Deficiencies

Why are there differences in soil and soiless mediums? Also, I noticed the cal/mag in soil both range the same way as opposed to hydro where they are at opposite ends of intake availability, why? If you've answered this before I'm sorry to be a bother, but curiosity got the best of me.

I don't know why the pH requirements are different other than the fact that soil acts as a buffer to help adjust to an appropriate pH whereas hydro has no such buffer. The nutrients you add to your reservoir are acidic. When the plant consumes these acidic nutrients, the natural reaction is a rise in pH. This means it is normal for your reservoir to have a natural pH up-swing. It is much more desirable than your pH dropping, which would indicate you have too many nutrients in your solution. Note: if pH goes up, EC goes down then plants are feeding meaning you can potentially raise nutrient levels. If pH goes down, EC goes up then plants are releasing nutrients back into the water rather than taking using them for growth meaning nutrient levels are too high and should be reduced. If pH stays stable, EC levels stay stable then you have equilibrium where plants are taking equal parts nutrients and water. It is generally best to err on the side of caution and slightly underfeed your plants . This will encourage the natural pH swing from 5.5 - 6.2. Once your solution reaches the 6.2 mark it should be brought back down to 5.5 and allowed to slowly drift up to 6.2 again. This is ideal because the plants are able to take up specific nutrients more efficiently at different pH levels as shown in chart. By going up and down through the proper pH range the plant has good access to all nutrients required for optimal growth.

Chinnubie;bt9175 said:

Why are there differences in soil and soiless mediums? Also, I noticed the cal/mag in soil both range the same way as opposed to hydro where they are at opposite ends of intake availability, why? If you've answered this before I'm sorry to be a bother, but curiosity got the best of me.

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