Examining Water Soluble Powders in growing

In his latest technical update, OMEX's Richard Cameron discusses the benefits of Water Soluble Powders.

What are O-Mix Water Soluble Powders?
O-Mix water soluble powders are a range of water-soluble powders made from technical grade raw materials aiming to ensure 100% solubility.

According to Omex, they contain chelated trace elements which are designed not to block irrigation equipment, and are manufactured for use with all types of irrigation systems free of unwanted salts such as chloride or sodium.

"Made at OMEX's dedicated facility within the UK the O-Mix range is ideal for use in stock solutions for use with all types of irrigation systems and water types coming in. Soft and hard water ranges can be custom-made to order, with standard ranges also available."

The water-soluble powder (WSP) range contains a selection of NPK ratios, predominately with Trace Elements included, for different growth stages. The trace elements normally come in 2 main packages, depending on the quantities ordered these can be custom blended. "This combination of up to 17 elements using either one specific product or a combination of OMEX WSP fertilizers for fertigation with OMEXs foliar fertilizer range will provide the complete nutritional package for all crops and conditions Whether they be grown in soil, Coir, Peat reduced, or Peat Free growing mediums."

"The advantages of Water Soluble Powders in horticulture include a lessened risk of over or under-applying units of nutrition, WSP's are made to exacting ratios so no wastage, a high quality of product by using only technical grades which is not always the same as using alternative products, O-Mix offers quick uptake for the growing plant from the plant such as rapid growth using higher N, more roots using higher P or more flowers using higher K elements, and WSPs may be used to correct a nutrient deficiency."

The Omex team states that one of the most common ways of using OMEX soluble fertilizers is in a dilution of made-up stock solutions. Sometimes a 2-tank system is required especially where Calcium is needed. In this example tank A will contain the Calcium and tank B will contain the feed. An example below is where the grower is blending into a stock solution of 100 liters and feeding through a dosing system at 1:100.

View the example by clicking here.

They add, alternatively, the stock solution can be eliminated and feed solutions can be made up directly using bulk tanks. If a small amount of a specific NPK ratio is required and is not able to come from 1 blend, then blending 2 or more OMEX soluble fertilizers during the making up of the stock solution to give the desired ratio can be achieved.