Please tell us what kind of system and media you are using and what plants you are growing with this Nutes.How much Tomato Miracle Gro per gallon you are using to boost up the Nitrogen? Also I would like to know how much Nutri-20 plant food you are using per gallon?
SZ

I have two systems. An eleven plant system (ebb and flow) tomatoes and peppers in clay pebbles, and a system of 58 plants that feeds in from the top and immediately returns to the reservoir.
I guess this one is called an nft and I have it full of stringless green beans in clay pebbles. My origional nutrient is 10-5-14 and I started getting blooms way too early so thought by adding nitrogen I could stop the blooms so I began adding one teaspoon per gallon of miracle grow for tomatoes and it worked for the most part. After seeing the chemical makeup of Nutri-20 I decided to give it a try and began with 1/2 teaspoon per gallon. The results are fenominal. I dont use any Miracle Grow anymore. I am using the Nutri-20 along with my 10-5-14.
Thank you
Hydeo_Sam

Hi Sam,
I have some comments on the nutrients mixture you are using now for vegetative growth:
If you are using 1 tsp 10-5-14 hydroponics formula and 1/2 tsp Nutri-20 per gallon of water, your total ppm of Nitrogen is 193, for Phosphorous is 83, and for Potassium is 249 ppm.
Note that the Urea in Nutri-20 is not available to any plants growing hydroponically since the Urea to be broken down to available nitrogen needs soil organisms.
Another comment is the concentration of Phosphorous is little high and should range between 40-50 ppm.
I would also make a new batch of nutrients, adjust the pH and check the conductivity or the TDS of the final mixture. Please let me know the results.
If I am correct in my caculations, your new mixture would be 15%N:15%P2O5:24%K2O or an approximate ratio of 1:1:2 and it looks acceptable for vegetative growth.
Keep me posted and have lots of fun.
Thanks
SZ

Thank you SZ for responding. I do not have any testing equipment as I am just experimenting on a small scale but do plan to increase in size if I see the fesability of the project. The beans are a bit leggy but that is probably caused more by the florescent lights that I use than anything. I am going to cut the Nutri-20 by 1/2 however because I think that the plants are also growing too fast because of the content of neutrients that it adds. But the new growth comes in as light green and slowly turns darker green starting in the veins and spreading all over the leaf an so far I cannot see any deficiencies. The stalk of the beans is a lighter green than the older leaves but very strong and sturdy. I have no curling, spotting, or adverse color in the stalks. By the way this Nutri-20 does wonders in this poor clay soil.
Thanks
Sam

Hi Sam,
I agree with you to use 1/4 tsp Nutri-20 and 1 tsp 10-5-14 per gallon of water, this would be better for a vegetative growth, give it a try. The final percentage will be approximately 13%N,10%P2O5,19%K2O. Another suggestion is to use 1/4 tsp of Calcium Nitrate with 10-5-14.
Would you tell me what brand is 10-5-14
Thanks- SZ

Hello SZ,
The 10-5-14 that I use is Called MaxiGro From General Hydroponics. This company also sells a MaxiBloom, but I think that if I cut back on the Nutri-20 when the time comes I will start to get fruiting. One concern about Maxi
gro is that it does not list any molubdenum and I am concerned that my tomatoes might suffer for that reason.
Thank You
Hydro

Hi Sam,
I looked up Molybdenum deffeciency in Tomato and found that it causes incurled margins leaflets, intervenal chlorotic motting and death of tips.My recommendation is to use a Tomato Formula such as Chem-Gro 4-18-38 and adjust the formula according to plant growth stages,i.e. seedling plants, second flower cluster to 4 th cluster of flowers, and finally at 4th cluster of flowers and older plants.
You need Calcium Nitrate and Magnesium Sulfate in addition to do that.
Have a great day.
sz