So I had been using Home and Garden Bud XL with great results, but I wanted to see if AN was worth it. So I ordered Big bud and Bud Candy for this run of 4 autos ( Bruce Banner, Blueberry Gusto and Bluefruit) and 2 photos ( Banana Kush and Goldleaf). My general setup is coco in 3 gallon fabric, HLG and ChilLed Tech lights. Jacks 321 nutrients, silica, Recharge, Fulvic Acid and Fishsh!t. I waited until they were in early flower (weeks 2-4) and started feeding AN Big Bud and Bud Candy. Here are the results: I did notice results in bud development, my photos are blowing up fast. However, I did get a wicked case of nute burn. I trimmed the effected leaves off and for the first time ever, I did a water flush of coco to “reset”. It worked. I decided to just go with the tried and true method of Jacks 321, silica, fulvic acid, Recharge (as recommended) and Fishsh!t. It cleared up the nute burn, but am curious if anyone else had similar results. Next grow I will use AN again, but at a lower dose. It only affected the photos. The autos loved it. Weird stuff going on in the grow room lol.
You have to be careful stacking microbe products and products like fulvic acid. They each can dramatically increase nutrient uptake and lead to nute burn.
I would avoid bloom boosters. Bloom boosters are unnecessary and I’d go as far as to call them “snake oil.” All bloom boosters are is a stronger solution of P and K that is already in the product you already use. If you want the effect of “bloom boosters,” just feed more of your nute line’s PK product. Many bloom boosters are very salty. You will be introducing less salts into your grow medium doing this and will still achieve the effect you are looking for. Adding bloom boosters may result in a mineral salt buildup that submarines root zone pH and pH becomes very difficult to manage. These products also screw up your PPM’s NPK ratio.
All you need is a single product line (Fox Farms, Jacks 321,…) These will provide your plant with everything it need to do well.
Ya live and learn. I was sold on the snakeoil lol. I just thought it was weird that the photos were affected and autos loved it. I have been doing great with just Jacks and really should have stuck to that. Luckily I got it under control in time with minimal damage. The colas are really fattening up on the photos and well…autos are autos lmao. But still a good harvest. I will take your advice and just stick to what I know. Lesson learned…Thanks buddy.
I agree that bloom boosters in general aren’t usually necessary, and definitely over marketed by companies and misused by newer growers, but Big Bud does have it’s place in the Advanced Nutrients line up.
I use the Connoisseur line. The Veg and Bloom base nutes are both 2 part formulas. So there’s no way to add extra Phosphorus or Potassium without adding more Nitrogen. That’s where Big Bud comes in handy with it’s 0-1-3 NPK values. The problems occur when people use it just for the sake of adding another product with fancy packaging and mass marketing. I have a pretty decent idea of when my plants can use a bit of a P and K boost, and Big Bud has done very well for me over the years, but like anything else, you have to be very careful with how you use it.
Bud Candy is a different story all together. It’s not a bloom booster. It’s a product to keep the microbial life in the root zone well fed, and it has a tiny dose of magnesium as well. It’s a much safer product for new growers than Big Bud. It’s basically a more complete alternative to adding molasses.