Canna - Terra Vega

Terra Vega is the growth feed from the CANNA Terra line, for growing in potting soil. There is one practical difference from every other line on this shelf, and it saves you a bottle: on soil you do not have to adjust your pH.

The pH bottle you do not need

CANNA write it on their own product page: pH additions are not immediately necessary, because potting soil has a large buffering capacity for pH.

That is a bigger difference than it sounds. On rockwool or in a closed hydro system your pH is something you measure and steer, sometimes daily, with pH-down in the cupboard and a meter that needs calibrating. In potting soil the substrate does that work for you: the soil absorbs a deviation and pulls it back into the range the plant can work with.

That makes soil the most forgiving medium there is, and CANNA say so outright in their own FAQ: growing in a potting mix is easier than in other substrates, because less precision is needed to still get a good result.

So it is not a lesser way of growing but a different distribution of your attention. You measure less and water more by feel, and the soil catches what you miss.

What that does not mean

Buffering is not the same as absorbing without limit. At very high EC values a potting soil fills up too, and then you see what you would have seen sooner in an inert medium. The difference is that you get more time.

The same goes for your water. CANNA state that the EC of Terra Vega dissolved in tap water sits between 0.9 and 1.6 mS, and they spell out the arithmetic: that is the EC of the concentrate plus the EC of your tap water. So your tap water counts. If it runs high, you reach that 0.9 to 1.6 with less feed than someone on soft water, and you are then giving less of everything in it.

In use

Use Terra Vega throughout the vegetative phase. You switch to Terra Flores as soon as flower formation begins, and that is an event you see on the plant rather than a week in a schedule.

Keep your feed water between 20 and 25 °C. CANNA name that as the range for good root development, and it is one of the cheapest things to get right: a watering can standing all day in a cold room drops below it easily.

Terra Vega works on almost any potting soil. CANNA run their own soil mixes matched to the feed, and give one practical tip for soil that compacts and then takes up water poorly: mix some coco through it.

Storage, and why dark

Frost-free, closed and dark, and that last part has a concrete reason CANNA supply: UV light breaks down the chelates in the feed.

Chelates are the compounds that keep trace elements such as iron in solution and available for uptake. Once they break down, the iron is still on the label but no longer reaches the plant. A bottle standing for months on a windowsill or under a grow light is no longer the bottle you bought.

Available sizes

Technical Specifications:

• Type: mineral base feed for the growth phase, single component
• Manufacturer: CANNA, Terra line
• Substrate: potting soil, earth and peat mixes
• Adjusting pH: per CANNA not immediately necessary, potting soil buffers
• EC in tap water: 0.9 to 1.6 mS, including the EC of your tap water
• Water temperature: 20 to 25 °C
• Period: the whole vegetative growth phase
• Switch: to Terra Flores as soon as flower formation begins
• Storage: frost-free, closed and dark, because UV breaks down the chelates

Frequently asked questions

Do I have to adjust my pH on soil?
Per CANNA, not immediately, because potting soil has a large buffering capacity for pH.

When do I switch to Terra Flores?
As soon as flower formation begins. It is an event on the plant, not a week number.

Does my tap water count toward the EC?
Yes. CANNA give 0.9 to 1.6 mS as the EC of the concentrate plus that of your tap water.

Why must the bottle be kept dark?
Because UV light breaks down the chelates in the feed, and those keep the trace elements available.

Does it work on any potting soil?
On almost any. CANNA run their own soil mixes matched to it.