Growing in different mediums as well using different forms of nutrient additives can make a big difference on the entire grow process as well as change the overall results of the finished products. When considering what feeding method, there are a few factors that will make a difference;

• What kind of water are you using?
  • Are you able to properly mix nutrients (pH leveling)?
  • How much control do you want?
  • Do pots have proper drainage? (does it use a reservoir?)
  • Cost?

These are all important factors to consider before deciding which option will best work for you.

Nutrient Solution (Self mix)

Using separate Nutrient additives (Green Planet, Gaia Green, Advanced Nutrients etc.) does give you the best control, but also requires the most amount of work.

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Using any of these additives will generally require you to properly mix appropriate amounts of each nutrients into the water given to the plant; and this will usually require you to check/calibrate the pH of the solution in order to not shock or hurt the plants uptake of these nutrients.

Since you are the one mixing the solution together, you can make slight alterations if you find the plants are not responding optimally. This allows you to control concentrations and the times that you feed the plant, if the plant is dealing with additional stresses.

The downside of mixing you own nutrient solutions, is that because you are mixing everything yourself you must be careful not to over-feed your plants are create a solution that is less efficient for the plant to uptake.

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Organic Soil (Living Soil)

Living Soil or Organic soil is a nutrient rich soil that needs no additives, and depending on the soil, should last the length of the entire grow cycle with minimal additives.

Depending on which product you are using, there can be some dry additives, or a time limit on the soil, as the energy in the soil will degrade and lessen as the plant pulls nutrients out of the soil. The only way to get it back is to feed the soil with organic materials it can use for re-nutrification of the soil.

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These additives are usually very easy to use depending on the brand. In our shop we mainly use Canadian Organic Soil, which only requires a dry additive (tsp of dry powder) every 2 weeks during the watering process, which keeps the nutrients in high availability during the entire grow cycle.

This process removes the process of mixing you nutrients and pH’ing your water as the organisms in the soil will regulate the pH in most cases, and then no more mess during the mixing process.

We compare Organic Soil vs Nutrient additives in a YouTube series Here.

Hope you enjoyed.

Happy Planting.

Canadian Grow Guides