Hydroponic Nutrients: Fertilizer for Your Hydroponic Garden

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Hydroponic Water Supply

Ordinarily, your home water supply will be quite satisfactory for hydroponics, but a few cautions should be given. Water from a water softener should not be used, because it will be far too alkaline. On the other hand, rain, or distilled water would be fine, as long as a reliable and inexpensive supply can be maintained. Tap water is average and will generally contain small amounts of trace elements that the plant can use if it requires them. Water that is too pure may have to be supplemented with slight increases of some trace elements, especially calcium and magnesium. If the water is very hard, you will need less calcium and magnesium but probably more iron, because iron becomes less available to the plant as the hardness of the water increases. For these reasons, it is a good idea to have an analysis done on your water supply at your local utility. If you obtain your water from a well or source other than a Public Works Department, you can contact your nearest Agricultural Department for an address to send in a water sample. Any analysis should include the content of calcium, magnesium, iron sulphate, chloride, and carbonate. In any case, it is probably worthwhile for you to know what you and your family are drinking and using in your home.

Common Hydroponic Nutrient Deficiency Symptoms

One of the main problems in attempting to determine the cause of a specific nutrient deficiency symptom is that almost everything sounds the same. In fact, this is not so; there are small differences in each problem. Like a doctor, you must attempt to isolate the symptoms and study the case history. Even if you are only able to reduce the possible causes to two or three at first, you can then isolate the symptoms, weigh the factors leading up to the problem, further reduce the possibilities to one or two at most, and take remedial action. (See "Common Nutrient Deficiency Symptoms" below in order to determine what the problem is.)

It is not necessarily true that you will encounter any or all of these imbalance problems. Because of your particular situation or environment, however, you may find that specific problems will arise from time to time. It is worth repeating that the watchword of hydroponics is experimentation, as much in problem solving as in developing a system that suits your particular needs.

Below are the trace elements found in nutrients, followed by the symptoms that occur when your plant is lacking them.

Nitrogen: Look for small, stunted plants with large root systems; leaves smaller and lighter in color than normal; and slow growth. Paleness starts at the tips of the lower leaves. If the deficiency continues, the foliage will continue to develop, but stems will be spindly, sappy, and soft, flowering will be delayed, small fruit will grow, and the plant becomes susceptible to disease.

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