Can 14-14-14 with Cal-Mag etc be Used as Nutrients

by Robert Blake
(So. Leyte Philipines)

It is difficult to find a formulation for nutrients to be used in a hydroponic garden here in the Philippines. Philippine Phosphate Corp. has a commercial fertilizer of K, P, and N2 with Ca, Mg, and Zinc. Can we blend this to supply the nutrients to our garden? What would be the dilution ratio?

Answer Robert- The fertilizer you have there would be a great start with even numbers of N-P-K and the supplementation of Calcium, Magnesium, and Zinc. However, in a hydroponics system the plants depend on the nutrient solution for 100% of all their nutrients, which would also include two other secondary nutrients (Sulfur, Iron) and several other micro-nutrients.

Unless these nutrients are present (and not listed), you will have to find a way to incorporate them into your final fertilizer recipe....and always keep careful track of the recipe you are using and the results it produces. It is the only way you can eventually achieve excellent results. I do have a few ideas for the recipe. Mixing the fertilizer you have with some form of organic fertilizer would go a long way to making your recipe complete....some suggestions would be well aged cow manure, fish emulsion, and seaweed or kelp meal. Compost, as long as it was properly made and truly is compost, would also be a good additive.

The quantity does not need to be very much, as you only need secondary and micro nutrients to complete your formula. However, it would be impossible for me to guess and expect to be right. A recipe using 3 parts of the 14-14-14 and 1 part of the organics would be a good place to start. If you use organics, be sure to strain them out of the solution very well before adding it to your hydroponic system, as it is likely to clog or cause other problems.

It would also be very difficult to guess at a proper rate of dilution for the final fertilizer recipe. Since the majority of the mixture would be made up of the 14-14-14 fertilizer, and since this represents all of your major nutrients (N-P-K), try to find someone who is using that same fertilizer on crops and find out what dilution rate they are using. This kind of information should be available at the Philippine Phosphate Corp also.

Ask many people to get a good idea of how the fertilizer is being used successfully. Once you have a dilution rate in mind, consider this your "full strength" solution. When starting seedlings, only use 25% of this strength. After 10 or 14 day, you can give plants 50% strength. After two more weeks, you can begin giving them 75% solution and continue giving them this until you complete your first crop successfully. If you do not experience any problems with fertilizer burn you can experiment with increasing the nutrient strength during the final stages of growing your next crop. Just remember, increasing the nutrient strength is not always a beneficial thing! I hope this helps you out Robert....and I would love to hear how things work out for you. Happy Growing!