What is in a typical Hydroponics Fertilizer MixWhen growing plants without soil, they must be fed with a hydroponics fertilizer which is a different mixture than what is contained in a 'soil garden' fertilizer. Plants in a dirt garden need certain trace elements which can be commonly found in soil almost anywhere - therefor most commercial garden fertilizers do not include these elements in their fertilizer mix. Such elements include calcium, magnesium and sulphur, to name a few.
Here is a sample list of a good hydroponics fertilizer mix with the percentage of each chemical in the mix.
If you do your own comparison of the above mix with a soil garden fertilizer you may find different chemical names from above - such as Phosphate and Potassium. Phosphate is a salt of Phosphoric Acid so in this situation both of these chemical names can be viewed as equivalent. The same applies to Potash and Potassium. Potash is really potassium carbonates mixed with potassium salts. So I must stress, once again, that if you do not use a fertilizer specifically made for hydroponics, you are asking for trouble. Of course those of you may wish to experiment with your own mixtures. A sample mixture could be made from a combination of 'Miracle Gro' powder supplemented with some extra chemicals to make a good mix... or a garden fertilizer supplemented with some extra chemicals. Later I will compare what is found in 'Miracle Gro' with my hydroponics fertilizer mix.
|
