Medtek Coir Vega Base Nutrient A & B (1, 5 or 20L)

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 which influence what would be considered optimal plant nutrition during veg versus flower.

Coir Vega is loaded in 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 flower. 

This helps to promote optimal plant nutrition in coir growing situations.

About 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.  

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).

Among the benefits of using Med-Tek Base Nutrients

• Formulas are highly concentrated, meaning growers are getting great value for money (i.e. lower dilution rate to achieve equivalent EC when compared to many/most other brands)
• Formulas are Med Specific with both yield and quality parameters in mind
• Formulas are coconut coir specific. They are high in calcium and magnesium to accommodate for Cal Mag binding by coir exchange sites
• Micronutrients (Fe, Zn, Mn, Cu) are chelated to ensure the highest bioavailability possible
• Ingredients are carefully sourced and tested. No sodium, chloride or urea containing fertilizers are EVER used by Med-Tek
• High level of quality control is applied to ensure batch-to-batch uniformity
• Ongoing collaboration, research and testing ensures Med-Tek remains at the forefront of research and development in Med specific plant nutrition

A + B NPK  6 – 2 – 4 

EC when used at a given ml per litre usage rate (all tests carried out in distilled water)

1ml/L Coir Vega            0.827 mS/cm

1.5ml/L Coir Vega         1.008 mS/cm

2ml/L Coir Vega            1.53 mS/cm