[BillFarthing]

We all crave simplicity in life, which is why I put together a 1-part powdered complete nute suitable for perpetual growing with all the bio stimulants included.

For the powdered base, I like MaxiGro. It's pretty close to this tissue culture sample chart that I borrowed from Advanced Nutrients:



Let's make 100 gallons, assuming that MaxiGro is 5 grams per teaspoon.

500 grams MaxiGro
20 grams fulvic acid
17.5 grams powdered sugar beet vinasse or molasses
10 grams kelp extract
10 grams hydrolyzed protein isolate
7.5 grams enzyme complex (amylase, protease, lipase, cellulase)
5 grams yucca extract powder
250 mg vitamin B1 (Thiamine Hydrochloride)
1 sample pack Great White from Plant Success

If you want to add a rock solid pH buffer, just add 5 grams citric acid and use calcium carbonate as a pH up. If you want to add silica as part of your pH buffer, use Gen Hydro pH up or Agsil16.

That's it! I bag it and throw a desiccant pack in there ready to mix up when I need it. It works great.

[Only Ornamental]

Doesn't that stuff clump when using vinasse? Or is your product a powder? I'd prefer the vinasse (or molasse) over pure sugar for several reasons: Oligosaccharides are better suited for hydro, there's a ton of micro-nutrients in it, and it contains beneficial secondary plant ingredients and vitamins.
Why add pepsin?
BTW the hydrolysed protein isolate (amino acids and short peptides) are already buffering. Dunno how well they'll hold in hydroponics, though???

[BillFarthing]

Hey OO- I appreciate your posts and feedback!

Originally Posted by Only Ornamental

Doesn't that stuff clump when using vinasse? Or is your product a powder? I'd prefer the vinasse (or molasse) over pure sugar for several reasons: Oligosaccharides are better suited for hydro, there's a ton of micro-nutrients in it, and it contains beneficial secondary plant ingredients and vitamins.

My vinasse (or molasses) is a powder, although liquid is more common in America. I suggested raw (less processed) sugar because it is accessible to most folks at the grocery store and still has some molasses in it. I wouldn't dump straight table sugar in unless it was part of an isotonic solution for flushing.

Originally Posted by Only Ornamental

Why add pepsin?

It is an ingredient in off-the-shelf enzyme formulas. I was trying to hydrolyze organic matter to make it more accessible.

Originally Posted by Only Ornamental

BTW the hydrolysed protein isolate (amino acids and short peptides) are already buffering. Dunno how well they'll hold in hydroponics, though???

I'm not sure what you mean by "hold". Do you mean stay suspended in the solution? I don't have any sediment or fall out with this formula.

[Only Ornamental]

I see... but why use a protease as sole enzyme? Your proteins are already cut into little pieces (all pepsin does is breaking down proteins) . I was thinking (but I have no idea if it's a good idea) that one could use OTC digestive enzyme preparations (capsules) which contain a whole range of enzymes and not just a protease.

With "hold" I meant if they really work and that long enough. Amino acids are broken down fairly rapidly, depending on the environment and the quantity it could be just a few hours.

[BillFarthing]

Originally Posted by Only Ornamental

I see... but why use a protease as sole enzyme? Your proteins are already cut into little pieces (all pepsin does is breaking down proteins) . I was thinking (but I have no idea if it's a good idea) that one could use OTC digestive enzyme preparations (capsules) which contain a whole range of enzymes and not just a protease.

That's a fantastic idea! I'm going to hit the science journals to send me in the right direction, or if some enzymes might even be harmful in the root zone?

Originally Posted by Only Ornamental

With "hold" I meant if they really work and that long enough. Amino acids are broken down fairly rapidly, depending on the environment and the quantity it could be just a few hours.

So aminos would be more suitable for soil/soilless? Is there a better alternative for hydro?

[Only Ornamental]

That's one of the questions I have myself... how good or bad are enzymes really? If I want to keep on growing, I'll have to build an indoor thingie. Once up and running, I'll try it with some enzymes. I honestly trust the pharma stuff more, not because I'm a pharmacist but because the liquid-stable enzymes which remain active for months and months of storage are generally from GMOs (same stuff as used in liquid laundry and dishwasher detergents) whereas the dry form (i.e. pills and capsules), though more fragile, is usually highly active. It's about the same with beneficial microbes: Only cause they put XY millions of spores in the product doesn't mean that they remain alive long enough to see daylight again.

Amino acids and short peptides seem (I can only state an educated guess, not reality or personal experience) to be suitable for everything only that soils are faster in breaking things down than they do in water. Plant roots and even more so soil microbes (which can also be present in hydro) produce a bunch of enzymes which break down amino acids. This process is called mineralisation and in case of free amino acids can be very fast or take many days depending on a looooot of different factors. The most common pathway of amino acid mineralisation is via ammonia formation... and as we know, ammonia has just a limited use in hydro. I also wonder how exactly the pH would shift. Theory and practice aren't the same.

EDIT: Sorry for the bad phrasing... I'm hungry and my brain has likely switched to analogue mode...

[Only Ornamental]

Forgot to mention: Plants will preferably assimilate nitrate over amino acids whereas microbes prefer ammonia. They both have transporters and ion channels etc. which facilitate the assimilation of nutrients. The "pores" for nitrate in plants and ammonia in microbes can handle hundred, even thousand, times bigger amounts than the transporters for amino acids. And that's likely why amino acids are usually broken down by secreted enzymes and it's also why some say that plants won't/can't utilise amino acids. It is likely quite pointless to use amino acids as pure nitrogen source during phases of vigorous growth but amino acids do more than just providing nitrogen. Stupid thing with scientific literature is that most publications about effects of amino acids on plants have been done using single amino acids often as prime nitrogen source or with ammonia or nitrate at comparatively low levels and not at 100 times excess like it's the case with your mix.

[BillFarthing]

You got me heading down that rabbit hole again, OO.

Uptake of all five amino acids [in soil] occurred at 2 μM and below

Modified amino acids help Fe absorption better than traditional chelates

Proline Amino at 100 μM help canola under saline conditions

Effects of mixed aminos on hydroponic plants

I'm going to sit down and try to digest that last one tonight.

[Rondon]

What happened to this potentially awesome thread??? It started great and dropped and left me hanging

[BillFarthing]

Someone at my local grow shop was passing out a flyer called "The Sauce". It was a fertilizer lineup that had 4 ingredients:

1. Maxi Gro
2. Monster Bloom
3. Oregonism XL
4. Raw Cal-Mag

If you wanted a powdered line that is complete with most of the biostimulants, this would fit the bill.

I've also managed to create "Magical Plant Goo" from biostimulants. Pick 2 and mix them together: silica, chitosan, fulvic. It's the future of dirty reservoirs!