Cannabis plants have different nutrient requirements at every growth stage. This is why most nutrient kits come in multipacks. We’re going to use the General Hydroponics FloraGrow Kit as an example. It comes with a complete feeding schedule for the entire life cycle.
Cannabis nutrients for outdoor growing
Outdoor cannabis plants need the standard nutrients plus zinc, copper, manganese, and cobalt. You’ll also want to assess the soil you are growing in. Loamy soil is ideal to grow cannabis. This soil is a mixture of clay, silt, and sand.
Organic nutrients tend to be better for the soil in your garden. This is because organic nutrients tend to feed the living soil around the plants, rather than directly feeding the best cannabis nutrients. This will attract more pests though.
If the soil in your garden isn’t ideal for cannabis plants, you can always use outdoor pots.
Seedling or Cutting Stage
At this point, what your cannabis plant needs most is sunlight and a moist growing medium.
You do not need to use very much cannabis fertilizer at this stage. In fact, some cannabis growers rely on just water and soil at this stage. The FloraGrow kit has you use a very small amount of all three bottles. In this growth phase, what’s most important is that the growing medium is kept moist. If your reservoir is underfilled, your cannabis seedlings cannot form roots.
If you feel your plants could use an organic boost, a diluted fish bone meal can add a little phosphorus to the soil.
Vegetative Growth
Plants in the vegetative stage need high nitrogen, moderate potassium, and low phosphorus. The Florabloom growth chart is set for indoor growers who only want to veg for 2 weeks, if you want to veg for the standard 4 weeks, you can extend the late growth/early bloom blend for a week each.
Great options for organic fertilizers at the vegetative stage are worm castings, blood meal, fish meal, and bat guano. These all boost the nitrogen content in the soil. This is also a great time to introduce some beneficial microorganisms to the living soil. These are certain types of soil bacteria that encourage your plants to grow more roots and protect those roots.
During the vegetative stage, the cannabis plant is most susceptible to nitrogen deficiency. It’s growing the majority of its stalks and roots, so it needs as much nitrogen as it can take in. If you’re growing outdoor plants, water further away from the plant to encourage it to grow its roots
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