Fertilome Blooming and Rooting Soluble Plant Food Review (9-58-8)

Fertilome Fertilizer Review

Fertilome soluble plant food 9-58-8 is a relatively obscure water-soluble fertilizer that is made in Texas by Voluntary Purchasing Groups, Inc. (“VPG”)

I consider Fertilome obscure because 800+ fertilizer brands have more sales. However, taking into account a large number of positive reviews it is still quite popular.

Fertilome also makes the following:

• Lawn Fertilizer
• House Plant Products For Hanging Baskets and Container Plants
• Pesticide
• Fruit Trees

Fertilome is a highly concentrated plant food that helps in root development, promoting deep green foliage, and helps overall in promoting vigorous growth. (Especially For blooming Plants).

VPG though only mentions it working for the following tomatoes, pansies, orchids, roses, and other fruit-bearing plants. Per VPG Fertilome can be used indoors and outdoors and in container plants.

Does Ferti Lome Blooming and Rooting Work For Cannabis?

VPG is not featured as being able to help with cannabis, (only advertised to work mainstream plants, (I.E., orchid, tomato, container plants, etc.) which does not necessarily mean anything as Cannabis is illegal via federal law in the US, and weed is still illegal in Texas for both medicinal and recreational use.

So, it is understandable that Fertilome would not be mentioned as being able to help grow cannabis. Therefore, Fertilome may work splendidly well for cannabis and VPG simply does not want to market to cannabis growers.

Weed’s nutrient requirements are though different from many other “mainstream” plants. So, it is possible that Fertiliome should not be used for cannabis. So, the question that needs to ask is, does it work well for cannabis?

I will answer this question by first examining the Fertilome Fertilizer and then find out whether or not Fertilome should be added to your cannabis fertilizer arsenal or if you should try something else.

Click The Image To Get To The Amazon Listing.

What Is Fertilome 9-58-5 Made Of?

For fertilizer, the first number is always nitrogen, the second number is always phosphorus, and the third number is always potash

Fertilome Plant Food 9 58 8 fertilizer means that it is composed of the following:

• 9% Nitrogen-Helps with leaf growth.
• 58%-Phosphorus (“Bud Growth”)-Helps with photosynthesis, energy transfer, starches, sugars, and works passing on one plant’s genetics to the next plant.
• 8%-Potassium (“Potash”)-Potash works to help the plant gain nourishment as it helps break down sugars that can be used as plant food, and helps a plant process water.

Size Options

8 oz, 1.5 lbs, 3 lbs, and 15 Lbs

Ferti Lome Blooming And Rooting Review

Pros and Cons

PROS

• Reviews-Very high overall score accompanied by numerous reviews.
• Simple-Very user friendly, and the dissolved granules are easy to apply
• Quick results
• Works Well- Its ability to help with flowering and hanging flower baskets were especially praised.

Cons

• Expensive– A reviewer stated that considering what you get, this product is costly.
• Packaging– Some reviewers were mad that the listing showed a plastic container and not a bag. This was an issue that fertilizer bags cannot be re-sealed; so, they will need to be placed in a separate box for storage.
• Cannabis-I was unable to find any reputable sources mentioning if this is good for cannabis.
• Not Organic-It is specifically listed as not being an organic product.

Does It Work For Cannabis?

I could not find any definitive answer (yes or no) on whether or not Fertilime should be used for cannabis. Also, the only information that I could find for this fertilizer was on a few cannabis forum threads. But, there is no real way to verify the expertise of an anonymous grower’s viewpoint on a forum.

A pro-Fertilome Plant Food 9 58 8 forum commentary (who claimed to have used Fertilome plant food) stated that he went to cloning to bloom in four to five weeks. However, another forum thread said that the phosphorus levels for Fertilome are way too high.

As a result of minimal information concerning if Fertilome works for cannabis, I felt it was best to first review the reasons why optimum NPK is necessary. Afterward, I will then state the optimum NPK levels for the cannabis plant and whether or not Fertilome fulfills this requirement.

Why Should You Care About The Nitrogen, Phosphorus, and Potash Levels?

The proper levels of Nitrogen, Phosphorus, and Potassium are essential for healthy, and productive plants as they help with the following:

Nitrogen-Helps with cannabis leaf growth. Phosphorus (“Bud Growth”)-The proper amount of phosphorus in cannabis helps maximize the number of flowers that you will have for your crops. Phosphorus helps maximize the number of flowers by helping with photosynthesis, and energy transfers. It also maximizes starches, sugars, and works on passing on a plant’s genetics.

The phosphorus-This nutrient helps with root formation, flowering, and plant hardiness.

Potassium (“Potash”)- Potassium helps increase the quality or size of the flowers by helping the plant feed and break down sugars that can be used for plant food, and helps a plant process water.

Too Much Of a Good Thing

A beginning grower, when it comes to buying fertilizer, may think that more is better when it comes to NPK levels. However this is far from the truth as too much of any nutrients can damage, stunt, or even ruin your cannabis garden.

• Nitrogen– Excessive nitrogen levels at first may seem to be a godsend as a cannabis plant’s leaves will grow like wildfire. The enhanced leaf growth will result in your buds developing slower and also the buds taste will be negatively affected.
• Phosphorus–Too much phosphorus lessens a plant’s ability to use essential micronutrients, (Zinc and Iron are especially affected) which can stunt a crop’s growth potential.
• Potash (“AKA Potassium”)-Too much potash results in it being harder for a plant to absorb essential micronutrients. One of the signs of a potash overdose is misshapen leaves and flower/buds rotting.

WARNING-Cannabis growers need to avoid any fertilizer that says they are either extended-release or slow acting. A perfect example of this is the highly popular Miracle Grow plant food. Miracle Grow’s NPK ratio is 24, 8, and 16. These nutrients levels are far too high for most cannabis crops.

Recommended NPK Levels For Cannabis?

These recommendations are for day-to-day growth for all growth stages, and not for specialization. I.E. Bud Development.

All Three Are Needed

For best results, (especially for beginning growers) you need to purchase NPK fertilizer that has all of the three essential nutrients. (Nitrogen, Phosphorus, and Potassium) The first number (“N”) needs to be higher or more than either the phosphorus or potassium level.

Reviews Never Mentioned Cannabis-I found it interesting, which was quite unusual, that no reviews mentioned Ferti Lome being used for cannabis. Also, I found minimal mentions of Fertiome use in growing cannabis elsewhere on the Internet. The lack of mentions could be an indicator that Ferti Lome Booming Rooting Plant Food 9 58-5 is not suitable for cannabis.

How Much Is Too Much NPK for Cannabis Gardens?

The 58 phosphorus is nearly six-times Ferti Lomes nitrogen levels of 9. Therefore, based on this alone Ferti Loom blooming and Rooting Soluble Plant Food is not suitable for cannabis. Additionally, multiple, popular NPK fertilizers, that market themselves to cannabis growers have far lower levels than Ferti Lome’s NPK listings.

For example, General Hydroponics GH5132 BioThrive Bloom has ratios of 2-4-4

Conclusion

Ferti Lome is highly rated and many swear by its use in their garden. However, I could find very little information concerning its effectiveness in growing cannabis. As I stated, Ferti-Lome may have just not wanted to market themselves to cannabis growers. However, based upon the 9 58 5 listings, I feel though that Ferti Lome is not suitable for cannabis as its phosphorus levels are nearly six times the nitrogen levels and also that 9-58-5 is also higher than most popular cannabis plant foods. Because of the unknown factor, I would not use Fertilome when they are numerous other products available that are specifically designed to be used for cannabis.

Appendix

How To Best Use Fertilome Blooming Rooting Soluble Plant Food

Best Practices For Using Ferti Lome Blooming Rooting

As I noted earlier, too many nutrients can do more harm than good for cannabis or any plants in your garden. That is why it is essential that if you do decide to use Ferti Lome Blooming Rooting fertilizer, (or any plant food) that you precisely follow the manufacturer’s usage directions.

Amount To Use-The recommended amount to use depends upon if you are growing your plants are growing indoors or outdoors, growing in containers, or if you are using it for foliage feeding.

Below are the recommended ratios:

Indoor Use

Containers– Add 1 Teaspoon in 1 gallon of water

Foliage Fertilizer- 1 1/2 Tablespoon to 1 quart of water

Outdoor Use

Outdoor Plants (“No Containers”)-2 Tablespoon 1 gallon of water.