Plagron - Vita Start

An organic NPK fertiliser (6-0-5) that Plagron sell as a vitamin spray, based on beet vinasse and amino acids. Sprayed on the crop weekly, 1 ml per litre. Formerly called Cropspray.

This goes on the leaf, not in the water

It sits among the starter products and is one, but its route in differs from everything around it. Plagron formulate this as a foliar feed: you spray the crop with it.

With young plants that is a deliberate choice rather than convenience. A freshly cut cutting has no roots yet and so can take up nothing through the medium. A week-old seedling has a root system too small to bring much in. In both cases the leaf is the only route already working.

On top of that, a small root system is sensitive to high salt concentration in the medium. Going through the leaf sidesteps that limit entirely: you apply the material where it is absorbed, without loading the root zone.

Something similar holds for mother plants. Those stand in the same pot for a long time and are cut back regularly, and a foliar feed is a way to keep them going without building EC further in the pot.

The potassium does something different here than in a pot

The declaration is NPK 6-0-5: 6.3% nitrogen, entirely organically bound, and 4.8% potassium oxide. No phosphorus.

Plagron say themselves what those two are for in this product: the nitrogen for the growth of the plant, and the potassium for the working of the stomata. That second one is exactly what a foliar feed needs, because the stomata are the route by which the material gets in. Potassium governs whether they stand open or closed, by moving water into and out of the guard cells around them.

So a foliar feed carrying potassium maintains the mechanism it depends on itself. In a plant that takes up little else, that is not a detail.

When you spray decides how much gets in

Plagron specify a particular moment: spray the leaf to run-off weekly, preferably at the start of the light cycle.

The same reason sits behind it. Uptake goes via the stomata, and those are open as long as the plant is actively transpiring. At the start of the light period they open and the leaf stays damp for a while, so you get a long window in which the material can be taken in. Spray just before dark and they close and it dries on the leaf without ever getting in.

To run-off is meant literally: it is about contact area. And do not spray in bright, direct light, because droplets then act as lenses on the leaf.

Vitamin spray is Plagron's term

Plagron call this a vitamin spray, and we keep the name because it is theirs. The declared ingredients are water, beet vinasse, amino acids and selected natural extracts, and no vitamin is named among them.

That is not a contradiction so long as no figure is hung on it: beet vinasse, the residue of fermented sugar beet molasses, naturally carries B vitamins, but no content is declared. So we claim nothing about it. The amino acids are declared, and those are directly usable building blocks for protein, which saves energy in a plant barely photosynthesising yet.

One more thing worth knowing: Plagron no longer carry Vita Start in their range. This page stays for as long as we sell it, but if you later want a successor, Vita Race is the product still in their line. That is a foliar feed for mature plants, though, and not a replacement for the starting phase.

Available sizes

Technical Specifications:

• Type: organic NPK fertiliser (6-0-5), liquid foliar feed
• Manufacturer: Plagron
• Nitrogen (N): 6.3% total, entirely organically bound
• Potassium oxide (K2O): 4.8%, water soluble
• Ingredients: water, beet vinasse, amino acids and selected natural extracts
• Dose: 1 ml per litre of water (1 in 1000)
• Application: spray on the leaf weekly, to run-off
• Timing: preferably at the start of the light cycle
• Suitable for: seedlings, freshly cut cuttings and active mother plants
• Formerly known as: Cropspray
• Before use: shake well

Frequently asked questions

Can I feed it through the water instead?
Plagron formulate it as a foliar feed and specify leaf application. Going through the leaf also sidesteps a small root system, which is the point with cuttings and seedlings.

Why at the start of the light cycle?
Because uptake goes through the stomata and those are open while the plant transpires. Spray just before dark and it dries on the leaf.

Does it contain vitamins?
Plagron call it a vitamin spray but declare beet vinasse, amino acids and natural extracts. No vitamin is named or quantified, so we claim nothing about it.

Why is there potassium in a foliar spray?
Plagron state that the potassium supports the working of the stomata, and those are the route a foliar feed comes in by.

Do Plagron still make this?
No, Vita Start is no longer in their range. Vita Race is the foliar product that remains, but that is for mature plants.