Usage Of Hydroponic Products and Mycorrhizae

murihikukid · September 28, 2017

Hi..i wondered if anybody with experience in Hydroponic Products.(I have attached their Booklet)..Could give me an opinion on a Sample 6 pac I have been given by the local gardening centre ...I am looking at certain phases of my growing and whether I can use any one of the product....
1. adding as trace elements into my 2 part Sphagnum moss/1 part perlite and 1 part Vermiculite mix that I am using for seeds (after germinating using the paper towel method)......
2.For the Hardening off period after the first set of true leaves..

3, to "flavour" the water I put in my tanks for self watering by wick into the soil

I think I can work out the rest.....But I do have Mycorrhizae this season...and I think its applied early but could some be put in the (Cornell university) moss mix I am using..??? I think its ok to apply when I transplant into my Growth chamber for Hardening off.....
And could there be a risk of reaction between Mycorrhizae and any of the Hydroponic products....any comments would be appreciated... Mk

zipcode · September 29, 2017

It looks like another one of those overpriced packages for 'high value crops', so to say. Probably good though.
You should note that most hydroponic systems use 'drain to waste', which is going to be rather different than wicking.
So they use a dripping method or similar and they water more than needed so there is always waste. This was it's easy to keep pH and EC in the right place since there's always new solution going through basically.
With wicking I think things could be quite a bit more complicated. What is important is that both the pH and EC of the solution will change depending on what is absorbed from it (and it can change a lot depending on the formulation). Also there are salts buildup, not sure how one deals with this with a wicking system. For seedlings this is not so important, but when in production and nutrient needs are very high, pH swings can be important.
Depending on your water (ro water or tap water with high alkalinity?), you need to choose your fertilizer accordingly. Things to look at: pH of 0.2% solution (sometimes they give these values), ammonium:nitrate ratio (very important in pH stability), calcium content (how much Ca does your water have), etc.

September 29, 2017	#2
zipcode Tomatovillian™ Join Date: Jun 2010 Location: Romania/Germany , z 4-6 Posts: 1,582	It looks like another one of those overpriced packages for 'high value crops', so to say. Probably good though. You should note that most hydroponic systems use 'drain to waste', which is going to be rather different than wicking. So they use a dripping method or similar and they water more than needed so there is always waste. This was it's easy to keep pH and EC in the right place since there's always new solution going through basically. With wicking I think things could be quite a bit more complicated. What is important is that both the pH and EC of the solution will change depending on what is absorbed from it (and it can change a lot depending on the formulation). Also there are salts buildup, not sure how one deals with this with a wicking system. For seedlings this is not so important, but when in production and nutrient needs are very high, pH swings can be important. Depending on your water (ro water or tap water with high alkalinity?), you need to choose your fertilizer accordingly. Things to look at: pH of 0.2% solution (sometimes they give these values), ammonium:nitrate ratio (very important in pH stability), calcium content (how much Ca does your water have), etc.