Atami - Ata Bloombastic

Bloombastic is Atami's best known bloom additive: a concentrated cocktail of minerals and stimulators for flowering and ripening. The argument Atami sell it on is not about what is in it, but about what they left out.

Ballast: the elements that raise your EC and feed nothing

Atami state that compared with other liquid flowering products, Bloombastic contains over 50% more bio-minerals, phosphorus and potassium, and that absolutely no ballast substances have been used: no sodium and no chloride.

The second half is the interesting one. Sodium and chloride end up in fertilisers as counter-ions. A manufacturer wanting to supply potassium cheaply can use potassium chloride; the potassium is fine, but the chloride comes along for free and the plant has little use for it. The same goes for sodium, which often rides in with whatever raw material an element is dissolved in.

Your meter cannot see that difference. An EC reading adds up every dissolved salt, so sodium and chloride count exactly as much as phosphorus and potassium. Two bottles that raise your EC by the same amount can therefore deliver very different quantities of usable nutrition.

In a pot, some of that washes through at the next watering. In a system that reuses its water, it does not. Whatever the plant does not take up stays in the reservoir and accumulates, and sodium and chloride are precisely the elements that linger longest. That is why a recirculating grower looks harder at additives than a soil grower does.

What else Atami say about it

Besides the minerals, Atami credit Bloombastic with an enzymatic influence on several fronts, which they say has a stress-preventing and recovering effect. They also state that it raises the sugar content of the crop, and with it the weight and the smell.

What does not exist is an analysis on Atami's own product page. A PK figure circulates in the trade, but Atami do not publish one for this product, so we do not add it either. What they do give is the comparison against other bloom products and the absence of ballast, which is exactly the information you would choose it on.

One practical detail Atami mention themselves: their stimulators and liquid feeds are sealed under the cap and packed light-tight. On a concentrate you will be using for months, that is shelf life rather than marketing.

When to give it

Bloombastic can go in daily throughout the flowering phase, alongside your regular base feed. Atami's growing tip is more precise: for the best result they put it in the last four to six weeks of flowering and ripening.

Those two do not contradict each other. The first is what is allowed, the second is where the money goes. On a short bloom they nearly coincide; on a long-flowering variety they differ by weeks.

The dose is 0.5 to 1.0 ml per litre of feed water. Bloombastic works on soil, coco and hydro, and suits every irrigation and watering system.

And then Rokzbastic

Atami run a second bottle in the same family, Rokzbastic, and they place it explicitly after Bloombastic rather than beside it. So these are not two ways of doing one job, they are two stages of it.

If you combine them, or combine Bloombastic with another PK, keep an eye on your EC. Atami warn about this themselves: high-PK products stack up in your solution and over-fertilisation is possible.

Available sizes

Technical Specifications:

• Type: liquid bloom and ripening additive
• Manufacturer: Atami
• Suitable for: soil, coco and hydro, all irrigation systems
• Dose: 0.5 to 1.0 ml per litre of feed water
• Period: the whole bloom is possible, recommended by Atami for the last four to six weeks
• Stated property: over 50% more bio-minerals than other liquid bloom products
• Without: sodium and chloride
• Analysis: not published by Atami
• Order: Rokzbastic follows directly after it

Frequently asked questions

What is the difference with Rokzbastic?
They are not alternatives. Atami place Rokzbastic directly after Bloombastic, with a 1 to 2 P:K ratio for the final weeks.

What does "no ballast substances" mean?
No sodium and no chloride. Those raise your EC but barely feed the plant, and in a system that reuses water they accumulate.

What is the PK value?
Atami publish no analysis for Bloombastic. Figures circulate in the trade; we do not repeat them.

Can I give it throughout the bloom?
Yes, daily with the feed water. Atami do advise concentrating it in the last four to six weeks.

Can I combine it with a PK 13-14?
You can, but measure your EC. Two high-PK products add up and Atami warn about over-fertilisation themselves.