Sun Gro’er Blog

Media, Tissue and Water Testing for Good Growing

Planting flowersRead More in The Sun Gro’er Issue 1/2 (2003)
When do most growers test media, tissue or water in the greenhouse? If your answer is “only when there is a problem”, you are probably right. However, that is not the only time that growers should be testing. Growers should be testing at least for media pH and EC on a weekly or bi-monthly basis (on-site testing) and should also be conducting complete tests 2 or more times per crop for major crops (complete lab analysis).
Tests should not be limited to media pH and EC, but also to water alkalinity, EC and pH. This is especially important if growers are having problems maintaining pH in their mixes. Knowing the alkalinity of the water and fertilizing according to the alkalinity goes a long way in helping assure a successful, high quality crop. This is a separate topic in and of itself.
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