I have been using Gaia Green nutrients (click the links to get your own 4-4-4 & 2-8-4) for cannabis since I started growing in late 2018 when it became legal in Canada. They are a Canadian company that started with a dedication to organics in gardening. They strive to mimic nature, which I love. Their goal is to feed the microbial life in the soil and they will break it down to feed the plants.
My Nutrient Schedule
Supplements For Both Autoflowers & Photoperiods
- Supplement with Banana Peel Tea as needed
- Supplement with DIY CalMag as needed
- Supplement with FPJ or Fermented Plant Juice as needed
**Note: These amounts are for using Gaia Green Organic Dry Amendments Only** *Down to Earth or Dr.Earth are good alternatives if you’re not able to find Gaia Green, but the measurements may vary*
Nutrient Schedule for Autoflowers
** Only amend soil if re-using medium or a medium that doesn’t contain nutrients**
Amend soil/coco: 70/30 of All Purpose 4-4-4 & Power Bloom 2-8-4; Add 2 Tbsps per gallon of medium Ex. 1 Tbsps for 0.5 gallon; 0.7 Tbsps 4-4-4, 0.3 Tbsp 2-8-4 for 0.5 gallon (Four 16 oz solo cups) OR 40 Tbsps or 2 ½ cups for 20 gallons; 1 ¾
cups 4-4-4 & ¾ cup of 2-8-4 for 20 gallons
Week 4-6: 50/50 of All Purpose 4-4-4 & Power Bloom 2-8-4; Top dress feed 2 Tbsps per gallon of medium Ex. 5 Tbsps 4-4-4, 5 Tbsps 2-8-4 for 5 gallons
Nutrient Schedule for Photoperiods
**Note: For photoperiods, once you reach your final container, you can top dress every 4 weeks or so until the 5th week of flower. You can use fresh soil or amend the medium prior to transplanting until you reach the final container**
**Only amend soil if re-using soil or soil that doesn’t contain nutrients**
Amend soil/coco for germination/seedling/transplanting during vegetation: 70/30 of All Purpose 4-4-4 & Power Bloom 2-8-4; Add 3 Tbsps per gallon of medium Ex. 42 Tbsps or 2 5/8 cups or 2 cups & 10 Tbsps 4-4-4, 18 Tbsps or 1 cup & 2 Tbsps 2-8-4 for 20 gallons
Early Flower: 50/50 of All Purpose 4-4-4 & Power Bloom 2-8-4; Top dress feed 2 Tbsps per gallon of medium Ex. 5 Tbsps 4-4-4, 5 Tbsps 2-8-4 for 5 gallons
In Flower/Up to Week 5 of Flower: 70/30 of Power Bloom 2-8-4 & All Purpose 4-4-4; Top dress feed 2 Tbsps per gallon of medium Ex. 7 Tbsps 2-8-4, 3 Tbsps 4-4-4 for 5 gallons
Amending Your Growing Medium
When you are mixing the medium and dry amendments, it’s best to use protective equipment such as gloves and a mask. Although these things aren’t actually harmful, you don’t want to be breathing in the dust from them either. The gloves are to prevent any possible skin irritation. These are just precautionary measures that are recommended by Gaia Green. I have personally mixed without gloves before and had no skin irritation, but it’s better to be safe.
You can mix the medium and amendments in a large storage tote, large container or wheelbarrow to make it easier to mix. As a result, this will reduce the mess from mixing. I use an old storage tote and it’s perfect because I can store any leftover medium until I need it. It is best if you break up any clumps of both medium and amendments. Thus, promoting a more smooth and even mixture.
Re-Amending Your Growing Medium
When you first start growing, the costs can add up quickly. Re-amending your growing medium using Gaia Green can help to save you some money. So, I always look for ways of lowering those costs and one thing that helps save a decent amount is reusing soil/coco coir. When I purchased soil for my first grow, it cost me about $75-80CAD. It doesn’t seem like a huge cost but if you’re buying fresh soil/coco coir each time, it can certainly add up. Since I was already using Gaia Green, I decided to try re-amending the soil with nutrients and re-use it. If you spend say $60-75CAD on your medium, if you re-amend that medium three times, you’ll be saving $180-225CAD. You can invest that money into your grow for supplies. For example, you could buy seeds, use it towards a light upgrade or a grow tent.
Prepping The Growing Medium
Before you re-use and re-amend your medium, I recommend you go through it and pull out any bigger masses of roots in the soil or coco coir. The smaller roots that are left behind will break down into nutrients for your plants so don’t worry about getting all of the roots. You’ll also want to break up any clumps in the medium for a smoother mixture. After removing the roots, you may feel it’s necessary to add some more perlite to the medium before amending it with the nutrients. You want to aim for about 10% – 15% perlite in the growing medium to improve the drainage.
Why I Love Growing Organic Cannabis Using Gaia Green
I love using Gaia Green for cannabis because it is easy to use. You aren’t giving the plants nutrients every few days or every week. Growing cannabis organically means better smelling and tasting buds. The terpene profiles you can get when growing organically is enough to make me continue. We have been using Gaia Green since we started growing in 2018 and haven’t had any reason to switch. We get amazing results that were very happy with.