Hydroponic nutrients

Figless said:
Sodium Nitrate is the Dirty Little Secret behind all, and I mean every one of the synthetic fertilizers that really pack a punch. It's the same for figs. The salt forces fluids into the plant cells which then carry with them the nutrients that cause the ((explosive growth)) using synthetic fertilizers. Hopefully pH dialed in neutral fluid solution. That's why those organic fertilizers never pack the same punch. I recommend a balanced combination of both types of fertilizers. Use the organic after initiated explosive growth with the synthetic fertilizer. Without the sodium a synthetic fertilizer just won't work the same. Of course @Inflorescence JADAM teas work best, but involve a lot of time, and planning. So don't be surprised Joe to see Sodium Nitrate in the fine print of those synthetic hydroponic fertilizers. That's why you get the salt build up when using synthetics. BTW I'm going to build the system like yours. Lettuce is just too expensive in the supermarkets these days. It's insane.
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The teas are not JADAM, and they can be made within days and are low odor.
 
TorontoJoe said:
This is the thing. It’s synthetic. The Medi-1 is OMRI listed and sold as organic, but when I flipped to the ingredients, sodium nitrate was right there. How can they claim as organic? This has me questioning OMRI


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There is a natural source of sodium nitrate that is not synthetic that is derived from a nitrate containing rock in Chile called caliche. Seawater is used to leach out soluable minerals. The nitrates are crystalized and then it is dried. It’s also called Chilean saltpetre. But it’s the one allowed in organic products and can be used up to 20%.
 
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SpiritFarmVa said:
Have you ever considered fish tank aquaponics? Or grown strawberries in your system?
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Something I’d love to do but for this setup it has to be something that I can do in my basement.

I haven’t done strawberries. I have some 5gal aerated hydroponic buckets that I think would work for this quite well
 
TorontoJoe said:
Something I’d love to do but for this setup it has to be something that I can do in my basement.

I haven’t done strawberries. I have some 5gal aerated hydroponic buckets that I think would work for this quite well
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You can use decorative fish in an aquarium. Just have to balance the fish to plants like any aquapoinic system.
With 15 acres we don’t have any space restrictions to growing but it’s such an interesting topic and for a basement grow
Like yours it’s perfect.
 
SpiritFarmVa said:
You can use decorative fish in an aquarium. Just have to balance the fish to plants like any aquapoinic system.
With 15 acres we don’t have any space restrictions to growing but it’s such an interesting topic and for a basement grow
Like yours it’s perfect.
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Hmmm. My kid does have two aquariums. I wonder what he puts in his tanks… I should ask him.
 
TorontoJoe said:
Hmmm. My kid does have two aquariums. I wonder what he puts in his tanks… I should ask him.
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Why let the fish waste get wasted lol?
Raise some Koi then after a few years sell them. (Not my idea I heard it on Jack Spirkos survival podcast) It’s not a system big enough to raise meat but pretty fun.
 
SpiritFarmVa said:
Why let the fish waste get wasted lol?
Raise some Koi then after a few years sell them. (Not my idea I heard it on Jack Spirkos survival podcast) It’s not a system big enough to raise meat but pretty fun.
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I think he may use some chemicals in the tanks that I might not want in my hydro. I'll need to check this out.
 
TorontoJoe said:
This is the thing. It’s synthetic. The Medi-1 is OMRI listed and sold as organic, but when I flipped to the ingredients, sodium nitrate was right there. How can they claim as organic? This has me questioning OMRI


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They're trying to have an organic work like a synthetic employing the sodium nitrate to infiltrate plant cells up taking nutrients. One of us should try it and see if we get true explosive growth. It's likely we might.
 
Figless said:
They're trying to have an organic work like a synthetic employing the sodium nitrate to infiltrate plant cells up taking nutrients. One of us should try it and see if we get true explosive growth. It's likely we might.
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I really thought that when I decided to go organic in my NFT system that I'd be able to google it and tons of off the shelf options would be available... like when buying any other fert.
 
TorontoJoe said:
I really thought that when I decided to go organic in my NFT system that I'd be able to google it and tons of off the shelf options would be available... like when buying any other fert.
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You know Joe we should try adding sodium nitrate to some Top Notch organic fertilizers and see what happens.
 
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