What does ppm N stand for? - Orchid Board

Vanessa · #1 06-20-2007, 03:44 PM

in regards to fertilizer. If it's a measurement as in parts per million ( i have no clue what i'm talking about here boys and girls) how does it translate into teaspoons? I want to fertilize weakly weekly but don't know how to break down the ratio of fertilizer to water. color me blonde..........

Marco · #2 06-20-2007, 04:12 PM

nitrogen

aquanut415 · #3 06-20-2007, 04:13 PM

parts per million is the same as mg/L...

aquanut415 · #4 06-20-2007, 04:14 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Vanessa

in regards to fertilizer. If it's a measurement as in parts per million ( i have no clue what i'm talking about here boys and girls) how does it translate into teaspoons? I want to fertilize weakly weekly but don't know how to break down the ratio of fertilizer to water. color me blonde..........

whats does the label actually say of the product you want to use?

Vanessa · #5 06-20-2007, 04:22 PM

It says 50 ppmN...
100 ppm...
150ppmN or 200 ppmN It's MSU for tap water........I don't know how many ppmN to use?

quiltergal · #6 06-20-2007, 04:27 PM

Here's a PPM calculator from Ray's website that converts to tsp/gal.

Fertilizer PPM Calculator

aquanut415 · #7 06-20-2007, 04:28 PM

so are you asking how to make a 50ppm nitrate solution?

and a hundred ppm nitrate solution?

1 gram of KNO3 in a gallon of water is 163ppm nitrate.

.5 gram KNO3 in a gallon of water is 82ppm nitrate...

does that help?

Vanessa · #8 06-20-2007, 04:34 PM

Thanks gang! Quiltergirl..that's just what i was looking for.

Dorothy · #9 06-21-2007, 12:09 AM

Marty - could you make that fertilizer calculator a sticky for easy accessibility?

Ray · #10 06-21-2007, 06:51 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Vanessa

It says 50 ppmN...
100 ppm...
150ppmN or 200 ppmN It's MSU for tap water........I don't know how many ppmN to use?

What concentration to use is dependent upon your growing conditions and the types of plants.

If I was in Florida with a bunch of vandas, I might go with 250 ppm N or so, but that would probably be too high for me here in Pennsylvania, and it would kill most phrags anywhere.

Personally, having a varied collection, I shoot for 100-150 ppm N at every watering for every plant. If you divide 10 by the %N in the fertilizer, that tells you the teaspoons per gallon for 125 ppm, so if you round up or down a bit, it doesn't matter.