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Boosted Blooms
by Jason Mispagel , contributing writer
Jason Mispagel is the co-owner and operator of Year-Round Garden , a grower ’ s supply center serving both home and commercial customers since 2016 . His extensive growing experience in hydroponics and soil dates to the early days of legalization in Colorado , where he served as one of the state ’ s early caregivers . Year-Round Garden . 1225 W 103rd St , Kansas City , MO . 816.216.6917 – FB : yrroundgarden ● IG : @ yrroundgarden
36 December 2021
You ’ re in the homestretch ! You ’ ve flipped your light cycle to induce flowering , and you ’ re counting down the weeks until harvest . But this go-round , instead of sticking with a basic flower / bloom nutrient , you ’ re looking for a way to add that little extra “ something ” to your grow . Fortunately , there ’ s no lack of options when it comes to bloom enhancing and bud boosting products . The challenge is deciding which one ( s ) to use . At the risk of sounding like a broken record , I ’ ll repeat what I find myself constantly saying , “ There ’ s no one right answer . It ’ s really a matter of personal choice .”
Determining your preference should start with understanding the inputs cannabis requires during flowering , then asking yourself particularly what it is you ’ re trying to accomplish . Is it more buds , larger buds , denser buds , more resinous buds , more flavorful buds , or some combination thereof ? Once you ’ ve narrowed down your intent , the question becomes how best to make available the nutrition your plant needs to achieve those goals . Just randomly throwing supplements and additives at it may work by sheer luck , but that ’ s not a great method if you ’ re looking to create a repeatable process that can later be expanded upon to enhance your end-product . Finally , you ’ ll have to decide whether the source of your inputs is important to you — are you comfortable using a synthetic additive , or do you want to keep your feedings as organic as possible ?
Flowering Needs
From a high level , the shift from vegetative growth to flowering means a shift in your plant ’ s nutritional needs . Of the three primary nutrients — Nitrogen ( N ), Phosphorous ( P ), and Potassium ( K ) — cannabis generally requires low levels of N and medium to high levels of P and K during flowering . This is because of the role P and K play in plant development . To massively oversimplify , P helps move energy to where it ’ s needed within the plant , especially areas of new growth , while K helps cells within the plant use that energy to expand and divide . For example , FoxFarm ’ s flowering fertilizer , Tiger Bloom , has N-P-K values of 2-8-4 , whereas their vegetative fertilizer , Grow Big , has values of 6-4-4 .
But that ’ s just the basic needs . What about the extra boost you want ? This is where