Druid Nutrients - Berkana

A dry base feed for the whole cycle, NPK 10-30-20. One formula from cutting to flush, where the only thing you change is the dose. For soil, coco, rock wool and hydro.

This is your base feed, not an additive

Worth being clear about up front, because a pouch of powder suggests otherwise: Berkana is not something you add alongside your feeding schedule. It is the feeding schedule.

Druid put it plainly themselves: one product, growth and bloom, with nothing to add at any stage. No separate grow feed, no separate bloom feed, no changeover week where you swap bottles.

So anyone used to an A and B plus three boosters is not buying a sixth bottle here, but a replacement for the whole row.

What changes is the dose, not the formula

That raises the fair question of how one NPK ratio can serve both growth and bloom. Druid's answer is that demand mostly grows in size across the crop, and that you meet it with the dose.

On soil, per 100 litres of water:

• Growth: 50 to 100 grams, target EC 0.6 to 1.2
• Start of flower: 100 to 125 grams, target EC 1.2 to 1.5
• Mid flower: 125 to 150 grams, target EC 1.5 to 1.8
• End of flower: 150 to 175 grams, target EC 1.8 to 2.2
• Flush: 5 grams, target EC 0.0 to 0.4

On coco and hydro the feeds run higher, because an inert medium supplies nothing of its own: 75 to 100 grams during growth rising to 200 to 240 grams at the end of flower, with target EC from 0.8 to 2.4.

Note the flush row. Druid do not go to tap water but to 5 grams per 100 litres, so you taper rather than stopping abruptly.

Steer on your EC, not on the scale

Alongside the table Druid also print a per litre ratio, and the two do not agree with each other. The table is internally consistent with the target EC printed in the same row and the loose ratio is not, so we print the table.

What matters more is what you do with it: use the grams as a starting point and the EC as the verdict. Your source water, your pot size and your crop together decide where in that range you land, and the EC column tells you whether you are right.

The pH largely looks after itself

Berkana buffers, by Druid's own account, between 5.5 and 7.5. Druid state that most setups therefore need no pH pen.

Targets are 6.0 to 7.0 on soil and 5.5 to 6.5 on coco and hydro. That is why the chelated trace elements matter more here than in an average feed: iron, manganese, zinc, copper, boron and molybdate are all chelated, so uptake does not fall away as your pH moves within that wide band.

What is in it

• NPK 10-30-20 with 2% magnesium oxide
• Chelated trace elements: iron, manganese, zinc, copper, boron and molybdate
• Humic acid, which stimulates root development and improves availability in the root zone
• Fulvic acid, which improves nutrient transport at the cellular level
• Seaweed extract, which supports growth and bloom

It is a dry granule. Druid state that this makes it up to 90% more concentrated than a liquid feed, which saves on storage and on the water you would otherwise pay to ship. The formula is tested by Nutricontrol and Eurofins Agro.

In use

Weigh out the grams matching your stage and water volume, dissolve in clean water and stir for five minutes. On hydro, stir twice with a 45 minute pause between.

Then measure your EC and compare it with the target from the table. Store the pack dry and well closed, because a powder that draws moisture will clump.

Available sizes

Technical Specifications:

• Type: dry base feed for the complete cycle
• Manufacturer: Druid Nutrients
• NPK: 10-30-20
• Magnesium: 2% MgO
• Trace elements: iron, manganese, zinc, copper, boron, molybdate, chelated
• Also contains: humic acid, fulvic acid, seaweed extract
• Dose on soil: 50 to 175 grams per 100 litres, rising with the stage
• Dose on coco and hydro: 75 to 240 grams per 100 litres
• Flush: 5 grams per 100 litres
• pH: buffers between 5.5 and 7.5
• Mixing: stir five minutes, on hydro twice with a 45 minute pause
• Substrate: soil, coco, rock wool and hydro

Frequently asked questions

Do I need to buy a bloom feed alongside this?
No. Druid position Berkana as a replacement for your entire feeding schedule, growth and bloom, with nothing to add at any stage.

How can one NPK cover both growth and bloom?
By letting the dose climb rather than switching formula. The table runs from 50 to 175 grams per 100 litres on soil.

I have seen a per litre dose that does not match this.
Druid print both and they disagree. The per 100 litre table matches the target EC printed with it, so follow that and check with your EC meter.

Do I need a pH meter?
Berkana buffers between 5.5 and 7.5 and Druid state that most setups therefore manage without a pH pen. Measuring remains sensible if your system is sensitive.

Why still 5 grams during the flush?
That is what Druid prescribe: taper to a very low EC rather than switching abruptly to tap water.