Cool. So I can try and keep this all straight, the key points between hydro and soil formulas are:
Type of N
PH buffering
Non-chelated for soil due to enzymes and bacteria. Does media containing mostly peat moss contain these enzymes and bacteria in sufficient numbers to not have to use chelated nutes?
Micro salts are more available in soil. However, I'm messing with peat mixes and I presume there are no micros present. Perhaps I should be thinking hydro formulations?
It's good to know GH and AN make powders. I won't touch AN products but I may look to GH for some guidance.
Mr. Squirrel. Thanks for the links.
I'm going to have a custom formulation made for me in the next month or so I'm trying to get my head, at least loosely, around this topic. I've used CNS exclusively for years and will mostly mimic it's formulation but I also want to make sure I'm coming up with the best formulation without getting another advanced degree.
Thanks & Peace
I did a little work recently that's kinda what you had asked for above. It isn't tidy, or in a spreadsheet, but it basically outlines the costs and uses of 3 different lines for the same grow, same number of gallons of nutrients, at the same EC.
I have a week by week spreadsheet I use to determine what level I'll actually be running the systems at to fit into my weekly ratios. That's how AN, despite being more expensive per gallon at 5/7, is actually less expensive at the end of the grow for someone like myself. (sorry that the spreadsheet didn't copy over very well, but I think you can get the jist of it)
Week/stage of growth
Clone Clone 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 Total Used
uS/CM 0 400 600 800 1200 1500 1800 2200 1800 200 200
AN Micro 0 2 3.5 4 5 4 4 4 3 0 0 1713
AN Bloom 0 1.5 3 3 7 9 12 12 8 0 0 3648
CNS 17 Bloom 0 5 7 8 7 9 4 0 0 0 0 1960
CNS 17 Ripe 0 0 0 0 7 9 15 22 18 0 0 5183
Hydroplex 0 0 1 2 0 0 0 8 5 0 0 1135
BB 0 0 0 0.3 0.4 0.4 1 0 0 0 0 132
Pro-Tekt 0 0 1 1 3 3 3 2 2 0 0 992
Fulvic Acid 0 0 2 2 2 2 4 4 5 5 0 1722
These comparisons really only apply to my own garden. Someone else's garden, with different weekly ratios, might get different results. I just wanted to share this because you'd asked for something similar.
Advanced Nutrients Micro and Bloom
Micro: $34 for 4L or $0.0085 per ml
Bloom: $29 for 4L or $0.0082 per ml
5/7 Ratio @ $0.09325 per gallon
868 uS/cm
70:126:111:71:22
1 – 1.8 – 1.6 // 1.02 – 0.32
$75 For the summer grow with $25.27 left over ($49.73 total used)
1692ml used @ $14.38 // 4000ml Micro @ $34 // 2318ml remaining @ $19.70
4443ml used @ $36.42 // 5000ml Bloom @ $41 // 557ml remaining @ $4.57
CNS 17 Bloom and Ripe
Bloom: $23 Gallon $0.006084656
Ripe: $23 Gallon $0.006084656
15ml Bloom @ $0.091269841 per gallon
885uS/cm
79:79:119:99:20
1 – 1 – 1.5 // 1.25 – 0.25
15ml Ripe @ $0.091269841 per gallon
930uS/cm
40:198:158:49:20
1 – 5 – 4 // 1.25 – 0.5
$69 For the summer grow with $23.24 left over ($45.76 total used)
2606ml used @ $15.86 // 3780ml Bloom @ $23 // 1174ml remaining @ $7.14
4914ml used @ $29.90 // 7560ml Ripe @ $46 // 2646ml remaining @ $16.10
General Hydroponics Micro and Bloom
Micro: $25 for one Gallon or $0.006878 per ml
Bloom: $21 for one Gallon or $0.00555556 per ml
6/9 Ratio @ $0.091269842 per gallon
898 uS/cm
79:119:111:79:36
1 – 1.5 – 1.4 // 1 – 0.45
$67 For the summer grow with $13.30 left over ($53.70 total used)
1721ml used @ $19.96 // 3780ml Micro @ $25 // 2059ml remaining @ $5.04
6073ml used @ $33.74 // 7560ml Bloom @ $42 // 1487ml remaining @ $8.26
But as I demonstrated earlier, the Jack's is going to be a better deal until it hits $220 per 25lbs.
If you purchase your nutrients by the largest factory volumes (23L or 25L or 6 gallons) the prices get better, but not by much. At $154 for 23L of AN Micro you're spending about $0.0067 per ml. At $127 for 23L of AN Bloom you're spending about $0.0055 per ml. At 5/7 that's $0.072 per gallon. This is still a good 5 times more expensive than the Jack's Professional... But it is not the overpriced hogwash people bitch about it being. AN is just like everyone else. They would actually save me (and maybe only me) money compared to using the Lucas formula over time.
The truth is in the numbers. You can shake your head in disbelief all you want, but AN Micro Bloom 5/7 is no more expensive to run than GH Micro Bloom at 6/9. CNS17 still holds the crown though, despite having less malleability with the ratios.
Don't shoot the messenger. But those are the least expensive nutrients, gallon for gallon, from the major hydroponic nutrient companies. Working with $0.10 per gallon solution for some people isn't a big deal, they only use 500 gallons in a grow, and only spend $50 to produce ounces of bud. There are other people though that do burn though thousands of gallons of nutrients and that's when you really need to start looking into these cheaper, slat based, alternatives. But for the casual home grower... $50 in nutrients isn't going to be breaking anyone's bank account... I hope... even if they aren't the "cheapest approved" nutrients.
With regards to money spent, and grams harvested, hearing people bitch about $100 in nutrients, and $30 in runoff, I just don't get it. Compared to what we'd be paying on the street even the "over-priced" nutrients are paid for with the first few blunts I smoke.