and the others who regularly share their nutrient knowledge on a couple of these threads !!

I have been applying about 10g per two gallons per plant per week for big outdoor plants (10' to 12') towards the end of flower. How far could the K sulfate be pushed with big outdoor girls (assuming the Ca is available) ??

I am assuming the 13g per gallon is to keep the EC within reasonable levels. I will certainly increase the K Sulfate to about 20g per two gallons per plant for my remaining girls this season ... but could the K sulfate application be safely pushed even further to say 50g per four gallons per plant in the last couple of weeks to finish off big girls, or is that just crazy talk ?!?


Wow, love to meet that guy!

If one understands the cycles, pushes the cycles, it is pretty amazing how far we go and still get amazing quality and at the same time increasing yields. Important to have both.

High K at the end of the cycle(s) matures up everything. Which at the end of flower means moving everything up to the flower.

I insist that folks stay a week ahead of what they plan on doing, one week early. So if the program is to mature up and I have enough Ca to cover my bet, I will push 13 gr of K sulfate per gallon on ONE PLANT, one week ahead of time. If I see positive response, the plant has spoken. We're good to go.

This can be confirmed with a refractometer.

This is all about nutrient density. Knowing when to push and knowing when to pull.
 

jidoka

Active member
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5FB24408-BB78-4DB6-9446-273A959576B4.jpg

So I will come clean. Coco, hydro. I figure the end of frame build is end of week 3. So end of wk 2 I go 1-x-2.4-1.2-.25.

The exact K you run depends on how much soluble K is in your coco. EC depends on environment.

In this case humidity is 37% so I cannot really push EC. So I am at 2.4 fed 12x per day.

Yield is double the traditional avg. At the same time total thc is 1.64x tradition. Cycle time is down 1 week

I am certain I have not reached the upper limit on K yet. Baby steps from here on out though

Edit...gg4 close up, judge quality for yourself
 

Ibechillin

Masochist Educator

calisun

Active member
In Harley Smith's article on Phosphorus over at maximumyield he mentions boosting P during seedling stage and stretch since its used in energy for the plant and root development, then boosting K towards the end for finish. Anyone boosting P during stretch?

https://www.maximumyield.com/why-your-garden-needs-phosphorus/2/1384

Here is his article on boosting K at end of cycle:

https://npk-university.com/resources_BOOSTING_Your_Harvest_WITH_POTASSIUM_SUPPLEMENTS.html

That's the way I've been doing it outdoors with pretty good results. I start pushing P just before transition to bloom and K once it stops stacking. Indoors I used to push P and K heavy as soon as I switched to 12/12 with fish hydrolysate something like 0-12-12 and had real good results. So I'm thinking some type of hybird of the two might be best outdoors. I'm still experimenting.
 

TnTLabs

Active member
View attachment 495252

View attachment 495253

View attachment 495254

So I will come clean. Coco, hydro. I figure the end of frame build is end of week 3. So end of wk 2 I go 1-x-2.4-1.2-.25.

The exact K you run depends on how much soluble K is in your coco. EC depends on environment.

In this case humidity is 37% so I cannot really push EC. So I am at 2.4 fed 12x per day.

Yield is double the traditional avg. At the same time total thc is 1.64x tradition. Cycle time is down 1 week

I am certain I have not reached the upper limit on K yet. Baby steps from here on out though

Edit...gg4 close up, judge quality for yourself

yo j, no offence, but that gg4 bud aint looking very special...
guessing its from around week 4?? before it starts to bulk, so hard to judge quality...
but why are you running humidity so low?? its stressing the plants... vpd is not a rule but it sure does help keep things going smoothly...
im guessing as you are in a greenhouse you are trying to keep rh low to avoid PM problems etc... and then pushing K to get the yield you are loosing from running rh so low??
what is your water base EC ... total EC 2.4 is doable, sure, your plants are big... but do you flush once a week?? maybe im missing infos, but in coco you are bound to run into overfeeding this way UNLESS you do flushes regularly... as always there will be a salt build up over time and once it hits a peak of about EC 3.0 is when you start going downhill..... a few days at 2.4 will quickly get you there...
no reason to go over EC 2.0 in coco, especially if feeding 12x a day... but thats just my opinion
 

TnTLabs

Active member
Most definitely terp increase with the KS.

Most definitely! On lots of crops you can push maturity, but you better have everything right if you push!

Slow...i thought you had left this place...
nice to see you around!!
yeah i can back that up... Ksulfur is the one to get quality!
i also run Mg and B pretty high, and Si is used all the way from veg through to flush...
Slow, any infos on adding Copper to boost enzyme activity...
or is copper generally speaking in abundance in most soils..
i know you are going to say do a soil test to make sure i have adequate levels... and yep you are right...
been playing around with diy zink citrate as i use citric acid as my ph down anyway... hard to come to any conclusions yet though
 

jidoka

Active member
I did not choose low rh. Given the choice I run according to vpd.

I will say if humidity were higher I would water less but run higher EC, not lower. IMO it comes down to balance

But I got no problem with your opinions. You could be right
 

brluban

Member
The theory that Ca:Mg:K need to be supplied in correct ratio has been proven to be total b.s. You just need to have enough of each in solution. Furthermore, increasing K allows plant to a) pick up more CO2, and b) shuttle more anions through sap. IDK if running 800 ppm of anything is a good idea... but
I'm curious to what level you can push a plant. Can you always increase nutrients as long as you are adding more of the limiting factor?
 
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