Help! Don’t know which nutrients to buy
9:58 pm in Uncategorized by Stacie Hanson
I am starting a simple 3 plant window garden and have downloaded the “how to” pdf. The guide instructed me to purchase “32 oz. hydroponic plant nutrients eg. sugar peak”. I am having trouble locating this particular brand of nutrients and am really confused as to what I need for the garden. The description for sugar peak sounds as if it is a single product while others I’ve seen are 2 to 3 different products for different phases of the plant like “grow” and “bloom”. I’d like a single product if possible because I’ve never gardened or done anything like this and a single product sounds harder to mess up.
Currently I am sprouting seeds and gathering supplies. Any advice is appreciated.
Thanks!
I have a similar problem. After going to talk to the friendly people at Home Depot, I picked up some liquid fertilizer called Worm Poop. It is AWESOME. $5 for 40oz of organic fertilizer, and it works. I was told it is all natural so you can’t burn the roots by using too much. I watered my spourts with it and watched them ‘Reach for the Sky’ with joy.
This was after going to a hydroponic store and stopping the guy in mid-checkout as he tried to sell me 2 bottles for $180. Too expensive for my little farm.
The problem now is how much to put in my 8 gallon tank after the sprouts get big enough to transplant. I’ve heard 2x as much as you would use in soil, but am not sure. Let me know if you find anything out!
Check out a company called EcoFert. They manufacture a line that is both is easy to use (one part nutrient) and WSDA and OMRI listed. A friend at a hydro wholesaler says “I believe this is the first product (or one of the first at least) in our industry to have the dual certification. I have just received some samples and the product looks great.”
There’s also
“general organic” line made in California (we were just featured on the GH blog http://www.generalhydroponics.com/blog/2010/01/25/windowfarms/).
If your looking for something a bit more simple you could try Canna Aqua (http://www.canna-hydroponics.com/node/1431) a two part nute or the GH Nova Series a one part nute.
I’ll write a post about this.
Also, it will help the visibility of your post if you click some tags to associate it with a given subject. I went in and did it for you for now. We are trying to upgrade the site to make this easier.
When you’re willing, you should get a worm-composting unit started in your apartment as well.
You can keep it under your kitchen counter as a replacement for whatever organics system you may currently have in place. By feeding the worms your organic waste on a regular basis (e.g. uncooked/spoiled produce), you can: 1) divert waste from landfill; and 2) cultivate some of the nicest fertilizer/supplement you can find.
The worm castings provide a fantastic alternative to processed fertilizers, are balanced, and take one more step toward closing the loop.
I’ve not yet made my window farm, but I do have a salad table in my apartment (love it!). I use “Worm Poop,” as well and it works wonderfully!
How can you tell how much to feed to your worms? I live in a shared flat – six of us in total – and our organic bin fills up in no time!