Bloom Nutrient Blend

[Totemic]

So for many years I've been growing in soil and using mixes and matches of nutrients experimenting with good results. Decided a year ago to give biobizz a go and been doing well with the range. 

Last week though, the sobering reality that Biobizz, the bloom specifically is sold out and fast selling out across the country. What a bummer... There are issues at DAFF and the re-registration is causing an import delay I guess. 

This puts me back where I'm going to be using a blend of products again once I run out of Biobizz. 

With so many that are going to be facing the same issues I thought I'd share the blend here so you can also mix your own should you want to. 

But first... All the disclaimers 

This is not an all organic fertilizer blend. The bulk of the phosphates and potassium are derived from MKP. (I know all the strictly vegan okes are screaming now... I don't have time to ferment bones and fruits etc... P is P, and K is K to me, and using MKP in very low doses works in organics.) 

This is a blend of already registered and readily available products. It's going to set you back about R400, and will last a long time. 

There is nothing special about this blend. I have literally taken each of the suppliers recommended dosages for 1000l, and combined them with 830ml distilled water. So this 1l treats 1000l water, or 1ml/1l.

What you need: 

20ml Amino mix

40ml Elixer humates

40ml Elixer fulvates

40ml Sea Rock

30g MKP

830ml Distilled water

 

All of the above blends to a dark liquid, with no precipitation reactions, and provides roughly (based on supplier supplied data) 

0.3g/kg N

10.7g/kg P

10g/kg K

Plus the aminos, humates, fulvates, hormones and other micros.

I have used this blend in conjunction with any fish hydrolysate and mollasses with great results.

Edit:

After recently getting feedback from a grower who measures his input EC to his organics, found his EC reading was lower than usual so he bumped up the EC using only the bloom blend. That quite simply locked his plants up. 

This bloom blend does not work on its own. You have to use a fish hydrolysate and mollases. This blend being partly salts, is meant to be used as follows:

1ml fish hydrolysate, 1ml molasses, and 1ml of this bloom blend per 1l of water, with every watering. 

It's a matter of constant micro fertigation to sustain a healthy plant.... Being over eager and over feeding does not mean a yield increase. 

 

 

Edited May 29, 2021 by Totemic

[Stinger96]

This is so awesome of you dude... This is expensive info at the moment.. Big Up bud.. I think all that benefit from this should make a purchase of Totemic's Ginetics..

[Totemic]

11 hours ago, Stinger96 said:

This is so awesome of you dude... This is expensive info at the moment.. Big Up bud.. I think all that benefit from this should make a purchase of Totemic's Ginetics..

You'd be surprised how many people use these products in combination already. It's just easier to weigh out dosages for 1000l than to try and measure micro doses for a 10l watering can. 

@Gloriosa superba Yeah I've had my fair share of DAFF. The hoops and red tape and waiting is ridiculous.  That's why I'd rather just run diy again until hopefully biobizz comes back. 

[Prom]

Bloom and Grow got declared as not biological by the SA authorities.. even the rest of the world says.. it is bio fertilizer. I think is one substance inside the mix, that caused the question. One of those issues where you just shake your head.. ^^ I stocked up.. and Bloom you still find at Aeres Starke (hope I wrote it correct.. the most expensive nursery you can go, should indicate the same hehehe).. is just very expensive Bloom.

[ORGANinc.]

1 minute ago, Prom said:

Bloom and Grow got declared as not biological by the SA authorities.. even the rest of the world says.. it is bio fertilizer. I think is one substance inside the mix, that caused the question. One of those issues where you just shake your head.. ^^ I stocked up.. and Bloom you still find at Aeres Starke (hope I wrote it correct.. the most expensive nursery you can go, should indicate the same hehehe).. is just very expensive Bloom.

Starke Ayres lol, yep biobizz not organic. Its like if people thought silica is organic too. Probably a decent amount of that in Grow. I really don't think its a issue at all  though, if you need to be certified for commercial organic cultivation...  etc.etc. Then make sure its all above board, but home growers trying to get the best experience out of growing, why not.

Good recipe @Totemic Full bloom success!

[PsyCLown]

Perhaps this is a good opportunity for some home growers to scrap the organics and move over to the dark side with some fully synthetic nutes 

 

[Ill_Evan]

2 minutes ago, PsyCLown said:

Perhaps this is a good opportunity for some home growers to scrap the organics and move over to the dark side with some fully synthetic nutes 

I've never done synthetic nutes and soil, or even considered it, but I suppose it should be similar to synthetics and coco  although the coco should drain and dry faster than the soil. 

Thinking about it now, if you are using pots, you could maybe mix in some perlite with the soil then use the synthetic nutes. 

But if your tree were stuck in the ground, would you ever consider synthetic nutes? 

 

[Totemic]

2 minutes ago, PsyCLown said:

Perhaps this is a good opportunities for some home growers to scrap the organics and move over to the dark side with some fully synthetic nutes 

[img]https://media.tenor.com/images/baea008308afbe96e60c0c05e79ca217/tenor.gif[/img]

The only issue I have with going with salts is the need to adjust pH all the time. I started growing in coco using salts.. Results were good, bigger buds than organics for sure, but the mission that is pH adjusting has me stuck on a mainly organic approach. 

[ORGANinc.]

9 minutes ago, Ill_Evan said:

I've never done synthetic nutes and soil, or even considered it, but I suppose it should be similar to synthetics and coco  although the coco should drain and dry faster than the soil. 

Thinking about it now, if you are using pots, you could maybe mix in some perlite with the soil then use the synthetic nutes. 

But if your tree were stuck in the ground, would you ever consider synthetic nutes? 

 

Ya this is something. I've come to realize that many people are using microbial inoculants religiously with salts (mixing it together before application) haha just imagine that, a Washington state professor of horticulture described how salts take out microbes, she said it was like swiping your creditcard at a shopping centre... really microbes do nothing in Coco with nutes. Don't waste your money. 

Edited March 3, 2021 by ORGANinc.

[PsyCLown]

1 minute ago, Totemic said:

The only issue I have with going with salts is the need to adjust pH all the time. I started growing in coco using salts.. Results were good, bigger buds than organics for sure, but the mission that is pH adjusting has me stuck on a mainly organic approach. 

So you do not PH your feed with BioBizz?

 

In coco, one certainly wants to adjust PH and there is nothing to buffer the PH unlike in most soil - but you know this already.

What makes life easier for me in terms of adjusting PH is my automatic watering system and when I mix nutes, it is in larger quantities and then the full quantity of nutes gets PH'd and lasts a few days before I need to do it again.

Does not take particularly long to adjust the PH, but it is an extra step. About an extra 60 seconds to adjust the PH. If adding silicone though, it can throw things out of whack a bit but just requires a bit more PH down.

 

When I was growing organically, I ended up with PH lockout and had to start adjusting the PH of my nute mixtures. So for me, I have kinda been doing it regardless of whether its organic or not.

 

I have said it before in other threads, for the average home grower who does indoor grows. I do not see much benefit in growing with organic nutes and in soil. I know it is the most popular way for the average home grower, but I do feel marketing is partly to blame for this.

I won't be going back to organics anytime soon, not for my indoor plants and currently I do not grow outdoors.

[PsyCLown]

1 minute ago, ORGANinc. said:

Ya this is something. I've come to realize that many people are using microbial inoculants religiously with salts (mixing it together before application) haha just imagine that, a Washington state professor of horticulture described how salts take out microbes, she said it was like a swiping your creditcard at a shopping centre... really microbes do nothing in Coco with nutes. Don't waste your money. 

This is something which has intrigued me, unfortunately I do not have the means to see what is actually happening with the microbes.

Do you have a link to the article?

 

Is it the nutes themselves which have a negative affect on the microbes or is it perhaps the lack of a food source for the microbes?

[Totemic]

6 minutes ago, PsyCLown said:

So you do not PH your feed with BioBizz?

 

In coco, one certainly wants to adjust PH and there is nothing to buffer the PH unlike in most soil - but you know this already.

What makes life easier for me in terms of adjusting PH is my automatic watering system and when I mix nutes, it is in larger quantities and then the full quantity of nutes gets PH'd and lasts a few days before I need to do it again.

Does not take particularly long to adjust the PH, but it is an extra step. About an extra 60 seconds to adjust the PH. If adding silicone though, it can throw things out of whack a bit but just requires a bit more PH down.

 

When I was growing organically, I ended up with PH lockout and had to start adjusting the PH of my nute mixtures. So for me, I have kinda been doing it regardless of whether its organic or not.

 

I have said it before in other threads, for the average home grower who does indoor grows. I do not see much benefit in growing with organic nutes and in soil. I know it is the most popular way for the average home grower, but I do feel marketing is partly to blame for this.

I won't be going back to organics anytime soon, not for my indoor plants and currently I do not grow outdoors.

I do not even own a pH pen anymore, and I haven't checked my pH ever using organics.

A properly buffered medium works in synergy with the microbes to regulate pH

[ORGANinc.]

14 minutes ago, PsyCLown said:

This is something which has intrigued me, unfortunately I do not have the means to see what is actually happening with the microbes.

Do you have a link to the article?

 

Is it the nutes themselves which have a negative affect on the microbes or is it perhaps the lack of a food source for the microbes?

Its a book, called how plants work by Linda Chalker, Yes they kill them like a bacterial pesticide, The quantities which you are using definitely makes a difference like with everything. 

So if you have amendments in your soil made up of mineral and organic matter, you will likely have microbes come in from thin air, and set up shop on the food source regardless, you may hinder the system but do the benefits outweigh the downs. And they will continue to operate and regulate ph etc.

Inert mediums, complete different story.

Edited March 3, 2021 by ORGANinc.

[Prom]

Haven't used a pen or any Ph up or down for a very loooong time  and not planning on making my life more complicated. I like things easy and simple  Have a stock of 12 liter each.. Grow and Bloom.. I hope they re-register before I run out 

[CreX]

6 hours ago, Totemic said:

The only issue I have with going with salts is the need to adjust pH all the time. I started growing in coco using salts.. Results were good, bigger buds than organics for sure, but the mission that is pH adjusting has me stuck on a mainly organic approach. 

But smaller buds!! 

i also have to ph my water feed before i use ut... but i have a mental system in place where it take me maybe 15 seconds.

i know i need 2ml ph down in 40l to bring my solution to between 5.8 and 6.1 when salts are already in the mix...so i dont even test anymore...maybe once a month if im feeling frisky

[Dr. Green Thumb]

Yo Community,

So I've been facing a similar issue in that BioBizz Bloom is out of stock. At the grow shop, the shop attendant recommended me using BioPhos Repro as a substitute for BioBizz Bloom. I haven't fed yet, but need to feed either today or tomorrow. I was wondering if anyone has used the BioPhos Repro product? and also if it will be alright for me to mix the BioPhos Repro with other products in the BioBizz line.

I usually make one big drum of nutrient mix, consisting of different products, pH balance that mix, and feed that between my plants. Is it fine to mix different nutrient lines? I know BioBizz isn't completely organic, but it does use a molasses base, whereas the BioPhos, from what I've read, does not. Is BioPhos synthetic?

Apologies for all the questions, kings and queens.

[PsyCLown]

@Dr. Green Thumb never heard of it, not sure whether its organic or not. Got a link perhaps?

 

Mixing nute lines is possible, but you should at least have a rough idea as to what you are doing.

[CreX]

On 3/7/2021 at 8:36 AM, Dr. Green Thumb said:

Yo Community,

So I've been facing a similar issue in that BioBizz Bloom is out of stock. At the grow shop, the shop attendant recommended me using BioPhos Repro as a substitute for BioBizz Bloom. I haven't fed yet, but need to feed either today or tomorrow. I was wondering if anyone has used the BioPhos Repro product? and also if it will be alright for me to mix the BioPhos Repro with other products in the BioBizz line.

I usually make one big drum of nutrient mix, consisting of different products, pH balance that mix, and feed that between my plants. Is it fine to mix different nutrient lines? I know BioBizz isn't completely organic, but it does use a molasses base, whereas the BioPhos, from what I've read, does not. Is BioPhos synthetic?

Apologies for all the questions, kings and queens.

it is very easy to over fertilize your ladies as is with the already tested nutrient solutions on the market. so as mentioned above, it would be better if you knew the ratios of the nutrients in the mix that you make so that you can adjust and improve on the stuff... but not knowing each product and mixing them together could produce much worse results than you were expecting.

but if you do have a good understanding, you are likely going to mix something that will work well

[The_StonedTrooper]

On 3/3/2021 at 8:40 AM, Prom said:

Bloom and Grow got declared as not biological by the SA authorities.. even the rest of the world says.. it is bio fertilizer. I think is one substance inside the mix, that caused the question. One of those issues where you just shake your head.. ^^ I stocked up.. and Bloom you still find at Aeres Starke (hope I wrote it correct.. the most expensive nursery you can go, should indicate the same hehehe).. is just very expensive Bloom.

As lockdown hit, I saw that prices may be going to go up and stock will be short soon, so I bought a 10L of each product, so hopefully things are sorted by the end of my stock.

Would help guys out if local to me, but most of the guys are in jhb or CT.

[Totemic]

After recently getting indirect feedback from a grower who measures his input EC to his organics, found his EC reading was lower than usual so he bumped up the EC using only the bloom blend and probably gave 3 or 4 times the recommended dose. That quite simply locked his plants up. 

This bloom blend does not work on its own. You have to use a fish hydrolysate and mollases. This blend being partly salts, is meant to be used as follows:

1ml fish hydrolysate, 1ml molasses, and 1ml of this bloom blend per 1l of water, with every watering. From the 3rd week of flower. You also don't raise the dose as you go through peak Flowering. The dosage stays the same. 

It's a matter of constant micro fertigation to sustain a healthy plant.... Being over eager and over feeding does not mean a yield increase

Edited May 29, 2021 by Totemic

[SAgrower]

After recently getting indirect feedback from a grower who measures his input EC to his organics, found his EC reading was lower than usual so he bumped up the EC using only the bloom blend and probably gave 3 or 4 times the recommended dose. That quite simply locked his plants up. 
This bloom blend does not work on its own. You have to use a fish hydrolysate and mollases. This blend being partly salts, is meant to be used as follows:
1ml fish hydrolysate, 1ml molasses, and 1ml of this bloom blend per 1l of water, with every watering. From the 3rd week of flower. You also don't raise the dose as you go through peak Flowering. The dosage stays the same. 
It's a matter of constant micro fertigation to sustain a healthy plant.... Being over eager and over feeding does not mean a yield increase

I would like to try this bloom blend on my next grow but still need to read up on the ingredients. Im growing in living soil so just want to know if theres any of those ingredients that would be harmful to the microbes etc. Im mainly thinking about the MPK.

Thanks for sharing this knowledge, it makes it more fun and interesting growing this way, learning along the way.

[Totemic]

1 hour ago, SAgrower said:

I would like to try this bloom blend on my next grow but still need to read up on the ingredients. Im growing in living soil so just want to know if theres any of those ingredients that would be harmful to the microbes etc. Im mainly thinking about the MPK.

Thanks for sharing this knowledge, it makes it more fun and interesting growing this way, learning along the way.

In the doses you are giving the MPK I have not noticed damage to the micro herd, in both my own soil mix and on FF premium.

You are not getting the benefit of the P solubilizing micro organisms working though since the P you are providing is already plant available and can can be immediately taken up. 

While most mineral forms of P found in your rock dust ammendments are made available at an incredibly slow rate.

Edited May 30, 2021 by Totemic

[SAgrower]

In the doses you are giving the MPK I have not noticed damage to the micro herd, in both my own soil mix and on FF premium.
You are not getting the benefit of the P solubilizing micro organisms working though since the P you are providing is already plant available and can can be immediately taken up. 
While most mineral forms of P found in your rock dust ammendments are made available at an incredibly slow rate.

Awesome. Thank you very much