PK13/14

[grommit]

While there's a discussion regarding PK 13/14....

The directions on the bottle clearly states to add 3 weeks before harvest and therefore conventional wisdom is to add in week 5 on an 8 week strain........5 + 3 = 8

But as you generally mix nutes at the start of the week and harvest at the end (at least I do), doesn't this mean Canna are recommending to add at the start of week 6?

w6 + w7 + w8 = 3 weeks

w5 + w6 + w7 + w8 = 4 weeks

Or perhaps my maths has gone wrong. Not that I recommend using it in wk6 mind but that seems to be what Canna are saying.

[groovelick]

Usually weeks 4-7 pal.

Added to your usual mix.

Which imo is totally wrong

Its very strong stuff and nuked many a grow for the worse.

And this is where i think folks go wrong.

If you are feeding what the plant requires why would you just add pk on top of what you are already putting in. This will just nuke them because pk will up the ec.

All pk is, is a larger concentration of potassium and phosphorous so what i think is the best to do is add the required pk/boost, then add your base nutes to top up to the required ec that your plants had been feeding on.

There's no sense in just adding to your nutrient and over ferting with too high a ec

Owd

I'm going to give that a go with my coco in a couple of weeks, do two using the method above and two the other way round and see how it goes, PM say they do add N to there PK boost to balance the feed, so your suggestion does make a lot of sense.

[TheDamMan]

I use it for a week (Canna PK13/14) in Hydro, about 3 weeks before you chop, end of week 4 into 5 or thereabouts, depending on strain though. I'm using the full range of Canna nuits, have 2 grows one Hydro and one soil, I would not recommend it in soil but that wont affect you mate.

Edited May 7, 2011 by TheDamMan

[FlowwolF]

Just came across this now, but this stuff has been on my mind these last weeks too, so here we post ',;~}~

I gotta agree with Owd and the others here - you don't just add this stuff on top of your std. flower feed,

--but--,

- how can you just add the rec. dose of PK/boost, and then top up to the EC your grow is running at and get it better than very roughly right?

Supposing your plants are not feeding at the high EC level that the bottle dosing instructions are accounting for? - 1.5ml/L for a 'presumed' overall feeding level of, say, 1.8 or 2.0 EC, is gonna WAY overdo it if your plants are only feeding at 1.2 or 1.4 EC, IYSWIM!

So, this time around - and I must stress this is only my 3rd round of battle with hydro (Amazon modified setup), so all of this is far from conclusion material, just experiential observations - I REALLY been trying to get to grips with it, using the PM+ hydro nutes and pk boost...

Firstly I looked at the guide chart for when to start, and since then I referred to it to work out how much boost to use -

i.e. if the chart calls for an overall EC of 1.8, and 1.5ml/L boost, I get a litre of clean water, and add 1.5ml of boost to it, then measure the EC - say for the sake of it that the EC of 1.5ml/L boost is 0.45 - that's 1/4 of the total 1.8 EC called for.

Now my EC say, is running at/plants are feeding at 1.3 only, well then I just divide that by 4 to come up with the EC level of boost I am looking for, and come top-up time add boost to the water first to that EC level, then continue with flower nutes up to the feeding EC and that's it!

Of course there's also the issue of not every grow of the same planmt/strain going the same or needing the same at the same times, but it seems that tracking pH changes vs. EC readings during these stages of flower can give some indication of how much more or less K they need than is available to them.

I only got the slimmest and slipperiest of grasps on this (think of an eel in tweezers, eh ',;~}~), especially the pH/EC tracking for boost adding levels so I won't even try to say which way it goes/works, but I have, to my mind so far, clearly seen the correlations.

Stir up already muddy waters? Me? Well not too much I hope ',;~}~

Be well all!

Edited May 15, 2011 by FlowwolF

[Myrden]

All pk is, is a larger concentration of potassium and phosphorous so what i think is the best to do is add the required pk/boost, then add your base nutes to top up to the required ec that your plants had been feeding on.

There's no sense in just adding to your nutrient and over ferting with too high a ec

Owd

This is what I do, makes far more sense if you think about it.

[Bong Head]

Hi

I've used pk 13/14 before, but I've never been sure of it or it's instructions? It says use 3 weeks before harvest for 3-6 days. The 1st time i used it I mixed it in a separate bottle just water and pk and fed for 6 days, didn't see much difference? the second use I used 3 weeks before harvest mixed water with canna A&B and added pk 13/14 to that and fed for 6 days. The results were very good, BUT at the finishing time new pistils and bud kept growing so had to let it go for another 8 days?

I haven't been using it for a while, but on this one instead of 3 weeks before Im trying it out at 4 weeks before for 6 days, I will let you know what the outcome is??

Am I rite to add the PK 13/14 to my mixed A&B? 3ml to 2 liters water?

Thanks dudes happy gardening!

[Bong Head]

See that's what I don't understand? I've only ever used tap water! This time I mixed up 2 liters of tap water and A&B then added 3ml of PK 13/14???? Too late now there 3 days into feeding, so far no ill affects! The last time I used it I done the same added PK to the mixed A&B, I thought that's how you mix it?

How do you mix it properly then?

Thanks

[Bong Head]

I only use tap water that's been stood overnight? I don't use a meter and I've always had good results in the past. I went in to water them this morning and the Mazar's leaves have turned yellow? The Sweet Tooth is fine, What has happened? I think the PK 13/14 has done something to the Mazar?? I flooded the medium with clean water and feeding on water for a few days now see if the leaves stop going yellow?

I wont be using PK 13/14 again! Any advice on why the leaves turned yellow??

Thanks again

[Bong Head]

Hey all

I learned the hard way I nuked one of my plants! It's doing fine now! What is the correct way to mix PK 13/14?

Do I make up a separate bottle with just water & PK 13/14?

or

Do I make up a bottle with canna A&B and PK 13/14 together??

I can not find an answer?

Thanks again

[GrowStar]

Usually weeks 4-7 pal.

Added to your usual mix.

Which imo is totally wrong

Its very strong stuff and nuked many a grow for the worse.

And this is where i think folks go wrong.

If you are feeding what the plant requires why would you just add pk on top of what you are already putting in. This will just nuke them because pk will up the ec.

All pk is, is a larger concentration of potassium and phosphorous so what i think is the best to do is add the required pk/boost, then add your base nutes to top up to the required ec that your plants had been feeding on.

There's no sense in just adding to your nutrient and over ferting with too high a ec

Owd

In my humble opinion.... give your plants whatever you want whenever you want. Experiment and get to know how to 'read' they're reactions and get to know the general growing phases. The only rule I follow with strict accordance is not to give more than 1.2ec at first stages of floweringweek 1 & 2 of 8). When buds start to form and are getting bigger go to 1.5 (week 2-5) and then as they get bigger go to 1.9 (week 5+). Mix and match at your own discretion (give an occasional half dose every two weeks) and see what they like to eat and what you can afford to feed them.

[Bong Head]

Hey all

I learned the hard way I nuked one of my plants! It's doing fine now! What is the correct way to mix PK 13/14?

Do I make up a separate bottle with just water & PK 13/14?

or

Do I make up a bottle with canna A&B and PK 13/14 together??

I can not find an answer?

Thanks again

i gave you the answer bro, if you dont have an ec meter I cant see a way of doing it accurately, feeding your plants only pk 13/14 diluted in water will cause your plants to be nitrogen deficient, because there is no nitrogen in the pk 13/14. If you add pk 13/14 to your already mixed full strength nute tank then you will burn the plants because the ec will be too high.

best advice i could give you without an ec meter would be mix up the pk13/14 in your water according to bottles instruction, then add two thirds of your normal A+B, if plants show signs of hunger add more A+B.

Nice one Wan I understand that one! I've never used EC/PH meters, but gonna invest in some(I'll be asking you a million questions on meters now ) only joking! I always think when they grow wild no one feeds them or check the rain or soil for PH/EC, I try to do it as wild as I can

Growstar I learned the hard way and I definitely learned something, caught it just in time! Thanks

Thanks again dudes, sorry for being a pain!