Best Hydroponic Nutrients for Cannabis?
Growing cannabis hydroponically means keeping things much more grounded, ironically. But it's a fact that you still need to keep nourishment flowing around those roots! H2O can't do it all, so you're tasked with finding the best hydroponic nutrients for cannabis. There's no getting around the need to feed your weed, and fortunately for you and the steadily increasing number of home growers, Lotus Nutrients makes exactly what you need, and makes it simple.
Let's travel through how.
What does soil provide that hydroponics setups don't?
Using soil as a medium might be considered the beginner's approach to growing cannabis, but even the most dedicated hydro-enthusiasts have to admit it does have the edge in a few areas.
Soil can contain (and sustain if added post-facto) helpful microbes like:
Carnivorous Nematodes
These vicious yet tiny predators go after harmful root eating larvae with extreme prejudice.
Cyanobacteria
Bacteria that can photosynthesize falls into the category of cyanobacteria. Helpful species in this kingdom like the rhizobium family fix essential macronutrient Nitrogen into the soil to be taken up by the plants in it.
Fungivorous/Carnivorous fungi
Not all fungal growth in soil is bad! Crop-killers, like the root-rot causing fusarium family, can be consumed by allies like trichoderma, and even cannibalized by other species of fusarium. Yet other fungi like green muscardine can even kill and consume root eating beetle larvae.
Yet more microbes decay the organic matter that makes up soil in its entirety–sucking in what used to be plant matter and breaking it down into more essential macronutrients like Phosphorus, Nitrogen, and Sulfur.
This continual breaking down is what gives plants grown in soil natural leverage. Hydroponics represent a breakthrough in cannabis growth, but their natural place is in soil. Soil easily anchors roots without the potential pitfalls of improperly applied LECA or rockwool.
It's this simplicity that keeps even advanced growers sticking with soil to begin with. It's portable, cheaper to set up, and easy to get going.
But you’re growing hydroponic chronic for a reason. Despite the initial costs and learning curve, once you master your bubbles and buckets, you avoid the pitfalls of soil like:
Slower Growing
Soil is more natural, as proponents say, but what's natural and what's easiest for human harvest don't always go hand in hand. That's why cannabis has hundreds of strains after all. And those thicker-than-your-wrists stalks that you see in big outdoor grows take time! Hydroponic cannabis, and the strains most amenable to it trade tree like all-over growth for speed from seed to harvest.
Pest Control
Helpful microbes can come in soil…but so can harmful ones. Aspergillus and fusarium (black mold and one cause of root rot) live in soil and spread through contaminated tools, unsanitized pots, and even unwashed hands! Getting a handle on these is a huge hassle for soil growers–and though hydroponic growing doesn't mean there's no need to quarantine new plants or sterilize tools, it is undoubtedly easier to conduct control methods with watery media.
What are the Advantages of Growing Cannabis Hydroponically?
Whether you're just starting out or have been growing exclusively with hydro for years, you may not be fully aware of all the pros to this method of growing!
Hydroponic setups allow for bigger yields in a couple of different ways. Firstly the soil-less system allows the best hydroponic nutrients for cannabis full access to the absorbent roots! That means absolutely no nutrients lost to microbes within the soil, or carried down and out through gravity if a little too much water runs through pot drainage. With hydro, your grow gets literally every ounce of the nutrients you give it, and that means you get 100% of the growth that those nutrients help to impart.
Without any need for the recommended five gallon pots for each plant, growing hydroponically allows for more plants per space–also leading to bigger yields by quantity. Once your clones are started, from a mother or by order, the possibilities for giant harvests grow!
Conservation of water is also key in hydroponics. No water is lost through drainage, nor the same kind of evaporation that takes place in soil–and even though a lot of water is required up front, only the most negligent of growers will ever see the quantities in their setup dip below an inch.
Faster growth than in soil is also expected, again due to the direct contact of nutrients with roots, and lack of competition for absorption.
Awareness of just how much hydroponics can do for a grower is key to full understanding and ongoing respect for this method. Keeping these pros front-of-mind can build your morale through maintenance, learning curves (yes even for experts), and trim jail. But how does Lotus Nutrients make the most of these advantages to embody the best hydroponic nutrients for cannabis?
The Lotus Nutrients Advantage
Lotus nutrients were formulated for use in any medium, but they shine in hydroponic setups! The non-diluted, water-less nutrients come totally dry. That means they're concentrated, and specifically meant to be added to water by growers.
This allows for easier PH adjusting–as there's no water to correct for. This helps prevent nutrient lockout due to water that's too basic or too acidic for your cannabis to thrive. With your ph testing equipment, and a good check of the water before mixing Lotus Nutrients in, you'll be good to grow without the need to continue correcting at several stages.
The dry nature of these nutrients also makes them much more easy to measure! There's no splashing, no meniscus messing with your eyes as you squint over a measuring cup, and less risk of nutrient lockout through overindulging your grow by accident. Measure twice, dissolve once!
Lotus Nutrients aren't the only dry nutrients on the market. But there's an extra step that our Nor-Cal developers took. The texture of our nutrients is like brown sugar–clumpy, but soft and uniform. Other dry nutrients look like different grades of sand mixed together. That texture is great for a trip to the beach, but in hydroponic applications, it's a serious problem. Bigger particles of certain nutrients in the mix means that they don't all dissolve at the same time. That makes it easier to miss a trick when adding to water, and adding burning chunks these usually-helpful nutrients directly to your plants roots. This isn't what's normally meant by "nutrient burn", but it is a serious problem! That's why Lotus Nutrients chose to take the extra step, grind a little harder (literally), and get all the elements evened out before they reach growers' hands.
Nutrient lockout, the halting of absorption of nutrients, and nutrient burn–chemical burns on plant tissue from overapplication of nourishment are both serious issues that can kill cannabis if left unchecked. Even surviving plants can end up with permanent stunting from stress, leading to lower amounts of flower, and lower quality harvests. Lotus Nutrients make it easier to skip this harsh lesson with our plant-first formulas, nutrient calculator, and seven days a week helpline of growers like you!
In addition to being better for your grow, Lotus Nutrients is just plain better for the earth! The concentrated blends ship with more nutrients per ounce than watery mixes, lowering your footprint as you tend your greens!
What do Lotus Nutrients Do?
The Lotus Nutrients line includes one set of nutrients specially formulated to provide ideal nourishment at certain points in your grow's life cycle, one specific macronutrient deficiency addressing supplement, and a nutrient neutralizer. Here's how they work.
What Does Lotus Nutrients Grow Do?
Lotus Nutrients Grow is engineered to fire up growth of taller seedlings and clones. This formula strengthens stems, by providing the nourishment that makes thicker xylem and phloem–allowing greater rates of nutrient transfer. It encourages thicker, healthier roots to spread–even though not through soil–which aids in water and nutrient intake. The cell-wall enhancing elements also make the entire plant more resilient to plant-to-plant disease, and put a spring in the leaves and stalks. They'll retain bounce, and elasticity–getting them to grow without brittleness or deflation.
What Does Lotus Nutrients Bloom Do?
Lotus Nutrients Bloom is nourishment for the flowering stage of cannabis. In this stage, your cannabis is expanding into maturity, and looking to reproduce! So, like any creature going through teen-to-adult transitions, it needs a higher amount of feed, with minerals aimed at facilitating the production of reproductive faculties.When cannabis is undernourished, it's forced to halt its flower stage to attempt to save its own life. Bloom encourages the overall health of your plants while also feeding for tighter internodal spacing and a higher amount of flowering sites–heightening your harvest in quantity. Late bloomers and cramped colas are just the results of crops that aren't being fed with the best hydroponic nutrients for cannabis. Fortunately, that's an easy fix!
What Does Lotus Nutrients Boost Do?
Lotus Nutrients Boost is the flavor enhancer of the original three-step family. Closer to the edge of the flowering stage, your cannabis is no longer focused on quantity of buds. At some point, about four weeks in, all the nodes you're going to see for the season will be present and accounted for! But that doesn't mean your plant is all done developing your future harvest–which in turn means adding nutrients to the hydroponic setup isn't complete! As the cannabis buds develop the trichomes that give us the therapeutic effects we know and love during this latest stage. Cannabidiol, THC, CBG, and terpenes don't emerge without these sticky structures–and a combination of minerals that nourishes these combinations of proteins is essential!
But that's not the only way Boost affects a grow.
This formula also encourages bigger, denser growth during the transition from Bloom! Once the nodes are healthy, in place, and the process of flowering has begun in earnest, Boost helps these structures grow to their thickest and largest–giving the trichomes it also nourishes more surface area to spread their wellness!
What Does Lotus Nutrients Carboflush Do?
Flushing, whether mid grow for a 'reset' of the growing medium, or close to harvest as a preference, means getting the nutrients in your medium out of it so that your plants can feed on just water and light.With hydroponics, unlike soil, there is no 'just water and wait' option to flushing. Either all the water in the system needs to be replaced, or you can let the science behind Lotus Nutrients do what it does. Carboflsh uses compounds that truly neutralize the minerals present in your water system–making hydroponic flushes complete!
What Does Lotus Nutrients CalMag Do?
Calcium and Magnesium are two of the highest quantity macronutrients your cannabis needs to feed properly! They're found and lost in the same conditions, so if you've been using subpar plant food in your grow, and the yellowing leaves are telling you to step it up–Lotus Nutrients CalMag is here to step in.
These 'hard' minerals are by definition deficient in soft water–and if you're seeing brown splotches on your leaves, or entire leaves yellowing, a cal/mag deficiency is the likely issue. Lotus Nutrients CalMag is totally soluble, so when administered according to schedule, it won't cake your hoses, or burn your plants. It's just a step to get them back to growing as they should and beyond!
Are you ready to nourish your grow with the best on the market? Lotus Nutrients is here for you. We carry all sizes, even samples, for the discerning grower, and our NorCal based team of experienced cannabis cultivators is here for you 7 days a week to answer questions and give any advice!
Give your weed what it needs!
