Hey everyone! We recently got some great questions from East Coast Space that I think a lot of growers are wondering about. The first question was: "Although I use Drops of Balance with every watering, I don't use it as a foliar spray. What would be the added benefit for using it that way?"

This is actually a fantastic question that gets to the heart of maximizing your plant's potential. While most growers understand the value of treating their water, many are missing out on the incredible benefits of foliar applications. Let me break down exactly why you should consider adding this to your routine.

Why Use Drops of Balance as a Foliar Spray?

There are three main reasons why foliar application of Drops of Balance can take your growing to the next level:

1. Essential Minerals for Photosynthesis 2. Cleaning Pesticides and Fungicides 3. Water Restructuring for Maximum Efficiency

The fact of the matter is, if you're growing indoors, you really want as much of that light to be absorbed as possible so you can use less electricity and get better results. Foliar feeding gets nutrients directly to where photosynthesis happens - the leaves.

The Science Behind Photosynthesis and Mineral Requirements

Here's where it gets interesting. Most growers focus on NPK (nitrogen, phosphorus, potassium), but photosynthesis actually requires a complex array of trace minerals that work together. Let me walk you through exactly what your plants need and why Drops of Balance contains all of these except nitrogen:

Nitrogen - Essential for chlorophyll production. Without adequate nitrogen, your plants can't create the green pigment needed to capture light energy.

Phosphorus - Responsible for energy transfer throughout the plant, plus growth of stems, flowers, leaves, and roots. Think of it as your plant's energy currency.

Potassium - Controls the movement of water, carbohydrates, and nutrients through plant tissues. It also activates enzymes that control proteins, which are needed for everything in the plant.

Sulfur - Critical for allowing plants to actually use nitrogen to produce chlorophyll. Without sulfur, nitrogen becomes useless.

Magnesium - Plays a key role in enzyme production and sits at the center of every chlorophyll molecule. No magnesium, no photosynthesis.

Calcium - Activates enzymes, forms cell walls, influences water movement, and is necessary for cell growth and division. Since plants are constantly growing, calcium is needed throughout the entire process.

The trace minerals are where most products fall short, but they're absolutely critical:

• Iron - Critical for chlorophyll production
• Boron - Aids in seed production, cellular health, and sugar energy transportation (ATP production)
• Manganese - Involved in enzyme activity for photosynthesis, respiration, and nitrogen metabolism
• Zinc - Helps in chlorophyll and carbohydrate production
• Molybdenum - Important component for enzymes that synthesize amino acids and process nitrogen
• Copper - Aids photosynthesis, plant metabolism, and respiration

This is why Drops of Balance is essential as a foliar spray product - it's literally the most comprehensive trace mineral product available. You will not find anything better, guaranteed.

How Drops of Balance Works: The 4-Stage Process

When you spray Drops of Balance on your plants, something remarkable happens. The minerals cause an ion exchange that starts a four-stage process:

1. Flocculation 2. Precipitation 3. Coagulation 4. Deposition

This process scrubs your plants of over 250 contaminants including pesticides, fungicides, insecticides, VOCs, and heavy metals. Whether you use 1ml per gallon or 5ml per gallon, this process happens - it just happens faster at higher concentrations.

Water Restructuring: The Honeycomb Effect

After the four stages are complete, something unique occurs - a honeycomb-shaped structure forms in the water due to the power of ionic sulfate minerals. This isn't just marketing hype - this restructuring has real benefits.

Most water restructuring machines only work for a few hours before the water reverts back to its normal chaotic structure. With Drops of Balance, as long as the minerals are in the water, this honeycomb shape persists.

Why does this matter? The more structured the water, the more efficiently it can hold onto minerals and nutrients. This relates to something called the Law of Minimum and Law of Tolerance - it's actually the trace minerals that make everything else more available to your plant through improved nutrient uptake and enzyme production.

It's not about adding more calcium or magnesium - it's about adding the least available thing in your environment to increase uptake of everything else.

Cleaning Your Growing Environment

Here's something most growers don't think about: as you're foliar spraying, the treated water drifts down to your soil and helps revitalize it as well.

The real problem is often in your soil. We have to clean the soil of harmful contaminants to allow soil biology to come back to life. After you do that, you can actually reduce the amount of minerals you're giving and rely more on foliar applications because less will be needed overall.

This is one of those great products where over time, as long as you change your practices and stop reintroducing harmful contaminants, you can actually reduce your dependence on it while maintaining better results.

Application Instructions and Dosage

Here's exactly how we recommend using Drops of Balance as a foliar spray:

Standard Application:

• Add 4ml per gallon of Drops of Balance
• Add 40-80ml per gallon of Organic Shield (if dealing with pests)

For Heavy Infestations:

• Start with 80ml per gallon of Organic Shield
• Always include 4ml per gallon of Drops of Balance
• Know your pest's life cycle (usually 3 weeks)
• Spray every 3-4 days initially
• After first application, reduce to 40ml per gallon Organic Shield
• Continue with 4ml per gallon Drops of Balance

The reason we recommend Organic Shield alongside Drops of Balance is because photosynthesis needs more than just minerals - it also needs sugar and CO2. Organic Shield provides both of these when it breaks down after killing pests on contact.

Real-World Results: Field Study Data

We completed a $30,000 field study with over 120 third-party plant growth analyses. The results speak for themselves:

• 24% yield increase in strawberry field studies
• Significant heavy metal remediation
• Pesticide and fungicide remediation
• Increased essential oil production in plants

When Organic Shield breaks down, it creates water, CO2, and sugar while leaving approximately 700 PPM around the leaf surface for 24-36 hours. This extended availability of photosynthesis essentials is what drives the dramatic yield increases.

Combining Products for Maximum Effect

When you combine Drops of Balance with Organic Shield as a foliar spray, you're getting:

1. Complete trace mineral profile for optimal photosynthesis
2. Clean pest control that's OMRI certified and non-toxic
3. Extended CO2 and sugar availability for 24-36 hours
4. Water restructuring for improved nutrient delivery
5. Contaminant removal from previous pesticide/fungicide applications

This combination creates what I consider the most effective photosynthesis efficiency product available, while also serving as an integrated pest management solution.

The Bottom Line

If you're already using Drops of Balance in your water, adding it as a foliar spray is a natural next step that can significantly boost your results. The science is solid, the field studies prove its effectiveness, and the application is straightforward.

Most importantly, if you're growing indoors and paying for electricity, maximizing light absorption through improved photosynthesis efficiency means you'll need less light for the same results. That directly impacts your bottom line.

The only thing I ask is that if you find value in this information, please ask your local hydroponic stores to carry Drops of Balance. Supporting companies that invest in real research and share their findings helps get better products into more growers' hands.

Start with the basic foliar application of 4ml per gallon and see the difference for yourself. Your plants - and your yields - will thank you.