@Hellraiser I bought Jack’s off eBay today and will arrive Monday. I am transplanting tomorrow into 3 gallon fabric container. To save me some time researching, how do you apply the nutrients? Sorry if these questions sound so silly but I truly am learning on the fly here.
The recipe for Jacks 321 is the following per 1 gallon of water:
3.6 grams Jacks Hydroponic 5-12-26
2.4 grams Jacks Calcium Nitrate 15-0-0
1.2 grams Magnesium Sulfate (Epsom salt)
To make it, mix Jacks Hydroponic first in the water til dissolved, then the Magnesium Sulfate until dissolved and then the Jacks Calcium Nitrate, it’s important to do it in that order. Then ph as needed, with Happy Frog, you’ll want a ph of 6.5.
I would not go full strength Jacks with fresh Happy Frog so cut those dosages down to 1/4 for the first week, then ramp up to 1/2 dose for another week, then can go full strength after that.
You’ll also need a decently accurate scale to weigh out the Jacks if you don’t have one already. I use this:
Thanks so much for this information. I did have a few more beginner questions so I will post them. ![]()
- Based on my pictures, do you think my plant has entered veg state?
- When watering the plant, is filtered water really necessary?
- When watering the plant, should I test the ph level of the water first?
- If the soil ph is not right, is it just a matter of watering the plant with water that is at the right ph level?
- @Hellraiser gave me great advice on the Jacks 321 recipe. Follow up question. Once I have the gallon of water mixed with the nutrients, what is the method of feeding the plant?
- And lastly, from the images, does it appear that my plant is drooping? I will be transplanting tomorrow into 3 gallon fabric grow bag with Happy Frog soil and will apply 1/4 Jacks nutrients for the first week like @Hellraiser suggested. Currently my plant is sitting in Miracle Gro…NEWBIE mistake! I dont believe its an over watering issue so might be lack of nutrients?
Thanks all for reading and look forward to hearing some of these answers!
Answers
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Yes, you’re plant is in veg state. Veg starts when your plant sprouts, seedling / sprout is just early stage of veg.
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Depends on your tap water. Get a TDS/PPM meter and test your tap water to see if it is suitable for plant use (lower ppms are better). My tap water is near 500 ppm so I use RO water.
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Yes, ph should be tested and adjusted (if necessary) before giving to plant.
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Give correct ph water/nutes everytime and you’ll never have to worry about soil ph.
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Pour the water slowly into the top of the soil, find out how much water you need to give so you always get a little runoff, I like 10-20% runoff. Also don’t let the plants sit in runoff, a pot elevator and tray works well for that purpose or something similar. Generally I give plants in 5 gal pots a 1/2 gallon of water/nutes to start as an example, may need to up the amount as roots grow and plant gets bigger and thirsty. You might try 1/4 gallon water/nutes in a 3 gal and see if you get some runoff, if not, increase by another cup or 2 until you do get some runoff.
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No, not drooping, looks fine for being in Miracle Grow soil.
Thanks again for the answers! So I just did my transplant successfully and holy cow she was root bound! Any concerns with root bound? Just take longer to recover?
Just with my grows. Root bound before transplant, in a few days shes gonna take off on you like a rocket, I like to get a cup full of roots before I transplant but… just my 2 pennies. She should be just fine
Lol dang hell. 4 month’s in a 12oz??
You won’t need nutes for several weeks with happy frog, get up & down for PH balancing. Not sure about lemon juice but baking soda with leave too many salts building up in your soil.
Yeah just my 2 pennies as well I’d get some pH up an down, general hydroponics on Amazon I think you can get a kit for around 20 bucks or less I have heard of using lemon juice but also heard it’s not good to use long, I have not used it just reading
Hey, just curious, with the Jacks321 nutes, that what I would use for flowering stage too? Or is it just veg stage? How often do you water/feed nutes? I’m doing 1/4 gallon every 3 days in a 3 gallon.
Sounds about right not knowing your pot size… but yea they run same cycle throughout plants life if I’m not mistaken… I cant wrap my head around it… maybe some day with jacks… some add minimal bloom boosters with extra potassium and phosphorus
Yes you can use Jacks for flowering. I water/feed every day since I’m in coco.


