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CONTENT
US
Biochemist
makes
major
breakthrough
IN PLANT NUTRITION
Enter any grow shop and you will
see shelves full of different nutrients.
The appearance is that there is a
whole host of different options when
it comes to feeding your plants. However,
look closer at the labels and you’ll find the
majority of the brands stick to the same
formulations with the same raw materials.
This is the way it’s been since the 1970s.
Things, however, are about to change.
Launching this Fall in the US is a revolutionary new product.
Gold Leaf, a true, single-step liquid fertilizer that delivers every
essential plant nutrient, including calcium, in one product
without the need for pH correction. This product can be used
as a direct replacement for two or three-part fertilizers, or the
plethora of assorted nutrient additives that are sold alongside
them in conventional feed ranges.
In 2016, Dr. Russell Sharp, a biochemist/plant scientist from the
UK, was asked by a conventional hydroponic fertilizer company
if it was possible to develop a “one-part nutrient.” Dr. Sharp
instantly replied “No, it can’t be done.” However, the idea got
Sharp thinking. He knew one-part fertilizers had long been
considered the Holy Grail of the fertilizer industry. He also knew
that supposed one-part fertilizers containing a sludge/sediment
of calcium phosphate are routinely found in grow shops, and
that these products had given one-part fertilizers an unfavorable
reputation. So, he decided to take on the challenge.
Over the next several months, he came up with numerous
potential solutions. Most failed but, crucially, a couple of
chemical interactions were successful. It came down to keeping
the nutrients from forming insoluble salts. The most important
issue was preventing the calcium and phosphorus from
combining to form calcium phosphate which becomes insoluble
in water, thus rendering the fertilizer useless. Some fertilizers are
also extremely acidic (pH 1-2) and need a pH UP product added
alongside them. Additionally, he knew that other fertilizers
claiming to be a one-part were missing at least one essential
nutrient, usually calcium or sulfur. These issues all had to be
confronted, challenged and overcome.
Dr. Sharp continued working in his lab for the next two years
making hundreds of different iterations, solving one negative
interaction at a time, overcoming issues with phytotoxicity and
replacing one ingredient after another. Over 100 formulations
were tested on 40 different crops using a wide variety of
growing media before he discovered the perfect formula and
success was finally achieved.
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