Wondering about "feeding" plants

ixwood

Of course 1:2:1 relates to the strength, It has 1% nitrogen. 10:20:10 would have 10% Nitrogen and be much stronger.

18:18:18 is very different to 1:1:1.

peter_the_piper

We are talking about 2 different things here.
If 1:1:1 was the strength of the nutrients then yes it would be 18 times weaker than 18:18:18, however in my example the 1:1:1 is the ratio of n to p to k and not the strength of each component. I suggest that a look at http://www.altys.co.uk/hort/fertilisers/ will help explain it as the trade also use the ratio's to advertise their brands whilst also explaining the relative strengths. It would not be easy to adjust feeding diluters just on ratio alone, the strength is also very important as this as is the volume of water flowing through the pipes.

cootambear

My amp goes up to 11

annie123

just to clarify, I was not referring to the ratio but the amounts in %
When the NPK is listed it is in the amount of product in the box/bottle etc not the ratio, but you get both figures from one set of figures.

for easy example:

5.10.5 .............it has equal amounts of nitrogen and potassium and twice as much phosphorus, this is the ratio.
It also tells us that it is 5% nitrogen, 5% potassium and 10% phosphorus

So something saying 1.2.1 has the same ratio figure as the above but only 1% nitrogen and potassium and 2% phosphorus, which is so low its not worth buying...IMHO

Just for info, taken from miracle grow web site:

The NPK value relates to the amount and type of nutrients in the plant food. (K) stands for Potassium – this helps to improve flower quality and strengthens a plant’s resistance to disease. (N) Nitrogen promotes strong, healthy stems, leaves and shoots and helps keep foliage rich and green. Finally, Phosphorus (P) aids sturdy root growth.

peter_the_piper

Ratio only means the proportions of constituents in a mix and has no direct relationship to the actual percentages.
For example:- Sinclair Sangral 1:1:1 has 20%each NPK with trace elements and their 1:1:3 has 8% N, 12% P and 36% K.
so your 5:10:5 could have 5%:10%L5% or 10%:20%:10% or even (theoretically) 20%: 40%:20%
So you can see that the ratio does not necessarily give the strength of the nutrients.
Its like saying that you could have 1 cup of each NPK or you could have 1 bucket of each
its still the same ratio (1:1:1) but not the same amounts.