Advice? Don't forget the grain of salt

Be careful whose advice you take is a good motto. My version is never listen to fellow growers who don’t know what they’re talking about.

A few postings ago I mentioned that I started using HyOx, a perfectly good Advanced Nutrients product designed to increase oxygenation of your root systems. A friend who grows orchids hydroponically told me about it, and it sounded good.

Yesterday, I was casually browsing through the Advanced Nutrients website, and exploring one of their new features, called Advancedepedia. It has in-depth information on all of their very effective products and how they help growers to get higher yields in a hydroponic setting.

When reading all about Tarantula, a blend of 57 types of beneficial micro-organisms that colonize your root systems, I came across a reference to HyOx and how it should definitely NOT be used in conjunction with Tarantula, Piranha, Voodoo Juice, or SensyZym. It seems that the increased oxygen will kill the organisms contained in these products, thus rendering them ineffective.

Needless to say, I stopped using HyOx immediately and then I started to panic. By trying to help my carnations, I ended up inadvertently hurting them. I looked up the technical help number for Advanced Nutrients and literally started to sweat as I dialled it.

A very helpful man on the other end of the line asked me to calm down and proceeded to explain that although I might have killed some of the helpful microbes supplied by the root enhancing additives, the process is not irreversible. He said I did the right thing by stopping the HyOx immediately.

The next step is to reintroduce the beneficial bacteria, fungi, microbes, and enzymes of the four products mentioned. It might take some time, but my carnation roots will be re-colonized, without too many adverse effects, since I only used HyOx for a short time.

He told me that it was a trade off. Some growers prefer the high oxygenation provided by HyOx to the benefits of using Tarantula, Piranha, Voodoo Juice, and SensiZym. Others use an air stone in their nutrient reservoirs, which is also an effective oxygenating agent, and it doesn’t harm the micro-organisms.

I was very grateful to this man, who managed to allay my fears. My carnations will continue to get the synergistic benefits of the bacterial and fungal root colonizers, while making sure that their oxygen supply was up to snuff.

In order to help my carnations get passed this stressful error on my part, I fed them some B52, an anti-stress formula of B vitamins. In addition to all the essential B’s, Thiamine, Riboflavin, Niacin, Biotin, and Folic Acid, it contains humic acid and kelp, as well as calcium and magnesium. B52 can be used from start to finish of the complete cycle of my flowers, either as a root feed in the nutrient reservoir or as a foliar spray. It not only counteracts stress, but also stimulates growth.

To calm my nerves further after this episode, I started looking through photographs of bedside bouquets that I supply to hospital gift shops in order to select one to feature in a brochure. Seeing the beauty of my flowers served to cheer me up.