Hydroponic Gardening Secrets that Can Help You See Big Improvements

April 26, 2012 - PRLog -- A lot of hydroponic growers think that they have done everything to optimize their nutrient solution, when really they have only scratched surface.  It is fairly common knowledge that your solution should be balanced in the key ingredients, should be at an optimal pH, should stay an optimal temperature, and should have any supplements, such as root boosters or b vitamins that you deem necessary.  

But even after all of this effort, your roots may still not be getting all of the nutrients that they can receive to grow to their absolute potential. This may be because the surface tension of your nutrient solution might simply be too high, making it more difficult for solution to enter your plant's roots.

So how exactly do you ensure that your solution's surface tension is ideal for nutrient absorption?  It can be achieved by using a quality plant surfactant. This product (which is short for "surface acting agent") lowers the surface tension of the liquid by affecting the liquid-gas interface. It might sound slight, but this small difference in how your nutrient solution is composed can have profound affects on your plants.

Here are a few things that a quality plant surfactant can do for your hydroponic garden.
   
Increase Nutrient Uptake - With the surface tension decreased, your nutrients will be able to enter your roots much more easily. With superior root absorption, you are much less likely to suffer deficiencies and much more likely to enjoy healthier plants and bigger yields.

While growers can experience the benefits of plant surfactants without tweaking their nutrient solution any further, many find that adjusting their nutrient balance helps greatly. When your roots are able to absorb more nutrients, it may be safe to slightly increase the nutrient density of your solution for an even greater effect.

Increase Yield - With plants receiving all of these additional nutrients, growers often notice yield increases as much as five percent. The extra boost of nitrogen during the vegetative stage can help plants grow faster and reach the flowering stage much more quickly. By receiving more essential nutrients, such as phosphorus, during the flowering stage, plants are able to produce larger flowers and heavier fruits and vegetables.

Improve Foliar Feeding Success - How successful your foliar feeding sessions are depends entirely upon how much of the nutrients that the stomata on your leaves are able absorb. However, if your foliar fertilizer clumps together on the leaf, it will probably run off and leave a lot of the stomata without any foliar feeder to absorb at all.  

This is where the effects of a good surfactant can really shine. By including plant surfactant into your foliar fertilizer, the liquid spreads more evenly and beads less. This means that all of your leaves will be evenly coated when you use foliar sprays, which will in turn help ensure more absorption of the fertilizer.

When using plant surfactant in your foliar fertilizer, you should also make certain that the foliar feeder contains all of the nutrients that will get you maximum benefit.

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