Starter fertiliser for seedlings and cuttings
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ROOT!T's First Feed is a gentle liquid fertiliser, formulated for the first weeks of seedlings and cuttings. Diluted at 5 ml per litre, it is used to pre-moisten sponges and plugs, then to water young plants until transplanting. A 125 ml bottle makes up 25 litres of solution.
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The summary
- Mild analysis: a liquid starter fertiliser, NPK 2-1.15-2.3, in a 125 ml bottle.
- Its dose: 5 ml per litre of water, i.e. 25 litres of solution per bottle.
- When to use it: from the preparation of the medium, then at the first true leaves.
- What it contains: boron, calcium, vitamin B1 and humic and fulvic acids.
- With fish: for the nursery only, before the plants enter the system.
- What to combine it with: a rooting gel and germination cubes or sponges.
Gentle liquid fertiliser to moisten growing media and feed young plants
ROOT!T First Feed is a liquid starter fertiliser, NPK 2-1.15-2.3, enriched with boron, calcium and vitamin B1. Diluted at 5 ml per litre, it moistens the growing media and then waters seedlings and cuttings during their first weeks, together with the ROOT!T gel. The 125 ml bottle makes up 25 litres, for the nursery, never for the pond.
A seedling unfolding its first true leaves has used up most of the reserves in its seed, and a cutting forming its first roots has almost none. Both need nutrients, but at a much lower concentration than a mature plant. ROOT!T First Feed is made for this precise stage: its NPK 2-1.15-2.3 analysis stays gentle, and its dilution of 5 ml per litre gives you a solution that young roots tolerate without burning.
🌱 A formula for the first roots
In addition to nitrogen, phosphorus and potassium, the formula supplies boron and calcium, two elements that contribute to root growth and the strength of young tissues. Calcium is involved in building cell walls, and boron supports cell division at the root tip, where the roots lengthen. Vitamin B1 and humic and fulvic acids complete the formula: these substances, derived from organic matter, promote the uptake of nutrients by the root. The fertiliser was developed with a British university to cover the first weeks of growth, before you move the plant on to a complete fertiliser.
🐟 Before it goes into the system
In aquaponics, First Feed stays at the nursery stage, never in the fish tank, since the system water already feeds the plants thanks to the fish waste. It does, however, have its place when your young plants are being prepared separately, in sponges, cubes or a hydroponic cloner, during the two to three weeks before they are installed in the grow beds or on the rafts. So that the cube adds almost nothing to the circuit, water with clear water or with system water for the last few days, then transplant the plant with its root ball.
The cutting gel and the starter fertiliser
For cuttings, the full method is to pre-moisten the medium with this solution, then pour the ROOT!T cutting gel into the planting hole before pushing the stem in. The Root Riot cubes suit this dual use well, as they absorb the solution and already have their central hole. You end up with a nourished medium and a protected stem, which encourages even rooting.
Always dilute to 5 ml per litre
The concentrate must always be diluted, at 5 ml per litre of water. Poured neat onto a seedling or a cutting, it burns the emerging roots. Close the bottle again after use and keep it out of reach of children.
Once the plants are installed, it is the deficiencies in the system that need correcting, using fish-safe products. Iron, the element most often lacking in a new system, is supplied as DTPA chelated iron at 2 mg per litre, renewed every three weeks or as needed, as recommended by New Mexico State University. Potassium and calcium arrive with the pH correctors, alternating potassium hydroxide and calcium hydroxide. In a decoupled system, where the plant loop is separate from the fish loop, plant nutrition is managed separately, using a complete fertiliser suited to the growth stage.
💧 How to use it
Pre-moisten
Soak rooting sponges or plugs in the solution at 5 ml per litre, the night before use.
Watering seedlings
Start watering with the solution as soon as the first true leaves appear.
Supporting cuttings
Combined with a rooting gel, it feeds the medium while the roots emerge.
Until transplanting
Use it during the first few weeks, then switch to the growth fertiliser.
The 125 ml bottle makes up 25 litres of solution, enough to look after several trays of seedlings over a season. Measure with a graduated syringe or a measuring cup rather than by eye, because at this concentration a few millilitres too much will double the dose: for your 2-litre watering can, 10 ml is enough. Keep the bottle tightly closed, away from light and frost, between batches of seedlings.
Prepare the solution just before use, in room-temperature water, and water from below by pouring the solution into the saucer or tray, so that your plugs absorb it without the foliage getting wet. Let the surface dry slightly between waterings, because newly forming roots need air as much as water. The guide to succeeding with spring seedlings in aquaponics sets out the schedule that takes these plants through to the system.
Technical specifications
The fertiliser
- Analysis
- NPK 2-1.15-2.3
- Supplements
- Boron, calcium, vitamin B1With humic and fulvic acids
- Dose
- 5 ml per litre of water10 ml for a 2-litre watering can
- Yield
- 25 L of solution per bottle
Usage
- Stage
- First weeks of growthFrom the first true leaves
- Supports
- Sponges, plugs, potting compostAs a pre-soak or when watering
- Aquaponics
- Nurseries onlyNever in the fish circuit
- Relay
- Complete growth fertiliserOnce the plant has been transplanted and has rooted
In the box
- 1 125 ml bottle of First Feed ROOT!T fertiliser
Analysis, composition, uses and dose taken from the data sheets of a British retailer and of the distributor. The 25 litres correspond to the dose of 5 ml per litre. Aquaponics inputs according to New Mexico State University.
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