What are the best nutrients for growing cannabis? There are many nutrient lines and supplements available on the market, and some are better than others. It can be confusing to know which are the best nutrients for cannabis grows and whether the expensive supplements are worth your money. Here, we provide our recommendations for what you should look for in choosing nutrient lines and why you should use certain supplements. We recommend the products that we actually use in our cannabis grows.
Fertilizers & Supplements
Base Nutrients
Base nutrients are the foundation of plant nutrition. You want stable nutrients that are well balanced and do not require regular flushing. There are several good nutrient lines, but always check their recommended feeding schedules. Avoid lines that call for high EC and/or regular flushing.
General Hydroponics Flora Trio
Cal-Mag Supplement
This is an absolute requirement for both buffering coco and mixing with nutrient solutions.
General Hydroponics CaliMagic
Silicon
Silicon offers significant benefits to cannabis plants. It is not included in base nutrients and it does not occur naturally in coco. We highly recommend using a Silicon Supplement. If you can afford only one supplement after the base nutrients and Cal-Mag, it should be Silicon.
General Hydroponics Armor SI
Bloom Booster
During the flowering stage, cannabis plants benefit from much higher levels of potassium (K) and phosphorous (P) and lower levels of nitrogen (N). The Base Nutrients on their own cannot create solutions with high enough ratios of P and K to N. Bloom Boosters work with the base nutrients and raise the levels of P and K. Bloom Boosters encourage flowering, promote the production of essential oils, and improve yield and quality.
General Hydroponics Liquid Kool Bloom
Humic Acids
Humic acids are soluble components of soil organic matter, which play an important role in plant nutrition. They have been shown to significantly improve nutrient absorption during fertigation. Coco does not provide any soluble organic matter, so to get the benefits, humic acid must be added as a supplement.
General Hydroponics Diamond Nectar
Root Enhancer
Root enhancers help promote root development and branching.
General Hydroponics RapidStart
Wetting Agent/Surfacant
Wetting agents reduce the surface tension of the water. In coco, this is important to promote the lateral movement of water in the media.
RAW Yucca Powder
Anti-Bacterial
If you are running an Auto-Watering System with a reservoir, then you will need an additional product to help control anaerobic bacteria. There are two ways to handle this. You can go the sterile route and add Hydrogen Peroxide (H2O2) to the nutrient solution, or you can add beneficial bacteria, which will out-compete the bad bacteria. Both paths are viable strategies to limit anaerobic bacterial growth in your reservoir.
Hydrogen Peroxide (Food Grade)
Botanicare Hydroguard
Flushing Agent
General Hydroponics Flora Kleen
Mother Plant Fertilizers
The nutritional requirements for mother plants, which are kept for clone production, are much different than the requirements of plants that are intended for production. Mother plants benefit from a nutrient balance with lower levels of nitrogen and potassium, which prevents excessive vegetative (leggy) growth and increases the carbon to nitrogen ratio. This nutrient balance allows plants to store more carbohydrates in leaves and stems, which aid in the development of roots during the cloning process. In contrast, if too much nitrogen is used on mother plants, the plants will grow quickly, reducing these stores of carbohydrates and producing thin and weak cell walls.
Hydrodynamics Two-Part Mother Plant Fertilizer
Measuring Nutrients
10ml Oral Syringes
pH & EC/PPM Tools
pH Control Kit
This is an absolute necessity! You need to have a way to adjust the pH of your nutrient solution. We recommend that you use a product engineered for this task because they allow significant pH adjustment with very low doses and have minor impact on the EC of the nutrient solution.
General Hydroponics pH Control Kit
pH Meter
The technology involved in measuring pH is sensitive and sophisticated. There are numerous cheap pH meters on the market, but these are shortlived and unreliable. You do not need the most expensive models, but it is worth investing in a quality pH meter.
Apera Instruments pH20
pH Calibration Solution
Electrical Conductivity (EC)
Measuring Electrical Conductivity (EC) is absolutely critical to managing your fertigation strategy and nutrient solution strength. The technology involved in measuring EC is rather simple, which means that you do not need to invest in an expensive meter. However, if you use one of these meters, the water should be measured at about the same temperature that it is applied to the plants (about 68f/20c).
EC/PPM meter
About Our Product Recommendations
At Coco for Cannabis, our mission is to help growers maximize the success of their cannabis crops by providing scientifically accurate information and sharing proven growing practices.
The products that we recommend are the actual products that we chose to purchase and use ourselves. In a few cases, we recommend products that we would buy if we needed them. We do not accept advertising and will not recommend any product that we would not buy for ourselves. We offer this guide as a resource to growers.
We may receive a referral when you purchase products through this page. This is the main revenue stream that keeps Coco for Cannabis up and running! When you click through our links and make purchases you are supporting our work! As an Amazon Associate, we earn from qualifying purchases.
Whether we receive a referral does not influence our recommendations. For example, when products are cheaper to buy locally, we’ll tell you that rather than just recommend a more expensive online option.
Disclaimer:
The information on cocoforcannabis.com should not be considered as financial, legal, or medical advice. You are responsible for knowing and following the local laws that pertain to cannabis cultivation, possession, and use. Decisions to grow cannabis should be made in consultation with a lawyer or qualified legal advisor. Decisions to use cannabis should be made in consultation with your doctor or medical professional.