Happy Wednesday All. Hope everyone is having a great day.
I wanted to start this topic for discussion only because I have been struggling a little with mixing up my nutrients for my outside marijuana plants as well as having some left over for the rest of my garden stuff. Tomatoes, peppers, cucumbers, zucchini, etc…
My problem has been that I had been mixing the Masterblend 3-part dry formula in 5-gallon buckets and to water all of my plants and my garden areas outside. It was taking quite some time on my feeding days as most plants are taking more than a gallon each and every time I fertilize. The amount of time to mix, wait, mix, wait, mix, wait, PH, wait for each 5-gallon bucket was taking too much time. Places to go and people to see as the old saying goes. Plus, my hydroponic 5-gallon buckets takes 3-gallons each for a reservoir change, leaving an air-gap for roots. So, 10-15 marijuana plants and all my other garden items could take quite awhile to get it done.
I have been using my 27-30 gallon Costco totes (the ones with the yellow lids) when my hydroponic plants got too big and was drinking too fast for the 5-gallon buckets to be effective time wise. Having to top up the 5-gallon buckets almost daily and twice a day in the extreme heat depending on the size of the plants. I needed something so that I could step away for a day or three without having to worry. I’ve definitely made some mistakes in them, but I feel like I have gotten to be pretty good about mixing up larger batches of the Masterblend nutrients. I had looked on-line for quite awhile but didn’t really ever find something, other than making concentrated bottles, that helped me at scale. I’ve been using a mini-blender to help pulverize the nutrients in the 5-gallon buckets, but now have eliminated that step too.
Here is my process and what I have found out that works for me. I can now make about 25-gallons at a time and this has seriously saved me some time and frustration. I am also open to any thoughts, comments, suggestions, critiques, wisdom, jokes, or anything else you all can throw at me.
PARTS NEEDED:
27-30 gallon tote
Hose with an adjustable spray nozzle that can make a thin strong stream at pressure.
Masterblend 3-part dry fertilizer nutrients-
Masterblend 4-18-38 Tomato and Vegetable Fertilizer
Epsom Salt (Magnesium Sulfate)
Power Grow Calcium Nitrate 15.5-0-0
CalMag liquid
Tablespoon measuring spoon.
General Hydroponics PH Up/Down
PH/PPM/EC testing probe meter, calibrated.
Solo cup (Your choice of color…lol)
PROCESS:
I start off with filling the clean tote about 1/4th of the way up with water.
And then add 4 level Tablespoons of the Masterblend 4-18-38 to the water.
Then I use a thin, strong stream of water from the hose, to go back and forth until all of the Masterblend 4-18-38 is dissolved.
Usually about 1/3rd to 1/2 way full at this point.
Add 2 level Tablespoons of the Epsom Salts (1/2 of the Tomato blend amount) and repeat the spray process to dissolve.
Next, add 4 level Tablespoons of the Calcium Nitrate. Repeat the spraying to dissolve.
Add about 3 tablespoons (40ml) of the Cal-Mag 1-0-0 and spray again.
You should be about 3/4-5/8 of the way full at this point.
After letting it sit for about 5 minutes, I start checking PPM/EC/PH levels with the meter. I start adding the GH PH Down (1/2-1 Tablespoon) at this point and spray again to dilute. Wait 5 minutes and test again with the meter.
Add a little more PH Down, test again.
That puts it right about where I need it for a full strength feeding. If I need it to be a not as strong (seedlings, young plants, other garden plants that can’t take that level), I will take a 5-gallon bucket, fill it 1/2 way with the full strength mixture and dilute with water. Of course I check PH and PPM to adjust where needed. Otherwise I do full strength for everything that can take it. I’ve gone hotter in the mix than this by adding more nutrients as an experiment, but this right here is pretty darn close to what is recommended by Masterblend and several other sites for PPM/EC/PH as is.
Here are some of my plants using this mixture:
8-foot block wall behind this ILGM Gold Leaf plant in the garden area soil. I’m 6-foot tall and can’t reach the tops anymore even with my arms stretched straight up.
The right and middle plants are Trainwreck from ILGM. The middle one was a runt that I didn’t think was going to make it. So it started in a little nursery pot for too long before it surprised me and made it. The left plant is a Girl Scout cookies Extreme. All planted around 4/25/25-5/1/25.
Black bag is an ILGM Alaskan Dos-Si-Dos on the left, started in May 2025. The other is a clone experiment (I have two others next to it) that I took from the ILGM Gold Leaf monster plant in the garden.
Here are the Godfather OG plants that I have in the Grow-Off. The green fabric bag is using the CX Nutrients in soil. The Orange bag is using the Masterblend full strength. The hydroponic is also using the Masterblend, just PH adjusted a little more down than from the soil plants. Getting ready to move her into her own 30-gallon tote as she is starting to get to be really thirsty. Having to replace almost a gallon daily. She is starting to get into beast mode. She was the smallest of the 4 seedlings that I planted at the start and you can see that she has easily overtaken the soil girls. You can also better see my experimental clone girls a little better in that picture.
I really hope that someone finds this useful. I wish that I would have had this post available to me when I started growing, as it would have been very helpful and saved me a bunch of work. But discovery along the way is part of the joy of the journey, it’s not always about the destination. Have a great day Grow Fam.