Whoever it was, was off base with the flushing thing.
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Top-feeding only... why I like it.
- Thread starter Crazy Composer
- Start date
Whoever it was, was off base with the flushing thing.
TheyCallMeJJay
Member
I dump all my guanos up front in my mix. No problems. I'm lazy. Every other week I'll do a Guano nutrient tea. Every watering I do a compost ewc tea. It's just too easy.
Massive yielder right here. The key? Be fucking lazy lol
Massive yielder right here. The key? Be fucking lazy lol
102: Unfortunately, the best answer I can give is: not too much! and... Not too little! This method is best for growers who already have a pretty good idea of how much a plant is eating, and when a plant has access to too much at once. It's like feeding a fire, if you add too much at once, it'll get too hot, if you wait too long to feed the fire, your fire will just smolder. If you know how to run a wood stove, you can easily understand what I'm talking about here.Answering your question in precise numbers would be as disingenuous as telling you exactly how many logs you'll need each day to heat your house. You just have to feed that fire, and tend it, and try not to over-stuff the thing.
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MHBGuy
Active member
Pics may be a little fuzzy, but you don't need much detail to see the volume on the that plant.
Been looking for a simple organic feeding method and you have created a fine one it appears.
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the protege
Member
More discussion, more pics!
Can we get a complete list of additives? I see Bat and Bird Guanos, green sand, kelp meal, bone and blood meal, alfalfa meal, humic acid, epsom lime, crab shell, glacial rock dust, other rock dusts.
CC, would you be willing to give a list of all nutrients used in top-dressing? I saw your Promix, earth worm castings and green sand suggestion for a new mix? Would you add any coco to that mix to fluff it up?
I'm trying to create a theoretical shopping list for the new grower. This grower will need to create a new lite soil mix and have all of the necessary additives to mix together in light doses and follow a schedule to start on the path that you describe. They'd like to keep a small journal that describes feeding schedules and plant types (indica vs. sativa), watering schedules and lighting schedules so they too, can dial in this type of growing.
What would be your suggestion CC for the shopping list? When you say you are top dressing, someone else may have asked this, are you doing a tablespoon of these ingredients? A cup? 3 mm layered on top?
Can we get a complete list of additives? I see Bat and Bird Guanos, green sand, kelp meal, bone and blood meal, alfalfa meal, humic acid, epsom lime, crab shell, glacial rock dust, other rock dusts.
CC, would you be willing to give a list of all nutrients used in top-dressing? I saw your Promix, earth worm castings and green sand suggestion for a new mix? Would you add any coco to that mix to fluff it up?
I'm trying to create a theoretical shopping list for the new grower. This grower will need to create a new lite soil mix and have all of the necessary additives to mix together in light doses and follow a schedule to start on the path that you describe. They'd like to keep a small journal that describes feeding schedules and plant types (indica vs. sativa), watering schedules and lighting schedules so they too, can dial in this type of growing.
What would be your suggestion CC for the shopping list? When you say you are top dressing, someone else may have asked this, are you doing a tablespoon of these ingredients? A cup? 3 mm layered on top?
protoge, Here's a chart that describes fairly closely the way I apply my top-feeding nutes.
http://www.aurorainnovations.org/AuroraInnovations_RootsFeedingSchedule.pdf
If top-feeding, disregard the instructions at the top of the chart about mixing with water first.
It takes a little figuring to recognize what the chart is saying for top feeders, but it is a very good set of instructions once you figure it out. Look at what is inside the Roots Organics products and you'll know what I use. Or... just go get the Roots Organics bags and do it the easy way.
I use Roots Organics products myself these days. I use the Uprising Grow, Uprising Bloom and Uprising Foundation. I used to source all the contained ingredients separately, but Roots Organics has done a good job at combining the separate ingredients into easy-to-use formulas for us. You'll see on the chart (in the provided link) many other of their products, but in my experience these are not all necessary. For example, I use earth worm castings in place of their Big Worm, etc. All you really need are what's in the Bloom, Grow and Uprising, as well as some earth worm castings and perhaps some sort of mulch to cradle the organic stuff gently as it decomposes and becomes available as nutrient.
Yeah, coco is a great component to add to the medium, as long as it is of SUPERIOR quality. Gen Hydro's coco has been the best I have found so far. I've had terrible results with several other coco companies. Seems a lot of coco has not been amended with Cal-Mag or some other insurance against magnesium drain by the coco itself. Some coco coirs have really caused major problems for myself and other growers. But... if it's added as a PART of another medium, it may not be such a problem, even if it's not the greatest source of coco. In my experience, there have been some coco coirs that are so deadly to plants, they should be outright BANNED for sale. So be careful.
http://www.aurorainnovations.org/AuroraInnovations_RootsFeedingSchedule.pdf
If top-feeding, disregard the instructions at the top of the chart about mixing with water first.
It takes a little figuring to recognize what the chart is saying for top feeders, but it is a very good set of instructions once you figure it out. Look at what is inside the Roots Organics products and you'll know what I use. Or... just go get the Roots Organics bags and do it the easy way.
I use Roots Organics products myself these days. I use the Uprising Grow, Uprising Bloom and Uprising Foundation. I used to source all the contained ingredients separately, but Roots Organics has done a good job at combining the separate ingredients into easy-to-use formulas for us. You'll see on the chart (in the provided link) many other of their products, but in my experience these are not all necessary. For example, I use earth worm castings in place of their Big Worm, etc. All you really need are what's in the Bloom, Grow and Uprising, as well as some earth worm castings and perhaps some sort of mulch to cradle the organic stuff gently as it decomposes and becomes available as nutrient.
Yeah, coco is a great component to add to the medium, as long as it is of SUPERIOR quality. Gen Hydro's coco has been the best I have found so far. I've had terrible results with several other coco companies. Seems a lot of coco has not been amended with Cal-Mag or some other insurance against magnesium drain by the coco itself. Some coco coirs have really caused major problems for myself and other growers. But... if it's added as a PART of another medium, it may not be such a problem, even if it's not the greatest source of coco. In my experience, there have been some coco coirs that are so deadly to plants, they should be outright BANNED for sale. So be careful.
the protege
Member
How do you determine which ingredients are in each item from aurorainnovations? Uprising grow says "A diverse blend"? I really like to read the label and know what I'm getting, not just the NPK breakdown.
Ingredients list for...
Uprising:
Grow:
Bloom:
Uprising:
Grow:
Bloom:
I knows those bags well, and I have been top dressing with those for years. Great stuff.
Yessah... Good stuff. Well rounded, don't need too much else besides a schedule and a little earth worm castings from time to time.
Do you always add uprising? I go half the time with and half the time full strength without.
Bulldog... No, I use Uprising Foundation much less often than the others.
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Thanks again CC
Been incorporating this method into my current grow. I've gone back to my 3.4gal airpots, and ditched the soil beds. Hooked up the blumats.
My soil is not as "bare minimum" as yours CC. (Not tryna change everything) It is an amended soil mix that I know doesn't have enough to get me thru this entire grow....but it does have all the necessary goodies. I'll be top dressing once a week along the way, with a variety of guanos and meals. They are some fairly large plants getting ready to flip to flower. Today I top dressed with a mix of EWC, Seabird guano, bat guano, and Crab meal. Really liking the smell and texture of the crab meal. 1st time trying it.
Our per plant yields are very different, so we'll see what happens there....My main concern is being able to stop top dressing at some point and having a depleted soil at the end of flower.
I'm sure I will learn quite a bit....
Been incorporating this method into my current grow. I've gone back to my 3.4gal airpots, and ditched the soil beds. Hooked up the blumats.
My soil is not as "bare minimum" as yours CC. (Not tryna change everything) It is an amended soil mix that I know doesn't have enough to get me thru this entire grow....but it does have all the necessary goodies. I'll be top dressing once a week along the way, with a variety of guanos and meals. They are some fairly large plants getting ready to flip to flower. Today I top dressed with a mix of EWC, Seabird guano, bat guano, and Crab meal. Really liking the smell and texture of the crab meal. 1st time trying it.
Our per plant yields are very different, so we'll see what happens there....My main concern is being able to stop top dressing at some point and having a depleted soil at the end of flower.
I'm sure I will learn quite a bit....
Hey homie hows it going? Interesting to see ya using the Roots dry amendments, I've heard a few homies that do water only mixes use those as top dressing as well.
So I did a couple rounds of tester plants in 3g's doing some top dressing. Soil was already amended but in 3g's they ate through it very quickly. The top feeding definitely did its job and i switched over mid flower from seabird to bat guanos and plants finished up very nice with great flavor (on the ones that had it-seed run). Very nice fade, etc.
I run a water only amended mix in beds as we discussed, and do have to say that top feeding helped me figure out some immediate needs and allowed me to dial back my soil mix and not worry about deficiencies due to top dressing as needed. this run i switched back to Roots HPK and am getting a better terp profile, but i do believe thats from dialing back my mix in certain areas and not trying to re-create the wheel with guano combos. lol.
Top feeding may not be the route i go with, but have to say it has definitely helped reign in my mix and aid in adjustments with less worry- and with a very good baseline to start with. And definitely produced a nice product thats for sure! Have some wifi43 to sample this round that will be HPK vs. Top feed guanos. Curious to see flavor difference, but terps are pretty close.
So I did a couple rounds of tester plants in 3g's doing some top dressing. Soil was already amended but in 3g's they ate through it very quickly. The top feeding definitely did its job and i switched over mid flower from seabird to bat guanos and plants finished up very nice with great flavor (on the ones that had it-seed run). Very nice fade, etc.
I run a water only amended mix in beds as we discussed, and do have to say that top feeding helped me figure out some immediate needs and allowed me to dial back my soil mix and not worry about deficiencies due to top dressing as needed. this run i switched back to Roots HPK and am getting a better terp profile, but i do believe thats from dialing back my mix in certain areas and not trying to re-create the wheel with guano combos. lol.
Top feeding may not be the route i go with, but have to say it has definitely helped reign in my mix and aid in adjustments with less worry- and with a very good baseline to start with. And definitely produced a nice product thats for sure! Have some wifi43 to sample this round that will be HPK vs. Top feed guanos. Curious to see flavor difference, but terps are pretty close.
I'm basically just mixing the dry amendments with some EWC and sprinkling it around the top of the pot. I use a wand to lightly water all the new goodness as CC suggested. Wait a few mins...Then water it a lil bit more. The blumats shut off, and start dripping again when it gets dry.
I've only done 1 application, but I don't think it should be a problem. We'll see.
I've only done 1 application, but I don't think it should be a problem. We'll see.
MHBGuy
Active member
You'll notice, in most cases, that the steeping time will release much of the organic material in a cloud of goodness...When it's done properly, the final shot of water will look like water mixed with an organic nute like Earth Juice. That's when you KNOW they are getting a nice feeding of organic matter with the soil-specific bacteria you really want.
Think of this post every time I water.
I have been employing the wet/wait/water-in technique for "between feeding" waterings as well and there is still plenty of cloudy goodness to go around.
About 10 days into flower and my plants have never looked better.
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