Question

Just fertilizers is not the answer to big, dense nugs. Big, dense nugs are a result of (primarily) genetics, then lighting, then environment and lastly, nutrition. Without the first three things, you won't get big, dense nugs no matter what you feed. Get you set up right and just about any decent fertilizer for cannabis will get results. However, using things like a P/K booster during flowering and feeding with amino acids, humic acids, fulvic acids and kelp extract throughout the plants life can boost overall plant health and it is plant health that determines flower production. Mycorrhizae added at transplant time will be most beneficial to plant efficiency and is a great way to boost plant vitality too. Other things to consider are to not defoliate.........more leaves = more energy being made = more and bigger growth. All you can really do is to provide the best possible conditions and guide your plant to expressing its full genetic potential. You can not just feed a plant to make it grow big, dense nugs.

Provide as much DLI without damaging the plant. Don't prune off leaves for silly reasons. Feed a well-balanced diet that maintains health and doesn't cause deficiencies or toxicities. Control the environment enough to at minimum avoid extreme temps and RH ranges that result in less than ideal VPD. Not much else you have control over. Genetics will dictate what you get from your efforts. ------------ verbose details, lol Fertilizer is fertilizer for the most part. there are some variations as far as how building blocks are provided, but the way cells and anythign else a plant builds is made according to instructions off the DNA. Whether you provide nitrogen in one for or another, the N atom is still used in the same way and what molecule it was attached to before is irrelevant to how that N atom works after it is broken down. There is some nuance to this, but for the most part this is true. Nitrates provide N faster or more efficiently (something to that affect) than Ammonium-based nitrogen. However, by having 5% ammonium nitrate in conjunction with something like calcium nitrate has some synergy for complex reasons that are a good example of exceptions to the above rule that exist. IT can get more complicated than 'fertilizer is fertilizer is a rose is a rose' but more times than not, it is what applies to the context. But, for the most part, there's a pool of ingredients that are viable to use in fertilizers, and they are "commodities". Meaning they don't come in differenet tiers of quality. One is not a pinto while another is a porsche. Commodity - "A product or service that is indistinguishable from ones manufactured or provided by competing companies and that therefore sells primarily on the basis of price rather than quality or style." - american heritage dictionary If it doesn't come with a gauranteed analysis label, that is open to all sorts of unknowns and inconsistencies are possible unlike anything that does come w ith a gauranteed analysis label. These products may have quality differences - primarily in regard to consistency of what is in them as far as nutrient charge. You get into those products, and you do have to worry about brand. I use calcium nitrate and magnesium suflate in addition to a "base" fertilizer. IT doesn't matter which brand i buy of these products becuase they are molecularly the same -- like generic Rx at your pharmacy compared to brand Rx. i could buy the Jack's nutrient cal nitrage that is 2x as expensive or the Yara Liva calcium nitrate at half price and the quality is no different. I could pay 2x more for the jacks magnesium sulfate or i could by the foodgrade walmart brand of epsom salt for half the price. nutrients don't make for big buds. That's 90% genetics. There is no product that will turn a low-yielding strain into a monster. simply doesn't happen. Genetics is the potential. You either allow the plant to reach its potenetial or you hinder it. there is no way to circumvent genetic potential.

There is no particular fertilizer which is best for big buds. Plants, even growing mediums and environments, vary in nutrient requirements. The main secret to not having airy buds is to first have good, strong genetics. The next biggest factor is less so your fertilizer and more so your lights. Most growers do not invest enough time and effort (or money for that matter) into their light setup. In order for a cannabinoid to form on a given surface, you want light penetration. The more photons, the deeper this penetration goes as the nugs get tighter. You're emulating the literal sun! You can do everything optimal except for your lights and you'll never grow dense bud indoors. The next, and final, piece to the puzzle is keeping your humidity (and by means of discussing humidity I'm implying VPD as well) in acceptable ranges. You shouldn't even be discussing optimizing fertilizer until everything else in your garden is 100% dialed in, as the choice of fertilizer is more personal preference whereas genetics and lights are mandatory. I understand that some disagree with the lights but quantitatively they DO make an absolutely material difference. Where I'm at companies regularly push 45% total terpene and cannabinoid content, with myself seeing as high as 50%. You will never pull this type of crop without proper lights and that is a fact. Do these things and you won't have larfy buds anymore. You can further refine this by training your girls and only retaining the top colas during flower.

bud density is going to be determined mostly by its genetics and growing conditions not the fertilizer used. Fertilizers are common ingredients almost all of them using the same stuff. calcium nitrate is calcium nitrate no matter the brand. Also better lighting can also boost bud density but only to so much.

Metrop