Yes. Plants need nutrition to grow, just like any other organism. Plants get these nutrients from absorbing nutrients out of the air, light, and substrate in their environment. In general, the substrate contains the most nutrients. When the substrate does not contain enough nutrients, deficiencies will appear and your plants will show a lack of growth. Therefore, an optimal mix of nutrients is needed to get the best results.
No. There is a big difference in nutrient quality between brands. Although every manufacturer puts essential elements in their nutrients mix, there is a big difference in the quality of nutrients. This due to the ratio and mix of the essential elements, and because of the difference in the quality of raw materials used for their nutrients.
Another factor to consider is that too much of these elements in your nutrients can be poisonous to your plants, while a shortage of these elements in your nutrients will result in vulnerable and premature plants. Dutchpro nutrients, on the other hand, is adjusted in such a way that the optimal values are reached to provide your plants with no shortages or poisonings.
Where should I pay attention to check my nutrient quality?
Residue (dirt in the vat and duct system). When you can find dirt in your vat and duct system, it indicates an unbalanced mix of materials used, which points to a low-quality nutrition line being used.
Color of the plant. Depending on the kind of plant you are growing, most plants are thriving when they have dark green leaves. Deviation in color indicates either a shortage or an overflow of nutrition.
Result. Taste, smell, and weight can differ drastically when using nutrients from different manufacturers.
Organic nutrients are extracted from natural materials, meaning they are from vegetable or animal origin. These substances are converted into absorbable food for the plant by the soil life.
Mineral nutrients are artificially manufactured from raw materials, and they have an advantage because they are quicker to be absorbed by the plant. This is the main difference between organic and mineral nutrients. It takes some time for organic nutrients to produce a result, while the result of mineral nutrients is almost immediately visible.
Yes. Soil is a substrate, which always contains some form of nutrition and the nutrients need to be adjusted to make sure that you do not get an overflow of nutrition, which would harm your plants.
On the other hand, Hydro/Coco is a substrate, which does not contain nutrition and therefore the nutrients need to be adjusted to make sure that no shortages will arise.
No. A common mistake is that people think every substrate contains nutrients. Depending on the amount of growing experience and ease of use, people can opt for a substrate that contains more nutrients, like soil or they can go for a substrate that contains no nutrients like hydro or coco.
Plants need nutrients just like humans, and they need different amounts of nutrition during their different life cycles. During the growth phase, this means that plants need a different ratio of nutrients compared to the bloom phase. The results of using separate grow and bloom nutrients are visibly better compared to using a single feed.
Note: You don’t feed a baby the same way as you would feed an adult, do you?
It is a preference, or a ploy, whichever you prefer. Developments in the agricultural industry have proven that the use of many different products does not drastically improve growth results.
If this is true, why are there so many different products offered then?
Often this is because of two reasons.
To solve shortages within the current nutrient line.
To get the consumer to buy more product, therefore creating more profit.
Dutchpro proves over and over again, that it is possible to get unmatched results with just 4 total products needed during the complete plant cycle.
The following Dutchpro products are necessary for an unmatched result:
Multi Total Organic (Enzyme Optimizer & Soil Improver)
Take Root Organic (Root Stimulator – Needed during veg and only in the first two weeks of the flowering phase)
A+B Bloom (Soil or Hydro/Coco Base Feed)
Explode (Bud Booster)
You can find 5 products on our schedule which may be needed to adjust the pH level, keep the ducts clean, and prevent discoloring of your leaves. They do not contain any form of nutrition (except Leaf Green) and therefore have no growth-stimulating function.
pH- Grow (To lower the pH level during the growth phase)
pH- Bloom (To lower the pH level during the flowering phase)
pH+ (To increase the pH level during both the growth- and flowering phase)
Keep it Clean (To keep the duct system clean)
Leaf Green (Organic Leaf Feed)
The schedule is a guideline. The most important part is to check up on your plant regularly and adjust the dosage if needed.
First of all, measuring for your pH and EC is essential to optimal plant growth. Let’s explain why:
EC, or electro conductivity, will tell you how concentrated the nutrients are in your water or substrate. Which could determine if your plants will suffer deficiencies or suffer from nutrient burn due to too high of a concentrate of nutrients.
pH is a measure of acidity or alkalinity. It can tell you if your plants will be able to absorb the nutrients from the substrate. If the pH is not within a specific range it can cause mineral deposits, root rot, and deficiencies among other things within your plant. The optimal pH range for proper nutrient absorption for water is 5.8-6.5.
The easiest way to explain the difference is by using a cup of tea.
Assume you have a cup of tea with sugar.
Sugar = EC in our example
The temperature of the water = pH
EC will tell you the amount of nutrients there are in your water or in our example, it will tell us how much sugar we have in our cup of tea. The more sugar we pour in, the higher the EC will be, making our tea very sweet.
pH will tell you if your plants will be able to uptake the nutrients from the soil or in our example the temperature of the water will tell us if we can drink the tea without burning our mouth. We check the temperature regularly to save ourselves from a burn or waiting too long and our tea getting cold. Plants can not check their pH like we can check our tea temperature, but that does not mean that they are not sensitive to it. In fact, plants are very sensitive and can only uptake nutrients (comparable to us drinking tea) if the pH is in between a range of 5.8 – 6.5. So, we must make sure to regularly check our plants’ pH to prevent nutrient burns or other issues.
Yes. In Holland, we say: “measuring is knowing”. It is really important to measure the pH and EC, before feeding your plants. Optimal circumstances are when the pH and EC are between 5.8 and 6.5. When the pH is below 5.8 or above 6.5 your plants can become seriously damaged and lose their capability to grow strong and healthy.
It is just as important to measure the EC. When the EC is too low, shortages in nutrition can arise, which damages your plant. When the EC is too high it can lead to poisoning and burning. Both are just as harmful, so always follow the schedule as a guideline.
No. All our nutrients are solely manufactured for our own purposes.
Dutchpro was established in 1985 and is the only manufacturing company of nutrients founded and based in Amsterdam.
