Hydroponics

We here at JR PETERS are excited to offer nutrients to the hydroponic industry with this truly innovative line of fertilizers. One that is scientifically based and proven high quality to ensure absolute nutrient solubility and availability to the plants.

Choosing the right formula based on your growing environment

Although all of our Jack’s Classic and Jack’s Professional formulas are completely water soluble–which allows all of the nutrients to be available to your plants in a hydroponic solution–many formulas are not ideal for a true hydroponic growing system. The first step in choosing the ideal formula is to understand more about your growing environment.

For answers to your questions or to keep on top of our hydroponic innovations follow our HydroHelp blog at: http://hydrohelp.wordpress.com/

Our best seller and most well know formula for home and hobbyist growers, Jack’s 20-20-20, is best suited for roots grown in soil or soilless mix. In a soil environment, the nitrogen forms in 20-20-20 can be easily taken up and converted to the nitrogen forms that the plants use best. In a true hydroponic system (water flowing environment), these nitrogen conversions do not occur easily, and some forms of nitrogen, (like urea and ammonium) can sit in the root zone a bit too long when certain low light or low temperature conditions arise. 

When this happens, these slow to change forms of nitrogen act as a great source of food for other things like algae, bacteria and microorganisms, causing a build-up of these materials in your hydroponic environment. This creates a real mess and greatly reduces the effectiveness of the nutrients in solution.

For a true hydroponic system it is NOT advised to grow with a typical 20-20-20, however, this formula is very well suited for any indoor or outdoor system that uses a soilless or soil containing media.

GROWING IN A TRUE HYDROPONIC SET UP:

Our researchers at JR PETERS have a formulated many fertilizer formulas
that are applicable to growing a variety of different crops hydroponically.
These fertilizer products are available in our commercial line called Jack’s Professional and will supply the ideal nutrient levels to your plants. 

In regards to fertilizer selection, it is best to choose the formulas that are best fit to your growing system. 

A traditional hydroponic two-part fertility system uses a combination of Jack’s Professional Hydroponic 5-12-26 and Jack’s Professional Calcium Nitrate 15-0-0, this system can be easily customized to fit your operation, whether you grow 2 or 20,000 hydroponic plants.  For a traditional system, follow the special mixing directions below.

Jack’s Hydroponic formulation and Jack’s Calcium Nitrate are packaged separately, and require a little special attention when mixing - in order to avoid forming a precipitant in the tank. These products must be dissolved either in a two-tank system or in dilute (or Ready-to-Use) quantities. Following these specific stepwise directions is vital, along with the knowledge that these items should NEVER be mixed in a concentrate tank together.

On a small scale, the easiest way to use our Jack’s Hydroponic System is to create a ready-to-use solution by combining ½ teaspoon of each formulation per gallon of water-just make sure you do not combine them in any stronger concentrations or the materials will solidify and drop to the bottom of the solution. Also, be sure to aerate the solution with a bubbler or change the solution every other day to maintain proper oxygen levels.

Note: An alternative to mixing the products together is to apply them separately, using one at a time and alternating them every other feeding. This will assure that your plants are receiving the ideal levels of nutrients.

The research and development team at JR PETERS has developed several new products that deliver all the essential elements for hydroponically grown crops with the ease and innovation of a one bag blend.  These high quality and extremely soluble nutrient blends deliver the optimum balance of macro, secondary and micronutrients that can be mixed together in ready to use or concentrated form. 

The strength of the fertilizer solution should be determined by the amount of Nitrogen in the formula.  Directions for each blend can be found on the bag, and should always be referenced with specific nutrient targets for the crops you are growing.

These specialized hydroponic products are available directly through this website. Products are available in 1lb, 5lb and 25lb containers. Feel free to place your order directly online or call the lab directly to order.