Best Kinds of Nutrients for Hydroponics

• Stuff made for hydroponic growing
• Should have no organic matter floating around (nutrients are provided via minerals)
• Mineral nutrients are “chelated” making absorption (uptake) easier at a wider range of ph values
• Are rich in needed micro-nutrients because you’re not growing in dirt!
• There should be optimum NPK ratios to make your needs easier to meet

What makes hydroponic nutrients “good” or “bad?”

Some hydro nutrients are better than others for growing cannabis.  It’s good to know what you need for your method of growing.  And also what to avoid. Prices vary so it’s just a good idea to read the labels and know what you are getting and especially what your fertilizer is derived (made) from.

It’s a process and experience will dictate what works best for you.  There are some basic considerations that are important.

Worst Hydroponic Nutrients

• Things made only for soil. While hydroponic fertilizer may work wonderfully in soil (ours does), fertilizers made for soil applications most often are not best used for hydroponics. Some foliar applications may be ok for hydroponics but the concentration may burn the plants.
• Stuff that contains a lot of organic matter (guano, worm castings, fish emulsion, blood meal, etc) – it can foul up your reservoir and cause bacteria and root problems. If it’s cloudy with material floating in the water, it’s probably not a good bet for hydroponic applications!

You can learn a lot about nutrients by looking at the label!

Optimum NPK ratios for hydroponically grown cannabis

N-P-K stands for Nitrogen-Phosphorus-Potassium, the three most important plant nutrients. You’ll see these represented on the labels of most nutrient bottles. Did you know that Potassium is represented by a “K” because chemists use the symbol K from the periodic table for potassium?.

The best results growing cannabis hydroponically come from the right ratio of these nutrients. Applied so the plant gets what it needs at the right time can get superior results. For example, if you give too much Nitrogen in the flowering/budding phase, it can surpress bud production and reduce your yields, even if the plant is thriving and healthy! You don’t want that! You want YIELD!

NEXT POST WILL TALK ABOUT THE RATIOS FOR DIFFERENT PLANT STAGES AND MICROS!