FAQs

How should I store my Pure Essentials Black Label™ nutrients?
Ideally hydroponic nutrients should be stored outside of your grow room away from bright lights and large temperature fluctuations. Concentrated liquid hydroponic nutrients maintain their integrity for longest when stored between 60°F (16°C) and 87°F  (31°C). A cool, dark cupboard at ambient room temperature is more than sufficient for nutrient storage. Remember to replace the caps on your nutrient bottles after use.

 

How do you balance the pH when mixing up Pure Essentials Black Label™ nutrients?

Adjusting your pH should be the final stage when mixing up your nutrient solution. Make sure you have your nutrient solution at the correct strength. Apply any additive products. Use a calibrated pH meter to check the pH of your nutrient solution. For optimal nutrient uptake your solution’s pH should lie between 5.5 and 6.2. Add diluted pH adjuster solution to correct if necessary. Stir well, and test several times over ten to fifteen minutes to ensure accuracy. Once your nutrient solution is at the desired pH level, you can feed it to your plants immediately.

How do I feed Pure Essentials Black Label™ nutrients to my plants?

All Pure Essentials Black Label™ products are highly concentrated so you will need to dilute accurately in water before feeding to your plants. First, calculate the size of your reservoir or mixing tank in liters or gallons. Fill the tank with tepid water—64°F (18°C) to 66°F (19°C). If you don’t have a nutrient thermometer to measure the temperature of your nutrient solution you can use your hand as a guide instead—the water should feel almost silky, neither warm or cold.

 

TIP: It’s good practice to test the TDS (total dissolved solids) of your water without any nutrients or any other products added. (TDS meters are available at all good indoor gardening retailers.) Higher quality water should have a low TDS (below 100 PPM).  As a general rule of thumb, the lower the initial PPMs, the more nutrient you can safely add to your water and the more your plants can feed.

 

Next, use our nutrient calculator to determine how much of each Pure Essentials Black Label™ product to add according to your plants’ stage of development. Choose your feed intensity. If in doubt or if your water is lower quality, go for “Light.” Note that you can print off your custom feed chart as a PDF for easy reference.

 

Pure Essentials Black Label™ Veg A™ and Veg B™ have been specially formulated for the vegetative (growth) and transitional phases and Bud A and B support your plants’ nutritional needs throughout the flowering phase. Determine whether your plants need Veg or Bud, then carefully measure the ‘A’ part and pour it into your reservoir, stirring vigorously. Next, measure the ‘B’ part. (Never mix ‘A’ and ‘B’ parts together in concentrated form.) Add Root Enhance™, Zym™, and Bud Enhance™ as prescribed by the nutrient calculator, stirring thoroughly between each addition.

 

Now you’re almost ready to go. Check the concentration / strength of your nutrient solution again with a TDS meter. For TDS meters on EC X 500 setting, your reading should generally be between 400 and 1100 PPM for most fast growing, annual plants.  (560 and 1540 PPM for TDS meters using EC X 700.) If the reading falls outside of this range double-check all your calculations.

 

Test the pH of your nutrient solution using a quality, calibrated pH meter. For optimal nutrient uptake your solution’s pH should lie between 5.5 and 6.2. Add diluted pH adjuster solution to correct if necessary. Stir well, and test several times over ten to fifteen minutes to ensure accuracy. Once your nutrient solution is at the desired pH level, you can feed it to your plants immediately.

How should I maintain my nutrient solution?

As your plants feed on a recirculating nutrient solution its overall composition will inevitably change. Therefore it’s imperative that you regularly monitor the strength, pH, temperature and dissolved oxygen levels of your nutrient solution to ensure it remains optimal for uptake. Make sure you regularly top up your reservoir with water or half-strength nutrient solution too, mixing well and checking that pH levels fall within 5.5 and 6.2. (A little fluctuation of pH within this range can be beneficial to plants. Ideally, your nutrient solution should be shielded from light to prevent algae growth and constantly moving. Bubbling air into your nutrient reservoir is a really easy way to achieve this and to maintain all-important dissolved oxygen levels. Your indoor gardening retailer will stock a range of air-pumps and air-stones for this purpose.

 

Smaller reservoirs need to have their contents completely dumped and replaced with fresh nutrient solution more frequently than larger reservoirs. Also, as your plants grow, their nutritional requirements increase too, meaning more frequent reservoir change-outs as your plants mature. As a general rule of thumb, aim to replace your nutrient solution completely every one to two weeks.

What is the shelf life of Pure Essentials Black Label™?

For best results, Pure Essentials Black Label™ should be used within 24 months of purchase.

Is Pure Essentials Black Label™ suitable for use with a dripper irrigation system?

Absolutely! Pure Essentials Black Label™ is a mineral based nutrient that totally dissolves in water meaning it will not clog drippers. It’s also good practice to soak your drippers and dripper line in mild bleach solution between every crop.

Can I foliar feed with Pure Essentials Black Label™ nutrients?

Yes and it really makes a difference! But make sure that you use a weaker nutrient solution than you would put in your nutrient reservoir. Also, avoid foliar feeding in under the full blaze of your grow lights. Generally, the best times to foliar feed are when your lights are off or just before they come on. Be sure to cover both upper and low pt type=”text/javascript”> er surfaces of the leaves.

Is Pure Essentials Black Label™ compatible with hydrogen peroxide (H202) products?

Some hydroponic growers prefer a sterile nutrient environment and add small amounts of hydrogen peroxide to their reservoirs. This also helps to temporarily increase the levels of dissolved oxygen. H202 can be used alongside most products in the Pure Essentials Black Label™ but it is NOT compatible with enzyme products and should not be used in conjunction with ZYM™.

Will I achieve a higher yield if I use an aggressive feeding schedule?

This depends on a whole host of environmental factors and it’s important not to overfeed your plants. Take care when using stronger nutrient solutions. You should always build up slowly and gradually and observe your plants’ responses carefully. Only use stronger nutrient solutions when your plants are sufficiently developed and your temperature and relative humidity levels are optimal.

Is Pure Essentials Black Label™ compatible with additive products from other manufacturers?

We developed the Pure Essentials Black Label™ range to be complete for all growers’ needs, but we also understand that some growers like to experiment with other products. For this reason, we have endeavored to make Pure Essentials Black Label™ compatible with all leading additive products. Howeve r, we recommend that you always check with the manufacturer if you are not sure.

My tap water has PPMs in excess of 200. What should I do?

You have a few options. You can use a lighter feeding schedule or you can soften and purify your water using a water softener and reverse osmosis filter. Generally speaking, the purer your water, the harder it is to overfeed your plants. If in doubt, ask your local indoor gardening retailer about the water quality in your area.

Are Pure Essentials Black Label™ nutrients compatible with aeroponic systems?

Yes. In fact, the high quality and purity of Pure Essentials Black Label™ nutrients makes them highly suitable for both aeroponics and hydroponics. For best results in aeroponics, try a half-strength feed first.

Which growth media are compatible with Pure Essentials Black Label™?

Pure Essentials Black Label™ is compatible with all hydroponic growth media including expanded clay balls (hydroton), rockwool /stonewool (slabs, blocks, cubes, loose fill), Seramis®, Oasis, soilless mix (e.g. Pro-Mix, Pro-Mix HP), coco coir (coco fiber, pith, coco chips), and many more. You can also use Pure Essentials Black Label™ nutrients with soil and potting mixes.

Are Pure Essentials Black Label™ nutrients compatible with Deep Water Culture (DWC) systems?

Pure Essentials Black Label Nutrients™ are highly purified and soluble so they work perfectly with all Deep Water Culture systems.

Which propagation media are compatible with Pure Essentials Black Label™?
You can use Pure Essentials Black Label™ with all propagation media / methods including cloning machines (e.g. EZ Clone), Root Riot™, rockwool cubes, Cocotek, and Oasis.

 

What exactly is FLUSH™ and why is it required for some crops?

The build-up of salts around the root zone is an important issue for many growers, especially those using hydroponic techniques. Too much salinity can lead to an excess of Phosphorus and other mineral elements in the plant itself which, in turn, often results in produce with below par and even objectionable flavor and aroma.

 

Historically growers have fed their hydroponic plants pure water for the final week or so of flowering in an effort to clear out salts from the root zone. These days, professional hydroponic growers use a flushing agent (aka clearing agent) to expedite this all-important process. Due to its unique composition FLUSH™ draws far more mineral salts from the root zone that using water alone. Once these nutrients are removed from the root zone and growing medium, the plant is forced to translocate residual mobile nutrient compounds such as Nitrogen, Phosphorus, Potassium, Magnesium, and Sulfur in a bid for its own survival. A few days later, when these last reserves are used up, your crop reaches its “purest” state, free of harsh tasting fertilizer residues—a fact that you will be able to smell and taste at harvest time.

 

Do not be concerned when you see FLUSH™ do its work! Namely, the yellowing of mature leaves—this becomes apparent after just two days of using FLUSH™. Remember, only use FLUSH™ on its own, mixed with pure water, during the week before harvest. There is no need to pH adjust. FLUSH™ effectively stresses your plants which, in turn, leads to increased production of essential oils, further improving taste, aroma and, in some crops, medicinal properties too. Professional growers consider the use of FLUSH™ to be the true “icing on the cake.”

What sizes are Pure Essentials Black Label™ products available in?

Pure Essentials Black Label™ nutrients are available in the following sizes:

8 fl oz / 236 mL
16 fl oz / 473 mL
32 fl oz / 1 L
1 Gallon / 4L
2.5 Gallon / 10L
6 Gallon / 23L

How come Pure Essentials Black Label™ is so much cheaper than other mainstream nutrients?

Good question! How come the best restaurants are owned by people who don’t actually need to make a living out of it? We’re growers first and foremost. And we decided to pull out all the stops when it came to quality, sourcing the finest raw ingredients available. But when it came to pricing, we wanted to keep things fair and respectful—oh and competitive! In other words, we rule.

 

Is Pure Essentials Black Label™ available outside the USA?

Pure Essentials Black Label™ is currently available in the USA and Canada.

 

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