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Getting the hydroponic nutrient formula right can be a complicated business. Much like using the correct quantity of fertilizer in the soil in conventional gardening. If you don’t use enough fertilizer then you will have weak plants that look malnourished; however if you overuse the fertilizer then you can risk fatally sabotaging your plants.

When you are figuring out the right hydroponic nutrient formula you need to add the fertilizers in the right proportins. Another confusing aspect of the whole thing is how to mix in the fertilizers that come with your hydroponics kit.

Getting The Right Concentration

To mke sure that your plants grow and stay healty, it is very important to mix the fertilizers that you have to the right concentration. The fertilizers sold for use in a hydroponic system are concentrated, you will need to dilute and combine them correctly.

You can begin with a concentration of 150-600 parts per million. But it is usually possible to find a much more specific concentration range, most plants will do well with a hydroponic nutrient formula of 300 to 400 parts per million.

Stages in Growth

Plants go through different phases of development and growth, so it makes sense that plants need different nutrients during these different phases. When you are deciding what hydroponic nutrient formula to use you should know that there are now different nutrients that are available to suit the different stages of a plant’s life cycle.

‘Grow’ formulae are typically targetted toward plants in the vegetative stage of growth in the plant’s life cycle. These are commonly also known as ‘Growth’ formula, which you might have seen in garden centers. However once the plants you are growing start to flower you must change the kind of hydroponic nutrient formula that you use. You should look for formulae targetted with ‘Flower’ or ‘Bloom’.

The strength of the hydroponic nutrient formula must be tailored to the growth stage and health of the plant. Common sense may suggest that you should use a stronger formula for a weaker plant and vice versa, but this is actually not the right thing to do. You should be using a weaker hydroponic nutrient formula for a weaker plant, such as one in weaker light conditions. Conversely you can use a strong formula for a plant in very healthy conditions.

If your plants are thriving and you would like to increase the strength of the formula, you must do this very gradually. As an analogy, a quick change in strength is like suddenly moving your plant from a greenhouse to outdoors, the plant will suffer and likey die. On a final note, you should ensure that your plants are placed in a well ventilated environment with good levels of lighting to ensure healthy and effective growth.