Among the more challenging questions for growers beginning hydro- ponic production is how to design the crop’s fertilizer program.Plants require 14 essential elements in the root zone,including the macronutri- ents (needed in relatively large quantities) of nitrogen,phosphorus, potassium,sulfur,calcium and magnesium;and the micronutrients (needed in relatively small quantities) of iron,manganese,zinc,boron, copper,molybdenum,chloride and nickel.All of these nutrients must be supplied by the hydroponic nutrient solution,although chloride and nickel aren’t included in most recipes,as they’re available in sufficient quantities as impurities with the fertilizer.
Fortunately,plants have adapted to growing at a wide range of nutri- ent concentrations.From a practical standpoint,this means that many different nutrient solution recipes can be used successfully to grow a hy- droponic crop.With so many different recipes to choose from,where do you begin and how should you make changes and improvements from there