Feeding Guide
Read this before you mix
Half strength, mix in order, pH last. If you only keep one page from us, make it this one.
Fill your container with water first, then one bottle at a time, stirring between each.
Water, then measure it
Check the EC of your plain water before anything goes in. Under 0.3 is soft, over 0.8 is hard. That number is already part of your feed.
Cal-Mag first
If you use it, it goes in before the base, on its own. Running silica? That goes in before everything, see the silica guide.
Then Part A
Into the water, never into Part B. Stir it right through.
Then Part B
Only once A is fully mixed in. Stir again.
pH last
Adjust after everything is in, never before. Pre-mix pH Up or Down in a little water, add a small amount, stir, wait, then re-test.
Never mix A and B neat
A and B are sold apart for a reason. Poured straight into each other, some of what is in each clogs together and locks out calcium, and your plant cannot take it up. Each goes into the water separately, with a stir in between.
Starting points, not targets. Your bottle's own chart and your runoff come first, and we would always start at the low end of each range.
| Stage | Feed EC | pH in soil | pH in coco | pH in hydro |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Seedlings and cuttings | 0.6 to 0.8 | 6.2 to 6.8 | 5.8 to 6.2 | 5.8 to 6.2 |
| Growth | 1.0 to 1.6 | 6.2 to 6.8 | 5.8 to 6.2 | 5.8 to 6.2 |
| Flowering and fruiting | 1.6 to 2.2 | 6.2 to 6.8 | 5.8 to 6.2 | 5.8 to 6.2 |
EC is in mS/cm and includes your water. Raise it slowly, 0.1 to 0.2 at a time, a few days apart. In soil on a mix with feed in it, like Canna Terra Professional, you often do not need to feed at all for the first few weeks.
What comes out of the bottom of the pot tells you what the roots are actually sitting in.
How to check it
Water until some runs out the bottom, catch it, and measure EC and pH. Do it the same way every time so the numbers compare.
Runoff EC above your feed
The roots are not using what you give them. Feed less, not more.
Runoff pH drifting
Fix the pH of what goes in before you add anything else. Most marks on a plant in week two are pH, not a missing nutrient.
Hydro: watch the tank instead
No runoff, so check the tank daily. EC creeping up means the plants are drinking more water than food, so top up with plain water. Change the tank weekly.
The bases growers here actually buy, best seller first. If you are in coco, start with this one.
CANNA Coco A & B
- Complete nutrient for plants grown in coco
- All the essential elements for growing and flowering
- A and B kept apart so they do not clog. A goes in first, then B
| Coco A&B 1L | $48/L | $48 |
| Coco A&B 5L | $30/L | $148 |
| Coco A&B 20LBEST VALUE | $22/L | $445 |
Half strength first
The bottle chart is written for the strongest plant in perfect conditions. Yours is not there yet.
Raise it slowly
0.1 to 0.2 EC at a time, a few days apart. Slow growth in week two is usually roots settling in, not hunger.
Do not switch brands mid-run
It is a common cause of a mystery deficiency. Finish the run on what you started with.
Week two, things look slow, so the feed goes up. Do not.
Pushing EC up fast just salts the root zone and makes it worse. Check your runoff EC before you change anything, and if you do raise the feed, go 0.1 to 0.2 at a time.
The pens and pH bottles growers here buy most, best seller first. Coco and hydro need pH and EC. Soil can get by on pH alone.
The measuring kit
One pen that does both, or two pens that do one job each. Plus pH Down, the bottle you will use most.
A dosing controller or a wifi monitor. A pen and a monthly calibration does the job.
Ranked by what sells. Read the Best for line on each, two of these are for flowering only. Professor's A and B is in the table below.
- Two part bloom base made for coco coir
- Water, then Part A, then Part B
- 4 mL per litre, weeks 1 to 6 of bloom
| 4L | $69/L | $275 |
- Phosphorus rich, for the flowering stage
- Chelated trace elements and mineral salts
- Part A and Part B added separately
| 1L | $24/L | $24 |
| 5L | $13/L | $65 |
| 20LBEST VALUE | $10/L | $190 |
- Two parts used 1:1 through the whole crop cycle
- Part 1 (5-0-1): more nitrogen and calcium
- Part 2 (0-3-6): more phosphorus and potassium
| 1L | $35/L | $35 |
| 5L | $21/L | $105 |
| 20LBEST VALUE | $15/L | $300 |
All in stock. Price shown is the smallest size.
| Product | What it is | Best for | From |
|---|---|---|---|
| Foliage Focus | Complete fertiliser for non-flowering plants | Herbs and other non-flowering plants. One bottle, no A and B. | $19 |
| CANNA Coco A & B | Complete nutrient for plants grown in coco | Coco, from the first feed to the last. | $48 |
| Advanced Nutrients Sensi Coco Bloom A & B | Two part bloom base made for coco coir | Coco growers already on the Advanced Nutrients line. | $275 |
| Advanced Nutrients Big Bud | Extra phosphorus and potassium for flowering | Growers whose base is already dialled in. Never instead of a base. | $36 |
| Budrite A & B | Phosphorus rich, for the flowering stage | Low cost hydro, in flower. | $24 |
| Green Planet Dual Fuel, 2 Part | Two parts used 1:1 through the whole crop cycle | First timers who want one ratio and nothing to change. | $35 |
| Professor's Original Nutrient A & B | One A and B for both grow and bloom | Low cost hydro. Also fine in coco. | $25 |
| Bluelab pH Pen | Accurate to plus or minus 0.1 pH (Bluelab) | Anyone mixing a feed. Soil, coco or hydro. | $145 |
| Bluelab EC Pen | Measures conductivity (EC or ppm) and temperature | Coco and hydro, alongside a pH pen. | $135 |
| Aqua Master P110 Pro 2 pH/EC Pen | Measures pH, EC and temperature | Coco and hydro, where you check EC every feed and every runoff. | $155 |
| Hy-Gen Complete pH Kit | Colour chart reads to within 0.5 of a pH unit | Soil growers who just want to know they are in the right range. | $26 |
| Hy-Gen pH Down 250mL | 85% food grade orthophosphoric acid | Coco and hydro feeds that sit above your target pH. | $11 |
| Canna Calmag Agent | Balanced calcium and magnesium | Coco on rainwater, filtered or RO. Buy this if you run a CANNA feed. | $50 |
| Hy-Gen pH Up 250mL | 45% potassium hydroxide solution | Feeds that come out below your target pH. | $10 |
Do I need Cal-Mag?
What about Foliage Focus?
How often should I calibrate my pen?
Cal-Mag
The bottle that goes in first. Coco under LED runs short of calcium and magnesium before anything else.
See the cal-mag rangeMicrobes
Roots that reach further take up more of what you mix. Goes in the hole at transplant.
See the microbe rangeRoot stimulants
A bigger root system in week one means less feeding trouble all run.
See root stimulantsMix it right the first time
Stuck on any of it? Call (03) 9052 5233 or reply to our email. A real person will answer, even if the answer is that you do not need to buy anything.
Happy Hydroponics, 1/35 Gwen Road, Cranbourne West VIC 3977 · Mon to Sat 9:30am to 5:30pm