Well, you’re not alone!
Every day, we receive questions from customers about how they should set their Dosatron. The majority of our questions come from the Horticultural industry, with “How should I mix my fertilizer?” and, “What setting should I use on my injector?” being the two most common types of inquiries we receive.
One place to start would be on the back of your fertilizer bag. Typically, recommendations are made on which setting you should use for an injector and then how to mix the fertilizer. If that is not listed, we usually recommend calling the 800 number of the fertilizer manufacturer. Let the chemists guide you; there are so many great fertilizer companies with helpful customer service. Another option is to use our on-line calculators.
One quick thing to note: a common misconception that we hear a lot is, “If I set my Dosatron on 1:100, does that mean it will give me 100 PPM’s (parts per million)?” The answer is: NOT necessarily! If you are using a 1:100 setting, you will need to know how to properly mix your fertilizer to achieve 100 parts per million. It is important to understand the difference between ratio or percentage settings on the Dosatron and parts per million. Basically, they are not the same. As Lela explained in her recent article in GPN Magazine:
Most growers are used to thinking about fertilizer in terms of parts per million (ppm). Fertilizer manufacturers put directions on the back of the fertilizer bags which tell you how to make up the ppm you need for the crop you are growing. However, when using a fertilizer injector, the measurements are usually listed in ratios. A 1:100 ratio means that one gallon of concentrated fertilizer will automatically be injected into 100 gallons of water. Your fertilizer injector will do this automatically for you.
If you need help, please do not hesitate to call us at 800-523-8499 with your questions. We may not have all the answers, but we can definitely point you in the right direction.
