we know plants need 'food' in the form of fertiliser, but there are countless brands and formulae for fertilisers and im willing to bet that a large number of us aren't chemist and have had no clue on which to use after looking at the ingredients label. for this reason, fertilizer manufacturers have a standard thats loosely refered to as 'NPK content'
the 3 nutrients needed most by plants are Nitrogen, Phosphorous, and Potassium that have the chemical symbols N, P and K respectively. the NPK content describes the concentration of N, P and K in each mix of fertiliser, allowing growers to better understand what which to use. lets take a look at some typical mixes and see how we can understand them.
these are my personal favourite for hydroponic systems. first let's take a look at Maxigro. the NPK content shows 10-5-14. this corresponds to a 10% N, 5% P2O5, and 14%K2O content. note that only nitrogen is expressed in its elemental form. next up, Maxibloom has 5%N, 15%P2O5, and 14% K2O. ok.. so now you understand what the number mean.. but how does that help me?
well, it turns out that these nutrients are required for different reasons. N is required for vegetative growth, K is important for root growth, and both P and K are important for flowering and fruiting. this means that if i'm growing leafy greens, i'll need more N that i would P and paying for fertiliser with a high P content would be a waste as the plant wont use it (we get to eat it before it flowers ^^). similarly, if your tomatoes were fruiting but you didnt have enough P out for it, you'd be compromising on fruit quality.
and here's a trick. you don't have to stick to just one fertiliser. when i grow melons, i'll use a high N fertiliser initially. when the plant is in full fruit, i switch to the high P, low N mix to support the fruit and reduce vegetative growth (we want those sugars going into our melon, not more leaves). and then when it has just started fruiting but is still growing vegetatively, just use a mix of both! this way you'll have large, healthy leaves to give you the best fruit!
the 3 nutrients needed most by plants are Nitrogen, Phosphorous, and Potassium that have the chemical symbols N, P and K respectively. the NPK content describes the concentration of N, P and K in each mix of fertiliser, allowing growers to better understand what which to use. lets take a look at some typical mixes and see how we can understand them.
these are my personal favourite for hydroponic systems. first let's take a look at Maxigro. the NPK content shows 10-5-14. this corresponds to a 10% N, 5% P2O5, and 14%K2O content. note that only nitrogen is expressed in its elemental form. next up, Maxibloom has 5%N, 15%P2O5, and 14% K2O. ok.. so now you understand what the number mean.. but how does that help me?
well, it turns out that these nutrients are required for different reasons. N is required for vegetative growth, K is important for root growth, and both P and K are important for flowering and fruiting. this means that if i'm growing leafy greens, i'll need more N that i would P and paying for fertiliser with a high P content would be a waste as the plant wont use it (we get to eat it before it flowers ^^). similarly, if your tomatoes were fruiting but you didnt have enough P out for it, you'd be compromising on fruit quality.
and here's a trick. you don't have to stick to just one fertiliser. when i grow melons, i'll use a high N fertiliser initially. when the plant is in full fruit, i switch to the high P, low N mix to support the fruit and reduce vegetative growth (we want those sugars going into our melon, not more leaves). and then when it has just started fruiting but is still growing vegetatively, just use a mix of both! this way you'll have large, healthy leaves to give you the best fruit!
No comments:
Post a Comment