New growers tend to have a difficult time trying to select the best nutrients, which is made trickier by the sheer number of nutrient companies and the varieties they offer. The most important time is understand the right stages to give the various nutrients to your plants, which is why NPK ratios are important. The NPK ratio refers to the blend of nitrogen, phosphorus and potassium (the K comes from potassium's atomic symbol.) The number in each ratio represents how much of each element is contained by % of total volume. For example, a 9-3-6 formula contains 9% nitrogen, 3% phosphorus, and 6% potassium. During the vegetative stage, your plants will be growing quickly and will need plenty of Nitrogen to produce leaves and stems. That's why nitrogen-rich nutrients, such as GreenPlanet's Medi-One, that offers a 4-3-3 ratio, are great. The flowering stage requires less Nitrogen, especially after week 5-6 when the plant stops growing stems and leaves and begins to focus on bud-building. Bud growth depends on Phosphorus and even more Potassium. For example, Remo's Bloom solution offers growers a 1-4-6 ratio that is perfect for a healthy bud growth. JUMP TO PLANT NUTRIENTSJUMP TO BASE NUTRIENTS