Science Fair Project

by Dave Lamplot
(Coloma, MI)

I am helping my 8 year old grandaughter in a science fair project. She wants to see which growing system produces larger and faster yields, soil vs hydroponics. She is doing a DWC system and have followed directions from setup to adding nutrients. Mixed Flora nutrients per your mixing chart, I used the mild early growth mixture since the plants are around 1/2" tall. I mixed them Gro, Micro then Bloom, hope that is the right order. My question is do I need to supplement nutrients during the growing process. The Science fair is May 14th and not sure if I need to add nutrients or completely change out entire water and add new.
Any help would be greatly appreciated.
Thanks, PaPa Dave

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Answer from Stella/Simon:

Hi Dave,

Glad to hear about the science fair project you are helping your granddaughter with, she should learn a lot by experimenting with hydroponics.

I suggest you use the "50% method" for topping up the nutrients. In a nutshell, what you do is top up with only water (not nutrients) and keep track of how much you have added. When you have added water equal to 50% of the original nutrient volume, you dump it and mix a new fresh batch. Read this for more detail, about in the middle of the page: Maintaining Nutrients.

Hope this helps!

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