As we all know, houseplants need light more than anything else to survive. But they have other requirements to help keep them healthy as well: the plant requires water, the roots need to breathe, humidity levels should be optimal, temperatures should be ideal and food should be accessible.
There is little effort involved in feeding houseplants in the hydroculture method. The feeding schedule is fairly regular and requires no estimation on your part as opposed to the guesswork involved with soil-grown plants.
If you are using complete hydroculture kits for your houseplants – unlike my unconventional method – there are two basic choices of fertilizer for you to choose from. The feeding frequency depends on which style of nutrient you will decide on.
Liquid Fertilizer
Liquid fertilizers can be added at every watering. Mix the nutrient solution according to the instructions on the packaging. Pour the solution over the clay pellets until the water level indicator reads ‘opt’ (optimum). This type of feeding is done from the top.
You can prepare this solution in advance and keep it stored in gallon containers, away from direct sunlight.
It’s that simple.
Slow Release Nutrient
This nutrient, loose granules or gelled disk, is placed at the bottom of the hydroculture water reservoir every six months.
Hydroculture starter kits are frequently accompanied by slow-release nutrient formula, which provides consistent, essential feeding for about six months. There is also a dial on top of the water level indicator that will specify the next month for feeding. Very handy.
Some kits are accompanied by a fertilizer pouch. This fits nicely between the bottom of the insert and the outer pot and it is replaced every six months.
Don't Forget To Rinse
No matter which method you choose, remember to rinse out the clay pellets accordingly. Non-absorbed nutrients and minerals build up over time.
In the case of liquid fertilizer, it is recommended that you leach the clay pellets under lukewarm running water once a month.
For slow release nutrients, when you exchange the pouch/fertilizer, rinse out the clay pellets and exchange the water before re-applying.
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Where Did I Go With That?
After thorough research and studying, I learned (or was constantly reminded by providers of commercial hydroculture systems) that a special hydroculture nutrient plant food must be used.
Okay, fair enough.
But...
The problem with that is that when I first began taking a stab at hydroculture, I found it difficult locating a local supplier for hydroculture plants, products and materials. Perhaps you too are faced with this problem…
Impatient to get started, I couldn’t allow the lack of a ‘special nutrient’ to deter me from moving forward into the hydroculture world.
So I made do. Or rather…I made it up as I went along.
If you spend enough time reading and learning, you start to understand how things work…more or less. After gathering some information from books and the internet about hydroculture, I devised what I felt was a practical solution to my nutrient problem until I could get my hands on the ‘special’ nutrient.
I knew I couldn’t fertilize the same way I did with my soil-grown plants. Considering that there was no soil for the nutrient to disperse into, I figured the level of fertilizer had to be adjusted - lowered. So that’s what I did.
I bought a bottle of Miracle Gro liquid fertilizer and reduced the recommended mixing levels to 1/10th. Instead of 10 drops per liter of water, I add 1 (occasionally 2). I could not fathom any reason how such a diluted mixture would harm my plants so I fed my plants with it. And it didn’t harm them.
This was the temporary solution that is still being used. As you learn more and more about hydroculture by researching - but mostly by trial and error and a hands-on approach - you will discover temporary – and permanent – ways to improvise and adjust any shortcomings you may run across that will deter you from enjoying the hydroculture method.
Where there’s a will, there’s a way.
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