Why I use Jacks
If I told you it was easy to do I'd be lying. This decision to start using Jack's was a hard fought battle that went on in my mind for weeks. If your familiar with the Megacrop line Jack's is similar and I almost went that route but I was impressed with grows I'd found using Jack's so I locked in on the method and never swayed from it.
Upon returning to growing after many years of idleness I was seeking an easy method to get started back up. I read all I could to get caught up on today's technology gadgets n gizmos. I finally decided to go with a bubbler. Something I was familiar with. That didn't last long. I could not control the res temps so I had to abort.
Then I ran into some articles and threads about the ease of Jacks and peat. It sounded to good to be true. I'm familiar with peat so I read on and soon I had all the products I needed to start. Jacks 202020, jacks 103020, promix and Epsom salts. There are many Jack's products available. I just chose to stick with the Classic line.
The big challenge was I was committing to not using any meters throughout the whole grow. I put all my faith in what I'd read from others and forced myself to follow them with blinders on.
Why would I say blinders? Well, for the mere fact just about every experienced grower out there has something to say about this method. Top responses would be...you need to check ph, ppm, ec, blah blah blah. I get it. That is the standard for growing cannabis. Maybe I'm just a step outside the box. Maybe, I'm just putting faith into the products I'm using and letting them do the job they were made to do.
The mixture of promix hp myco and Jack's products buffers my ph. I use straight tap water and just for giggles I'll let ya know my tap water measures out to about 130ppm at a ph of 7.2.
As I moved along with Jack's I found that Jack's classic does not have calcium support in it. So I had to go on the hunt. I reviewed the MasterBlend schedule and basically just copied it to an extent. The MB formula uses calcium nitrate to supplement calcium and deliver the best N a plant can get....Nitrate. It also delivers a good dose of calcium. I now own a 50lb bag of the stuff..lol. Enough to last me the rest of my life.
The grow I completed with Jack's was one that I expected to have issues with. It was 9 strains with 11 plants. Never have I ever grown that many strains and had no complaints from any strain. They all grew rapidly and flowered up some nice frosty bud.
Jacks does tend to keep plants up near Nitrogen toxicity which freaks folks out a little sometimes. A typical jacks grow is a deep rich green leaf grow. At some angles they can appear to have slight black patches on the leaf. Tips may be a light shade of yellow. I carried hot tips throughout the whole grow but it never developed any further. New growth will appear a lighter shade of green as it emerges but it quickly joins the shade of the others.
If new growth comes out all funky, leaf tips get crispy/dry, or taco type leaf curling under like a hook ya may want to back off a little.
Dancing on the edge of N tox is often frowned upon by most growers but to be honest I've not found any issues with it. I get rapid growth and very good frosty bud production. I couldn't ask for more from such an easy method.
In flower the N is dropped to 10 with the jacks bloom. This small boost of Nitrate N keeps things pretty green and healthy. Most will hold that green color till you flush. Just don't overlook the flush. All of the salts and N need bled out.
My regime with Jack's is simple....
Promix Hp myco..plain outta the bag
Veg.....
1/4tsp per gal Jacks Classic 202020, 1/4tsp Calcium Nitrate, 1/4-1/2tsp Epsom salts.
Flower.....
Jacks Bloom 103020 + same as above.
I do use myco granules with all up potting. That stuff is pretty amazing. I know it's already in the promix but I add a lil for personal preference.
Soils and Jacks. I can't tell you much about this. I've yet to use soils again since returning to growing but I have friends who do with very good success.
New seed just emerging gets Jack's 202020 1/4tsp gal and tap water. Once two weeks old it starts to get the full mixture noted above. Nothing changes or is added or metered. Same does every time. Just mix n water.
If a new person adopts this method I can almost guarantee a successful grow if.... they have the proper environment and lighting.
I suggest jacks to folks but it is often not received well. It seems they must have multiple steps and calculations to achieve a simple cannabis grow. I don't get it but on the other hand I do...get it. I've been there too. Some folks enjoy that side of the game and it works for them. They are just sharing their info and I really appreciate it. I thank them and continue on with Jack's.
For the new guy trying to learn. Jacks in peat is a simple, cheap, straight forward, and easy method. A method simple enough for the new grower to learn the basics as he goes and show some success in the end and give him or her something he can build on in future grows.