GeoFlora Nutrients Discussion Thread

[Modest Grower]

I'm super excited to give @GeoFlora Nutrients a try on my upcoming grow. I'm doing an RDWC. Does anyone know of anyone on here that uses it in hydro? I thought I saw a few but I couldn't remember. I was wondering if it was recommended in a hydro application and it looks like based on a prior post it can be. I just want to do my research ahead of time and learn from you great growers. Thanks!

 

[CBD BudMan]

I'm super excited to give @GeoFlora Nutrients a try on my upcoming grow. I'm doing an RDWC. Does anyone know of anyone on here that uses it in hydro? I thought I saw a few but I couldn't remember. I was wondering if it was recommended in a hydro application and it looks like based on a prior post it can be. I just want to do my research ahead of time and learn from you great growers. Thanks!

Hey there @Modest Grower
If my memory serves me, I believe I read somewhere that, because @GeoFlora Nutrients are NOT water soluble, it is not recommended for a hydro grow. I'm NOT the expert here with hydro by any means though. I'm sure that @GeoFlora Nutrients will be responding to you here soon.

In the meantime, here's a copy and past from @GeoFlora Nutrients Feed Chart:
"Geoflora is best suited for Coco, Soilless, and Soil growing media."

Another day, another toke...

 

[Mr. Krip]

I personally find the cup based measurements to be very easy to work with. I went to the Dollar store and bought a couple of sets of measuring cups and spoon sets, and I have added the appropriate measuring cup to each bag of Geoflora for ease of use. No guessing, no weighing and no measuring other than dipping the cup into the bag. It couldn't be easier.

I did the same thing, only I also purchase two 1 gallon containers that I fill from the bags and keep the measuring cup in the containers so I don't have to lug around the bags.

 

[Mr. Krip]

I'm super excited to give @GeoFlora Nutrients a try on my upcoming grow. I'm doing an RDWC. Does anyone know of anyone on here that uses it in hydro? I thought I saw a few but I couldn't remember. I was wondering if it was recommended in a hydro application and it looks like based on a prior post it can be. I just want to do my research ahead of time and learn from you great growers. Thanks!

These are definitely soil-based nutrients. You most likely saw people using the General Hydroponics Flora series of nutrients which are for hydro and very common.

 

[Modest Grower]

@Mr. Krip I just looked back and saw not water soluble so that makes sense. Thanks!

 

[midwestgrown]

This literally couldn't be any easier to use.

 

[420]

It appears some people are getting their feathers ruffled over which form of measurement is easier.

I've been in numerous phone conferences over the last few days with management at GeoFlora, going over everything you guys have been discussing. We've identified and resolved the obstacles, so they will be answering all of your questions, concerns and suggestions in full detail shortly. They will go over the different methods of measuring and the logic behind them, along with a little more explanation into some of their overlooked and/or less than perfect replies.

I wonder if it would be possible to create charts with both options, since there seems to be a 50/50 split.

Thank you for your patience, understanding and support, while GeoFlora works diligently to make you all happy

 

[InTheShed]

Are there people who actually like using ounces? I thought there was just a "cup" contingent here.

Why not stick with cups and grams. Ounces means two different things.

 

[420]

Are there people who actually like using ounces? I thought there was just a "cup" contingent here.

Why not stick with cups and grams. Ounces means two different things.

So far I've seen just as many people say it's super easy to use, as those claiming to have challenges.

You say tomato, I say TOMATO.

GeoFlora will chime in shortly with a detailed explanation as to why they list it the way they do. Maybe you can help them perfect or expand on their charts and instructions, we shall see. There's always a reason for everything though, let's give GeoFlora some respect and patience while they draft their replies

 

[InTheShed]

So far I've seen just as many people say it's super easy to use, as those claiming to have challenges.
You say tomato, I say TOMATO.

It is super easy to use, once you realize they're using a liquid measurement for a dry product. They need to change their instructions to grams and cups. Ounces means two different things, as has been explained here in numerous posts.

And it's not a tomato/tomahto issue. Baking a cake using 32 ounces of flour will turn out very differently depending on what you think that means. Recipes use cups or grams.

 

[420]

It is super easy to use, once you realize they're using a liquid measurement for a dry product. They need to change their instructions to grams and cups. Ounces means two different things, as has been explained here in numerous posts.

And it's not a tomato/tomahto issue. Baking a cake using 32 ounces of flour will turn out very differently depending on what you think that means. Recipes use cups or grams.

I was merely referring to the fact that half of you have no issues, and half of you do. Bad example, I apologize. I don’t know anything, nor do I claim to. I do however look forward to GeoFlora’s replies.

 

[Carcass]

One thing-it's not like the amount you use changes every time, so once you get it figured, you're done figuring.
I'm one that figured it wrong the first time by thinking dry ounces and liquid ounces are the same- they aren't- but fortunately, 50% too much GeoFlora didn't do any damage at all.

 

[GeoFlora Nutrients]

for starting this thread GF! I'm sure it will be a great help for folks here and around the net looking for answers to their questions.

I'd like to start off with one: is there a chance you could convert your feed chart to grams (since yours is a dry product) rather than using a liquid measure? It is confusing to say "4 ounces" for a dry product (but intending us to use a measuring cup for it). Most of us have pretty good scales already.

Same way cooking recipes have folks weighing their flour rather than doing it in cups.

We appreciate your patience and want to circle back to clarify the initial confusion. Because we base the application rate per Gal size of the pot it’s standard to do volume to volume rate. With that said we acknowledge that the original chart that indicated oz and not fl oz caused confusion, we have revised that chart on our website, and below is the further explanation as to why we had the fl oz indicated we hope this resolves any confusion that member may still have and keep it nice and easy for you guys - Geoflora is a very user-friendly product and designed to keep things easy.

In line with industry standards comparing volume to volume and based on the intent of the product, to be scooped and applied in the field (not have to weigh it out) application rates are based on volume not weight. You will find that many similar products and brands' directions and feeding charts use cups, tbsp, tsp as a means of measuring dry/mealed fertilizers/amendments. The trials conducted during R&D were done based on volume and suggested feeding volumes are indicated in our feeding charts based on the volume size of the pot. We felt it best to utilize these volume standards as the recommended usage unit.

Per your suggestion of keeping it to cups, tbsp, tsp, and Virgin Ground's request for an expanded feed chart (include more common sizes used by members) the chart we post here will be in line with those suggestions and will remove the fl oz to prevent further confusion. Thank you again for your valued input we really appreciate it.

P.S./NOTE - We provide the fl oz in our original chart as a means to easily calculate the volume needed if a pot size is not indicated, for example for a 15 Gal pot you would measure out 12 fl oz. which is 1.5 cups. We have found that some users appreciate having the fl oz indicated when doing these calculations (i.e. 15 Gallon pot /20 Gallon Pot = .75 * 16 fl oz = 12 fl oz or 1.5 cups and/or 15 Gallon Pot /10 Gallon Pot = 1.5 * 8 fl oz = 12 fl oz or 1.5 cups needed for a 15 Gallon pot) and let the measuring cup do the rest.

 

[InTheShed]

We appreciate your patience and want to circle back to clarify the initial confusion.

GF!

You will find that many similar products and brands' directions and feeding charts use cups, tbsp, tsp as a means of measuring dry/mealed fertilizers/amendments.

Understood! And I don't think anyone would have had any confusion if the entire chart was in cups, fractions of cups, tablespoons, and teaspoons. All of those are very clear. It's when you moved to the other side of the measuring cup and included ounces that even some of the talented growers here mis-measured your product.

When you have revised the chart, can you post it here so I can bookmark it for future reference?

 

[GeoFlora Nutrients]

Hi and thanks for starting this thread.

This is my first time using your nutrients- I’m in promix growing a GSC photo, and decided on 1oz VEG per gallon of soil (so 5 ounces in my 5g pot) and then a top dress every 2 weeks.

At Day 40 I’m having a problem with the leaves losing green and it appears to be a Magnesium deficiency.

My questions for you-
Do you see the newer LED light spectrums causing an increased need for Cal/Mag while using your product?

What do you suggest when Cal and/or Mag is needed?

My water is pH 7.9 from the tap. Is this possibly affecting the uptake of your nutrients?


Thanks for any help you can offer to all the growers here. We are all excited to see the results of your nutes once we just get a few basic things straightened out.

Q - New LED light spectrum causing a need for Cal/Mag
A - This is a good question. To this point, we have not had any indication that cultivators were running into a Cal/Mag deficiency when they used our product in a LED setup. With that said Geoflora is formulated to have the right ratio of Cal/Mag for your plants at the different phases of growth. But if you are running into deficiencies we would suggest you supplement with your preferred Cal/Mag product.

Q - What do you suggest when Cal and/or Mag is needed?
A - Geoflora will work well with any Cal/Mag product, but if you would like to stick with an organic option Roots Organics CALMAG from Aurora Innovations would be a nice addition if you are seeing deficiencies.

Q - My water is pH 7.9 from the tap. Is this possibly affecting the uptake of your nutrients (also day 40)?
A - That is interesting - It seems that you have found a solution as well (based on previous communications supplementing with Epson Salt). For context, 8.0 pH runs were mostly tested on larger outdoor containers with a medium with a slight fertilizer charge (Royal Gold Basement Mix) which likely gave better results than a blank slate due to better buffering. Our theory is that the product may require some minor adjustment in small container high pH scenarios, which are uncommon in an outdoor or greenhouse environment that we have done testing in. In most scenarios running at 8.0 pH isn’t ideal for a number of reasons, but it is possible and won't have major effects on the plant - however, deficiencies are always possible in extreme scenarios.

Because every strain and every plant is different, we made Geoflora to cover more than just the base nutrient needs of the plant - that being said, there may be times when adjustment is needed as with any product - with so many combinations of media, environment, and growing styles, there are a lot of factors - it seems that you have identified a good solution for users experiencing minor deficiencies in the early stages just ahead of flowering.

Another thing we noticed is that it appears that based on our feed chart, you are getting really close to the first bloom feeding - Bloom has a higher amount of magnesium available in the product as well. By our calculations, you would be about a few days from a BLOOM feed which could potentially help to remedy this as well. Regardless, the additional mag seems like a good supplementary solution to keep the plants happy in the event the magnesium in VEG is just falling short. We’re dealing with organics here so there can be outliers.

We’d love to work with you to get more info as the grow progresses so we can provide better support in the future.

NOTE - Based on your feedback, considering the common size pots, and media used by members on 420 Mag we will also be adjusting the feed chart when it comes to pH and indicate that pH adjustment may need to done if water is at 7.2 to 8.0 pH. Thank you for your feedback and for helping us to come up with solutions to better support growers who intend to use our product.

 

[GeoFlora Nutrients]

Thanks for starting this thread.

I would like to see conversions for 1/2 , 1,2,3,4,5,7,10 and 20 gallon pots. They are the most commonly use sizes here. If we could have a post to easily reference this it would help a lot.

My issues lie in transition after transplant. If I mix the GeoFlora into the soil and then transplant I get yellow leaves for a week.
Are we supposed to be prepping our pots by watering them for a week or so prior? Allow the herd to develop prior to transplant? I see no reference to this anywhere. It simply says to amend the soil with it prior to use.

I was previously running GF in Pro Mix all-purpose. It did ok. I think it does better with a heavier medium.
I added earth worm castings and a few inoculants for this grow. It seems to have helped. My plants did rebound faster but they still has some discoloration. I'm also adding 4-0-0 Sensi cal-mag xtra to water the GF in trying to prevent the yellowing I'm experiencing. When I transplanted I also top fed a little GF directly over the rootball.

Another point I was wondering about is frequency of watering. I assume since it's supposed to be something like a supersoil that I would treat it as such.
Am I supposed to keep the medium
(soil in this instance) consistently moist or am I supposed to go days between waterings and let it dry out?

If I was running coco I would be watering daily.
Seems to me that with daily waterings the GF would need to be applied more often?
I also assume that I'm aiming for as little runoff as possible otherwise I'm just wasting nutes?

As salt based growers try your nutes they are going to run into some of the same issues. The people running organics prior probably won't have as many problems and the issues I'm having may seem like an easy fix to them. I've just recently started using organics so there is a learning curve..at least for me.

Q - I would like to see conversions for 1/2 , 1,2,3,4,5,7,10, and 20-gallon pots.
A - We will update the chart to include all the requested amounts for members to reference and get it posted as soon as possible, should have posted by early next week at the latest.

Q - My issues lie in transition after transplant.If I mix the GeoFlora into the soil and then transplant I get yellow leaves for a week. Are we supposed to be prepping our pots by watering them for a week or so prior?
A - We recommend mixing in 24-48 hours prior to transplant, and maintaining soil moisture during this time - this should help break down the initial dose of faster-releasing nitrogen and prevent early yellowing. If you are still having issues, you may want to look at using an additional microbial supplement at the first watering post-transplant as this will also help accelerate the breakdown of the initial dose.

Q - Allow the herd to develop prior to transplant? I see no reference to this anywhere. It simply says to amend the soil with it prior to use.
A - Based on your feedback we will update our feed chart because you’re correct this is a very important step. Thank you again for your feedback we really appreciate it.

Q - Am I supposed to keep the medium (soil in this instance) consistently moist or am I supposed to go days between waterings and let it dry out?
A - It is best to keep the medium most so that the nutrients are breaking down and becoming available to your plants.

Q - If I was running coco I would be watering daily.Seems to me that with daily waterings the GF would need to be applied more often? I also assume that I'm aiming for as little runoff as possible otherwise I'm just wasting nutes?
A - Daily watering may not be necessary also long the media is staying most and avoid overwatering to reduced run off - to this point you should not have to apply Geoflora more often than what is recommended (once every 14 days)

 

[Justin Goody]

Q - New LED light spectrum causing a need for Cal/Mag
A - This is a good question. To this point, we have not had any indication that cultivators were running into a Cal/Mag deficiency when they used our product in a LED setup. With that said Geoflora is formulated to have the right ratio of Cal/Mag for your plants at the different phases of growth. But if you are running into deficiencies we would suggest you supplement with your preferred Cal/Mag product.

Q - What do you suggest when Cal and/or Mag is needed?
A - Geoflora will work well with any Cal/Mag product, but if you would like to stick with an organic option Roots Organics CALMAG from Aurora Innovations would be a nice addition if you are seeing deficiencies.

Q - My water is pH 7.9 from the tap. Is this possibly affecting the uptake of your nutrients (also day 40)?
A - That is interesting - It seems that you have found a solution as well (based on previous communications supplementing with Epson Salt). For context, 8.0 pH runs were mostly tested on larger outdoor containers with a medium with a slight fertilizer charge (Royal Gold Basement Mix) which likely gave better results than a blank slate due to better buffering. Our theory is that the product may require some minor adjustment in small container high pH scenarios, which are uncommon in an outdoor or greenhouse environment that we have done testing in. In most scenarios running at 8.0 pH isn’t ideal for a number of reasons, but it is possible and won't have major effects on the plant - however, deficiencies are always possible in extreme scenarios.

Because every strain and every plant is different, we made Geoflora to cover more than just the base nutrient needs of the plant - that being said, there may be times when adjustment is needed as with any product - with so many combinations of media, environment, and growing styles, there are a lot of factors - it seems that you have identified a good solution for users experiencing minor deficiencies in the early stages just ahead of flowering.

Another thing we noticed is that it appears that based on our feed chart, you are getting really close to the first bloom feeding - Bloom has a higher amount of magnesium available in the product as well. By our calculations, you would be about a few days from a BLOOM feed which could potentially help to remedy this as well. Regardless, the additional mag seems like a good supplementary solution to keep the plants happy in the event the magnesium in VEG is just falling short. We’re dealing with organics here so there can be outliers.

We’d love to work with you to get more info as the grow progresses so we can provide better support in the future.

NOTE - Based on your feedback, considering the common size pots, and media used by members on 420 Mag we will also be adjusting the feed chart when it comes to pH and indicate that pH adjustment may need to done if water is at 7.2 to 8.0 pH. Thank you for your feedback and for helping us to come up with solutions to better support growers who intend to use our product.

That was a great answer, thank you!

 

[GeoFlora Nutrients]

@BakedARea

Yes! Yes! Yes! To me, if I know that a certain strain needs more of something, I'd be tempted to amend it accordingly with soil building ingredients, like you would with Sub Cool's Super Soil. But... I'd like to see what @GeoFlora Nutrients says about this.

It's getting late, time for some weed...

Regarding Cool’s Super Soil Geoflora contains all of these ingredients except worm castings and mycorrhiza which would definitely be an added plus if used. Another good idea would be to re-use your soil from the previous geoflora grows and reamend it in the next grow - any residual organic nutrients will still be in the soil - so you'd have lightly pre-charged soil at 0 extra cost. A quick enzyme treatment to break down organic matter into sugars is also a great play before re-amending older soil. Don't recommend this with soils that have had heavy salt based fertilization, though.

 

[GeoFlora Nutrients]

I'm experiencing yellowing leaves in 3 very different strains this year. I have never had a problem with yellowing leaves this early in veg until I started using @GeoFlora Nutrients . I also agree with @Justin Goody that it appears to be a Magnesium Sulfate deficiency. I had rather high hopes of this being a better method of feeding, but honestly, I have done better with building my own Super Soil, even though I haven't been composting it long enough, according to the Rev.

Things are not going as planned...

Sorry to hear that - we have not had cultivators experience deficiencies in early veg when using VEG - could you send us a DM or reply with some more info on your current grow setup so we can look into this and see what might be causing the problem?

We usually get a very strong start to veg with deep green leaves - and abundant leaves - we frequently have cultivators saying the one thing they hate about our VEG is the constant haircutting of fan leaves because there are so many. Let’s work together and see if we can figure out what’s going on.

 

[GeoFlora Nutrients]

That would be an interesting approach for those who don't like as much phosphorus in their nutes (it doesn't play well with mycorrhizae, among other reasons). Do you think that using the Veg bag and adding Terpinator for a bit more potassium might work for flower?

While we wish that were possible, unfortunately, VEG doesn’t have quite the amount of P or K needed in late flower even if supplemented with something like Terpinator. This is our fault for not clarifying what we mean when we say one part - we have a one-part VEG and a one-part BLOOM - rather than say a VEG A and B which to us is a two-part. I can understand how this could cause confusion.