Things You Need To Know About Hydroponics Nutrients
When you are using hydroponics as a marijuana grower, it is not right to just assume that nutrients that work for soil also work properly for hydroponics. Ideally, you’ll be going to look for more alternatives to get hydroponics nutrients for your growing marijuana.
Here are some considerations when choosing nutrients for hydroponic use:
Nutrients for Hydroponics
These nutrients should be specifically made for use in hydroponics. There should be no organic matter, therefore no carbon, hydrogen and oxygen, just minerals. These organic materials could come in the form of worm castings, compost and many more. There should also be an abundance of micronutrients and the NPK rations should be adequate.
NPK Ratio
NPK stands Nitrogen, Phosphorus and Potassium, respectively. Make sure to follow the NPK schedule below to achieve optimum yields.
- Vegetative stage: N-high; P-medium/high; K-high
- Flowering stage: N-low; P-high; K-high
It is important to follow these guidelines for NPK ratios in different growing stages because not following it could have adverse effects on your plants. If you give your marijuana plant too much nitrogen during the flowering stage, it could lead to lower yields since it does not promote the growth of buds.
Macronutrients
Other than NPK, there are several more macronutrients needed by marijuana plants when they are planted using the hydroponics technique. These macronutrients include magnesium and calcium. Both these minerals are extremely important for survival or marijuana plants and also important to avoid problems such as yellowing and tacoing of leaves which could lead to death if not addressed properly.
Micronutrients
Aside from the macronutrients, micronutrients are also essential for hydroponics with marijuana. These micronutrients are boron, manganese, copper, cobalt, zinc, and molybdenum. Practically the same as that you use when planting with soil but you must opt for supplements specially made for hydroponics as these will have the best effect.
pH
Maintaining pH could easily be neglected but it is one of the more important factors to monitor not only for hydroponics technique but for all ways of planting marijuana. Like in using coco coir, the pH for marijuana plants planted with hydroponics should be maintained between the levels of 5.5 to 6.5.
