home hydroponics – Hydroponic Economics

Delicious Home Hydroponics Salad Harvest

Organic Hydroponic Garden — Thriving Mesclun in a mini DWC system.

Why should you use hydroponics to increase your yields? The same reason you started a garden! If you have ever had a successful harvest, you know the feeling I’m talking about. Some growers are discouraged by organic fertilizers when it comes to hydroponic gardens. Fear not growers, water soluble organic fertilizers are available online and at local hydroponics shops. Some greens can even be grown using tiny amounts of fertilizers. Basils, lettuce, mesclun, and other leafy plants can be grown organically in hydroponics system with very little fertilizer.

Organic indoor gardens can be maximized with the use of hydroponics. Organic hydroponic systems are like normal hydroponic gardens, but with a little more care to detail and quality.

The salad mix in the picture was started in a jiffy pot full of soil. When the seeds sprouted, the jiffy pots were put into a mini DWC system. The roots grew through the soil and into the DWC environment. There was explosive root growth when the roots entered the high humidity environment.

The salad grew very fast under simple CFL lighting. Small hydro setups can produce big results with the right knowledge.

This is a single 3 inch jiffy pot full of soil. Each Jiffy yielded at least 2 or 3 servings of salad greens under only CFL lighting.

Time to Change Your Hydroponic Reservoir: Avoid Salt Lockup

Hydroponic Nutrient Reservoir — The water in this reservoir is not fit for a hydroponic system.

Reservoir changes are an essential part to all hydroponic systems. The reservoir is where your oxygenated water and nutrient solution rests in between feedings. You can read up on res changes if you are unfamiliar with them. Depending on the size of your reservoir, hydroponic growing system, and nutrient solution your reservoir should be changed every 7-14 days. Recirculating hydroponic systems need to be monitored closely for signs indicating its time for a res change. If you procrastinate too long, your plants may become victim to the dreaded salt lock up. Look for these 5 signs to ensure you don’t wait too long!

1. Discolored Reservoir Water – Hydroponic systems usually have nutrients and potentially an insecticide like Azamax mixed into the reservoir. After recirculation the solution picks up extra things you do not want to continually recirculate through your system. If your nutrient solution is not the color it was after you mixed it, it may be time for a res change.

2.Dead bugs – Dead bugs can have germs and carry diseases you do not want transfered to your plants. If you see floating dead bugs in your reservoir water, change it!

3. Wrong PH/High PPM – If the PH of your water is too high, you could damage your plant’s root system. You can get products that will adjust your PH, but use them in moderation. There could be a greater problem you are missing out on if you continually lower your PH with solutions. A high PPM can lead to nutrient burns and salt lockouts. You can add plain water to offset a high PPM, but a reservoir change is in place if you made your nutrient solution too strong.

4. Plants are deficient in one nutrient, but over fertilized by another – Using multi part nutrient solutions can give a grower a lot of precision. If you notice your plants are showing signs of deficiency for potassium, but look over fertilized, they could just need a different ratio of nutrients. A reservoir change will allow you to start your nutrient mix from a fresh pallet.

5. Two Week Rule – If you have been using the same res water for more than two weeks, its probably time for a change. Letting your res water evaporate and get low can also spike your PPM. Don’t let a huge reservoir fool you! You still need to monitor your PH and PPM because the nutrients do not evaporate out of the water.

GUIDE: How to Mix Fertilizer; Mixing Nutrients in a Hydroponic Reservoir

Mixing nutrients is an essential part to all hydroponic growing systems. Plants require nutrients to grow. Hydroponic systems are designed to ensure maximum nutrient uptake. Use this guide to mix your nutrients correctly every time! Mixing nutrients in your reservoir is easy – follow the pictures if you are confused.

Water for Hydroponic Reservoir — Start with plain water to mix with your hydroponics nutrient.

Start with reverse osmosis water if you can. I use one gallon jugs to fill water and mix nutrients. Growers with bigger reservoirs will want to use a 5 gallon bucket to mix nutrients. Make sure the container you use is food grade.

Get a clean measurement tool like a cylinder. Read the label of your nutrients to determine the measurement of nutrients you need per gallon. If you are using a five gallon bucket make sure to multiply by 5. I like to start with half of what the bottle recommends to ensure I don’t burn my plants. Pour your high grade organic nutrients into the measurement tool to make sure you have the correct amount.

Pour Nutrients Into Measurement Tool — Pour your hydroponic plant nutrients into your measurement tool.

Hydroponic Nutrients — Measure and double check your plant nutrient measurement before adding to your water.

Make sure you double check your nutrient measure. It is good to know the amount of nutrients used and at what time in the plant’s life cycle. Jotting down quick notes of these metrics and their results can leave you with valuable information for your next crop. Grow logs are an essential tool in building a better growing environment.

Mix Hydroponic Nutrients with Water — Once you have the correct amount of nutrients, pour them into you water that is to be mixed in the reservoir.

Line up your measurement device with the lip of your container and pour your nutrients in slowly. If you tilt the cylinder too much you may overshoot your container. If you spill some the measurement you took is now wrong. The loss will not affect your grow in a severe manner, but it is nice to have close to accurate measurements. Even if you are trying to achieve 100% efficiency you are unlikely to do so.

Cap the container and shake the nutrients until they are well mixed.

How Often Should You Change Your Water Reservoir?

QUICK ANSWER : Every Seven Days

Longer Answer: When you are trying to decide when to change your nutrient reservoir in your hydroponic recirculation system, there are a few things to consider. The size of your reservoir, the amount of nutrients remaining in the solution, ph, and how clean the water is. If your water looks gross, it probably is gross. Gross water = Gross plants. Gross deserves a capital G for that equation.

The bigger your reservoir the further you can go between res changes(Res change is short for water/nutrient reservoir change ). Big reservoirs may be more forgiving then a small reservoir. Small reservoirs may change by hundreds of ppm in a single day. Hydroponic systems require close monitoring of nutrient levels to avoid burning plants. If your reservoir loses water to evaporation make sure to top it off with plain water or a very low ppm solution. Res changes mostly apply to recirculating systems. Non-recirculating or “run to waste” hydroponic systems only require you to change the solution every two weeks. The nutrient solution stays clean and the PH is maintained in a non-recirculating system. The most important part of a good hydroponic system is a clean nutrient reservoir.

Clean Nutrient Reservoir — A clean nutrient reservoir loaded with Earth Juice Bloom and Azamax

Using Hydroponics for Self-Sustaining Food Production

Today I was watching TV and saw a special on the damage a high magnitude earthquake would do to a city like San Francisco, California. The damage was unbelievable! Traffic in and out of the city would be at a stand still, if it was even operational. Communication lines would be down. A whole mess of things I don’t want to be in. A specialist said the people who were the most independent and self-sustaining, would be the most likely to survive in a crisis like that.

Hydroponics is a clean and green way to grow food practically anywhere. Not only can you grow anywhere, you can MAXIMIZE anywhere. Hydroponic systems are very efficient and practically run themselves with the right equipment and knowledge. The point is the people of San Francisco and all other urbanized areas, can be just as green as anyone else. Just because you are a renter in a small apartment with zero yard space does not mean you can’t have a small wheat grass box, a flood and drain tomato table, and a simple deep water culture herb tote for all your cooking spices. 35-40 cubic feet of space(a 3×3 box about 4 or 5 feet high) is more than enough to take up a serious hydroponic hobby and home food production center. There is nothing better than the satisfaction of eating your own harvest.

Hydroponics are by no means limited to vegetables. If you are like me and really like fresh strawberries all year round, you have a reason to start an indoor garden! Not only will you have your favorite fresh fruit to eat whenever you want, but you will also learn A LOT about the plant you choose to grow. You may find that you can grow a better berry than the local farmers depending on your area.

Pass this knowledge on to a friend whom you think is wasteful or unaware of the many benefits of having a home hydroponics garden.

GUIDE: Building a Simple Drain Table – Part 2

This is part 2 of the DIY Drain Table Guide. Look at part one here.

Okay after you have the right size tub and trays for your set up you can get started. The size you get depends on your needs but I recommend getting a really sturdy bottom tub(drain off tub where waste goes). The tub should be able to withstand the pressure of water with out bowing out enough to make your trays fall and CERTAINLY without cracking or breaking.

If a water container you have in one of your hydroponics systems is too weak to withstand the pressure of water constantly pushing on it could crack or break and leak the potential GALLONS of water all over your room and whatever electronics you may have on your floor(Even though all indoor gardeners should be making sure all of their electrical parts are placed on the wall or above where water could potentially spill or spray on them RIGHT?)

You’ll want to use a drill to drill holes 1 or 2 inches wide in the lids of the containers. Position the hole so that they will drain into the tub the lids will be sitting on. Refer to the pictures below.

Notice there is a two inch hole drilled into the lid of the container with a two inch diameter PVC joint connector put through it as a drain hole.

Sealing the drain so water is FORCED through PVC.

To seal the PVC elbow drains in place you can get water proof silicone or a type of strong water proof caulking and apply it with a caulking gun.

Let the sealant set long enough that its not loose – this could take up to 24 hours so BE PATIENT. Better things come to those who wait. Once the bond is tight you will be able to sit your trays on top of the lids and the drain wont fall off under the pressure of your plants plus extra water.

Position your tray on top of the lid like you will have it in your final set up. You want to put a hole in the space where the PVC hole is so the water from the tray drains out of the hole and through the PVC drain down into the bottom tub/reservoir.

This is pretty much what you’ll have at the end – You can drill holes where the white circles are to drain the clear tray.

A drill should work fine if you are careful not to crack the plastic. It shouldn’t be a problem either way considering you should be using containers sturdy enough to hold a lot of weight over long periods of time. If one of your containers break your plants could end up submerged in their own dirty waste water. You want to plan and account for things like this in the planning of your hydroponic set ups to ensure safety of equipment, plants, and most importantly you and your house.

Another way to put holes in the plastic trays is to burn a hole. BE VERY CAREFUL WITH THE FIRE! I heated up a glass rod with a camp fire starting torch – one similar to what you use to start a grill. Once the rod was glowing orange I pushed it through where the PVC drains were to make a perfect hole.

Good luck in your constructions and please comment or contact me with any questions.

A Quick HYDROduction to Hydroponics

For the people who are new to hydroponics or are just looking to learn about what it is, this video will explain some of the different hydroponic possibilities. By NO means are these methods the ONLY hydroponic methods. There are virtually limitless possibilities with home made hydroponic systems. The narrator of this video is a little lacking but the ideas are presented quickly and simply for people looking for an introduction to hydroponic setups.