Hey all,
I've been using my fertilizer now for a year, and it's the only one I've used up until now, because I alway was satisfied with it, because it's both very inexpensive and well formulated imo.
I'm using the Masterblend set, with the solutions pre-mixed for short term use.
I have mixed two "stock solution" bottles, which last me a few months in winter (only for houseplants and my small indoor grow tent) and a few weeks in summer (balcony gardening + house plants). You can see the ingredients on the bottles on the picture:
They are always stored in complete darkness.
And then I have a diluted solution, with an EC of about 3-4 mS and a low pH, which I adapted to exactly match my tap water and houseplants when diluted to ~1/3. This pre-mix lasts me a few days maximum.
I've already noticed a few floaters in summer here and there, but didn't mind them too much. They looked like small jellyfish or something floating around, but I thought that they might be some precipitation from minerals or whatever.
They got a bit more after some time, and a few weeks ago, I soaked everything in hot bleach water and mixed everything from scratch, because I already had the feeling that those might be amoebae or other microorganisms.
But now, everything is way worse. Just take a look:
Those specs are even in the normal nutrient solution!
A few of my plants have a reoccurring spring tail "infestation". More like constant house mates.
I even got the chance to take a picture of them fucking. I feel like a pervert now...
No wonder they have such a good time. They're probably feasting on those mold specs. They're pretty much harmless and easy to manage, so I just don't care as much.
Anyway... What I wanted to ask you: What shall I do? Desinfecting clearly doesn't work.
The root cause seems to be the water. If I wouldn't pre-dissolve everything, nothing would get moldy.
But of course, I need it to be in a liquid form for proper handling. Other fertilizer manufacturers are able to manage this too, so why can't I?
Shall I add preservatives to the concentrate, like Isothiazolinones?
Or should I just switch to another fertilizer? If so, which one would you recommend, that is also cheap?
