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Using Proper Nutrients in Your Hydroponic Garden

Hydroponics literally means the process of growing plants in water using no soil. The idea behind this is for various media, which carry all of the nutrients in natural soil, to support plant growth. Thus it is these nutrients that are the most important factor in the process of hydroponics. When using soil for plants, fertilizers contain only those essential nutrients which the soil may be lacking. However, in the case of hydroponic plants, these fertilizers prove inadequate and so fertilizer formulated specifically for hydroponic systems has to be used.

The type of your plant will determine how often it needs which kinds of nutrients. If you are looking for hydroponic nutrients for your plants, look for the ones with easy to read labels. The best ones are the ones that just say “grow” or “bloom” or some such. With this type of mixture, even a new gardener knows what to pick! As the growing cycle of your plants evolves make sure the nutrients evolve along with it. Another reason to change the solution is that the depletion of the elements is subject to the growth stage of the plant. At certain times, important elements get depleted faster. Ideally you should change the solution every two weeks. Bear in mind that the proportion of the nutrient solution and the water stays consistent. If the fertilizer level increases due to evaporation of water, it could cause extensive root damage.

Concentrated forms are the most typical way to buy plant growth solutions. The grower has to mix it according to the instructions and as per the requirement of the plant. For instance a weaker solution should be put for plants in poor growing conditions like overheated gardens, low lighting or just crowded plants. A weaker solution can aid even delicate newly planted cuttings. Use a regular solution on your normally growing healthy plants. If your garden has the capability of handling high growth – such as natural sunlight or good grow lights (for example: HPS grow lights), ventilation, carbon dioxide production and circulation, you could probably go in for a stronger solution. But it’s advised to increase concentration of fertilizer slowly in order to keep the plant from getting burned up.

Even with a concentrate to water ratio range of 150-600 ppm, the level for many plants is 300-400 parts per million. Keep in mind that these must be mixed with water and not with another part of nutrient solution.

Now that you are aware of the need for different nutrients, you need to know which ones to use.  The essential thing is to know which nutrient to look for. The first choice you have to make your growing medium you are going to use. If you’re using coco, be sure to look for coco that offers specific nutrients like canna coco. Super Veg A or Super Veg B would be ideal, and is a great formula for a vegitable in the crop stage.

The medium determines the kind of nutrients required. Nitrogen, potassium, and phosphorus are all elements that make up the organic or best hydroponic nutrients. Nitrogen is important for leaf vegetative growth. Potassium will aid in the processing of cell production and phosphorus is the agent responsible for developing roots and flowering.

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