nutrients Nutes & Seedlings

[TheRyan]

Iv'e heard that once a plant gets a few sets of real leaves you can start giving it a diluted nute mix in your water. I start mine in Fox Farm Ocean Forest so would it even help them at this age or burn them? The nutes i'd be using are General Hydroponic's Flora Duo A&B and a calcium/magnesium nutrient. Thanks in advance.

 

[Brain Strain Pepper Head]

I don't feed mine until they tell me they need more food then what is in the soil. Look at the leaves they will tell you if they are dark green, light green or yellowing they will always tell you when they need food. One of the biggest mistakes is playing around too much with the plant. In the wild the seeds fall to the ground and they grow without our help.

 

[TheRyan]

Thanks, I added more water this time and waited until they were dryer before I watered. I was just wondering because I am messing around with a few plants before I really start in feb.

 

[Jetchuka]

Agreed with Pepper Head.
 
Ocean Forest is great stuff, but supposedly hot for seedlings. Depending on how much dirt is in the cell (or cups?) you can probably wait quite a while to feed them.
 
I'm guessing that since they won't be fruiting anytime soon, they would need nitrogen first. So in a few weeks you can use a very weak fish emulsion formula (5-1-1) and give a week to watch for results.
 
As long as you don't overwater, you can use leaf color as a rough indicator. Overwatering can cause nutrient lock-out + yellowed leaves and fool you into thinking the plants need more nutrition.
 
Less love is better though imho, too much attention usually leads to problems.

 

[Dulac]

Too many nutrients also turn the leaves yellow. I think they are more of a white/yellowish color though. I've been trying to figure out the right amount for some hydro peppers. I don't bother giving them nutrients when they are babys in soil.