Advanced nutrients in hydroponics are helping farmers get more production
Advanced hydroponic nutrients are one of the most crucial purchases you can make for your plant’s operation. The appropriate nutrients for plants and vegetables, mixed in the correct proportion, can make or break your grow and will highly affect the quality and quantity of your plant’s bud. There are some basics that you require to know to select the appropriate nutrients for your grow operation. Several factors will affect your decision, including your level of experience, whether you are growing in hydroponics or soil, and the amount of time and effort you need to put into customizing your setup which includes use of grow lights and grow tents. The basic requirements for buying concentrated nutrients are to ensure you have the right NPK ratio, that they are made particularly for either hydroponic, or soil depending on your grow method, that they have adequate macro and micronutrients and that the nutrients constitute, or are mixed with an organic molecule in order to make them readily absorbable by the plant’s roots.
Nutrients needed for plants and vegetables
When purchasing for plants nutrients, you are going to get a lot concerning their NPK ratio. NPK stands for Nitrogen, Phosphorous, Potassium, the three most essential nutrients for all plant life. Getting the correct balance of these three nutrients during each stage of your plants’ growth cycle is the key to obtaining the best yields every single harvest, and furthermore the best quality bud.
The two different stages of plants growth need different NPK levels:
- Vegetative: high Nitrogen, high/medium Phosphorous, high Potassium
- Flowering: low Nitrogen, High Phosphorous, high potassium
Advanced hydroponic nutrients also include other essential minerals and micro-nutrients, such as calcium, magnesium, sulfur, iron, cobalt, boron, manganese, copper, zinc, and molybdenum.
pH and electrical conductivity in hydroponics
Apart from purchasing nutrients, when farming hydroponically, you will require to keep an eye on both pH level and the electrical conductivity of your setup. pH is super essential since the incorrect pH, whether very acid or very basic, will prevent your plant from absorbing the total quantity of nutrients that they require to thrive. This means that you will spend more cash on nutrients, and your plants will suffer, causing a decrease in your yields. Most plants need a pH of between 5.0 to 6.0 at all times. To maintain correct pH, you can either adjust your nutrients solution manually using a pH tester together with up and down solution, or you can buy a pH dosing machine to do it for you. Either way, you will also require to buy pH Up and Down solution. When you adjust your pH manually, ensure you have diluted the solution first to avoid causing precipitation in your nutrient solution.
Soil vs hydroponic nutrients
It is vital to ensure you buy nutrients mainly designed for either hydroponics or soil, depending on your grow system. Soil fertilizers constitute organic solids that can clog hydroponic watering setups. Microbes in soil help in turning organic material such as worm casting and guano into usable nutrients for your plants, whereas in hydroponics it is necessary to feed your plants the macro and micronutrients directly. Soil nutrients might not include all of these micronutrients. Soil nutrients also tend to contain a high level of phosphorous, lower levels of nitrogen, and entirely organic sources rather than chelated.
