FloraFlex - V1 Vegetative Part 1

V1 is the first half of FloraFlex's two-part vegetative feed. The label says 14% nitrogen, and underneath it sits the figure that actually matters: 13% of that is nitrate and 1% is ammoniacal.

Two forms of nitrogen, and why the ratio is written down

Most feed labels give a single number for nitrogen. FloraFlex split it, and not for show: a plant takes up nitrate and ammonium in different ways, and the consequences differ.

Nitrate is the form a plant can use directly and which leaves no acidification behind in the root zone. Ammonium is taken up faster but the plant has more work to do to make it usable, and it leaves acid behind in the substrate. In small amounts that is fine and even handy, because it nudges your pH down. In larger amounts you get soft, stretchy growth and a root zone whose pH drifts.

13 against 1 is a decided preference for nitrate. What you notice is a vegetative phase that stays firm rather than bolting, and a pH that moves less on its own between waterings.

V1 is the calcium bottle

The second column on the label is 15% calcium, and it explains why this feed comes in two parts rather than one.

FloraFlex name the source: V1 is derived from calcium nitrate, potassium nitrate and ammonium molybdate. So it is a part that supplies essentially nitrogen and calcium, with 4% potash third and a trace of molybdenum at 0.001%.

Calcium is an element many growers only think about once something has gone wrong, and by then it is usually too late in the cycle to fix. It goes into cell walls and does not move again afterwards, so whatever the plant did not take up during growth it cannot redistribute later. A vegetative feed carrying 15% calcium is not composed that way by accident.

What the figures actually say

FloraFlex's guaranteed analysis reads: 14% total nitrogen, of which 13% nitrate nitrogen and 1% ammoniacal nitrogen; 4% potash as K2O; 15% calcium; and 0.001% molybdenum.

Note that K2O. Nitrogen, calcium and molybdenum are given as elements, potash is given as an oxide, and that is standard on labels like these. K2O is 83.0% potassium, so 4% K2O works out at roughly 3.3% potassium. Our own page used to say 4% potassium here; it now carries the figure in the form FloraFlex publish it.

V1 first, then V2

FloraFlex specify the order: add V1 to your water and only then V2, throughout the vegetative stage. That is an instruction rather than a preference, and with a concentrated powder the reason is practical: each salt gets its own water to dissolve into instead of competing with the next one.

Check that everything has genuinely dissolved and measure your EC before it goes to the plants. FloraFlex note that at lower dosages V1 and V2 can also serve as a base alongside other additives.

They publish no fixed dose in grams as a single figure; it lives in their feeding schedules and calculator, by week and by programme. So we put no number here that we cannot stand behind.

Available sizes

Technical Specifications:

• Type: water-soluble powder, part 1 of the two-part vegetative feed
• Manufacturer: FloraFlex
• Guaranteed analysis: 14% nitrogen (13% nitrate, 1% ammoniacal), K2O 4%, calcium 15%, molybdenum 0.001%
• Potash converted to element: roughly 3.3% potassium
• Derived from: calcium nitrate, potassium nitrate and ammonium molybdate
• Order: V1 first, then V2
• Period: the whole vegetative stage
• Dose: per FloraFlex's feeding schedule
• Check: full dissolution and EC before watering

Frequently asked questions

Why is the nitrogen given in two forms?
Because a plant takes up nitrate and ammonium differently. V1 sits at 13% nitrate against 1% ammoniacal, a decided preference for nitrate.

Is 4% potassium a lot or a little?
It is not 4% potassium but 4% K2O, which works out at roughly 3.3% potassium. Most of the potash in this line comes from V2.

Can I use V1 on its own?
FloraFlex note that at lower dosages V1 and V2 together can serve as a base alongside other additives. As a pair, not as a single part.

Why V1 before V2?
FloraFlex specify it. With concentrated powders each salt gets its own water to dissolve into that way.

How many grams do I use?
FloraFlex publish no fixed figure but weekly schedules by programme, and those are the source.