Plagron - Alga Bloom

An organic flowering nutrient on an algae base, NPK 3-2-5, certified by Control Union. A maximum of 4 ml per litre of water, 1 to 250. Not suitable for hydroponic systems.

Your EC meter cannot see this nutrient

This surprises almost everyone switching over from mineral feeds, and it is not a fault in your meter.

Organic matter does not conduct electricity. An EC meter measures precisely that: the conductivity of your solution, which rises as it holds more salts. Organic nutrition is not made of those salts, so your meter simply does not register it.

Mix 4 ml of Alga Bloom into a litre and watch your EC barely move, and nothing has gone wrong. You have put something in the tank that your meter cannot see.

How you work here follows from that. In a mineral grow the EC value is your steering wheel: you measure, and you correct. Growing organically on Plagron's 100% NATURAL substrates that steering wheel is not there, and it is not needed either, because the soil life regulates uptake and catches an excess. Here you steer by the calendar and by your plant, not by a number.

Do note the condition: that buffer belongs to the organic substrates in this range. On any other soil, or in a system without soil life, it is gone.

Not in a hydro system

Plagron are outspoken about this: this nutrient is not suitable for hydroponic growing systems. That is not small print but a warning that belongs on the bottle.

The reason follows from the rest of this page. Organic nutrition needs soil life to become available, and that is exactly what an inert medium does not have. What happens then is not that it works less well, but that it circulates through your system unprocessed and starts to rot in lines and drippers.

If you do run an irrigation system in soil, flush your lines after use. For Plagron's hydro range there is a separate two-part nutrient.

When to start

Conversion by the soil life takes about two weeks, which means working ahead. Plagron advise not waiting until flowering begins but starting from week four, so that what you give is ready at the moment the plant asks for it.

Dosing

Shake well before use. A maximum of 4 ml per litre of water, 1 to 250, at every watering during the flowering phase.

A mixed solution that starts to smell or turn cloudy after a while is normal: that is the bacterial process getting going. It is not harmful and says nothing about the quality of the bottle.

Available sizes

Technical Specifications:

• Type: organic base nutrient on an algae base, for the flowering phase
• Manufacturer: Plagron, 100% NATURAL range
• Levels: NPK fertiliser 3-2-5
• Dosage: maximum 4 ml per litre of water, 1 to 250
• Frequency: at every watering during the flowering phase
• Starting point: from week four, ahead of the conversion time
• Not suitable for: hydroponic systems
• With irrigation: flush the lines after use
• Certification: Control Union, suitable for organic growing
• Before use: shake well

Frequently asked questions

My EC barely moves after adding it. Is that right?
Yes. Organic matter does not conduct electricity, so an EC meter cannot see this nutrient. That is not a shortfall and not a fault.

Can I use it in my hydro system?
No. Plagron rule that out explicitly. Organic nutrition needs soil life and stays unprocessed in an inert system.

When do I start?
From week four. Conversion takes about two weeks, so waiting until flowering begins is too late.

Do I need to adjust the pH?
In combination with Plagron's 100% NATURAL substrates, no: the soil life handles it. On another medium that buffer is gone.

What if I run it through my drip system anyway?
Flush your lines after use. Organic material left standing rots and blocks your drippers.