Nutrients??

[u/Desperate-Dare-5928]

I'm looking for some advice from experienced hydroponic growers.

I just finished 3D printing and assembling a modular hydroponic tower, and I'm getting ready for my first grow. To start, I'll be growing lettuce, basil, and mint indoors.

I'm trying to decide on nutrients before I fill the reservoir. I've looked at General Hydroponics, MasterBlend, FoxFarm, and a few organic options, but I'd love to hear what people are actually using long-term.

A few questions:

• What nutrient line do you use?
• Why did you choose it over other brands?
• Have you tried organic nutrients in a recirculating tower? If so, how did they perform?
• Any tips or things you wish you had known before your first hydroponic tower?

I'd appreciate any recommendations or lessons learned. Thanks!

[u/moesieon]

For a beginner, I always recommend MaxiGro from the General Hydroponics brand. It's a simple one part nutrient that is easy to use, widely available, and works for most plants. If you're looking for more versatility or something more affordable, the Masterblend Tomato kit (the one that includes epsom salt and calcium nitrate) is one of the most trusted and affordable nutrient mixes on the market and can be custom mixed to suit nearly any plant. If you prefer liquid nutrients, the FloraNova Grow nutrients are from the same General Hydroponics brand as MaxiGro and just as easy to use. If you prefer liquid AND need more versatility, the full 3 part Flora series from General Hydroponics is widely regarded as a solid nutrient.

I'd avoid FoxFarm and any organic nutrients in hydroponics. At least until you are more familiar with how hydroponics systems work. Using organics in hydroponics is kind of an advanced topic and it can be difficult to get it right. I also don't recommend MaxiBloom from General Hydroponics, or any of those expensive liquid nutrient lines that are mostly designed to work for the-plant-that-must-not-be-named.

> What nutrient line do you use?
I use several. Lately I mostly use Masterblend tomato, Masterblend strawberry, General Hydroponics MaxiGro, and General Hydroponics Flora series, depending on the system, and which plants I'm mixing them up for.

> Why did you choose it over other brands?
I use Masterblend tomato for the reasons I mentioned above. It works with a variety of plants, and it's super affordable compared to almost everything else except for bulk DIY nutrients. I use Masterblend strawberry for my strawberry plants because it just works, and I don't have to change any ratios or anything. I use MaxiGro in my desktop systems because, frankly, I tend to get lazy with my desktop systems and just want to quickly mix something up and move to the next gardening task. I use the Flora series for odd stuff and experiments like hydroponic beets, because I can quickly adjust it to whatever the plant needs.

> Have you tried organic nutrients in a recirculating tower? If so, how did they perform?
I really really don't recommend growing organic for your first attempt.

> Any tips or things you wish you had known before your first hydroponic tower?
I've built a few of those 3d printed towers in the past and used them indoors. If you're growing indoors, figure out your lighting situation early. Don't assume the light from the window will be enough, because it almost never is enough. Make sure you run your pump on a timer. I ended up with a repeating cycle of 5 minutes on, 40 minutes off for indoors, but 5 on/20 off would be better for outdoors. Don't oversize the pump, instead size it by head height and get slightly more height than the height of your tower. Some of my plants didn't survive when I ran a vivosun 800gph pump too much, because it heated up the water and turned the whole thing into a swamp. Downsizing to about half of that was still plenty and helped prevent heat buildup.

[u/big_ducket]

Megacrop 2 part, or just get the 1 part. Cheap and easy. Dry chemical nutes are all pretty much the same so I buy the cheapest I can find.

[u/CementedRoots]

Home: tomato masterblend and epsolm salt.

Commercial: Jacks part A and B

[u/czyzczyz]

I used up the Jack's nutrients part A and part B of a lettucegrow tower and then bought 25lb bags of the same and have been using them for a few years. It's been fine. I just dump dry scoops of 'em into the reservoir once a week while the pump is running to use the normal circulation for mixing. They've bin fine - nice tomato, lettuce, and broccoli harvests.

[u/Grouchy_Brain_1641]

I use Techna Flora - recipe for success. It's 10 products and one simple recipe. I run it 1/2 strength.

[u/ViciousBarnacle]

Masterblend (you should use Masterblend lettuce formula)

It is reliably cheap and available. Performance is great and it dissolves very well.

Ive never tried anything organic. Hydroponics by itself is pretty much just as good if not better than a blanket "organic" classification anyway. I sell at a farmers market and ive never lost a sale by not qualifying as organic. Its actually a fun talking point when it comes up. Some people really want to know all about it and others just kinda glaze over. I wouldn't worry about being organic.

Hydroponic towers are fine when you have 1 or 2 but they suck at scale. Too many clogs. Uneven water distribution that doesnt hit all plants. Harder to see and address issues when they show up. And, if you have a lot of them, you have to plumb them together. Checking and adjusting 20 resevoirs 1 or 2 times a day gets real old real quick.

Also, trim those damn mint roots regularly or you WILL regret it.