Most Cost Effective Nutrient Solution Method (In Your Opinion)?

[travis_lex]

Hydro nutrients sticker shock???

It is true, when first going through various catalogs and websites, some of these specialty hydroponics nutrients can appear to be more than a bit pricey.

But then again, there's more to this than first meets the eye.

Hydro nutrients are (or should be) a bit different than ordinary generic plant foods, because the plants absorb these nutrients almost instantaneously, somewhat like intravenous feeding for plants. The impact on the plants (bad or good) is almost immediate, and can have profound effect on the plant's health.

Therefore, hydro nutrients should be as pure and precisely formulated as possible. I've seen this myself, as in hydro setups using actual nutrients designed for that application, and other setups using some sort of homebrew mix of ordinary "brand x" plant food. The results are noticeable, and if something goes a bit wrong, the results are, well . . . not so good.

So, I put a lot of emphasis in the nutrients, as being the most important link in the hydroponics chain.

Given that criteria, the General Hydroponics Maxi series is actually fairly cost effective, as these are highly concentrated powdered formulas, that do work surprisingly well . . . if you follow the instructions!

Don't overfeed - just use exactly what the instructions call for.

I also use some of the Floralicious series nute enhancers in some situations. GH actually produces quite a range of nutrients, micro and enhancement nutes, rooting formulas, and so on. I like this particular company because they have been doing this for over 30 years, and are constantly researching new developments.

That's just my personal choice, but whatever nutrients you decide to use, I would suggest taking a closer look at some of the high performance nutrient systems specifically developed for hydroponics . . . it's what's actually in the formula, and how its used that counts, not what the larger looking bottle of "brand x" plant food costs in the local hardware store, that really counts.

[CrossOps]

nutrients purchased, and discussion in main thread.

http://www.hydroponicsonline.com/for....html#post8518

[CrossOps]

Travis, thanks for the reply, and adding to the conversation. Welcome to the site bro, good to have you.

Originally Posted by travis_lex

Hydro nutrients sticker shock???

It is true, when first going through various catalogs and websites, some of these specialty hydroponics nutrients can appear to be more than a bit pricey.

But then again, there's more to this than first meets the eye.

Hydro nutrients are (or should be) a bit different than ordinary generic plant foods, because the plants absorb these nutrients almost instantaneously, somewhat like intravenous feeding for plants. The impact on the plants (bad or good) is almost immediate, and can have profound effect on the plant's health.

Therefore, hydro nutrients should be as pure and precisely formulated as possible. I've seen this myself, as in hydro setups using actual nutrients designed for that application, and other setups using some sort of homebrew mix of ordinary "brand x" plant food. The results are noticeable, and if something goes a bit wrong, the results are, well . . . not so good.

So, I put a lot of emphasis in the nutrients, as being the most important link in the hydroponics chain.

Given that criteria, the General Hydroponics Maxi series is actually fairly cost effective, as these are highly concentrated powdered formulas, that do work surprisingly well . . . if you follow the instructions!

Don't overfeed - just use exactly what the instructions call for.

I also use some of the Floralicious series nute enhancers in some situations. GH actually produces quite a range of nutrients, micro and enhancement nutes, rooting formulas, and so on. I like this particular company because they have been doing this for over 30 years, and are constantly researching new developments.

That's just my personal choice, but whatever nutrients you decide to use, I would suggest taking a closer look at some of the high performance nutrient systems specifically developed for hydroponics . . . it's what's actually in the formula, and how its used that counts, not what the larger looking bottle of "brand x" plant food costs in the local hardware store, that really counts.

[frnz571]

the nutrients that i and also GPSFrontier had mention do not come from a hardware store.they are developed and used by professionals that i know for fact have been in the business since the 70's.
i believe the pros would be using Gh if that was cost effective.

My tomatoes last summer got severe Hail damage so i kind of gave up on them and they just received water only without any nutrients at all for two months. i was surprised how well they did without me hardy paying any attention to them.

the lesson i learned is don't give up on my plants because they are tough survivors. [The Hail hit them really hard]. But also I do not feel that i have to be so obsessed with the nutrients i give them.