Med-Tek Coir Vega A+B - 1L / 5L / 20L | 2-Part Nutrient

Many Australian growers ‘veg’ for a long time. Some nutrient manufacturers only produce and sell a single base coir nutrient formula that is to be used in grow and bloom. As a result, growers are then advised to use a nitrogen (N) top-up additive to boost N in the vegetative growth stage. However, this is far from ideal because, besides higher N requirements, other things are also going on that influence what would be considered optimal plant nutrition during veg versus flower. 

Coir Vega is loaded with calcium and magnesium. Our research has found that, particularly early on in the crop cycle, the coir substrate exchange sites lock up a high degree of the calcium and magnesium that is provided via the nutrient solution. This situation may go on for several weeks. Therefore, Coir Vega is formulated in such a way as to compensate for calcium and magnesium binding while also loading up the exchange sites in preparation for the flower.  This helps to promote optimal plant nutrition in coir growing situations.

Coir Vega is an aggressive, high N to K ratio, a vegetative nutrient that promotes vigorous new leaf and shoots growth without compromising plant structure and health.

Coir substrate particles have negatively charged ‘exchange sites’ which attract and loosely-hold cations. Cations such as ammonium NH4+, calcium Ca++, magnesium Mg++ and potassium K+ carry a positive charge. As a result, they are attracted to the negatively-charged exchange sites of coir by electrostatic forces.

Coir Specific Nutrients

Coir substrate particles have negatively charged ‘exchange sites’ which attract and loosely-hold cations. Cations such as ammonium NH4+, calcium Ca++, magnesium Mg++ and potassium K+ carry a positive charge. As a result, they are attracted to the negatively-charged exchange sites of coir by electrostatic forces.

Exchange sites have a preference for some cations over others. For example, if the cations of Ca, Mg, and K are all present in the solution at the same concentration they will be adsorbed at different levels by coir exchange sites with calcium and magnesium being adsorbed at double the rate of potassium because they both have a double-positive charge, while potassium has a single-positive charge (Ca++, Mg++, K+). What this means is that coir has a high affinity for locking up/binding some of the calcium and magnesium that is fed to the plants via the hydroponic solution. This means not all of the calcium and magnesium provided by the nutrient solution is available to the plant because a portion of it is bound by the coir exchange sites. As a result, a nutrient formulated for coir must contain higher levels of calcium and magnesium than a nutrient formulated for inert substrates such as rockwool, expanded clay and perlite.

One thing that has very much surprised me over the years is the amount of misinformation and disinformation surrounding nutrient sales to coir growers in Australia and elsewhere. That is, far too many coir growers are being flogged with nutrients that were never developed for coir growing. This means that far too many coir growers are using base nutrients that are lacking in calcium and magnesium; undoubtedly this has resulted in numerous growers providing less than ideal nutrition to their plants. In turn, this has no doubt resulted in substantial yield losses where the grow culture as a whole is concerned. For what it is worth, if growers are seeking to optimize yields in coir it is imperative that they use a nutrient that was developed specifically for coir growing.

The Med-Tek coir nutrients (Vega and Flores) were developed through years of R&D, working with lab tissue analysis and side-by-side trials to measure growth rates and essential oil production under varying conditions with different brands of coir substrate (perlite/coir mixes and straight coir).