Best Fertilizer For Marijuana: 2023 Top Picks
If you’re a weed grower and stressed about not feeding your crop with the right nutrients, you’re going to benefit from our review of the best fertilizers for marijuana.
Every cultivator’s goal is a bountiful harvest of gorgeous, healthy buds. The three essential elements your plants need for that purpose are light, oxygen, and water. Fertilizer is just as important for bud development.
In this best marijuana fertilizer guide, you'll learn the importance of fertilizers and how and when to use them to maximize your yields. We’ll also show you how to choose the most suitable one for your needs.
Let’s talk about the best fertilizers for cannabis!
What does it take to be on a “best fertilizer for marijuana” list?
If you’re new to cultivating weed, it’s essential to know the importance of giving your herbs what they need to flourish.
Your plant’s diet directly influences its health and the quality of the buds it produces. If you want a robust cannabis crop that produces large and tasty buds, you need to ensure it gets the proper nutrition at each stage of its growth.
Using the best fertilizer for cannabis helps the buds on your weed plant reach their full growth potential—in addition to the other vital elements.
Your plants naturally get their nutrients from the soil. However, it’s possible that they're not getting a sufficient amount or the wrong NPK (Nitrogen, Phosphorus, and Potassium) mix—the three primary nutrients that cannabis plants need to thrive.
What the best fertilizer should contain
The best fertilizers for weed indicate the nutrient volume content on their bags or bottles. You’ll see it in the form of N-P-K: nitrogen, phosphorus, and potassium. If it says “16-16-16”, it means 16% nitrogen, 16% phosphorus, and 16% potassium, respectively.
You should add more nitrogen during the vegetative stage as it boosts your plants’ growth. Both phosphorus and potassium are best increased during the flowering phase to improve bud production.
The best fertilizers for marijuana eliminate the risk of over or undermixing the correct NPK ratio. Getting the balance right takes experience and skill and can be a challenge for novices.
Your cannabis plants need a different composition of nitrogen to phosphorus and potassium at the various stages of their development. They need more nitrogen during the vegetative phase and more phosphorus and potassium during flowering.
Can you make your own marijuana fertilizer?
You can make your own fertilizer as it’s cheaper. However, most growers agree the best fertilizers for weed are usually store-bought as they provide the ideal NPK ratio. They take away the guesswork and the risk of not getting the mix right.
Although most marijuana growers recommend organic fertilizers, synthetic mixes tend to work faster than natural nutrients. If you want to save time and don’t want to get your hands dirty, commercial ones are a fantastic option.
To recap, one criterion for the best marijuana fertilizer is the perfect combination of nitrogen, phosphorus, and potassium for each stage of the cannabis growth process.
The nutrients should be easy to apply without the risk of overfeeding, which can harm or kill your plants.
Now, let’s take a look at the best nutrients for growing cannabis in soil and hydroponics.
12 best nutrients for growing weed in soil
Not all fertilizers are suitable for the growing medium you’re using. Those meant for soil are different from those used in hydroponics, although you can apply some to both mediums.
It’s essential you get it right if you want bountiful yields of delicious buds. The best fertilizers for marijuana should offer the right composition of soil nutrients. Check out our selection at HMG marijuana nutes!
Now, let’s look at some other great options available.
7 best nutrients for veg stage
Your cannabis plants need the best nutrients for the veg stage when they transition. These nutrients should comprise monopotassium phosphate, potassium nitrate, diammonium phosphate, and potassium sulfate.
Organic packs from Homegrown nutes also include a mix of nutrients from calcium, magnesium, water-soluble zinc, water-soluble manganese, water-soluble boron, water-soluble copper, and water-soluble iron, which are the best nutrients for the veg stage.
Cannabis Seedling Booster
Our Cannabis Seedling Booster is formulated with the best nutrients for growing marijuana to strengthen young plants and boost their development. Its 11-40-13 NPK ratio promotes strong roots and robust growth without stressing your seedlings.
The best plant food for marijuana includes diammonium phosphate, monopotassium phosphate, potassium nitrate, and potassium sulfate.
Growtime Cannabis Fertilizer
Our Growtime Cannabis Fertilizer has the right balance of macronutrients and micronutrients that your plants need to reach their full growth potential.
This pack has 19% nitrogen, 5% phosphates, and 20% soluble potash. This ratio makes it the best plant food for marijuana. It’s the ideal way to energize your weed crops during the vegetative stage.
The vital nutrients in our Growtime Fertilizer are taken from potassium nitrate, monopotassium phosphate, diammonium phosphate, and potassium sulfate.
Bergman's Growtime Fertilizer
Like the other best marijuana fertilizers, Bergman's Growtime Fertilizer, with an NPK ratio of 19-5-20, helps your plants grow healthy and stronger roots, retain nutrients better, and promotes microbe activity. The nutrients also protect your plants from diseases and improve soil quality.
Organic Growtime Fertilizer
Our Organic Growtime Fertilizer has the best nutrients for the veg stage. Its 9-1-7 ratio of nitrogen, phosphorus, and potassium naturally energizes your plants when they’re growing. Organic nutrients greatly benefit root development.
We get the vital nutrients in our formula from rock phosphate, copper sulfate, soy protein hydrolysate, ferrous sulfate, sodium borate, manganese sulfate, zinc sulfate, potassium sulfate, magnesium sulfate, and kelp extract.
Advanced Nutrients Overdrive
Advanced Nutrients Overdrive also offers the best nutrients for the veg stage. It’s specially formulated to elevate your plants’ metabolism and increase nutrient intake, using hormones and vitamins.
The fertilizer also strengthens roots and stems, enabling crops to flourish and be more resistant to disease. If you want to enhance the colors of your buds, this formula helps plants develop glorious shades.
Dyna-Gro
Dyna-Gro is on our list of best fertilizers for cannabis because the liquid fertilizers come packed with essential macro and micronutrients for excellent plant growth. They contain 16 minerals, six macronutrients, and ten micronutrients.
Fox Farm Trio Soil Formula
The Fox Farm Trio Formula is ideal for first-time growers. Follow the easy instructions, and you have everything your plants need for every growth phase.
The combo of nutrients provides a healthy diet for crops grown in soil, stimulates plant growth, and restores deficiencies.
5 best nutrients for the flowering stage
If you want huge and tasty buds, you want to feed them well during the flowering phase. The best time to start using the best nutrients for the flowering stage is when the first blossoms appear.
At this point, exclude nitrogen and raise the phosphorus and potassium levels. The ideal nutrient packs should offer the right NPK ratio for the purpose, and you can get them at HMG nutes.
Flowertime Fertilizer
Our Flowertime Fertilizer has 16% nitrogen, 6% phosphates, and 30% soluble potash. The 16-6-30 ratio enhances your plants’ ability to produce massive buds.
You’ll get these best nutrients for the flowering stage:
- monopotassium phosphate
- diammonium phosphate
- potassium nitrate
- potassium sulfate
Dr. Earth Organic Bud & Bloom
This fertilizer is made from fish bone meal, feather meal, alfalfa meal, soft rock phosphate, and mined potassium sulfate. It also Includes beneficial soil microorganisms and Mycorrhizae.
Dr. Earth Organic Bud & Bloom has a 3% nitrogen, 9% phosphorus, and 4% potassium ratio. You can use this fertilizer as a stand-alone flowering supplement.
Jack’s Classic Blossom Booster
Another source of the best nutrients for the flowering stage is Jack’s Classic Blossom Booster. It’s a water-soluble powder that provides flowering plants the essential NPK nutrients and micronutrients. Its 10-30-20 NPK ratio is considered the standard for flowering enhancers.
Grow More Hawaiian Bud
Grow More Hawaiian Bud is packed with the best nutrients for growing cannabis, notably high amounts of phosphorus, potassium, a small amount of nitrogen, and micronutrients.
With a 5-50-17 NPK composition, this fertilizer helps plants develop multiple bud sites, which results in abundant yields of large buds.
Happy Frog Bulb Food
Happy Frog Bulb Food is made from kelp meal, humic acid, bat guano, and bone meal. These ingredients maintain the perfect pH.
Twenty beneficial microorganisms in the mix help your plants convert the fertilizer into food and ward off disease. The extra phosphorus makes it a perfect food for sustained flowering.
4 best fertilizers for cannabis in a hydroponic system
If you’re growing indoors, hydroponics is a very popular growing alternative to soil. When you don’t grow in earth, you need to enrich the water with macro and micronutrients.
It’s important to use the best marijuana fertilizer as it’s easy to overfeed your crops when you don’t grow in soil. You could damage or lose your plants altogether.
With the kits you get from HMG nutes, you don’t need to worry about getting the right mix as every product is specifically formulated for optimum results.
Let’s look at some of the best available options.
Organic Flowertime Fertilizer
Our Organic Flowertime Fertilizer contains the best nutrients for the flowering stage your plants need to produce jumbo buds. Its NPK 6-2-12 ratio (6% nitrogen, 2% phosphates, and 12% soluble potash) helps develop huge, heavy, healthy buds.
The vital organic cannabis nutrients included are rock phosphate, ferrous sulfate, soy protein hydrolysate, manganese sulfate, zinc sulfate, sodium borate, potassium sulfate, potassium chloride, copper sulfate, magnesium sulfate, and kelp extract.
Uncle John’s Blend Growing Additive
Another one of the best marijuana fertilizers is Uncle John’s Blend. With a 0-0-2 NPK ratio, it’s specially formulated for use in hydroponic solutions. Although it isn’t organic, it provides the same benefits to your crops.
It boosts your plants’ metabolic rate, giving you a healthier and vibrant cannabis plant. Its 2% potassium mix stimulates photosynthesis.
General Hydroponics Flora Series
The General Hydroponics Flora Series is a 3-part hydroponic-based nutrient system that combines a unique blend of the best nutrients for growing weed indoors. The set provides the required nutrients for every growth stage. It enhances the volume and quality of your yields and improves the fragrance and flavor of the buds.
Advanced Nutrients Overdrive
The Advanced Nutrients Overdrive kit is a 3-part hydroponic nutrient package with a primary hydroponic fertilizer and nutrients that facilitate vegetative growth and flowering. Its precise pH technology helps balance the water solution pH.
4 best organic fertilizers for weed
Growers recommend using the best organic fertilizers for weed because they can turn a potentially good harvest into an excellent one. They’re wonderful for your plants and the environment.
HMG nutes have an exceptional range of organic cannabis nutrients from natural sources such as kelp and soy. Here are some of our choices of the best nutrients for growing weed.
Jobes Organics Bulb Fertilizer
Jobes Organics Bulb Fertilizer is made from natural ingredients such as bone meal and chicken manure and comes packed with beneficial bacteria and Endomycorrhizae.
It has a 3-5-4 NPK ratio and a unique beneficial microorganism, Archaea, that stimulates soil carbon and nitrogen turnover. Calcium (Ca) and magnesium (Mg) help promote photosynthesis and strengthen your plants, making them the best nutrients for growing marijuana.
Organic Seedling Booster
Our Organic Seedling Booster is a special blend that strengthens your seedlings and boosts growth. The 2% nitrogen, 5% phosphate, and 2% soluble potash balance enhances root development and helps your young weed plants thrive.
The vital nutrients in this best organic fertilizer for weed formulation come from rock phosphate, calcium carbonate, soy protein hydrolysate, magnesium sulfate, and kelp extract.
Organic Growtime Fertilizer
With a 9-1-7 ratio of nitrogen, phosphorus, and potassium, our Organic Growtime Fertilizer naturally energizes your marijuana plants when they’re vegetating by improving nutrient intake and retention..
The best nutrients for growing marijuana are taken from rock phosphate, soy protein hydrolysate, sodium borate, ferrous sulfate, manganese sulfate, potassium sulfate, zinc sulfate, copper sulfate, magnesium sulfate, and kelp extract.
This organic compound also includes calcium, magnesium, and several water-soluble micronutrients.
Organic Flowertime Fertilizer
Our Organic Flowertime Fertilizer has all your plants need to put on the extra weight if you want fat buds. With an NPK composition of 6-2-12, the best organic fertilizer for weed formula helps your herb produce heavy and tasty buds.
The vital organic marijuana nutes in our Flowertime Fertilizer are derived from rock phosphate, soy protein hydrolysate, ferrous sulfate, manganese sulfate, zinc sulfate, sodium borate, potassium sulfate, potassium chloride, copper sulfate, magnesium sulfate, and kelp extract.
How to choose the best cannabis fertilizer
If you’re considering getting fertilizers for your cannabis plants, remember that there isn’t a one-size-fits-all solution.
There’s a best fertilizer for marijuana for every phase of your plants’ growth. Weed crops need a different composition of nutrients during the seedling, vegetative, and flowering stages. Different ratios of nitrogen, phosphorus, and potassium apply to each stage.
Once you know which phase your plants are going through, all you need to do is buy the fertilizer specifically formulated for that purpose, and you have the best nutrients for growing cannabis.
For more information about nutrients and the specially formulated sets we offer, check out Homegrown marijuana nutrients.
About the author: Parker Curtis
Parker Curtis has around a decade of cannabis-growing experience, specialising in soil-less and hydro grows. He’s mastering outdoor, greenhouse, and indoor grows.