Backyard Aquaponics
A place to discuss aquaponics

Hello folks,
I was wondering if there's a document or a list somewhere with the quantity of nutrients needed for a complete growing for each species of plants?

Thanks

Frank

If you want to get really specific about the best levels of any/all nutrients for growing particular plants, you might want to go looking for research papers/studies and recommendations for hydroponic growing of the particular plants you are interested in.

On The Aquaponic side of things, we usually are not into measuring the exact levels of things in the water other than Nitrate, Nitrite, Ammonia, and pH usually. Sometimes being able to measure DO, salt, and perhaps some metals might be of interest but most of us doing this on a backyard scale are not interested in really complex measuring of all the different nutrients. We usually just watch for signs of deficiency to let us know when to add more iron or potassium. Fish food and Fish waste usually take care of the Nitrogen and Phosphorus. Trace and micro nutrients are usually supplied with the potassium in the form of seasol or maxi crop. Calcium is usually provided by whatever buffering agent the system is using to keep the pH up.

In Aquaponics one must be careful about what adds to the system to support the plants since the fish depend on the water to survive and many fertilizers can be toxic to fish if extreme care is not taken.

Sorry this didn't really answer your question but I don't think I have ever seen a chart or list like you are asking for that lists all the plants and the levels of the different nutrients they need though I have occasionally seen reports or recommendations that might list one type of plant but this info is usually to be found by searching university extension service files that study hydroponic growing.

Two books are very useful (1) Advanced Guide to Hydroponics, James Sholto Douglas and possibly more specific for what you want (2) Commercial Hydroponics by John Mason, excellent book might be difficult to get a hold of as it was printed by Kangaroo Press (always Ebay ).

M'mm printed 1990.
Just tell me what you want to grow and I'll list it.

Thanks

Well, here's a basic list ;

-Lettuce
-Basil
-Parsley
-Peppers
-Cucumbers
-Swiss Chard
-Bok Choy

Thanks again!

Frank

Just an FYI, I've managed to grow all those (except for the cucumbers for some reason though other people grow cucumbers just fine) in AP without knowing the exact nutrient requirements.

I'm guessing my cucumbers just need more potassium and iron or else a lower pH than my system gives.

Anyway, good luck

Thanks,
The reason why I want to know the quantity of nutrients is to estimate the size of installations needed because all my ducks ponds are gonna be related to that system (with all the sanitary system needed), so I don't want toxic vegetables neither toxic water for my ducks.

Frank

Cucumbers are members of the curabit tribe and as such are gross feeders. Perhaps they could be grown in a seperate GB or Tub that way you could supply greater amounts of fertilisers etc and achieve a better outcome?

Just a thought

Tomatoes and broccoli are also heavy feeders and they grow fine in my system.

I know in the world of hydroponics that Cucumbers do much better when the pH is down around the 5 - 5.5 mark.

I've got some more cucumber seedlings just sprouting up in the AP system, I wonder if placing a little extra compost in the bed just around them will give them more of whatever they are missing. I suppose I should also dose with Iron and Potassium again too.

Lettuce
-Basil
-Parsley
-Peppers
-Cucumbers
-Swiss Chard
-Bok Choy

Lettuce - Temps 12 -20 degrees NPK early 9:1:16 reduce nitrogen towards harvest Ph 6-7 . Prefers weaker solution.
Basil - Temps 20- 24 degrees Nutes not shown Ph 5.5 -6.5
Parsley - Just says tolerant of cold temps . Minimise nitrogen and maintain good levels of phosphorus and potassium Ph 5.5 - 6
Peppers (Capaicum - Vegative growth 25-30 degrees Fruiting 22-23 during day and 18-19 at night. Nutes Vegative NPK 4:1:5 Fruiting NPK 5:1:10. Calcium and magnesium leves should be higher than normal. Ph 6-6.5
Cucumbers Temps 24-30 degrees Nutes NPK 4:1:6 Sodium should be low Iron higher in the early stages of growth. Ph 5.5
Swiss Chard (Silverbeet) - Temps 15-19 degrees Nutes NPK 10:4:12 Ph 6-7
Bok Choy (only got Pak Choy but assume its the same) Temps Just says growth ceases below 10 degrees. Nutes Just says Nitrogen phosphorus and iron are particularly important. Ph 7

Frank it should be noted the above are ideals and for commercial growers in hydro and most will grow well outside those parameters.

Note the line about Cucumbers.... sodium should be low....

That's the reason why cucumbers suffer badly in an AP system when it's salted...

Thanks for listing them Sleepe.... was thumbing through my copy... but was too busy to find all the references...

Thanks Sleepe

No worries, glad you didn't ask for tomatoes, lot of typing in that one