Frequently Asked Questions
1. What is the difference between organic and mineral fertilizers?
The short answer for this question is: the source of the components.
Organic fertilizers are composed of materials that are derived from biological or
mineral sources that are in there natural state or have been processed to some degree.
Mineral fertilizers are composed of ionic compound or salts.
As far as performance goes each has its own pros and cons.
Most Organic fertilizers only contain a small amount of soluble nutrients that
the plant can easily absorb and utilize immediately. The rest are bound up in larger
organic compound that require a period of time to be broken down by normal decomposition
or with the aid of biological activity in the growing medium. If there is a healthy population
of microbes in the growing media, then the proper application of the right organic fertilizer
will perform well in most growing condition. If the growing media is relatively sterile then
the organic compound will be slow to break down and the grower may run into nutrient deficiencies
regardless of how much Organic fertilizer is applied. The main advantage of organic fertilizers
is the nutrient supplement components it provides. Naturally occurring humates, amino acids,
carbohydrates, vitamins and enzymes are also provided to the growing media as a by-product of
biological activity. Although they do not provide direct nutrition to the plant they may contribute
to increase production and quality of the plant material. Proper biological activity may also
repress the development of pathogenic microbes from developing in the growing media.
Mineral or Ionic fertilizers are completely soluble and are absorbed and utilized easily
by plants. A proper ionic fertilizer delivers exactly the levels of nutrient required by the plant
at the time of application. This is the best choice for sterile growing media and hydroponics as
there is no need for biological activity to release stored nutrient components. A good quality
ionic fertilizer is also buffered so that all the different components of the fertilizer and pH
remain stable in solution. Due to the solubility of ionic fertilizers it is vary easy to change
the fertilizer delivered to the root zone as the nutritional requirements of the plant change.
There are also many products on the market that can fall into both categories. There are organic
fertilizers that have been composted and strained so that all that remains is the soluble ionic
components (ionic fertilizers from an organic source). There are also manufactured organic compounds
such as vitamin supplements and growth stimulants that are soluble and can be absorbed by the plant.
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2. How do I determine if a returned product qualifies for a warranty claim?
Stellar Wholesale will honor ALL of our Manufacturer's warranties against defects in materials
and workmanship. The more information you have regarding the status of a failed piece of equipment,
the more effectively we will be able to process a defective claim. The first step is to determine
whether the failed product is still within the time frame of the warranty period. Often this can be
done with an original bill of sale or by a manufacturer's date code on the product itself.
Next, determine whether or not, as practically as possible, the product has failed due to user
misuse or abuse. Manufacturer's warranties strictly cover failure due to defect, not user error.
After you have done that, then you need to contact us. The more information you can provide us
with the better. Our staff will issue an RMA report and arrange to have the failed products returned
to Stellar for evaluation.
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3. How often should I use a sulphur evaporator?
The following suggested usages are for the Nivola Sulphur Vaporizer. There are numerous factors
that can affect the effectiveness of a sulphur evaporator. Environmental conditions are the primary
factor in the occurrence, severity and spread of powdery mildew. Different plant species and hybrids
are often more or less susceptible to powdery mildew as well.
Before operating a Nivola Sulphur Vaporizer, ensure that you are meeting all the safety precautions
as directed in the instructions. There are no limits to how often a sulphur evaporator can be used,
however when used correctly you will not need to operate it more than once every 3 days.
Before evaporating sulphur ensure that all methods of air EXCHANGE are turned off. Air CIRCULATION
is still critical so leave any circulating fans in operation although not blowing directly onto the
evaporator.
It will take approximately 1 hour for a Nivola to treat 100 square feet of space for PM control
for most plants. Do not exceed 8 hours of continuous operation. For larger areas more than 1 unit
will be needed.
For Prevention - operate the Nivola once per week.
For Control - operate the Nivola every third day until no new damage is noticeable.
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4. What is the difference between TDS and EC?
They are both measurement values for knowing the concentration of soluble fertilizers in
a nutrient solution.
Just as distance can be measured in miles and kilometers, nutrient strength can be measured
in different values.
TDS is short for Total Dissolved Solids and the units are in parts per million (ppm). This
is the value that most North American hobby gardeners are familiar with and almost all of the
testers here measure in.
EC is short for Electro Conductivity and the units are milliSeimens per centimeter (mS/cm).
In commercial agriculture this value is now represented as just EC whereas 1EC = 1000mS/cm.
Nutrient testers take their measurements by first reading the actual electro conductivity of
the reference solution (more soluble salts = higher conductivity) and displaying that value as
either EC in mS/cm or converting the value to read TDS in ppm.
Conversions:
Different salts have varying effects on electro conductivity in solution. The majority of TDS meters in North America are set at a 0.5 conversion from EC to TDS (1000 mS/cm or 1 EC = 500 ppm)
| From | | To |
| mS/cm | x 0.5 | ppm |
| EC | x 500 | ppm |
| ppm | x 2 | mS/cm |
| ppm | x 0.002 | EC |
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5. Why are the instructions on a product different from those on the manufacturer's Feed Charts?
Manufactures instructions for using consumable products are rates at which the product should
work best under a variety of conditions. Using a little less of a product will not usually have
a negative result, however too much is often disastrous.
On The Bottle: The instructions on a bottle of fertilizer or supplement are the recommended
usage rates for a broad range of conditions and circumstances assuming the product will be used
in isolation. Follow these instructions if you are using the product in isolation.
Feed Charts: The instructions on a feed chart are for very specific feeding regimes using a
variety of the manufactures products in synergy. The usage rates often vary as the time progresses
and the nutrient requirements of the plant change. Usage rates also change when other period
specific products are used in the feed schedule. Follow these recommendations when using all the
products on a Feed Chart.
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