I know what they stand for i just dont get how it works. im using fox farms grow big. tiger bloom. big bloom. ive been using for awhile and i got it down but i still dont understand what those numbers really mean. i just follow instructions on bottle.
to put it simply. "N" is going to give you nice green healthy growth, you want higher amounts in veg backing off in flowering. P&K are the opposite, where you do not need as much in veg, raising these values in flowering to increase bud health.
...ppm = parts per million.
N-P-K are elements of the earth. There are 117 elements on earth. NPK, are the 3 main elements that plants need to grow. The ppm is how they measure the amount of elements in water. A ppm million reading is produced by electical current produced by elements in the water....this is why you'll also hear of people referring to "The EC". The EC, or electrical current can be easily converted to a ppm reading just as celsius and farenheit. If you get filtered water your PPM should be near zero. Most tap water has elements in it, therefore it has a ppm reading of the elements found in the water. FYI, EC meters, or PPM meters whichever you wish to call them will detect ALL elements in the water, not jut NPK.
Sry I misunderstood ya :\
Yes, ppm is gonna measure everything in the water. I have no experience with well water to tell you as if it were to be higer or lower than tap.
Your ppm is gonna be different for every nutrient company's feeding chart, and will be altered by water quality and even your ph adjustments.
Obviously, you're not gonna want to start with 1300-1500. Much lower and increase every week slowly.
Just out of curiosity, I'm assuming your growing in hydro or some form or dwc/areo?
Does Ppm matter with soil?
No, just use the feeding schedule provided by FF and you'll be fine. EC/TDS isn't important for soil growing.
And since no one has answered the original question, NPK values represent the percentage of the nutrient solution is that particular element. For example, the bottle of Cha Ching sitting next to me is 9-50-10. By volume, the product contains 9% N, 50% P, and 10% K.
wow tyvm! +rep. So if its usually low numbers like i see 16-8-8 for example just made it up.. whats the other 68% of stuff in the bottle?