Your first time visiting a Hydro Store, ahhh yes. You eagerly walk in, just to have your eagerness turned into a “huhh?”. All the equipment, the different bags of media, what are those square things, and could there be any more containers?! You tell the person behind the counter that you are looking for ‘nutrients’ as they point you to an aisle that might as well be an alley lined by two walls made of bottles. Seeing your confusion, the clerk steps into the aisle with you and starts breaking down what’s what. So you see that there are different brands, and each brand pretty much has a comparable product to the other just with a different name. Then comes question of the year, “so which one is the best?”.
Let me ask you this first. Would you ask the clerk at 7-11 what kind of soda is best before you purchase yours? Do you ask anyone at the grocery store which cereal is the best before you pick yours? And even if you ask the Cast Member at Disneyland which is the best ride, it does not mean that you will agree with them when you get off. The point…. The best plant nutrient is decided the same as anything else, and that is personal preference. The difference in this case is the plant is the person. Just as you decide whether you like Coke or Pepsi better, the best nutrient for your plant will completely depend on the plant itself. The only way to know which one is the best for your plant would be to try them all.
Now that you know not to let brand steer you, you still don’t know which one is best for your plant and you are not about to buy them all for an experiment. Ah, but we do know that they are all comparable so let’s see which program fits your style as a grower first. After all, you are the one growing these picky little things. Are you someone with a good grasp on the concept of mixing nutrients and what/when supplements are used or do you like simplicity and ease-of-use? Still unsure? Well, at home, do you use a 3-in-1 BodyWash/Shampoo/Conditioner or do you feel that you get a more thorough clean when you have 3 separate items specific to their cleaning purpose? This will at least get you to the right section in the nutrient aisle.
You have decided now whether you want a simple or a specific nutrient program, and the ‘hydro-clerk’ can show you a few nutrient lines that would work for you. Listen to what separates one from the other. “This is X base, this is Y base, this is X sugar, this is Y sugar, oh but X formula has ‘Whatever’ that Y doesn’t have”. See what makes them unique, and what appeals to you and/or to your wallet. This will get you on the right track.
Which nutrient is the best will be decided by your plant, but if it doesn’t work well with you to begin, you will get poor results regardless. Once you have established what works well with you, and have familiarized yourself with mixing and supplementing you will then be able to conduct true tests and controls of your own to start finding what your plants like best. And remember, someone saying it’s the best doesn’t mean it will be the best for you. In a group of college graduates one will have been spanked, one was grounded, one was given time outs, one was a latch key kid, etc. but they all graduated didn’t they. There are many ways to get to the finish line and what matters is which way will get you there, not how the other guy got there.