# When to give young plants nutes?



## The Poet (Aug 7, 2016)

When, or at what height is liquid fertilizer needed and accepted?
   My question is not only when to start young plants on fertilizer but please define 'young'? 
It's looking like rather than 'a few saw toothed leaves' young means more like a foot tall! 
   My plants are fine in the empire builder soil {which is well fertilized itself} till I start 'fertilizing' them...
 ie. Dyna Grow.
 No matter how weak I mix it, they just don't like it. 
Right next to them are 1'-3' tall plants which are fine! 
The 1'-3' plants love it no matter how much I give them or what strain.
 I can only conclude that 'young' is much older than I had at first thought. 
   Help!


                                 Thank you...


                                         The Poet...&#9834;


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## zem (Aug 7, 2016)

Hey there Poet, IMO the soil that has ferts in it should keep the plants growing for a while, I guess a foot tall is reasonable. Smaller plants might find it too heavy to feed on extra ferts other than that in the soil. I would only water and then keep them to dry for several times until they pick up. good luck


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## SHOT (Aug 7, 2016)

Thanks for infos zem


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## pcduck (Aug 7, 2016)

Really depends on your soil on when. Height doesn't  mean much as plants grow at different rates and just to many variables.  From seed planted in rr or rockwool, I wait till the cotyledons start yellowing. In soil I just spike and tea,feeding the soil, and let them run. Also at each transplant they get fresh supply.

When feeding the plant a basic time frame would be around 6 weeks for soil and 30 days for Rockwool or rapid rooters. (Good roots and yellowing cotyledons)jmo


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## Hushpuppy (Aug 7, 2016)

If you are starting out with seedlings (from the drop into medium/soil until they are well established), they shouldn't get any nutes unless in organic soil(which takes care of itself). This is typically around 2-4wks depending on strain. Like PC, I watch the cotyledons for yellowing. Most will tell you to start these out in neutral soil/medium or rooters so that you don't burn the young, tender roots with nutrients. 

I like to use coco coir as you can go straight into any other medium with that, without any issues(except that you need to add a small bit of magnesium to the coco coir at beginning to prevent mag deficiency). I like the coco as it is organic itself but is chemically neutral until broken down by microbes. BUT you can also use some of the organic soils that have very little or no nutes for seed starting.

You can begin feeding earlier in neutral medium (with both seedlings and clones) but you have to be careful. I watch the seedlings for the vigorous growth spurt that tells me the roots have matured enough, but then I still feed light, 300ppm max.

Starting out in prefertilized soil is risky unless it is totally organic, and even that can burn them if it has too much available already. I know this from experience

Once the plants get about 3-4 nodes of standard leaves, they should be good to go with nutes in either setup, but you have to watch your plants as they will tell you when they are hungry. You will see vigorous growth of nice green leaves then suddenly they will slow a bit and start to get a little yellowish. That means they are hungry, and its time to increase the nutes some. Keep watching them closely and you will learn to read them.


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## The Poet (Aug 9, 2016)

Thank Y'all...


             The Poet...&#9834;


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## grass hopper (Aug 11, 2016)

hi poet! everyones different. i have never fed a  plant while its still in veg., (till about 4 1/2 weeks old.) my soils are 5 parts ocean forest, 2 parts roots- green light. Plus a few additives. they say theres enough food in soil to last bout 1 month +/-.. in flower, i feed alot!!


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## Hushpuppy (Aug 11, 2016)

GH, you are pretty much total Organic there aren't you? Or does the FFOF have a precharge of synthetic nutes, I forget.


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