What’s Growing on Fellow Gardeners? Around Paducah Hydroponics I am known as “the Nutrient guy”, which is not as bad as it sounds, so this week’s entry is my forte. It takes quite a bit of patience to listen to your plants and respond with the proper adjustments to your nutrients. Most of what you are looking for comes from the leaves. For instance, yellowing of the leaves is most likely a nitrogen deficiency; this is fixed by upping the amount of nitrogen you are feeding them. Nutrients are simply elements that are essential to the life of any plant. Anything you include in your water when you apply it to your plants is considered supplemental nutrients, even nitrogen and potassium. When I first got my hands dirty in the garden I was mesmerized by all the choices in nutrients there were. However, there are three main nutrients that are vital to any plant you choose to put in your garden. You may have heard of “N-P-K” before and it’s likely that you probably already know what this is if you have been around the compost pile for a while. When you look at the fine print on the many bottles of nutrients out there you will notice each one has a series of numbers printed on them. Usually they look something like this, 2-8-4, 6-4-1, and silica supplements usually look something like this, 0-0-3. These three nutrients are all considered mobile nutrients. This means these additives can translocate, or move to areas in the plant that requires it as needed. Luckily, mobile nutrients make troubleshooting problems easy because all you have to do is look at older growth to determine whether or not you have an overdose or a deficiency. What do the letters stand for? The “N” stands for nitrogen. Nitrogen is considered a macronutrient that controls your plant’s ability to make proteins which are vital for new protoplasm in the cells within the plant. “N” is fundamental in the production of vitamins, chlorophyll, proteins, and enzymes. In a nutshell, nitrogen is responsible for the growth of your plant. Big leaves, strong stems, and an immense plant size are all thanks to nitrogen. “P” stands for phosphorus, another macronutrient. Phosphorus is essential to photosynthesis and is basically transportation nutrient. All energy is transferred throughout the plant thanks to phosphorus. When you are having deficiency issues and phosphorus is the problem; your symptoms will include slow growth, small or deformed foliage, blotchy foliage, and the veins within the stems and leaves will end up with a reddish tint within them. It is also easy to overdose your garden on phosphorus as well, but usually this problem occurs more frequently in hydroponic and aeroponic setups. Even then, the problem is usually not with the nutrients, but with the PH being incorrect (a discussion on PH is soon to come). Last, but certainly just as important as the rest is “K”. K is the last number in the series and stands for potassium. This nutrient is also a macronutrient and is mobile (able to translocate). Potassium is like an antibiotic for your plants. There are many different K supplements on the market; Botanicare’s Silica Blast and DynaGro’s Protekt are two names that come to mind. Potassium provides drought, bacteria, and mold resistance. K, combines starches, sugars, and carbohydrates to allow easier movement throughout the plants cells. Chlorophyll is increased within the foliage and better acclimates it to efficiently soak up light and air. Potassium is also your root’s best friend since it allows for better water intake, stronger whiter roots, and even protects roots from disease and infestation. These are the three main nutrients you will come across on most nutrients you buy. There are two other mobile nutrients which are considered secondary nutrients. These are: Magnesium (Mg): This additive is found as a central atom in chlorophyll molecules. Chlorophyll is responsible for light absorption and CO2 exchange. Magnesium is also what’s responsible for your big, beautiful blooms and blossoms on your vines and in your flower garden. It takes enzymes and makes carbohydrates and sugars that are used to form flowers. Magnesium is also very beneficial to soil and hydroponic gardens because the nutrient counteracts and neutralizes soil acids, salt buildup and toxins produced by the plant. Zinc (Zn): Zinc is actually considered a micronutrient, but is included here because of its mobility. This nutrient is a building block to chlorophyll, but it is also responsible for the survival of the chlorophyll within the plants. Zinc is fundamental for stem growth, but also functions in other ways by being a key ingredient in protein and sugar production. Zinc deficiency is usually spotted by pale yellow veins on leaves, followed by complete yellowing and curling of leaves. Well Green-Thumbs, that’s it for me. Next week, I will be covering immobile nutrients. Immobile nutrients, although called “micronutrients”, are still just as important to the building blocks of a healthy garden. Don’t forget, whether you want to come in and talk nutrients with me or check out the latest lighting products and techniques with our “Lights Guy”, or just come hang out with us and pick up a few things for the garden at Paducah Hydroponics. Maybe we can even get you out of the dirt and into the water with a hydroponics setup. See you guys next week! ~Tulasi
Posted on: Sun, 28 Sep 2014 01:00:00 +0000
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