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fertilizer EZ flo and fertilizer ratio

parker49

parker49

Hello everyone. Several of you really helped me to get my irrigation system set up and thanks for that. I ordered the EZ flo 3/4 gallon injector (fertigator) The problem I'm having is determining how much and at what ratio to use my fertilizer. I have dyna grow foliage pro and I have been trying to figure out the math and it is making my head spin. I am still experimenting with how much and how often to water my 5 to 10 gallon pots but currently I'm watering every 3 days for 30 minutes. Any of you use this and know how to mix correctly and what setting with the EZ flo? Not sure if it's better to fertilize every time I water or just weekly. Sorry for the long and I'm sure confusing post.

Thanks
 
you need to know what the concentration ratio is, for the fertilizer you already own.
 
how many ml of dynagrow concentrate do you require, to get 100ml of fertilizer solution
 
 
you also need to know what concentration the injector requires. note that obiviously you can only lower the concentration of your dynagrow.
 
 
list the two numbers, the math is easy.
 
my system uses a 3 gallon ezflow tank...and I use botanicare products...I can't remember the math off the top of my head since it has been 3 years since used it but as I recall I looked at the rates listed on the ezflow injector and the strength botanicare recommended and went from there...I actually feed pretty lean...but I feed every watering...fill the tank up with my botanicare mixture and let it go....I usually fill the reservoir back up with fresh nutrients about every 10 days...
 
as far as how much to give them?...only time will tell through experience in your location will tell you how much you need...
 
here in North Texas, I feed my plants about 8 ounces 3 times a day during the hot, hot periods...I am on a drip system through PVC pipe that has 1 gph drippers...most are on 24 inch centers...
 
oh yeah...my system is fully automated with timers...
 
well it says right there 1:15 for siphon mixers.
 
so for every part of fertilizer you add to the injector. add 15 parts of water.
 
if you have a conductivity meter, you should check the ec  from the drippers. increase/ decrease the stock solution concentration accordingly.
 
its important to note that these thigns require a minimum flow. if you do not meet that minimum flow, they will work very very poorly. i would verify that you meet the minimum flow prior to experimentation.
 
Thanks for the replies queeq and AJ. Here is where I guess some of my confusion is coming from. The ez flow says for concentrate but the product label for dyna gro says it needs to be mixed. I may just be over complicating something that is fairly simple.
 
its a one part product right?
 
by "mix" the label probably means it needs to be diluted.
experimentation is key here. it may turn out that 1:15 is far too low, depending on how much flow you develop. 
 
queequeg152 said:
its a one part product right?
 
by "mix" the label probably means it needs to be diluted.
experimentation is key here. it may turn out that 1:15 is far too low, depending on how much flow you develop.
Click to expand...
Yes the ez flow says use concentrate and has several different speeds for dilution. From 100:1 all the way to 1000:1. Then the dyna gro label has the different amounts for maintenance and production and that ratio of 1:15.
queequeg152 said:
well it says right there 1:15 for siphon mixers.
 
so for every part of fertilizer you add to the injector. add 15 parts of water.
 
if you have a conductivity meter, you should check the ec  from the drippers. increase/ decrease the stock solution concentration accordingly.
 
its important to note that these thigns require a minimum flow. if you do not meet that minimum flow, they will work very very poorly. i would verify that you meet the minimum flow prior to experimentation.
Click to expand...
As far as minimum flow it did come with these disc's for drip systems with less than 120 gallons per hour. I think I will probably have to use those.
 
parker49 said:
Yes the ez flow says use concentrate and has several different speeds for dilution. From 100:1 all the way to 1000:1. Then the dyna gro label has the different amounts for maintenance and production and that ratio of 1:15.
Click to expand...
 when the ez flow says 1:100... it means what ever you feed the plants typically, concentrate that 100 times.
 
so if you normally feed at 10ml/ gal, then concentrate that to 1000ml/ gallon.
 
1000ml/1 gal is roughly 1:4.
 
the different ratios on the bottle are their reccomendations based on how you are using the product.
 
maintenance? IDK what they mean by that, but production im assuming is heavy feeding... siphon mixer is what they reccomend you use in a mixer like yours. however... its a very broad reccomendation, they have no idea what you are growing.
 
ALl that really matters is how much you use per gallon to get the desired concentration that you would water your plants with.
multiply that number by 100.
 
add that ratio of fertilizer/ gallon to the injector.
 
 
Ex:
 
you normally use 13ml of fert in each gal. of water.
 
for your injector you would multiply that by 100... so 13x100= 1300ml right?
 
mix 1300ml of your fert into a gallon of water. then add that to your injector.
 
Ok so based on the fact that my injector holds 3/4 gallon I would multiply that number by .75 and and mix that into 3/4 gallon and add to the injector correct? Would that be at every watering or weekly etc...
 
yea multiply the 1300 by .75
 
 
well, every watering right? or do you have multiple zones you are planning to run to each container?
 
i would water each day personally... ensure you are getting like 10% runoff each watering. adjust the number and duration of irrigation cycles to maintain that number.
 
good conversation...reminds me of what I missed the past 3 years...
 
parker, how many plants do you have?
 
AlabamaJack said:
good conversation...reminds me of what I missed the past 3 years...
 
parker, how many plants do you have?
Click to expand...
Currently I have about 15 plants on my irrigation system (have about 30 plants elsewhere in the yard). When I bought the irrigation system I had full plans of expanding it next year to include them all or mostly in 1 location. Hopefully I can get the numbers worked out this year so I have the whole summer next year on the system. By the way mines on a timer as well. I have read about yours on other posts and it looks amazing.
 
assuming you are on city water...(constant pressure)...you will have to pay attention to how many dripper's you have on one line...Q mentioned minimum flow...that is very important...I am on city water and can run 40 1 gph dripper's at a time....more than that...the last few don't get full feed/water...
 
If you want to run more than 40 on your system, you can make a manifold that is attached to your water source and give yourself more circuits...however, you will still only be able to run one circuit at a time..
 
AlabamaJack said:
assuming you are on city water...(constant pressure)...you will have to pay attention to how many dripper's you have on one line...Q mentioned minimum flow...that is very important...I am on city water and can run 40 1 gph dripper's at a time....more than that...the last few don't get full feed/water...
 
If you want to run more than 40 on your system, you can make a manifold that is attached to your water source and give yourself more circuits...however, you will still only be able to run one circuit at a time..
Click to expand...
I am on city water, right now i have all the 5 gallons on two 1/2 gph drippers just because that is what my system came with and all the bigger pots on an adjustable which goes i think from 1 gph all the way to 5 gph.  So far it seems to work but next year when i add more i will definitely keep an eye on it.
 
It sounds like for the amount of mix and frequency and rate i will have to play around with it to figure it out just to be safe. I got this from dyna grow a little while ago:
 
NUTRIENT DILUTION CALCULATIONS
To determine the amount of Dyna-Gro to add to your concentrate container, use the following formula: 
 
Desired ratio (1500:1, 750 : 1,etc.) = x (Note: Add x +1 to get the total parts) 
 Setting (200:1, 250:1, 100:1, etc.) 1 
128 oz. per gallon of water = ________ oz. in a gallon of concentrate mix (Dyna-Gro + water) 
 (x +1) 
Example: To feed at 1/2 tsp. per gallon (1500:1) the following calculations would be used for an injector 
setting of 200 :1: 
1500 = 7.5 = (7.5 +1= 8.5) 128 = 15 oz/gallon of water 
 200 1 8.5 
1/4 tsp/gallon = 3000:1 • 1/2 tsp/gallon = 1500:1 • 1 tsp/gallon = 750:1 • 1 oz/gal = 125:1
 
Injector: 8 oz/gal of water @ 100:1 setting = 1/2 tsp/gal of water dilution 
Siphon: 0.5 oz/qt of water @ 16:1 setting = 1 tsp/gal of water dilution
PPM Calculation: To determine parts per million of a fertilizer, you would use the following formula: 
 Desired PPM of fertilizer element (i.e., 100 PPM of N) / 75 = oz of fertilizer carrier
 decimal fraction of desired nutrient in fertilizer carrier per 100 gal 
1% (element) = 10,000 ppm
Example: To apply 100 PPM of N using Hi-N-Pro 10-5-5 the calculation is as follows: 
 100 PPM / 75 = 13.3 oz of Hi-N-Pro / 100 gallons of water
 .10 
Please note: This is PPM of N only, each nutrient must be calculated separately and then added together 
to obtain the total parts per million of nutrient in solution. Water supplies is some areas may have a 
significant reading of total parts per million in the water supply. It is advisable to have your water tested 
to determine the level of dissolved solids in the water. Testing is available through local labs or use a 
hand held meter. 
 1 gallon = 128 fl oz 256 Tbls 3840
 
This gets real confusing real quick
 
haha yeah, you have to find the ratio to put in the resiviour and the ratio it goes out.

if you want an easy(not so precise) way to see how much your faucet flow is, get a 5 gallon bucket and turn the hose on full blast, time how long it takes to fill the bucket. say 1 minute for 5 gallons, that means 60*5 = 300gallons per hour max. just know the timers, valves, 1/2 line etc will restrict it to less.

so for the concentration. 1/4 tsp a gallon is good if you are ferts every watering.
ezflow slow setting is 1000:1, aka 750 gallons of mixed water every tank.
that means you need 750*1/4 tsp .... see that? so you need, .25 gallons of dynagrow (4 cups) per tank
and fill the rest with water
 
juanitos said:
haha yeah, you have to find the ratio to put in the resiviour and the ratio it goes out.
if you want an easy(not so precise) way to see how much your faucet flow is, get a 5 gallon bucket and turn the hose on full blast, time how long it takes to fill the bucket. say 1 minute for 5 gallons, that means 60*5 = 300gallons per hour max. just know the timers, valves, 1/2 line etc will restrict it to less.
so for the concentration. 1/4 tsp a gallon is good if you are ferts every watering.
ezflow slow setting is 1000:1, aka 750 gallons of mixed water every tank.
that means you need 750*1/4 tsp .... see that? so you need, .25 gallons of dynagrow (4 cups) per tank
and fill the rest with water
Click to expand...
Like I said before maybe I'm over complicating it :) Thanks again juanitos
 
This discussion has been very helpful to me
 
parker49 said:
Like I said before maybe I'm over complicating it :) Thanks again juanitos
 
This discussion has been very helpful to me
Click to expand...
just so you know, i'm running more like 1/16 tsp per gal of dynagrow and 1/32 tsp per gal of MagiCal and doing fine. I'm cheapass and wanted to use less  ;)
 
it looks like it is time for me to drop a couple of hundred and go to my hydroponics store....let's see...progrow, probloom, liquid karma, calmag....yup...that's over 200....
 
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