GROWING What Are the Best Nutrients for Growing Cannabis?

GROWING What Are the Best Nutrients for Growing Cannabis? For the first-time grower, it can be a truly daunting task to select the best nutrients for their cannabis, and they’ll often spend far more money than they need to. With so many options to choose from that range from hydroponic to organic nutrients, new growers can quickly get overwhelmed. But with a little bit of knowledge about the requirements of cannabis plants and how they absorb and utilize nutrients, you can confidently select the products you need without breaking the bank.

Which Elements Does a Cannabis Plant Need?

GROWING What Are the Best Nutrients for Growing Cannabis?  Your cannabis plant needs a main group of elements that are collectively referred to as macronutrients. Here’s a breakdown of the mineral and non-mineral elements you need to feed your plant.

Mineral nutrients obtained from the soil:

• Nitrogen (N)
• Phosphorus (P)
• Potassium (K)
• Calcium
• Magnesium
• Sulfur

Non-mineral elements derived from air and water:

• Carbon
• Hydrogen
• OxygenGROWING What Are the Best Nutrients for Growing Cannabis? The three numbers shown on the front of fertilizer bags, nutrient solution bottles, or other additives indicate how much of the three main elements (nitrogen, phosphorus, and potassium) is available in the product. For example, a product that says “10-4-4” will contain 10% available nitrogen, 4% phosphorus, and 4% potassium by weight. These are always listed in the order of N-P-K.GROWING What Are the Best Nutrients for Growing Cannabis? All other mineral nutrients are grouped into the category of micronutrients, as they are used in much lower quantities. This group consists of the following elements:
  • Zinc
  • Iron
  • Manganese
  • Molybdenum
  • Chlorine
  • Cobalt
  • Silicon
  • Boron
  • CopperGROWING What Are the Best Nutrients for Growing Cannabis? While cannabis plants require very low concentrations of these elements to thrive, they are still vital to the overall health and growth of the plant.Next, we’ll examine the main types of nutrients used by cannabis growers today as well as their proper application. Before you start growing, however, we highly recommend learning about the basic mechanisms through which plants absorb water and nutrients, osmosis and active transport.
    

    Hydroponic (Soilless) Cannabis Nutrients

    GROWING What Are the Best Nutrients for Growing Cannabis? Hydroponic growing is simply the practice of growing plants without soil, usually with some other sort of substrate like rockwool, clay pebbles, coco coir, or some sort of mix. Many of the premium “potting soils” marketed for growing cannabis are actually soilless blends. Most indoor cannabis growers are growing hydroponically, even if they’re using buckets of “potting soil” and hand watering each plant.

    GROWING What Are the Best Nutrients for Growing Cannabis? For this reason, the vast majority of the nutrients sold specifically for cannabis cultivation are hydroponic nutrients. These products are comprised of concentrated mineral salts, usually in liquid form but sometimes as powders, that are to be diluted in water to a level that is suitable for the plant.

    GROWING What Are the Best Nutrients for Growing Cannabis? Nutrients must be water soluble in order for the plant to absorb them. Liquid products are sold in two parts (usually labeled “part A” and “part B”) because they contain elements that will precipitate out of the solution if mixed together at a high concentration, making them unavailable. Combined in the correct volume of water, this is not an issue.

    Products are also divided between “Grow” solutions, high in nitrogen needed for vegetative growth, and “Bloom,” high in phosphorus for flower development, because the cannabis plant has different nutritional needs during different stages of growth.

    GROWING What Are the Best Nutrients for Growing Cannabis? Great care should be taken when applying hydroponic nutrients, as overfeeding can lead to plant damage and even death. A general rule of thumb is to start at about 25% of the level recommended on the product label and gradually work up to full strength. Hydroponic nutrients are often used by soil growers with good results, but this technique is not recommended for the beginner.

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  • Soil Nutrients and Organics for Cannabis

    GROWING What Are the Best Nutrients for Growing Cannabis?  What sets soil apart from hydroponic media is the presence of non-inert organic matter like humus, compost, manure, and worm castings that contain many macro and micronutrients. Much of the nutritional value in these substances is locked up in non-soluble form, however, and must be processed by soil-dwelling microbes and fungi in order to be of use to the plant. Non-organic nutrients designed for soil growing are less common at the grow shop because they can quickly build up in the soil, harming the soil life as well as preventing the uptake of water and nutrients by the root system.

    GROWING What Are the Best Nutrients for Growing Cannabis?  Organic fertilizers and nutrients for cannabis are far more forgiving; they usually contain less immediately soluble nutrients and more elements that are beneficial to soil organisms. The first-time grower who decides to use soil as their medium would be well advised to stick to organic fertilizers and nutrients.

  • GROWING What Are the Best Nutrients for Growing Cannabis?