Looking for a one size fits all solution to hydroponic nutrients? Well, you’ve definitely come to the right place, because around here we tell it like it is. There is absolutely no such thing outside of Eutopia. You can’t base your plant’s nutrition on some wonder diet. There are just far too many variables between the water you personally have available and your crop’s needs. Additionally, different plants you might want to grow could have unique needs. So, as a small plot farmer, you need to learn what each plant in your plan requires and provide those needs without fail.
Is it a lot easier to grow outdoors in soil? Perhaps. The scenario may seem to be simpler until deer eat your harvest just as it is ripening… or raccoons, or insects, or some fungus type issue sets in due to the weather. No matter where you decide to grow plants for food or flowers, there will be things you must manage or overcome if you are going to harvest a crop. With hydroponics, everything in your nutrients is available to the same plants from the soil, or you will have to add it should your soil be deficient in this element. Besides that, no one plants a garden every summer without adding fertilizer.
Macro nutrients provide your indoor crops with the same basic elements that regular garden fertilizer and ground soil does outdoors. The same is true of micro nutrients. Since water carries little to none of these elements, your nutrients must make up for a whole lot of stuff in order for you to succeed. The quality of your nutrients can also be greatly impaired by mineral and metal deposits or chemicals present in your water. Some people try to bypass this by using distilled water, but studies have found that this is really worsening things compared to calculating what is needed to overcome the imbalance caused by what tap water does to nutrient levels.
First, you need to collect the details for each plant you want to grow.
Second, you need to test your water so you have full knowledge of what may need to be corrected to give your crops optimal growth conditions. Achieving this balance will be done by adjusting pH and other possible issues with the correct micro nutrients and an increase or decrease in macro nutrients.
The only way to do this is with the proper meters. Invest in one of good quality and a reputation for constant accuracy. Your harvest depends on your ability to maintain optimum nutrient levels at all times. Imbalances leave your plants weakened and open to a host of growing issues and diseases. Good nutrition is the key to performance and life with all living things.