Hydroponic Nutrient Formula
Getting the hydroponic nutrient formula right can be a tricky business. Similarly using the correct quantity of fertilizer for conventional gardening can be tricky to gauge. If you don’t use enough fertilizer then you will have weak plants that look anemic; however if you use too much then you can risk killing your plants.
When you are working out the correct hydroponic nutrient formula you need to add the fertilizers in the correct proportins. Another confusing aspect of the whole thing is how to mix in the fertilizers that come with your hydroponics kit.
Concentration is The Key
Combining the fertilizers that you have to the right concentration is an important step to making sure that you have healthy plants. Because fertilizers that are sold for use in hydroponic systems are concentrated it is important to get the hydroponic nutrient formula right.
- Begin with a concentration of 150 to 600 parts per million.
- After some time you can find a much more targetted concentration,for most plants you can use a hydroponic nutrient formula of around 300 to 400 parts per million.
Stages in Growth
There are various stages of development and growth for plants, it is reasonable that plants require different nutrients in different stages. There are different nutrients available that are specifically targetted toward the different phasess of the plants life cycle.
Two major types of targetted nutrient formulae are:
- “Grow/Growth” formulae - These are designed to work best for plants that are in the vegetative stage of growth. Suitable for new plants from germination to the stage where they start to flower.
- “Flower/Bloom” formulae - These are targetted at plants that are flowering, great to use during the initial flowering season and beyond. You should start using this sort of nutrient formula once your plants have reached this flowering stage.
The strength of the hydroponic nutrient formula must be tailored to the growth stage and health of the plant. If you have a weak plant that is being grown in low level lighting then you should use a weak hydroponic nutrient formula, not a strong one. A strong formula should be used for healthy thriving plants, even if common sense would tell you to do the opposite.
You might like to increase the strength of your formula once your plants reach a strong state of growth and health. Gradually increasing the strength is very important for the welfare of your plant, as a very rapid change in conditions can cause it problems. Perhaps a plan to change the strength over a two to six months should be implemented by increasing the strength on a weekly basis, until the desire target. Always make sure your plants are located in an environment of healthy levels of lighting and good ventilation.
