Great cannabis relies on a winning feeding schedule throughout its life cycle. Each plant feed supplier creates its products with slightly different ratios of essential nutrients. The feeding schedule for one product line might be very different from that for other feeds, even if both manufacturers use similar wording for the names of their products. This is because the relative strength of the two products will be different. Whereas one product might provide a nice gentle feed for seedlings, another might actually completely kill your entire young garden!

We’ve created the following article to explain exactly how much of General Hydronics’ feeds you should be use per gallon of water. It’s based on the FloraNova advanced nutrients feeding chart, which provides the perfect nutrient schedule for the products. You don’t need to search around to find a different feeding routine for each of the products. This single Flora Nova cheat sheet details every one!

Why are Nutrients Important for Healthy Plants?

A rounded blend of nutrients is crucial for healthy plant growth. Be it ground in a soil system or with hydroponics, the plant will require more of some nutrients and less of others during different phases of their growth.

The three most important nutrients for plant growth are nitrogen, phosphate, and potash. Suppliers of plant feeds denote the quantities of each using an NPK ratio. For example, on Flora Nova Grow, you’ll notice the numbers 7:4:10 on the bottle. The first number always relates to the amount of nitrogen in a product. The second refers to the percentage of phosphate. The third number denotes the amount of potash within a plant food blend.

You’ll typically see nutrient manufacturers offer a “Grow” blend – high in nitrogen and phosphates – as well as a “Bloom” or “Flowering” blend that ramps up the phosphate for flower production. You’ll also find that they also offer loads of supplements and additives to really fine-tune your plant feed game. 

Plants lacking in the necessary nutrients will show signs of deficiencies. A lack of nitrogen, for example, usually manifests itself in plants through the yellowing of the leaves. Meanwhile, a lack of secondary nutrient magnesium typically sees leaves retain strong green veins with the section in between yellowing.

When a plant struggles to get as many nutrients as it needs, its rate of growth will slow, and other problems can develop. Perhaps it will not be as robust at fighting off infections or diseases or perhaps it just won’t yield as much end product.

Photo credit from left to right: loudclouds.co and Baylor College of Medicine. 

Why Do I Need a Feeding Schedule?

Many plants feeds, like those supplied by General Hydroponics as part of its Flora Nova range, are highly concentrated formulas. Although plants really benefit from these products in moderation, too much of them will lead to big problems.

Toxicity is the name given to what is essentially a problem of overfeeding. The nutrients can actually burn the plants and the energy they use trying to repair the damage would be much better used in creating fresh growth, new flowering sites, and, of course, larger buds.

Whatever nutrients you are using, always start by using the feeding schedule recommended by the manufacturer. Once you have a few grows under your belt, you can tweak different elements of a feeding program. However, the amounts recommended are usually pretty spot on. 

Later in this guide, we’ll show you exactly how much of each Flora Nova product to use per gallon of water at the different phases of your plant’s life. First, let’s introduce the various products available.

Thank you to happymag.tv for this beautiful capture of cannabis in her natural state.

Simple FloraNova Feeding Chart

Below, you will find exactly when and how much of the simplest range of products to feed to your plants. The products themselves are detailed below the chart. All the quantities of feed are appropriate to one gallon of water (3.97 liters).

Vegetative Growth Phase:

Simple FloraNova Nutrients Explained

Using only the following handful of products from the FloraNova range, you will end up with far healthier plants than if you were to use only the nutrients available in the soil. Of course, with hydroponic grows, you will need to add everything. The water itself will have little to no nutrient contents and plants will quickly suffer. 

Even if you don’t opt for any of the advanced nutrients discussed later, you should give serious consideration to treating your crop to FloraNova Grow, FloraNova Bloom, Rapid Start, Liquid KoolBloom, and Floralicious Plus. Any of the following products work just as well in soil grows as they do hydroponics systems.

Flora Nova Grow

FloraNova Grow is going to be your plants’ primary source of nutrition during its early life. The nitrogen and potash-rich formula are ideal for plants during vegetative growth. It also has a well-rounded blend of micronutrients to set your plants upright to produce mega-yields down the line.

In terms of the key nutrients for plant growth, FloraNova Grow is 7% nitrogen, 4% phosphate, and 10% potash.

FloraNova Bloom

During flowering, your plants are going to need a slightly different blend of nutrients to thrive. You’ll gradually switch the nitrogen-rich vegetative nutrients for something heavier in phosphates.

FloraNova Bloom by General Hydroponics is a fertilizer option designed especially for your plants’ flowering cycle. It promotes robust bud growth with its blend of 4% nitrogen, 8% phosphate, and 7% potash.

RapidStart

RapidStart is a powerful rooting enhancer by FloraNova. It’s packed full of amino acids and nutrients that give root systems the best start in life. It promotes vigorous branching and makes for healthy, white roots in either soil or hydroponic setups.

Liquid KoolBloom

Liquid KoolBloom used earlier in the grow, creates the perfect foundations for massive flower production. The supplement is most effective when used in the transition period between vegetative growth and flowering.

Liquid KoolBloom also helps your plants take up all the other goodies you’ll be feeding them. With increased nutrient uptake, you’ll be setting yourself up for a real bumper harvest!

Floralicious Plus

Floralicious Plus is a powerful nutrient additive from General Hydroponics. It’s packed with seaweed, vitamin B1, and other tertiary nutrients. This makes for the most aromatic, visually appealing, and tastiest harvests!

Here is your virtual shopping aisle so you can pick up these yield boosting growing aids:

Grow and Bloom Combo	RapidStart Rooting Enhancer	Liquid KoolBloom	Floralicious Plus Enhancer

Expert FloraNova Feeding Chart

The expert FloraNova feeding chart is identical to the simple schedule detailed above. If you’re following this more advanced nutrients feeding chart, use the basic nutrients listed, combined with those featured below.

This feeding schedule incorporates additional General Hydroponics products to really help you to produce the most bountiful harvests possible in as short a period of time!

Expert FloraNova Nutrients

For those wanting to step their growing game up even further, FloraNova also produces a range of more specialist nutrients. Although the average grower can probably do without the following products, the advanced gardener will certainly see great results from introducing them to their crops.

Diamond Nectar

The simple nutrients we’ve detailed so far are all well and good but what you really want is for your plant to be able to make the most of them. Diamond Nectar by General Hydroponics allows plants to take up even more of the nutrients that will really enable them to thrive.

Armor Si

So far most of the nutrient additives we’ve covered have been aimed at feeding plants. Armor Si by General Hydroponics, as the name suggestions, is all about protecting them! The product contains both silica and potassium – both known to really help fortify a plant’s defenses against basically everything. Your crop will be better able to tolerate extremes in temperatures, drought, and stress. Meanwhile, the potassium adds a little extra feed to the mix to really bump up flower production!

FloraBlend

FloraBlend by General Hydroponics works wonders for plants during their vegetative growth. Its main benefits apply to the root structure of plants. However, it also helps promote vigorous branching up of the plant and an abundance of foliage. The product is a mix of plant materials, rock powder, and seaweed. It’s all fermented to create a potent plant feed used mostly during vegetative growth.

FloraNectar

If you’re really wanting to maximize the flavor of your crop, consider using FloraNectar by General Hydroponics as part of your feeding schedule. The product is rich in molasses and other essential minerals. These feed the microorganisms in the soil, helping to break down the other nutrients you feed your plants into more usable forms.

There are three flavors of FloraNectar: FruitnFusion, PineappleRush, and SugarCane. Don’t worry though, they’re designed to enhance these tastes in your flowers, rather than impart some artificial sweetness to them!

Dry KoolBloom

Dry KoolBloom is best reserved for the very end of your growth. It’s a blend heavy in phosphorus and potassium, along with other beneficial goodies for plants. The feed actually has a massive 45% phosphate and 28% soluble potash. It’s balanced with a few secondary nutrients including nitrogen, magnesium, and sulfur too.

CALiMAGic

General Hydroponics version of everyone’s favorite Cal/Mag supplement is ingeniously titled CALiMAGic. If you’ve ever spent any time on cannabis grower forums, you’ll know just how popular these kinds of products really are!

CALiMAGic is fully water-soluble, making it ideal for use as part of a feeding schedule in either soil or hydroponic grow operations. Calcium and magnesium are two of the most important secondary nutrients and growers who deploy the nutrients in their gardens will certainly notice the benefits. Their plants will be generally stronger, better able to fight off disease, and never from the kind of nutrient deficiencies that cause growth issues and significantly reduced yields.

- Aisle 1 -

Diamond Nectar	Armor Si	FloraBlend

- Aisle 2 -

FloraNectar	Dry KoolBloom	CALiMAGic

Look After Your Plants and They’ll Look After You!

Well, there you have it. Two different FloraNova feeding plans for you to use to get the very most from your own grow operations. Remember though, this feeding schedule will only be applicable to General Hydroponics products from the Flora Nova range. If you’re feeding with different products, be sure to check exactly how much to use per gallon of water. Too much, even of a good thing, will be more detrimental than beneficial. Happy growing!

Image credit: Growerschoiceseeds.com

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Written by Megan Medeiros (BA)

Megan Medeiros has a bachelor’s degree in English and is currently working on a master’s in English at James Madison University. She's the owner and operator of Medeiros Writing, and has been working as a cannabis writer for the past three years, mostly following the legal climate of marijuana, especially in areas like California, Colorado, Oregon, Canada, and other legal areas.

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