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Post by Nothing Yet. on Mar 9, 2023 8:57:51 GMT -5
My plants are growing great. I'm adding 1\2 gallon of water every other day. Should I add food each time?
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Post by scarfguy on Mar 9, 2023 10:12:41 GMT -5
Good question. I've agonized over this issue also.
Everything I've seen suggests adding nutrients every two weeks but I've never seen an explanation as to why? It seems like common sense to me to add nutrients with every watering (perhaps in lesser amounts). That way, the nutrient concentrations remain stable and available as the plant needs it.
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Post by lynnee on Mar 9, 2023 12:47:50 GMT -5
It's certainly possible to premix your water and nutrients, then add the solution each time you add water, Nothing Yet.. In essence you're making your own liquid fertilizer. However, I've read that algae is likely to grow in stored water that has nutrients mixed in. So if you try this--and I haven't--your solution should be stored in a container that won't let light in. Most plants will do well when you add water as needed and add AG nutrients every 2 weeks. I think that AG recommends this to make things as easy as possible, and also to discourage users from adding too many nutrients. My plants do fine on the AG every-2-weeks regimen. If the plants start looking a bit peaked, I add a small extra amount of AG nutrients (maybe 2mg) to carry them to the next cycle. (I also supplement the AG nutrients with Calmag and Koolbloom, but that's to improve flavor and production of tomatoes and peppers.) Something that's really important, is to change the water every 2 weeks and add fresh nutrients, starting at week 6. This gets rid of waste products produced by your plants, as well as any nutrients still remaining in the water.  |
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Post by hazelfyrebird on Mar 9, 2023 15:07:24 GMT -5
I'm sincerely hoping that the Aerogarden you're adding 1/2 a gallon to nearly daily is a Farm. If it's a Harvest, that's definitely transpiring/evaporating way too fast, as that's nearly the entire capacity. You don't want to burn the plants with too much nutrients, so I wouldn't keep adding nutrients daily--unless it's getting spilled rather than being taken up by the plants.
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