Micro/trace source for DIY salt mix

psg1

Active Member
I'm looking for a source for micro nutrients/trace minerals to add to my base salt mix. For anyone curious, the recipe is below (for a 100x concentrate, per gallon):

B - Magnesium Sulfate (Heptahydrate) MgSO4.7H2O 191.958g
A - Yara Calcium Nitrate Yara_Ca(NO3)2 265.287g
A - Potassium Nitrate KNO3 134.013g
B - Potassium Monobasic Phosphate KH2PO4 96.68g

This formula will yield a 3-1-4 NPK and 3-2-1 K-Ca-Mg relativity, but it lacks a source of trace metals/minerals.

Does anyone know a source for soluble trace metals/minerals that won't significantly change my NPKCaMg ratios?
 

n4alpaca

Active Member
Depends on how much of each micro nutrient you want. I'm not sure how plants deal with various anions, but if you create compounds with acetate they will most likely be extremely soluble in water and not contribute to npk ratios. Maybe hydroxide compounds could be cool also just to neutralize the mixture a little. these are just some passing thoughts.
 

psg1

Active Member
Depends on how much of each micro nutrient you want.
Heh, fair point. While "a little of everything" may seem a little vague, that's really what I'm looking for. Or put another way, "as much as needed to avoid deficiencies."

One option I'm considering is adding Calcium Montmorillonite Clay (aka Fuller's Earth or Excelerite) to my coco medium directly. An assay with included elements can be found here.
 

n4alpaca

Active Member
Excelerite seems like an interesting fertilizer there isn't too much info on it that I could find though. Looks like it could be very good. If you decide on making your own I think I would try combining Iron, zinc, molybdenum and copper chelate and MnCl2. I've never done anything like this, but if I did I would want the nutrients to be soluble in water as well as be as readily available to the plant as possible.
 

churchhaze

Well-Known Member
You need a source of iron and then it will work. Mo, Zn, Mn, and B aren't nearly as essential. (it will work without them even).

Get a bag of Iron sulphate or chelated. Along with those other ingredients, you're good. You'll find that iron is the missing link to what you already have. It will all come together with iron. The rest will have a minor effect in comparison. I consider it a macro nutrient in comparison to the other micros.

Try cropking dot com if you really want Mo, Mn, and B salts.

I'm looking for a source for micro nutrients/trace minerals to add to my base salt mix. For anyone curious, the recipe is below (for a 100x concentrate, per gallon):

B - Magnesium Sulfate (Heptahydrate) MgSO4.7H2O 191.958g
A - Yara Calcium Nitrate Yara_Ca(NO3)2 265.287g
A - Potassium Nitrate KNO3 134.013g
B - Potassium Monobasic Phosphate KH2PO4 96.68g

This formula will yield a 3-1-4 NPK and 3-2-1 K-Ca-Mg relativity, but it lacks a source of trace metals/minerals.

Does anyone know a source for soluble trace metals/minerals that won't significantly change my NPKCaMg ratios?
 

Asuka

Member
I realize this thread is dead, but this is exactly what I want to know about. I have the previous mentioned salt ferts because I used to dose my aquarium. It's the quantities I don't know. it mentions grams. What do we do? Put all those grams of salts in the same gallon of water? What about veg and flower solutions?
 

oxanaca

Well-Known Member
I realize this thread is dead, but this is exactly what I want to know about. I have the previous mentioned salt ferts because I used to dose my aquarium. It's the quantities I don't know. it mentions grams. What do we do? Put all those grams of salts in the same gallon of water? What about veg and flower solutions?
what i would do is buy peters S.T.E.M. or, scott's micromax its a micro mix, and then apply it at a rate of 0.25 grams per gallon. this yeilds 5 ppm iron at that rate
i actually was gifted a 1996 50lbs bag of micromax. , $100+ saved. this will probably be a lifetime supply as it will make 90,800 gallons of solution
 

simpleleaf

Well-Known Member
I know this is an old thread, but wanted to say thanks:

what i would do is buy peters S.T.E.M. or, scott's micromax its a micro mix, and then apply it at a rate of 0.25 grams per gallon. this yeilds 5 ppm iron at that rate
i actually was gifted a 1996 50lbs bag of micromax. , $100+ saved. this will probably be a lifetime supply as it will make 90,800 gallons of solution
It's nice to see someone use g per gallon instead of teaspoons or tablespoons.
 
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