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How to Feed Plants in a Hydroponics System the Easy Way
There are many things that can complicate feeding your plants hydroponically. It can be hard enough trying to feed the right strength as well as right ratios of nutrients, let alone trying to figure out trace as well as secondary nutrients. Once you get past these basics, you can consider plant vitamins, hormones, as well as keeping everything at the right Ph. If you are just starting out as well as you only have 20 bucks in your pocket as well as a teaspoon, this is written for you.
- Get a Ph meter as well as a TDS (or EC) meter if you are serious about growing a hydroponic garden. Until then, using a seaweed-based fertilizer called Maxsea will solve your problem. The first ten days your plants have roots, feed them 400 ppm Maxsea 3-20-20. This is about 1 level teaspoon/gallon of tap water. Add to this 1/4 teaspoon epsom salts for magnesium.
- After the seedling stage, feed them 600 ppm Maxsea 16-16-16. This is about 1 rounded teaspoon. To each gallon add 1/4 teaspoon epsom salts. You can feed most plants in this way through the vegatative period.
- When you are finished with vegatative growth as well as begin flowering, feed your garden a rounded 1/2 tsp Maxsea 16-16-16 plus a rounded 1/2 tsp Maxsea 3-20-20 in each gallon of water. Be especially sure to add 1/4 tsp epsom salts to each gallon through the flowering stage. You could switch to straight Maxsea 3-20-20 at this point, but most plants look a little nitrogen deficient by the end. Feed your garden in this way for two weeks, while the plants transition from vegatative growth to flowering.
- After the transitioning period, feed your garden 800 ppm Maxsea 3-20-20 until you near the end of flowering. This is about 2 level teaspoons per gallon. Make sure to add 1/4 tsp epsom salts to each gallon. The very last 10 to 14 days before you harvest, you will want to feed your garden only plain water. Flushing your garden will remove excess nutrient salts from the plant tissue as well as will improve the aroma as well as flavor of your garden produce.
- Plants use some nutrients faster than others. After two weeks of using the same nutrient solution, the solution will no longer have a good balance. To avoid nutrition problems, empty the old solution every two weeks as well as start with fresh water as well as nutrients.
- Seaweed additives are a popular choice when it comes to trace nutrients as well as plant hormone supplements. Since Maxsea fertalizers are seaweed based fertalizers, these benefits are built in as well as no additional supplements are required for these two things.
- By carefully measuring the fertilizer when you mix up the nutrient solution, you can get away without the initial cost of an expensive TDS meter or EC meter as well. The best advice here would be to always top off your nutrient reservoir with 1/2 strength solution whenever it is a little low. Every two weeks, start over with fresh water as well as nutrients to avoid a nutrient imbalance in your solution.
- The completeness of Maxsea offers you a very simple feeding plan. Between the two formulas (16-16-16 as well as 3-20-20) it is easy to provide a good balance of N-P-K for any stage of growth. Even so, if you carefully read the fertalizer ingredients, you will find Maxsea is missing one thing... magnesium. By adding 1/4 teaspoon epsom salts/gallon, you inexpensively avoid having any problems with a magnesium deficiency.
- When you mix up Maxsea in a nutrient solution, it has a nearly perfect Ph. What's more, the Ph is stable in solution for many days. This is great for the beginning hydroponics gardener. This means you can get away without the initial cost of an expensive Ph meter in the beginning.
- In between nutrient changes, you will need to replenish the water the plants are using. The safest strategy is to top off the nutrient reservoir with half strength nutrient solution.
- To learn more about feeding plants hydroponically go to...
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Added: Thu Feb 02 2006
