Hairy Kronic Jr
Member
At How Many Days Or Weeks Into Flowering Should You Stop Foliar Feeding You Plants Nutrients?
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When Should You Stop Foliar Feeding When Flowering?
- Thread starter Hairy Kronic Jr
- Start date
In theory you can go on foliar feeding all through flower. It depends a little on your growroom conditions and type of grow. If you've got a mold prone or heavy yielder strain going, foliar feeding will increase chances for bud rot and fungi, so in that case you might better lay off in mid-flower, when you see that the buds start to pack on weight, and the branches bend slightly when you spray. If your growroom climate is under control and you can lower Rh substantially during flower, it allows you to be bolder in spraying the plants. If so, spray during the early or mid light periods, to allow the buds to dry out after the spraying. Take them out of the light or into a shady corner if possible and let them soak up the liquid a little before putting them back under the lights. In any case, do not listen to growers who tell you foliar feeding in flower is bad, or will burn your plants. If done right, foliar feeding nutrients or other products will strenghten your plants and inrease your yield.
Early flower, around the second week when the buds starts to develop, is a critical period to foliar feed. This is when the plant goes into flower production mode, and an auxiliary help to root feeding at this stage with nutrients or nutrient uptake improving products such as fulvic acid is much appreciated by the plant and will show in yield later. This is when many growers STOP foliar feeding, because they've heard that foliar feeding in flower is bad.
Early flower, around the second week when the buds starts to develop, is a critical period to foliar feed. This is when the plant goes into flower production mode, and an auxiliary help to root feeding at this stage with nutrients or nutrient uptake improving products such as fulvic acid is much appreciated by the plant and will show in yield later. This is when many growers STOP foliar feeding, because they've heard that foliar feeding in flower is bad.
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As Azra said, a non-ionic wetting agent will greatly reduce the surface tension of water and increase the ability of the solution to penetrate into leaf tissue and make the nutrients and growth enhancers available to the plant. Go for an ecological product such as Growth Technology's Wetting Agent (pine resin based) which also works as a fungicide and protects your buds against rot, rather than a purely chemical (unsound) product such as Hydrogarden's Wetting Agent, based on AlkylPenyl-Hydroxypolyoxythylene.
G
Guest
And besides that if you dont use a wetting agent when you foliar feed,the water tends to bead up which is rather uncool.I never do the foliar gig unless I see a defeciency but literature I recently read about it says to stop foliar feeding 2-3 weeks before harvest.Of course I'd be afraid of sparaying my buds at that point but thats what It said
SUNSIMULATOR+
Member
Rosy Cheeks said:
One should always pay attention to the hairs of the buds when doing this... wouldn't ya'll agree...
IF you notice pre-mature 'redding or discoloration' of the bud hairs, that is an early warning sign you may be over wetting the plants for your grow room conditions...
This has been my experience any ways... but I do agree with Rosy Cheeks that there is added benifit to be had by applying foliar nutirional and enhancment products during early flowering, especially.
peace
bb
IF you notice pre-mature 'redding or discoloration' of the bud hairs, that is an early warning sign you may be over wetting the plants for your grow room conditions...
This has been my experience any ways... but I do agree with Rosy Cheeks that there is added benifit to be had by applying foliar nutirional and enhancment products during early flowering, especially.
peace
bb
You can foliar feed nutrients suitable for foliar feeding (so no, not just any old nutrient lying around the house), but there are also a number of different additives and products you can foliar feed, such as humic/fulvic acids, aminoacids,, carbohydrates, various natural plant hormones, flower enhancers, etc. Just about every nutrient manufacturer has one or several foliar products today, you can pick and choose.
Personally, I do not feed nutrients that much. I use Phyt amin from Plagron. It contains natural hormones that stimulate the photosynthetic process, increase the production of chlorophyll that makes for stronger leaves. It makes them a little bit more resistant to heat stress when the lamps are close.
I also use Spraymix from Bionova, a combination of auxine, sea-algae, chelated calcium, vitamins, amino acids, trace elements, natural fatty-acids and natural growing and flowering hormones. It improves the metabolism and stimulates the creation of budshots on the plants.
I also foliar feed GH's Diamond Nectar, a fulvic acid that improves the nutrient uptake, and Biobizz LeafCoat, that strengthens the plants with a coating of latex mixed with plant extracts, which provides them protection against harmful insects. It is also great to use with cuttings and seedlings, because the coating retains the moisture in the leaves.
Finally, I'm trying out a new foliar feed called Halo, that Hydrogarden claims is a revolutionary product (haven't we heard that one before) that boosts the metabolism and bud production with Harpin alpha beta protein. We'll just have to wait and see what it does.
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Personally, I do not feed nutrients that much. I use Phyt amin from Plagron. It contains natural hormones that stimulate the photosynthetic process, increase the production of chlorophyll that makes for stronger leaves. It makes them a little bit more resistant to heat stress when the lamps are close.
I also use Spraymix from Bionova, a combination of auxine, sea-algae, chelated calcium, vitamins, amino acids, trace elements, natural fatty-acids and natural growing and flowering hormones. It improves the metabolism and stimulates the creation of budshots on the plants.
I also foliar feed GH's Diamond Nectar, a fulvic acid that improves the nutrient uptake, and Biobizz LeafCoat, that strengthens the plants with a coating of latex mixed with plant extracts, which provides them protection against harmful insects. It is also great to use with cuttings and seedlings, because the coating retains the moisture in the leaves.
Finally, I'm trying out a new foliar feed called Halo, that Hydrogarden claims is a revolutionary product (haven't we heard that one before) that boosts the metabolism and bud production with Harpin alpha beta protein. We'll just have to wait and see what it does.
G
Guest
Rosy Cheeks said:Finally, I'm trying out a new foliar feed called Halo, that Hydrogarden claims is a revolutionary product (haven't we heard that one before) that boosts the metabolism and bud production with Harpin alpha beta protein. We'll just have to wait and see what it does.
Rosy,
I'd like to hear what the result was with Halo. Are you familiar with Pro-tekt? I just ordered some and hope it will protect the plants a little from any extreme conditions should they present themselves. It sounds like the same thing leafcoat does but Pro-tekt is silicone based.
Pro-Tekt
I am flowering for first time, just hitting the second week now and I plan to pick up Diamond Nectar Liquid and would ff with that and the Pro-tekt. In your opinion, will I also need to get a penetrator (wet betty?) to truly see the potential results?
Hey jjschagundi
Hard to say really what Halo does. I used Halo for the first time on a Sensi Star grow from seed, and since this was new genetics, I've got nothing to compare with. I use it now on a batch of Blueberrys from seed, and it's the same thing. I will have to do a side by side grow with genetics that I've worked with for a while, one with Halo and one without, to give a more carefully studied reply on that question.
In any case, the Sensi Star grow went very well, but there was nothing 'revolutionary' about the the growth and yield, so if Halo made a difference, it was marginal.
It should be said though, that once you've optimised your growroom factors (in terms of light output per surface, temperature, humidity, feeding, etc), there is less margin for improvement (in terms of growth) than in a somewhat neglected garden.
My favorite foliar feed is still fulvic acid, because of its capacity to help the plant improve its nutrient uptake. After a fulvic acid misting, plants generally perk up. I've seen overwatered plants raise their leaves within hours. It's an almost instant visible improvement, so you know you're doing something right.
The best fulvic acid I've come across so far (not saying that it IS the best) is GH's Diamond Nectar. You generally stop using it two weeks into flower though, so save it for the next grow.
You do not need Wet Betty, but a non-ionic wetting agent helps the solution to penetrate the epidermis of the leaf. I use Growth Technology's Wetting Agent, because it is organic (basically just pine resin), but a (biological) detergent will do the trick as well.
I have not used Pro-tekt, but its silicone/potassium formula seems interesting. Silicone is known to help protect your plants against pests and diseases by helping to strengthen the plants' cell walls. It also improves nutrient uptake, prevents build-up of nutrients in plant tissue, reduces water loss through transpiration, increases uptake of available CO2, and increases chlorophyll production.
Both Growth Technology and Vita Link have liquid silicone (reinforced with potassium) products on the market, so this could be seen as a foliar spray version of it.
Hard to say really what Halo does. I used Halo for the first time on a Sensi Star grow from seed, and since this was new genetics, I've got nothing to compare with. I use it now on a batch of Blueberrys from seed, and it's the same thing. I will have to do a side by side grow with genetics that I've worked with for a while, one with Halo and one without, to give a more carefully studied reply on that question.
In any case, the Sensi Star grow went very well, but there was nothing 'revolutionary' about the the growth and yield, so if Halo made a difference, it was marginal.
It should be said though, that once you've optimised your growroom factors (in terms of light output per surface, temperature, humidity, feeding, etc), there is less margin for improvement (in terms of growth) than in a somewhat neglected garden.
My favorite foliar feed is still fulvic acid, because of its capacity to help the plant improve its nutrient uptake. After a fulvic acid misting, plants generally perk up. I've seen overwatered plants raise their leaves within hours. It's an almost instant visible improvement, so you know you're doing something right.
The best fulvic acid I've come across so far (not saying that it IS the best) is GH's Diamond Nectar. You generally stop using it two weeks into flower though, so save it for the next grow.
You do not need Wet Betty, but a non-ionic wetting agent helps the solution to penetrate the epidermis of the leaf. I use Growth Technology's Wetting Agent, because it is organic (basically just pine resin), but a (biological) detergent will do the trick as well.
I have not used Pro-tekt, but its silicone/potassium formula seems interesting. Silicone is known to help protect your plants against pests and diseases by helping to strengthen the plants' cell walls. It also improves nutrient uptake, prevents build-up of nutrients in plant tissue, reduces water loss through transpiration, increases uptake of available CO2, and increases chlorophyll production.
Both Growth Technology and Vita Link have liquid silicone (reinforced with potassium) products on the market, so this could be seen as a foliar spray version of it.
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G
Guest
Also be aware any type of foliar feeding or misting is a spidermites worst nightmare also!
G
Guest
Thanks for the responses, even though it's not my thread! I read in another thread that Pro-Tekt is an emulsifier and therefore a wetting agent is not required for it. Does that sound right?
