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When to change nutrient strength

18 years ago

I am growing tomatoes and basil outdoors using GH nutrients. I have been using the label recommended ratios. My question is when do you guys change from seedling, to mild, and then to grow?

I should add I am growing outdoors, flooding containers manually 1-3 times daily and recycling nutrient (in perlite).

Comments (4)

  • 18 years ago

    Tomatoes- seedling to first fruit set - ppm N120 P62 K200 Ca125 Mg50 S62
    Tomatoes- first fruit set to termination - ppm N140, P62, K200, Ca150, Mg50, S62
    pH: 6.0 - 6.5

    You could take the "Grow" and add some additional Calcium Nitrate, once the fruits are exceed ½"

  • 18 years ago

    Mistake!
    I meant: You could take the "Seedling" and add some additional Calcium Nitrate, once the fruits exceed ½"

  • 18 years ago

    Have you tried playing with the GH calculator? Check it out. I believe you would want to use the "recirculating" option rather than the "run to waste" option. I use the run to waste on my Autopot set-up and something in between on my hydrofarm like set-up. I think the recirculating recommendation is a little strong, personally. When I stopped using that strength and started reducing it just a bit, I noticed no difference. I keep ph around 6.

  • 18 years ago

    Watching your plants is the surest way to adjust your nutrients.

    As they get bigger they need bigger meals. They'll take up more water and more nutrients.

    Measure the pH and ppm of your solution after the plants have used a good portion of it. Has the ppm gone up or down? If it's gone up, the plants have absorbed more water, but left the nutrients behind. They don't need that much food.

    If it has gone down, they're hungry and eating more than they're drinking. They want more food.

    Ideally you want the ppm to stay the same as they use the solution. That means it's exactly right - they're eating and drinking in even proportions.

    Also, if you start to get "tip burn" (exactly what it sounds like - the tips of the leaves start to look burnt) that's a sign that you're feeding much too strong - add pH correct water immediately to dilute the solution.

    In contrast, if your older leaves start to turn yellow that's a good sign your plants need food. Nitrogen is the primary macronutrient responsible for the plants being green (it's heavily used to produce chloroplasts) and is mobile within the plant meaning it can be moved from one place to the other whenever the plant wants to.

    For this reason, if there isn't enough Nitrogen coming in through the roots the plant can (and will) take it from the older leaves to be used in the newer, more important leaves. Thus the older growth turns yellow and starts to die. (Quick response on your part can bring everything back to happy green.)

    Interestingly, this same thing - whether a plant can move a nutrient around within itself - can help you tell what kind of deficiency you might have. Immobile nutrient deficiencies show up first in new growth.

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