HYDROPONIC NUTRIENT FORMULAS

HYDROPONIC NUTRIENT FORMULAS

These are basic, general purpose nutes – so if your goal is to tweak them, you’re on your own. They give you a good starting point no matter why you want to know how to do this, and have proven successful with many different hydroponic crops. The amounts in these formulas are for 1-gallon of stock nutrient solution. If you want a bigger batch, you’ll need to multiply and/or divide the measurements per gallon appropriately.

VEGETATIVE NUTRIENT

(Analysis: 9.5-5.67-11.3)

• 6.00 gr  Calcium Nitrate – Ca(NO3)2
• 2.09 gr  Potassium Nitrate – KNO3
• 0.46 gr  Sulfate of Potash – K2SO4
• 1.39 gr  Monopotassium Phophate – KH2PO4
• 2.42 gr  Magnesium Sulfate – MgSO4 * 7H2O
• 0.40 gr  7% Fe Chelated Trace Elements – recipe below

FLOWERING NUTRIENT

(Analysis: 5.5-7.97-18.4)

• 4.10 gr  Calcium Nitrate – Ca(NO3)2
• 2.80 gr  Potassium Nitrate – KNO3
• 0.46 gr  Sulfate of Potash – K2SO4
• 1.39 gr  Monopotassium Phophate – KH2PO4
• 2.40 gr  Magnesium Sulfate – MgSO4 * 7H2O
• 0.40 gr  7% Fe Chelated Trace Elements – recipe below

FRUITING NUTRIENT

(Analysis: 8.2-5.9-13.6)

• 8.00 gr  Calcium Nitrate – Ca(NO3)2
• 2.80 gr  Potassium Nitrate – KNO3
• 1.70 gr  Sulfate of Potash – K2SO4
• 1.39 gr Monopotassium Phophate – KH2PO4
• 2.40 gr  Magnesium Sulfate – MgSO4 * 7H2O
• 0.40 gr  7% Fe Chelated Trace Elements – recipe below

CHELATED TRACE ELEMENT MIX

• 7.00%  Iron – Fe
• 2.00%  Manganese – Mn
• 0.40%  Zinc – Zn
• 0.10% Copper – Cu
• 1.30% Boron – B
• 0.06%  Molybdenum – Mo

MIXING YOUR NUTRIENT SOLUTION

Start with an clean, empty container large enough to hold your full batch. Fill it with warm water. Test the TDS/PPM and pH before proceeding. The pH will change after you’ve mixed in the elemental salts… so don’t adjust it just yet. Make a note of both meter readings. You have to take the dissolved solids content of your water into consideration, because you need to subtract it from the final reading to find the true concentration of nutrients in your solution.

Now add your precisely weighed out elemental salts ONE AT A TIME, and allow it to dissolve completely before moving on. This is not a concentrated formula. At this point you are diluting it to the strength needed to go into your nutrient reservoir. Do not add it to your system until it has totally cooled. Let it sit for an hour or two before taking the next meter readings.

You may need to adjust the nutrient concentration and/or the pH before it’s right for your plants. Hopefully, you already know the EC or TDS/PPM, and the pH level your crop requires. If not, stop and research that, because if the pH is off, the plants will have a hard time accessing what they need to thrive. Even a simple, inexpensive liquid pH test and control kit will allow you to easily measure and maintain the pH level of your nutrient solution.

https://www.gardenculturemagazine.com/garden-inputs/nutrients/make-your-own-hydroponic-nutrients/

COMMON NUTRIENT RANGES IN HYDROPONIC NUTRIENT SOLUTIONS

Element	Ionic form absorbed by plants	Common range (ppm=mg/l)
Nitrogen	Nitrate (NO3-), Ammonium (NH4+)	100-250 ppm elemental N
Phosphorus	Dihydrogen phosphate (H2PO4-) Phosphate (PO43-) Monohydrogen phosphate (HPO42-)	30-50 ppm elemental P
Potassium	Potassium (K+)	100-300 ppm
Calcium	Calcium (Ca2+)	80-140 ppm
Magnesium	Magnesium (Mg2+)	30-70 ppm
Sulfur	Sulfate (SO42-)	50-120 ppm elemental S
Iron	Ferrous ion (Fe2+) Ferric ion (Fe3+)	1-5 ppm
Copper	Copper (Cu2+)	0.04-0.2 ppm
Manganese	Manganese (Mn2+)	0.5-1.0 ppm
Zinc	Zinc (Zn2+)	0.3-0.6 ppm
Molybdenum	Molybdate (MoO42-)	0.04-0.08 ppm
Boron	Boric acid (H3BO3) Borate (H2BO3-)	0.2-0.5 ppm elemental B
Chloride	Chloride (Cl-)	<75 ppm
Sodium	Sodium (Na+)	<50 ppm TOXIC to plants

 

Suggested Nutrient Solutions for Various Crops Crop N P K Ca Mg Concentration in mg/l (ppm) Tomato 190 40 310 150 45 Cucumber 200 40 280 140 40 Pepper 190 45 285 130 40 Strawberry 50 25 150 65 20 Melon 200 45 285 115 30 Roses 170 45 285 120 40