Vegetative Boosters
When you mention the word booster to many growers, the first thing they think of is flowering booster. However, booster for the vegetative stage of growth is just as important. Vegetative boosters help plants reach maturity faster. It increases the size of the root system and increases the number of new shoots.
What are vegetative boosters and how do they work?
Most vegetative boosters derive from natural bio stimulants and hormones. These products work by extracting chemicals naturally produced by plants that act as a ‘signal’ for the plant to grow. When these ‘signals’ are fed to a plant, they’re read as a stronger signal, which speeds up growth. Alongside bio stimulants, vegetative boosters often contain vitamins, amino acids, carbohydrates, and trace elements. These allow plants to cope with the increased growth rate without becoming deficient in key elements. This reduces the time and energy the plant would take to synthesize the molecules itself. Ultimately allowing it to focus on growing.
The addition of humates and fulvic acids can also help to improve the Cation Exchange Capacity (CEC) in your medium. CEC is a measure of the of positive ions, such as potassium, calcium and magnesium that your medium can ‘store’. The more macro and micronutrients that are stored, the greater their availability to the root system.
Vegetative boosters also contain levels of NPK (nitrogen, phosphorus, and potassium). Nitrogen helps the plant produce proteins, hormones, and chlorophyll. Phosphorus is added for root development and to accelerate energy transfer processes within the plant. Finally, the plant utilises potassium to activate over 60 different enzymes.
How do I get the best from these boosters?
Unlike flowering boosters, vegetative boosters can be applied as a foliar feed. This allows the plants vascular system to absorb the boosters directly. Consequently, triggering a much faster increase in growth than a soil drench or an additive in a tank or reservoir. By applying booster to the leaves, it has a much shorter distance to travel to get to the growing points than it would coming from the roots. Foliar feeds also permit a better balance of the nutrients that are needed. Consequently, getting into disarray in a soil system, due to reactions with the minerals already present in soil.
Like flowering boosters, vegetative boosters must be used carefully. As the vegetative stages of plant growth encompass a broad range of maturity, the big danger is over-fertilisation. This means that caution must be taken with dosages so as not to cause nutrient burn or ‘lock-out’. Nutrient burn will slow growth or even kill your plant. Most boosters should only be applied once the plant has established itself. Foliar boosters need a few decent sized ‘true’ leaves (not seed leaves) to absorb the nutrients.
Our Veg Boost Line
Plant Magic’s own Root Stimulant is a powerful bio-stimulant that is used to increase the biological activity of beneficial organisms. Therefore, resulting in improved nutrient availability and uptake. Used as a soil drench, it not only improves the structure of soil-based mediums, but dramatically increases the CEC. This means more nutrients can be available to the plant for longer. Root Stimulant is used in the first week after potting up alongside your chosen base nutrient. Ideally, in conjunction with Plant Magic Granules to kick-start beneficial microbes in the rhizosphere.
Evolution 2.0 is a foliar spray vegetative booster containing plant hormones, vitamins, trace elements, polysaccharide sugars, amino acids, and bio-stimulants. It’s used once a week on top of your standard nutrients to significantly speed up the vegetative stages of growth. Evolution can also help to green up, recover weak and encourage mother plants to produce more shoots. Evolution 2.0 can be used once the plant has established the first set of ‘true leaves’ up until the second week of flowering. Additionally, it can be used with either the light on or off, without causing any burning to the leaves.
