Knf in small containers
Hello everyone! Drake I just want to say your videos have been so helpful to me. It’s extremely generous the amount of info you have put forth for free, thank you.
I know knf is not designed for small containers. I use it in my raised beds and 30 gallon pots and have had really nice results, still trying to get it down but I’ve noticed a difference. HOWEVER, as an indoor cannabis grower I am severely limited on space. I like to pheno hunt multiple packs at once, so all seeds start out in solo cups and work their way up to one gallon pots. When I flip them to flower I transplant them into either the raised beds or the 30 gallon pots. Since I am limited on space but love variety I tend to keep my cannabis mothers in one gallon pots and utilize bonsai techniques to keep them small. I’ve been running into problems though in my smaller pots as I’m sure you can imagine. Health is important to me so I’m doing everything I can to be as organic as possible and as natural as possible which is why Knf appeals to me so much. Everything I’ve read basically says living soil and knf doesn’t work in small containers, which I understand. I’m desperately trying to find a way to keep an organic approach while they are in these smaller containers before I transplant them into the beds or bigger pots. I feel like there must be a way to do this but I’m feeling a bit discouraged. When I grew in coco using bottled nutrients I never had a problem with this method, I feel like there must be an organic version of this somehow.
So a few questions come to mind regarding cannabis specifically in smaller pots, (.25-2 gallons).
Should I be using the same dilution ratios that are listed on the certification handouts and the knf calculator app or should I be diluting this even further?
Should I be “feeding” my plants with every single watering or should I alternate plain water between feedings? I’ve been feeding every watering at the normal dilution ratios and I think I may be causing myself some lockout issues. The soil dries out about every two days.
One important thing as well. I am mainly doing soil drenches at the dilution ratios listed in the knf app. It’s my understanding knf is more of a foliar approach. Because I’m indoors in grow tents, foliar feeding tends to get messy so I avoid it when I can, maybe this is my problem?
Again I know what I’m trying to accomplish isn’t recommended, but this is my situation. My raised beds and big pots are doing great. I really don’t want to feel forced to use synthetic nutrients to keep these plants going before I can put them in my beds, especially my cannabis bonsai mothers. Maybe I am going about this the wrong way, does anyone have any advice for staying organic and using knf when plants are in such small containers? I hate to think that such a beautiful natural practice is only reserved for those that have the space.
much love everyone, really appreciate the community
Top answer
I can say iv been using KNF/Jadam for 2 yrs now in all my containers all the way from seed starter trays. I do go from trays (gonna try hrdro plugs from my aero garden this yr) to 1 qt cloth bags and use cloth containers from 1 qt to 150gal the cloth i think allows the imos to breath and also sitting on the ground the imos to pass trough the cloth i get nice fungal growth on the bottoms of the bags where they contact the ground i do also use the 1/3 mix in my containers 1/3 coir or peet 1/3 imo compost 1/3 perlite we have to keep in mind this is container gardening so gotta use all the methods injunction with KNF/Jadam to bring in the life and the WS fertilizers now using the solutions as a soil drench rather then a foliar spray i do get different results as i dont need to feed as much since there will be remnants left behind in the soil that helps to feed the soil life which feeds the plants much like a granulate fertilizer would but dont not last as long growing indoors though changes a few things most people dont want creepy crawlies in the soil indoors and we cant just pick n choose the biology that goes in the soil the soil food web needs all the players not just a few u could say bring in the microbes from imos but there will be a unbalance in the force when theres nothing to feed on the microbes so u really want a clean growing medium like coir and will be focusing on the water soluble of the KNF just like the bottles of stuff u would buy using as a spray once a week and just PH water to the soil i think would work the best but i understand not wanting to spray indoors i dont want to either but i do worry about a issue in the soil by using KNF as a drench and think that over feeding would be a real issue being that there will always be a bit of solution left in the coir that the plant does not uptake but i would think that is a common issue when using any fertilizer in the coir so feeding less and watering more i think is the answer i to will soon be growing indoors and have been thinking about this for a long time and testing outdoors and gotta say i grew some nice peppers all in 7gal pots this yr so i know KNF/Jadam will work in containers and i dont see that much of a difference in the method of using store bought to using KNF in a indoor grow system i think it comes down to just figuring out what the plant needs and when and getting the PH right for proper nutrient uptake since there is no soil life to balance the PH i do think that KNF fits very well with indoor growing methods and would be a very easy integration indoor growing methods r based on base inert growing mediums and water soluble fertilizers that screams use KNF to me Happy Experimenting
From the KNF library
From the KNF library
Drafted by Claude from Office Hours and the books
·
Sep 2026
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3 sources
The library does not give small-pot dilution ratios or a feeding schedule. It does speak to the drench question.
Drake's manual treats a soil drench as standard practice. It says to dust IMO#4 lightly over the surface, then drench where the microbes sit with food, medicine, cleansers, fuel, and minerals. (Pure KNF Manual, p. 13)
The manual says KNF Food applied to soil works on the microbes. It can fool them into thinking a mature plant is feeding them from above. (Pure KNF Manual, p. 37) It also describes the juices as absorbable through the skin, which is the foliar route. (Pure KNF Manual, p. 37) Drake describes both routes. Skipping foliar feeding is not called a mistake.
Drake also says KNF fits almost any growing system. (Office Hours Ep. 68, 1:00:30)
The library says nothing on dilution for 0.25 to 2 gallon pots, on feeding every watering versus alternating plain water, or on lockout. Those need Drake's eyes on the setup.
Sources
- 1:00:30 Office Hours Ep. 68 (Mar 2023) — Overheated IMO Piles, Mycorrhizae Myths, Starting With JMS · “Yes, Drake says KNF fits with almost any growing system, including deep water culture.”
- p. 37 Pure KNF Manual · “When applied the the soil it can fool the soil microbes into believing that the exudates are coming from a mature and functioning plants growing above them”
- p. 13 Pure KNF Manual · “So, we drench the surface where the microbes have been laid with food, medicine, cleansers, fuel, and minerals, so that they have everything they need to go to work.”
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