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The Essential Nutrients Your Plants Need

As a leading supplier of general hydroponics products, including LED grow lights,  grow tents, ventilation packages and nutrients, we know how important it is for you to choose the right products for your particular set-up. It can be a little tricky making the correct choice with nutrients being a good example. 

Different plants require different nutrients depending on what type of crop they are, the stage of their growth, and what sort of hydroponics system you have. Besides, there are so many nutrients now considered as being essential that some confusion is to be expected. Take a look at the following list, and you’ll see what we mean.

What are the essential nutrients plants need? 

The University of Hawaii has listed 18 essential nutrients that plants need in order to grow properly. There of the nutrient elements are obtained from the atmosphere through photosynthesis and plants can’t live without them:

  • Hydrogen
  • Carbon
  • Oxygen

Your ventilation system allows for photosynthesis to occur in your growing area because it lets in fresh air which contains the CO2 that is essential for this chemical reaction to begin. 

But what about the other 15 essential nutrients? They’re obtained from the soil or, in the case of general hydroponics, from the nutrient-rich products we supply. According to the University of Hawaii, those nutrients are: 

  • Nitrogen
  • Phosphorus
  • Potassium
  • Sulphur
  • Magnesium
  • Calcium
  • Iron
  • Boron
  • Manganese
  • Zinc
  • Molybdenum
  • Copper
  • Cobalt
  • Chlorine
  • Nickel

The University considers nitrogen, phosphorous and potassium as primary nutrients because they’re needed in larger quantities than the others.

Sulphur, magnesium and calcium are intermediate nutrients - still required in decent amounts but not as much as primary nutrients.

The others are considered to be micronutrients and only small levels are required to aid plant growth. But how much of each? And are they all really necessary? 

It’s no surprise that many people, particularly those new to the wonderful world of hydroponics, feel a little bewildered when pondering the question of how much and what type of nutrients are required.

Bear in mind that the list of essential nutrients drawn up by the University of Hawaii might be shorter or longer than lists devised by other scientifically-based institutions. It’s hardly clear cut, but we can clarify the situation. 

Our pre-packaged nutrients bring together all the essentials based on one thing: they work. We take the guesswork out of feeding plants because we’ve done our own research and selected the products that have produced the best results within a hydroponic context. We’re confident that our nutrients will give your plants what they really need. And, to make it even easier, we’ve put them together in one bottle!