Ecothrive Breakdown – Unlock Nutrients

Most grow rooms are pretty sterile places! The truth is, microbial life isn’t bad!

Microbes have lots of complex functions that support plant growth and health. Harness them, and plants will thrive.

That’s what Ecothrive is about! Ecothrive products feed the microbes in your media, so they can feed plants.

Here’s the Ecothrive line up.

Ecothrive Charge
Ecothrive Biosys
Ecothrive Coco with Charge
Ecothrive Eco-Life Supercharged Soil
Ecothrive Life-Cycle Soil Amendment

Charge was Ecothrive’s first launch and is still a firm favourite.

It’s made of mealworm droppings – aka frass. These droppings are packed with natural beneficial microorganisms that:

• Support root functions
• Improve nutrient cycling (by recycling organic matter into plant usable nutrients)
• Keep your rhizosphere healthy

Ecothrive Charge also contains mealworm skins – chitin. When plants sense it, they think insects are around. This triggers their defences, improving resistance to diseases. It can also enhance growth.

Gareth from Ecothrive explains it in this video…

For best results, mix it into your potting media at 2%, then apply as a top dressing every 4 weeks.

As base: Mix at 2% (1L of Charge per 50L of media), moisten then leave for 24 hours

As top dressing: Add 7.5 - 15g per 10L pot

Watering in: Add 30 – 60g per 10L of water, water to run off and repeat every 4 weeks

Charge isn’t totally water soluble but you can use it as a foliar spray by creating an extract:

Foliar: Mix1–2g per L of water for 1min, stand for 15mins, mix again (use within 24hrs)

This is Ecothrive’s instant microbe tea! No brewing is needed – just mix it with water!

It’s a unique blend of beneficial bacteria and fungi. It also contains ingredients that activate and feed them – like humic acids, protein & seaweed.

The bacteria in Biosys are great for:

• Warding off pathogens (trichoderma)
• Boosting water & nutrient uptake (mycorrhizal fungi & bacillius)
• Unlocking nutrients (Bascillius, Pseudomonas, Azobacter & Azosiprillium)

No brewing, mixing or measuring is needed. Just use 1g per Litre for your first dose. Then use 0.5g per Litre after that.

Gareth summarises it well in the video below.

For more information on Biosys, check out Ecothrive Biosys - The Magic Of Microbes! [Q&A].

To ensure powder is dissolved, start by making a concentrate (e.g. mix 10g with 100ml of water until the powder has dissolved, then mix in with the rest of the water)

Propagation and potting on: 10g per 10L of water

Established plants (soil, coco & hydro): 5g per 10L of water

Recirculating hydro systems: 2.5g per 10L of water

Stress recovery: 10g per 10L of water

Ecothrive Coco with Charge is exactly what it sounds like. It’s a premium coco pre-mixed with Ecothrive Charge at the ideal 2%. That’s 1L of Charge per 50L of coco.

Coco is famously inert - by adding Charge you’re adding the microbial life that promotes plant growth and health.

Gareth explains his product in this video:

• Ideally, work the coco through your hands to break up lumps
• Feed plants nutrients from day 1
• Always use a coco feed
• Start with a low CF of 6 - 12 (0.6 - 1.2 EC)
• For best results, add Ecothrive Biosys every time you pot on, and every 1 - 2 weeks after

Eco-Life is a ‘living soil’ made by Ecothrive and Living Soil. It takes growing organically to a new leve

It’s pre-loaded with the nutrients plants need from seed to harvest.

To begin with, these nutrients are locked up in raw organic ingredients. As plants need them, bacteria break them down into a plant usable form.

You don’t need to feed. Since you’re not feeding, you don’t need to flush. Just keep your media moist. You can add organic additives.

Along with the other organic ingredients, Eco-Life Soil has been dosed with Ecothrive Charge, so you still get all the benefits of that, too.

Ecothrive’s Gareth explains how it works in this video.

Per 1.2m2 area, we recommend 160 – 200L of Eco-Life in 4 x 40L pots.

Other pot sizes will work, as long as you use the right amount of media.

e.g. 2 x 80L pots or 6 x 30L pots would work.

You can start most plants off with Eco-Life. But if you’re growing sensitive plants, you can mix in some coco to begin with.

Build up your water level slowly. DO NOT WATER TO REACH RUN-OFF.

For your first water, add 5 – 10% of total pot volume. Check your pots and water every few days.

You want to keep the soil evenly moist, and not too wet. No final flush is needed.

If you choose, you can use other additives. Just don’t overdo it and:

• Stick to organic additives
• Avoid PK boosters
• Stop using 4 – 5 weeks before harvest

For an extra boost, apply Ecothrive Life-Cycle as a top dressing every 2 – 3 weeks. You can also use Ecothrive Biosys every 2 weeks.

Life-Cycle contains the raw organic ingredients in Eco-Life Supercharged Soil. To get the best out of your Supercharged soil, apply this as a top dressing every 2 – 3 weeks. It’s also great for recharging any media ready for reuse.

Gareth from Ecothrive explains the product here:

You can use it as a top dressing or for recharging used soil:

To recharge used Eco-Life Soil: Mix 250g with every 40L of Eco-Life Soil

For any new soil or coco: Mix 300 – 350g with every 50L of media

After mixing, let the media warm then cool before using. Bigger bodies of media will warm up more and may need turning every 2-3 days.

Lightly dust the surface of each 40-50L pot with 1-2tbs of Ecothrive Life-Cycle (15-30ml)

Water as usual after application.

Repeat every 2-3 weeks.

You need to make sure don’t harm microbes:

• Always use a good quality, dechlorinated water. Chlorine can harm microbes
• Don’t use aggressive chemicals, including pH adjusters
• Avoid anything that could sterilise your media (like Silver Bullet Roots)