Nutrients are an important part of successfully growing a cannabis plant. Without nutrients, your plant will not reach its full potential. This means you will yield less cannabis flower, which will be less potent, and will generally be a lower quality than flower from well-fed cannabis. The best nutrients to use depends entirely on the growing stage your cannabis plant is in. The best nutrients for the vegetative stage of your plant’s growth cycle is much different than the nest nutrients for the flowering stage of cannabis.
Many nutrients companies will sell their products in groups of two or three. You will see the word “Grow” on one bottle of nutrients, and the word “bloom” on another. Grow solutions are those optimized for your plant’s vegetative stage. Bloom solutions are optimized for your plant’s flowering stage. But you can also tell a lot just by looking at the nutrients ratio listed on the front of the bottle.
All nutrient solutions will list their Nitrogen (N), Phosphorus (P), and Potassium (K) ratio on the bottle as a list of three numbers. This is known as a solution’s NPK ratio, which may read something like 6-3-2 or 4-2-1.
Best nutrients for vegging cannabis:
For cannabis in the vegetation phase of its growth cycle, nitrogen (N) is the most important nutrient, phosphorus (P) is the second most important nutrient, and potassium (K) is the least important. Therefore, your NPK ratio should read something like 10-5-4 or even 10-5-5. Still, your plant needs more than just Nitrogen, Phosphorus, and Potassium to grow to its full potential. Here’s a more complete list of the major nutrients your cannabis plant needs, and below, a more detailed description of what these major nutrients are responsible for.
If you’re looking for the best nutrients for vegging cannabis, try one of these brands:
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Advanced Nutrients pH Perfect Nutrients 3 pack
Advanced Nutrients pH Perfect Grow, Micro, Bloom 4L, 3-Part Base Nutrient, 4 Liters Each
- Advanced Nutrients pH perfect Grow, Micro, Bloom 4L, 3-Part Base Nutrient, 4 Liters Each
- Lawn and garden product
- Outdoor accessories
- A quality product
This three-pack of nutrients solutions contains a nutrients mix for your plant’s vegetative stage, flowering stage, and micronutrients to feed your plant to maximize your quality and yield. Advanced Nutrients also uses “pH perfect technology” to automatically calibrate and adjust your water’s pH levels without chemicals.
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CALiMAGic: Advanced Nutrients Sensi Cal-Mag Xtra Plant Nutrient
Advanced Nutrients 6360-17 Sensi Cal Mag Xtra, 23 Liter, Brown/A
- Advanced Nutrients Brand
- Will Work In Soil Or Hydroponics
- Comes In 23L Size
- No Assembly Required
CALiMAGic’s grow nutrients are good for growers on a budget. These nutrients give you a big dose of Nitrogen, but does not contain Phosphorus or Potassium, or other micronutrients. You will need to feed your plant a base nutrient solution in addition to CALiMAGic’s growth solution to maximize your plant’s quality and yield.
3. Advanced Nutrients Expert Grower Bundle Piranha Bud Candy Flawless Finish Plant Fertilizer Enhancer
Advanced Nutrients 5251-13+2320-13+2605-13 Expert Grower Bundle Piranha, Bud Candy, Flawless Finish Plant Booster Enhancer, 500ml Fertilizer
- Balance your pH automatically
- Great soil additive for all plants
- No pH pens, equipment or chemicals
- Includes Piranha, bud candy and Flawless finish
- The bigger yields flowering system Expert level
This nutrient solution three pack is for expert growers. The quality of these nutrients solutions is reflected in their price. These nutrients solutions will increase the root mass of your plants, enhance the aroma and flavour of your flower, and increase your plant’s energy levels to result in larger yields. This pack of expert level nutrients is ideal for people looking to grow large quantities of cannabis, such as professional growers.
Top off your nutrients with microbes for best results:
EM1 (Essential Microbes) is a liquid with preserved lactobacilius microbes, which helps break down amendments in the soil faster for harder feeding plants. This product is a type of Korean natural farming technique, which makes the plants more able to break down nutrients within the soil and absorb them better, thus improving growth and maximizing what you’re getting out of your soil.
What main nutrients do the cannabis plant need?
- Nitrogen (N)
- Phosphorus (P)
- Potassium (K)
- Magnesium
- Sulfur
- Calcium
Nitrogen (N)
Nitrogen is the most important nutrient for your cannabis plant’s vegetative stage. This is because Nitrogen is essential to the photosynthesis process, allowing your plant to convert sunlight into energy. This is what allows your plant to grow. Nitrogen also contributes to the protein intake of your plant, which gives your plant strength.
Phosphorus (P)
Phosphorus will allow your cannabis plant to successfully develop flower. Therefore, optimizing your plant’s intake of Phosphorus will help determine the size and quality of your buds. Phosphorus helps other nutrients to successfully do their jobs. If your plant doesn’t have enough Phosphorus, your plant’s veins will start turning purple.
Potassium (K)
Potassium helps control your cannabis plant’s stomata, which is responsible for the input and output of CO2, H2O, and oxygen. It also helps your cannabis plant to produce a sugar called glucose, which plants produce during photosynthesis phase and use as energy to grow. Without this vital nutrient, your plant will become weak and fragile, and may even appear burnt.
Magnesium (Mg)
Magnesium is essential to your plant’s chlorophyll, and is necessary for the production of glucose. Without this essential nutrient, your plant will not be able to produce energy, and will therefore be weak and sickly. The leaves of your plant will begin to yellow at the tips. The veins of your plant will also grow discoloured.
Want a simple video explanation of the best nutrients for your plant’s vegetative phase? Check out this great video guide by Indica Institute:
back to menu ↑How much nutrients does your vegging cannabis need?
The amount of nutrients you should feed your cannabis plant depends on what kind of growth medium you’re using, and whether you’re growing an auto-flower plant. If you are growing an autoflower plant, follow these instructions for how much nutrients to feed your plant. Otherwise, if you’re not growing an autoflower plant, just follow the dosing instructions listed on the nutrients solution you buy. The nutrients solution you should use for vegging cannabis will likely have the word “Grow” on the package.
If you’re using soil as your grown medium, first check to see whether or not the soil comes with pre-added nutrients. If it does, this will require you to lower the amount of nutrients you feed your plant.
Soil with pre-added nutrients will contain enough food to keep your plant going without adding any additional nutrients for three-weeks to a month. Just make sure that you’re using a quality brand of soil, as cheap soil mixtures with pre-added nutrients may not contain enough nutrients to realize your plant’s full potential. If your soil does not contain enough nutrients, you will need to add additional nutrients to the soil, which defeats the purpose of a pre-mixed soil and could result in over-feeding your cannabis plant.
Feeding your cannabis plant too much nutrients can lead to “nutrient burn,” which could ultimately kill your plant.
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