BREAKING DOWN THE BOTTLE
Powerful buzz words like “sustainable” and “organic” continue to gain more and more traction within the indoor
gardening industry. Societal influences, along with a menagerie of scientific findings, promote these terms to help
shift people’s mentalities toward a greener planet. While
many growers are more than willing to contribute towards
a healthier planet, how are our consumables affecting this
movement? We hear a lot of competing theories on this
subject that influence our decision-making as buyers. In this
article, I will go over some of the ingredients commonly seen
on the labels of fertilizer products, and how these ingredients affect the health of your plants, the planet and you.
Organic Fertilizers
While many studies indicate growers can achieve superior
results using organic fertilizers, we have to be selective
when choosing to use them. The true nature of some of
these products is merely hiding behind its label, as words
like “organic” may give growers a false sense of security in
the products they are buying. “Gardens that rely on watersoluble nutrients, such as nutrient film technique, stonewool
and deep water culture, will typically suffer due to the low
water solubility of organic fertilizers,” says Chris Durand,
senior superintendent of agriculture at UC Davis, on the
drawbacks of using organic fertilizers. “The process is also
slowed down by the extended amount of processing time
it takes to break down the nutrients in organic fertilizers
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Maximum Yield USA | November 2015
“When things go sideways in the growroom, it
almost always takes twice as long to correct it.”