I agree with your response, I just wanted to vonvey that it isn't as straightforward as being able to substitute one part for another and keep the dosage the same, as you had alluded to. Your knowledge is such that you are able to understand what is in those different components and you are using each as a source for their constituent parts.
From a more beginner or intermediate perspective, I would still not recomend mixing nutrient lines, but I wouldn't go as far anymore to say that it is a rule, though on a case by case basis, yes, the two that the original poster listed acctually play well with all other nutrients. Cheers!
Hi there
Sorry, you misunderstood me. I didn't allude to use the same dosage at all mate, I'd never do that as nutrients/additives all (particularly different brands) come in different concentrations and rates of application. I explained that point with my silica example (Potsil 2ml vs Rhinoskin 20ml). Also using silica as a generic example, I said product types , whilst interchangeable, weren't homogenous across brands, then cited the House & Garden
Amino Treatment product as how they can differ slightly, but still meet the same need. That's how manufacturers position themselves in a crowded market. ie 'unlike the others, our silica has aminos too' or 'unlike the others, our booster also has fulvic acid' etc etc. I could have used loads more examples in my original post, but just wanted to be indicative as my answer was already too long and I thought I'd been clear enough. Sorry, I obviously hadn't! :)
Anyways, my point was that healthy herb plants, other than water/oxygen/light, as a basic requirement, need a base nutrient (grow or bloom). To enhance the results a silica, root booster and enzymes to break down the plant food can be added. To enhance growth even further you can get more technical and introduce veg/bud boosts, beneficial bacterias, Cal Mag, B vitamins, PH depending on media, CO2, etc but I was keeping it basic. As you will know, soil already contains silica, beneficial bacteria, humic/fulvic acids and enzymes so a new gardener in soil could get away with veg/bloom feed and one bloom boost. I've grown that way many times with decent results. But to get optimum results that formula needs tweaks. However, if a garden is hydro or soil-less, it needs to replace all these missing elements. Once someone knows that, and it's not difficult to find out, it's easy to replace and interchange products, even for a new grower, as they should be particularly thirsty for knowledge at that stage.
Some people may grow without learning about the science behind gardening, and that's fine, but there is too much bad info on the internet about growing, and unfortunately when I see it, I speak up as people follow bad advice and pass it on. Like you saying "
never mix nutrient lines". Sorry, that's not true, hence my comment. Otherwise incorrect information then somehow morphs into being true and I've seen that
so many times.
One small example as I know I'm going on.. I know a guy who has several large herb gardens and he's what people would call very experienced / professional, but he's only actually been doing it for 5 years and learned his techniques from forums/internet. He swears blind that when lights are out, it's red light that plants can't see, as opposed to green light (which is actually the case). He tells everyone that and several growers we both know in common have started to believe it and even pass it on! A couple even put red lights in their grow rooms so they can see during lights out. They often get hermies on stable strains and don't understand why and won't listen to the science, as they prefers the internet for their knowledge, good or bad.
Fair enough, beginners need to learn the ropes, but they also need to trust what they read/hear is true and know what ropes to learn. Certainly buying into one brand line isn't necessary even as a beginner. There are so many books/ videos on the subject now, unlike when I started growing with a sodium street lamp 20+ years ago and there were only a couple of seed banks and no one else I knew grew it. It was more like an underground scene then, you had to travel to a different city to get your kit, and it was hard to find out info specifically on growing ganja, but we learned from normal gardening books about NPK stages, our school biology lessons and experimentation...
Anyway sorry for the ramble, as you can tell I am a detail oriented person... haha
Happy growing.