Every living thing needs nutrients. Plants are no exception.
Every living thing needs nutrients to keep on living. From the smallest of organisms to the largest of predators, everyone needs to eat. Similarly, to thrive, every plant needs a nutrient rich environment.
Indoor gardening can be especially confusing when it comes to understanding the role of nutrients. While potting soil is nutrient rich to start, over time plants absorb the limited nutrients and turn their pot into a sort of food desert. As a result, growth stalls and in some cases, plants may even die off whether they are appropriately watered or not.
The same can be said for hydroponic growing. Plants can only grow so much thanks to water and sunlight alone. Especially in hydroponic grow kits, it’s critical to add in the appointed amount of nutrients to supplement all of the vitamins a plant needs in order to grow from the sprout stage into an adolescent plant. For most plants, you’ll know it’s time to introduce nutrients to your watering routine when they have split their first leaves and shaken their seed shells.
When choosing a nutrient supplement to introduce to your plants, consider the variety you’re working with. Modern Sprout’s indoor grow kits all come with a limited blend of nutrients concentrated for use over several feedings of up to 4 months dependent on the seed type. From there, a well diluted portion of your houseplant nutrients should work perfectly. For this, we recommend using Grow, an organic nutrient blend which is best for green-dominant houseplants and herbs.
Be careful when measuring out your nutrients. Add too much, and you may be inadvertently creating a great environment for pests to grow. Aphids and other unpleasant guests can be attracted to plant nutrients due to their keen nose for the nitrates found in many blends. Be sure to follow the instructions on the package for just the right amount. And, as a rule of thumb, less is best.
If supplementing the growth of flowering plants, Modern Sprout designed Bloom. This kelp-based blend encourages the production of buds and fruiting in a water-soluble form.
Folks in the gardening community have been known to use the terms “plant food” and “plant nutrients” interchangeably. Their purpose is always to enhance the yield of your grows. Ideally, nutrients sustain your plant for consistent growth over the course of its lifetime. Plants with a steady diet of nutrients more often produce babies, grow thicker, and produce more flowers.
Happy Cultivating!
Sydney Gutierrez
