Greenhouse Sensation Resurrected!?

 As noted in a previous post, Greenhouse Sensation ceased trading sometime toward the end of 2022. As I mentioned in that post, I half-expected the company to reappear under new management and this now appears to have happened, albeit, it will be a few months before things get properly sorted. Previous customers of Greenhouse Sensation should have received an e-mail from the new owners promising a new website in the autumn of 2023. In the meantime, you can contact the new owners at info@greenhousesensation.co.uk.

Of immediate concern to current users of the Quadgrow system is the availability of the Nutrigrow nutrient packs. I have just heard back from the 'new' Greenhouse Sensation who have let mt know the Nutrigrow nutrient packs are availalble via their trade reseller Two Wests. When the Greenhouse Sensation website is up and running in the Autumn, you will be able to re-order directly from Greenhouse Sensation.

In the meantime you might want to consider using S-Chelate 12 Star as an alternative/option. Based on the elemental composition given for this product, I estimate it's N-P-K value to be 7-7-21 which is close enough to the 10-5-20 provided by the combined Nutrigrow A + B packs. S-Chelate 12 Star also provides a source of calcium (as Nutrigrow A does) plus the added benefit of sulfur (not provided by Nutrigrow nutrient packs).

Photo 1: S-Chelate 12 Star all-in-one nutrient for Quadgrows

I have not tried the S-Chelate 12 Star product yet as I am still working my way through my stock of Nutrigrow A + B. At some point I would like to give it a try, possibly comparing it with the original Nutrigrow nutrient mix. If you do find the S-Chelate 12 Star product is as good as or better than the Nutrigrow, then you should send a thank you to John Harrison at the Allotment Garden Diary who has done all the hard work finding this alternative. John reckons this is a superior product to the Nutrigrow due to its improved formulation, simpler one-pot use and no requirement for preparing stock solutions. Each 500g tub will make 400 litres of nutrient solution for adding to your Quadgrow reservoirs (i.e. the same as Nutrigrow). And the price for S-Chelate 12 Star is competitive with Nutrigrow especially with the free delivery available on orders over £20.

In my search for alternatives to Nutrigrow, I found two options:

• The Chempak range from Thompson & Morgan includes a High Potash Feed (NPK 15-15-30) and a Calcium supplement which can be used in exactly the same way as Nutrigrow A (calcium) and B (high potash). Finding the Chempak Calcium product on the Thompson & Morgan website was challenging but it is also available from lots of resellers. This is a very cost-effective option as the 750 g packs cost the same as Nutrigrow and you get 3x the amount of soluble fertilizer (i.e. 1200 litres).
• Agrigem, confusingly, also sell a Nutrigrow range of soluble fertilizers. Unfortunately for the home grower, they are only available in 25 kg bags. The Calcium Nitrate and Revive and products are good substitutes for Nutrigrow A and B respectively; use the same amounts (250 g dissolved in 2.5 litres) and dilutions (6 ml of each in 1 litre) as you would for the Greenhouse Sensation products. Note the Revive product also includes sulfur like the S-Chelate 12 Star.

If we ompare the relative costs of all four options (Nurigrow A+B, S-Chelate 12 Star, Chempak and Agrigem's Nutrigrow) then the cheapest option (per 500 g soluble fertilizer) is Agrichem's Nutrigrow at £1.35, followed by Chempak at about £4 and, finally, S-Chelate 12 Star and the original Nutrigrow A+B at £7.50.

If I've made any mistakes with my calculations, please let me know.

For pedantics, I have used the spelling of sulfur approved by the Royal Society of Chemistry (RSC) and the International Union of Pure and Applied Chemistry (IUPAC). The older spelling, sulphur, is still widely used however.