Big Bud for Coco

[Caravaggio]

One day people will realise that potassium phosphate is potassium phosphate, and that no hydroponics company has discovered the breakthrough in plant feeding that they advertise. Whether they're talking about new ways to move sugars in the plant, or how they increase the terpene profile vs other nutrients, they're talking total bullshit while they're using the exact same elements.

Read the product label. And be enlightened.

exactly right.

 

[Snow Crash]

exactly right.

Except that it's not exactly right...

Labels are about as bad a representation of what is inside as you could hope for. They list only what they are "allowed" to list. They undersell the guaranteed analysis so they don't get dinged if it's off a few percentages.

I agree that reading a label is important. I agree that a salt is a salt and a horse is a horse of course of course. But there's more to these products than what is written. The organic chelates that get left off the label for example. While present, they don't make the salt more or less than what it is already. They certainly do have a proven impact on the availability of the elements to the root system across a wider pH range which, as much as I hate to say it, can make a difference (although probably very subtle).

 

[papaduc]

Except that it's not exactly right...

It is in the context in which it was written.

At no point have I said the label will give you an exact number to the nearest molecule. But it will tell you what is in the bottle as exactly as you will ever need to know. Beyond that you will need access to laboratory equipment, a grant for scientific research, and to dedicate your life to the study of plants.

Labels are about as bad a representation of what is inside as you could hope for.

Then, by definition, something else is the best?
If so, what?

They are the best you can hope for.
At this point in time anyway.

What they list is what they are legally obligated to list. Meaning the minimum amount that will be in the bottle. The numbers on the side are the guaranteed minimum amount that will be in there. They will always be a small amount over.

The organic chelates that get left off the label for example. While present, they don't make the salt more or less than what it is already. They certainly do have a proven impact on the availability of the elements to the root system across a wider pH range

Give me an example.

Because the difference the method of chelation makes to the availability of one companies nutrients to the next is nowhere near as big as the difference between feeding 4-2-4 vs 3-5-8 in flower, the point is probably moot. If two companies used the same exact ratio and the only difference was the means of chelation, then the difference might be subtle. But I don't think it's relevant in regards to the difference between one ratio vs another.