Easy Guide to Hydro Nutrient Mixes - Special Products

You know that when manufacturers create hydroponic mixtures intended to support plant cycles, they put adequate amounts of the good stuff inside. These nutrient mixes will have plenty of nitrogen, phosphorus and potassium, as well as trace minerals like calcium and magnesium. But beyond that, how do manufacturers design nutrient mixes? How do they support growers who are using particular systems and get them exactly the mixes that they need?

In this quick and easy guide, we'll go over some of the various advances in hydroponic nutrients where modern retailers are offering specialized and tailored products.

Root booster products

Some nutrient mixes are packed with enzymes and other materials that will encourage roots to grow bigger or stronger. In some cases, you need this, when plants are developing sets of roots from clones, or when the roots are fragile and not very adaptable to the garden situation. Root boosters are a value-added component of what a nutrient provider offers in a range of products. These might include super enzyme products or other kinds of specialized packages.

PH formulated nutrients

If you have any experience at all with hydroponics, you know that keeping the ph value level can be a serious challenge. You can be tearing your hair out, flushing the system and then flushing again, watching the system like a hawk to make sure the pH value doesn't creep out of desired range. You may have even had problems in the water that you first introduced into the system. Ph balance nutrient products help to keep that pH value stable to allow plants to thrive.

Organic mixes

Everything is about organics nowadays -- people want to make sure they know what's in their food, and in other consumer products. They want to make sure there is no chemical tampering with the composition of fruits and vegetables or anything else. To that end, hydroponic retailers are offering organic grow and bloom packages that present themselves as non-toxic alternatives for a clean gardening environment.

Grow media specific packages

This one is very interesting. You may have seen some retailers offering certain ranges of products for a given grow media. One of these is coco coir, the natural and organic media made of coconut husk material. When you get nutrient mixes that are formulated specifically for coco coir, you’re likely to get a lot more out of a system where you've chosen this fill as the primary grow medium.

Vegetative and flowering phases

Of course, hydroponic retailers continue to sell nutrients specifically for different phases of plant growth. In the vegetative phase, the nutrient mix can be more stable. It won't have a lot of fancy extras or additives in it. In the flowering phase, however, manufacturers can get fancy with mixes. They may even include protein items like bone meal or other things try to help growers get plants to develop rapidly during flowering.

All of these kinds of innovative products help to promote specific outcomes with hydroponic gardening, Look for what’s best for your particular grow space. As you experiment with plant cycles, you’ll learn more about what really supports plants in your local environment, and you can choose the packages that work best for you.