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Fantastic Flowering – The GroWell guide to boosters and additives |
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| Flowering Boosters can be a confusing topic for many indoor gardeners. There’s so much variety and choice that it is very difficult to decide which type of booster to use, let alone which brand or manufacturer. Our guide will help you choose. |
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There are many boosters and other additives that you can use during flowering as you can see from our catalogue. The important thing to remember is that these boosters and additives are not complete feeds in themselves and should be added to your main nutrient package.
Every single nutrient package that we supply contains all of the elements needed for a successful crop. Any one of them will provide you with a good result if used completely independently of any additives or boosters – these are more like to icing on the cake that you can add to get a really special result. This makes the use of boosters and additives worthwhile but which one should you use? Which one is best for you?
Hopefully the guide below will help you choose your Boosters. We would encourage you to change products from time to time, continually experimenting and refining your own crops.
PK Boosters
PK stands for Phosphorous (P) and Potassium (K). These are two of the 3 main nutrient elements the plants feeds on. The other one is Nitrogen which is used more for leaf and vegetative growth. The P and K are used for many plant functions during rooting, vegetative, and flowering growth although they are more commonly associated with being “Flowering” elements.
Your Bloom Nutrient will provide excellent results but as the plants stop going up in height and stop producing so much leaf and start heavily flowering, the plant uses less Nitrogen and sometimes the addition of extra Phosphorus and Potassium can boost the flower production process. Too much may make your leaves a little too dark green.
Instructions for similar PK products do vary and are often very basic, they are only meant as a rough guide as different plants have different needs. For example Canna say to use their PK13/14 for one week, three weeks from the end, this assumes you have a very short flowering cycle. Vita Link recommend using their PK solution (Buddy) be used all the way through flowering at full strength. WeI feel these manufacturers guides should only be used as a starting point and you should always tailor your booster strengths according to how your specific plants respond.
Tip: If you have a cF or EC metre, instead of adding the PK to your normal bloom cF reading, add the PK to your water first, then bring your cF back to your normal bloom reading with your bloom nutrient. This way you’re not making the feed “stronger”, it will be the same strength in terms of dissolved salts in the water but with less Nitrogen, more P and K, and a better NPK ratio for when the plants are heavily flowering. Any other slight adjustments to feed strength should be done using the Bloom Nutrient pack.
Canna PK 13/14
13% Phosphorous, 14% Potassium. That’s all folks, a good simple product, reflected in the price, using good quality elements. This product is a clear solution and will working any hydroponic or dripper system. Can also be used to raise PK levels in soil.
Canna Instructions: use for one week, three weeks from the end. 5ml per litre of solution.
GroWell recommends: use when the plant starts heavily flowering, build up to 5ml per litre, use until two weeks from the end. Or experiment.
Dr.Hornby's Big Bud
1% Phosphorous, 4% Potassium, 0.7% Magnesium, with added Amino-Acids. This ratio of P/K is different to some other PK additives and may be better for some varieties. This product also has some magnesium and amino acid complexes all to help boost the flowering process for more yield. Big Bud has a faint smell, has a slight colour and can be used in hydroponics or soil. Also OK with dripper lines. This product also has a Performance Guarantee or your money back. Very popular at the moment.
Dr. Hornby’s instructions: 5ml per litre of solution throughout flowering.
GroWell recommends: when plant start to flower use at 2 to 3 ml per litre of solution and continue to use at this strength. When the plant starts to heavily flower use at 5ml per litre of solution until 1 or 2 weeks from the end. Or experiment.
Hammerhead PK 9-18
Hammerhead is Advanced Nutrients version of a straight down the line PK booster. Claiming to provide a more efficient PK ratio for most popular hydroponically grown plants, Hammerhead is rapidly establishing itself as a customer favourite.
Hammerhead instructions: 2ml per litre of solution from one week after the start of flowering through to one week from harvest.
GroWell recommends: use at 1 to 2 ml per litre of solution from one week into flowering and continue to use at this strength. When the plant starts to heavily flower use at 2ml per litre of solution until 1 or 2 weeks from the end. experiment with strength as your plants may respond differently.
Vita Link Buddy
Another PK boost, 7.2% Phosphorous, 4.8% Potassium. This one uses very fine quality nutrient element and matches up with one of our favourite feeds Vita Link Bloom. A very clear solution with no smell. Good for Hydroponics and soil. Good with drip lines, leaves very little residue over time.
Vita Link instructions: Use from day 21 of flowering and all through flowering until harvest. 5ml per 10 litres of solution.
GroWell recommends: Use from day 21 of flowering at 3ml per 10 litres of solution. When the plants start heavily flowering use at 5ml per 10 litres of solution. Stop using 1 or 2 weeks from the end. Or experiment.
Ionic Boost
This is a PK Boost that has been developed for use with the Ionic Bloom Nutrient. Another clear solution that works well in hydroponics or soil.
Ionic Boost instructions: 1 ml per litre of solution.
GroWell recommends: when the plants start flowering introduce Ionic Boost at 2 or 3 mls per 10 litres in addition to your bloom feed and gradually increase over the weeks up to 10 ml per 10 litres when heavily flowering. Stop using 1 or 2 weeks before the end.
Flowering Stimulators
We also supply a few flowering stimulators which don’t have any of the main nutrient elements but instead have natural ingredients to help with taste, yield, quality, colour, formation and more. These products often have fulvic acid and other natural ingredients to improve flowering. As these products have no main feed elements in them they are good to use in conjunction with your chosen feed and PK boost.
Canna Boost Accelerator
The latest addition to the Canna range of products, Canna Boost Accelerator arrived in the UK with a big reputation from Holland and so far is living up to all the hype. Stimulating your plant into aggressive flowering growth, Canna Boost Accelerator must be used in conjunction with a PK booster such as Canna PK 13-14
Canna Boost instructions: 2ml per 1litre of solution. throughout flowering.
GroWell recommends: Use as instructed from when flowers first start to form increasing to 4ml/litre towards the end of flowering.
B'Cuzz Bloom Stimulator
One of our most popular additives for some time. When added to your regular nutrient solution this product improves yield and quality whether you are growing in hydroponics or soil. It has no real smell and is a fairly clear solution with a slight natural colour. Includes Fulvic acid and other secret natural ingredients. This product is also available in a coco specific version.
B’Cuzz instructions: 1ml per 1litre of solution. Use daily.
GroWell recommends: Use as instructed from when flowers first start to form until 1 week from harvest.
Bio-Bizz TopMax Organic Bloom Stimulator
Another great bloom stimulated that’s very popular with soil growers and goes nicely with the Bio-Bizz Bloom Feed. This too has fulvic acid and other natural boosters. This product is more suited to soil and coir. It is quite thick and dirty brown in colour and may block drip lines. Increased flower production, better flavour, 100% organic.
Bio-Bizz instructions: To be used from the 12 hour stage until harvest. 1 to 4ml per litre.
GroWell recommends: Use as instructed from when flowers first start to form until 1 week from harvest.
Dry Flower 3 - Fulvic Gold
This is a pure blend of fulvic acids from the well known Dry Flower Product Range. Long known to be beneficial in flowering helping with nutrient uptake and transfer. Another nice clear liquid that can be used in hydroponics, soil or coco, and with dripper lines. Add it to your nutrient solution or alternatively use as a foliar spray.
Fulvic Gold instructions: 2ml per Litre throughout flowering.
GroWell recommends: Use as instructed on the bottle until 1 week from harvest.
General Hydroponics Ripen
Use Ripen in the last couple of weeks to speed up the harvest. It has no nitrogen content and is an excellent finishing feed.
PLEASE NOTE:
- You only need the basic feed to get a result, although the additives and boosters will make a difference and improve performance.
- Don’t use too much feed or too many additives at the same time as this could effect water uptake by the plant.
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GroWell Hydroponics Ltd, Solihull, Birmingham, UK
Blooms Garden Centre, Kenilworth Road
Hampton-In-Arden, Solihull, B92 0LW
GroWell Hydroponics Ltd, Fulham, London, UK
1 Royal Parade, 247 Dawes Road
Fulham, London, SW6 7RE
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Unit 52 Enterprise Trading Estate,
Off Pedmore Road
Brierley Hill,
Dudley,
DY5 1TX |
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