How to Use CropSalt Granular Correctly

Weigh Granular against the gallons of substrate actually in the pot. Pick the rate by pot size, then multiply by the gallons of substrate:

A 5-gallon pot holding 5 gallons of substrate takes 250 g (5 × 50). A 10-gallon pot holding 10 gallons takes 400 g (10 × 40). Go by the substrate, not the number on the pot or the water in a tank; a part-filled pot holds less than its label.

Mix it in or top-dress

Mixing it evenly through the medium before transplant is best. You can also top-dress after planting, as long as water passes over the granules to carry the nutrients into the root zone. If the pot already has Granular in it, account for what's there instead of adding another full charge.

In AutoPots, mix it in before transplant and run plain water in the reservoir until Cake. Bottom feeding won't wet a top-dress. More in our AutoPot guide.

What to feed on top

Nothing is required. Granular can feed for up to about 180 days, though it's not a guaranteed timer: temperature, moisture, plant demand and runoff all change how long it lasts. You don't need A+B on top. If you want to push your plants a little, run the solubles once a week at the highlighted ratio on the labels.

Use beneficial microbes with Granular, not bleach. It has organic components, and a sterilizer works against the microbes. In coco we top-feed a beneficial once a week at that product's label rate.

For the final 2 weeks, switch to Cake alone at 3 g per gallon of water through harvest. The Granular in the medium keeps releasing; Cake helps block nitrogen uptake so the plant finishes. See When to Start Cake.

Raised beds and in-ground

Same rate per gallon of soil. Work out the gallons of root-zone soil you're amending and use the matching tier. A bed mixed all the way through is over 20 gallons, so it takes 30 g per gallon, about 225 g per cubic foot (1 cubic foot is about 7.5 gallons).

For example, a 4 × 8 ft bed mixed 1 ft deep is 32 cubic feet, so about 7,200 g. For individual planting holes, use the tier for the hole's volume: a 5-gallon hole takes 250 g, a 15-gallon hole 600 g.