The Best Nutrients for Growing Cannabis
What nutrients do I need to grow Cannabis?
There are 12 essential nutrients when growing cannabis. We call these macro-nutrients and micro-nutrients. There are also some non essential nutrients that will provide certain benefits as well.
Both micro and macro-nutrients are essential to growing cannabis.
What nutrients are essential?
Technically there are 15 essential plant nutrients and fertilizing with them will help to optimize growth; however, three of these nutrients come from the air and water: oxygen, carbon, and hydrogen. Because of this, they generally aren’t taken into account in the area of plant nutrition.
Because they come from water and air, oxygen, carbon, and hydrogen are often not listed as macro-nutrients.
Click HERE to read more about how the essential nutrients function in plants.
The remaining 12 nutrients are broken up into Macro-nutrients and Micro-nutrients:
The three macro-nutrients essential to plant growth are:
1. Nitrogen
2. Phosphorus
3. Potassium.
There are three more nutrients considered to be secondary macro-nutrients, which are:
1. Calcium
2. Magnesium
3. Sulfur
Micro-nutrients are also essential. The 6 essential micro-nutrients are:
1. Iron
2. Boron
3. Chlorine
4. Molybdenum
5. Copper
6. Zinc
What nutrients are not essential but may help?
There have been studies which show promising results using non essential nutrients for plant growth. However, when used incorrectly they can become toxic. Be careful when experimenting with non essential plant nutrients and adjusting your feed schedule!
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Some non essential nutrients which have been found to be beneficial are:
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1. Silicon
2. Chlorine
3. Sodium
4. Cobalt
5. Nickel
6. Vanadium
7. Selenium
8. Titanium
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Additionally, silver, cerium, chromium, aluminum, iodine, lanthanum, rubidium, tin, tungsten, and lithium might have roles to plant in plant nutrition as well.
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More experimentation will have to be done in order to determine one way or another!
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Can I force my plants to flower with nutrients?
Plants can be triggered into flowering by moving from an 18 hour light cycle to a 12 hour light cycle. This tricks the plants into thinking it’s summer and time to flower!
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Products high in phosphorus are generally used for the flower stage. For example, Future Harvest’s Bloom will be a beneficial nutrient to your plant. Additionally, our line of bud enhancers, Bud Start, Ton-O-Bud, and Bud Boom will pack bulk onto your plants during the flowering cycle.
Do I need to worry about pH levels?
pH is the measure of the alkalinity or acidity of your soil or water. It is important to monitor pH levels while growing, especially with cannabis. Cannabis plants generally thrive with a pH of 6-7 in soil and between 5.5 and 6 when growing hydroponically.
We offer pH adjusters to aid you in this. Try our Silica Up or Citric Down to help you maintain healthy levels.
Do nutrients affect growth?
Yes! By controlling nutrients and sticking to a feed schedule, growers can control how large or how small their plant gets. For example, we sell bud enhancers that use phosphorus and potassium to pack on bulk in the flowering stage.
How do I give my plants nutrients?
Nutrients come in both powdered form and liquid. Nutrients are mixed with water and mixed with your growing medium. For example, when growing with soil or coco, your nutrient solution will be what you water your plants with. When growing hydroponically, your plants will grow inside your nutrient solution.
