hydroponic – Page 2 – Hydroponic Economics

Air Pump Broke on Hydroponics System

I have heard of many indoor gardeners plagued with broken air pumps. Don’t blame the broken air pump on a poorly built product, blame it on a poorly trained user. Sometimes air pumps won’t turn on after a power outage of some sort. The reason this happens is water is siphoned into the air pump. The water destroys the electrical components and the air pump no longer functions.

There is a preventative measure growers can take to protect their hydroponic garden from broken air pumps. The answer is a check valve. Check valves prevent water from siphoning water into the air pump in the case of a power loss. They are cheap and easy to install. You can find check valves in department stores, pet stores, aquarium stores, and of course hydroponics stores. They are the same type of check valve you put on an aquarium air pump.

Hydro systems with a reservoir should be using an air stone. The air stone is powered by the air pump. Nearly all hydroponic systems including drip systems will need an air pump. A check valve is something everyone should get when ever they get a new air pump.

To install a check valve simply cut air tubing to be secured to both sides of the Check Valve. Make sure to face the valve the right way so air can flow. Check Valve will make your hydroponic system more dependable. Its an awful feeling to lose a good harvest to a hydroponic equipment failure.

Click Here to get your check valves from Amazon.com

Hydroponic Growth Medium: Rockwool or Starter Plugs

Rockwool and Starter Plug — Both mediums have small precut holes perfect for plant stems. You can also start your own small hole somewhere on the cube for stems.

Hydroponic growth medium is an important choice depending on your grow style. Different growth medias have different strengths and weaknesses. Many growers turn to hydroponic growing methods for their propagation systems. By doing so, growers are given a wide array of options to optimize their growing efficiency. Economical growers do not want to see a decrease in yield or harvest quality due to a growing media issue.

Cloning medium — Try different cloning mediums to find what works for YOU.

Below are the pros and cons for both mediums. You should experiment with both to see what you find. You never know what you may find out from trying different soil less mediums. Search for what works best in the system you use.

Starter Plug Pros:

-Simple, Plugs usually come in a float n grow type system with instructions.

-Only need to be dipped in water to be ready to go.

Starter Plug Cons:

–The float n grow system is not really re-usable, rendering the starter plug replacement packs nearly useless.

-Aside from the float n grow – the starter plugs seem to be susceptible to powdery mildew but careful planning can defend against it.

Rockwool Pros:

-The design is made to give the roots the best air to moisture ratio, if used properly.

–Rockwool is not messy whatsoever.

-Holds moisture well – Important for cloning.

-Comes in various sizes.

Rockwool Cons:

–May not be a good choice for plants that require a dry start for success.

-Rough handling, and lack of attention could lead to an incorrect air to moisture ratio.

-Should be sitting flat.

I cannot say which will prove to be more successful to you, but I had better luck with the rockwool cubes. The Starter Plugs stayed in water for too long. I also tried re-using a float n grow through multiple sets of cloning cycles. The float n grow needs to be cleaned and sterilized to go through a refill. The rockwool cubes did not do well sitting in a flood tray of water, but they did hold up well in a bubble cloner. Go for 100% and try out all the different cloning mediums! Share your experience below!

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.

Good Hydroponic Growing Medium: Hydroton Clay Pebbles

The growth medium you choose for your plants is important. The hydroponic growing medium can determine the time settings you need to run for your drip emitters or ebb and flow system. Today I’ve written a little post about my experience with expanded clay pellets.

The expanded clay I used was Easy Green Hydroton. It comes in two sizes: 4/8 and 8/16. I used a mix of both and had great results. Expanded clay pellets mix well with other mediums for hybrid mixes as well. Make soil less mixes from grow mediums that are clean. New packaged growth mediums should be labeled sterile and most are PH balanced. In the picture you can see I have a rockwool cube attached to a thick hydroton root ball.

The hydroton drained well and could be watered many times a day. Expanded clay wicks moisture from rockwool so be sure to place a drip emitter on your rockwool cube. My rockwool cube had the main part of root system in it. If that part of the root system dries and dies the rest of the root system is useless.

You will have to play with the watering intervals for your plants in this growth medium. Hydroclay dries out fast so water often. To avoid over fertilization fill your reservoir with a weak soluble fertilizer. A weak nutrient solution can be fed to your plant many times a day without causing nutrient burn or salt lock up.

Read customer reviews of the popular Hydroton brand Clay Pebbles here.

Hydroponic Tomatoes

At the local super market I saw a label that read “Hydroponically Grown” on a pack of tomatoes. I instantly had to purchase them to add to the salsa we were making that night. The

hydroponic tomatoes were very ripe. They were very tasty and seemed no different than a set of perfectly grown soil tomatoes. But how often do you see perfectly shaped soil grown tomatoes? There is nothing wrong with soil grown tomatoes, but I had to pay respect to the hydroponic farmers. Commercial hydroponic farming is very efficient and eco friendly.

Hydroponically grown food can use up less land space to grow more bountiful crops. Commercial hydroponic food production can be great in a green house. The greenhouse protects the hydroponic equipment from harsh outdoor conditions. Hydroponic greenhouses give growers the benefits of clean hydroponics with outdoor sun cycles. After all, the sun is the best grow light you can get!

Try your own taste test! If you find some hydroponic or organic tomatoes at the local market buy them both! You can also get other kinds of tomatoes and compare all the grows yourself. A lot of times the quality of the product depends more on the farmer than the style, so don’t let one comparison set your mind on one type of food production. Post your comments below on your experience with buying hydroponic tomatoes!

Does Azamax Affect Taste?

Many indoor gardeners are looking for organic pest control answers. Some growers forget about certain natural resources they should be using to help avoid pests. Natural pest guards are plants like garlic and fly eating plants. The indoor gardener faces a mini pest that is hard to detect and multiplies rapidly. The dreaded spider mite! Spider mites are indoor grower’s worst nightmare. General Hydroponics offers an OMRI listed pesticide that can kill spider mites. The solution can be used up to the day of harvest and can be sprayed on fruits and veggies.

I have played with Azamax myself to find if the residue would leave a taste on my harvest. The taste of Azamax will be left on your food depending on how you applied Azamax. If you can avoid bugs the last week of harvest you should be able to effectively rinse it out of the plant. Some growers use a final flush solution to clean their hydroponic plants. Mixing Azamax in the nutrient reservoir is effective for preventative pest control, and quick solutions. It is easy to put too much Azamax in your reservoir, but it is also easy to fix. Just add more plain water to your reservoir to help offset the percentage of Azamax.

Foliar applications are the quickest way to kill bugs using Azamax. I use 5ml Azamax per 2L of plain water for foliar applications. Using Azamax as an organic bug spray is very effective against spider mites. DO NOT WASTE YOUR SPRAYS! If you spray too much Azamax on your plants you will be left with a funky tasting food. The key is moderation and effective aiming. Mist the whole plant very lightly from a foot away to give it a spider mite shield. Directly spray the areas with the most spider mites. Spray the undersides of the leaves to kill hatching babies. Spider mites multiply very rapidly, but Azamax will slow down their reproduction. Azamax can affect the taste of your crop if you use too much. Follow the preventative pest control measures to move Azamax to your last resort.

Before harvest time spray your plants with plain water. Start spraying them 2 or 3 days before harvest to rinse off the Azamax residue. Don’t spray them under intense lighting because you will burn the leaves. Try feeding your plant only plain water right before harvest to flush the remaining Azamax. Finally dunk your crop in water as you cut it down to remove the rest of the dust, pests, and sprays.

Get General Hydroponics AzaMax at Amazon today to protect your indoor garden investment. You can also read customer reviews here.

Hydroponic Economics wants to know how your experience with Azamax has been! Kick off the conversation in the comments section below.

Review: Ortho Home Defense MAX

A lot of indoor gardeners have trouble getting rid of bugs and insects in the grow room and around the house. The aroma of fresh fruit and blooming flowers attract swarms of bugs and insects. Chemical pest control is not always the best route, but it can provide a secure block around the house. I tried spraying Home Defense Max outside around the perimeter of my house. I also sprayed the cracks in all the doorways and windows. Next, I sprayed a line on the floor around the kitchen. I used the whole bottle around my house after two separate applications about a week apart. If you plan to use Home Defense Max around your grow room or grow box, I would remove your plants from the room before spraying the areas you want to protect. Once the spray drys out and the room airs out you are safe to put your plants back in.

The bug spray is a chemical type of spray with a weird scent. It was not overwhelming though in comparison to some other sprays. I wouldn’t keep this bottle around the children, but I also wouldn’t keep salmonella carrying roaches around either. Make sure to spray with enough time that the zone will not be bothered so it can dry and air out. Despite the chemicals in Home Defense Max- the product seemed to work very well. At the time of spraying I actually wiped out a bunch of bugs just hanging out in the spots I was spraying. Those bugs could have reproduced and made many more bugs. Catch bug infestations early and you will be glad you did. Ortho’s Home Defense Max will help you with your current bug problem and prevent you from having another one.

Buy or read customer reviews of Ortho Home Defense Max here.

Cheap Organic Pet Food

The cheapest pet snack I can think of is salad greens. Organic greens are a fun snack for your pets and are easy to grow. You can even feed your pets the weaker salad leaves that you were going to cut off anyway. Instead of throwing those extras in the compost or garbage disposal, toss them to your best pet friends! They will certainly appreciate the snack and gain the nutrients they need.

Piggy — Fresh Greens on top of a guinea pig home.

If you have a lot of pets it is very easy to create a small container garden to provide fresh snacks for them. A small container garden is also very cheap and can be automated. An automated container garden for organic pet food is very economical and easy to set up. A small recirculating drip system can be built for about $30. Thirty dollars is a small price to pay for a garden system that will last years and provide many harvests of fresh greens. Assorted seed packs of salad mixes are very cheap($2-$5). One pack of seeds may last you a whole year depending on the rate you use them. You can’t get fresh organic pet food that you can trust at that price!

There are many manufacturers of organic and natural pet foods and it may be necessary to buy these for daily nutrition and feeding. Stay tuned- I’ll be posting a detailed guide on how to efficiently grow organic greens for your pets.

Check out Organic Authority for more information on the benefits of feeding your pets organic pet food.

"MMM Organic Pet Food" — Guinea Pig Finishing Organic Pet Food

Collect Rainwater to Fill Your Reservoir

A large hydroponic system can use a lot of water. Most indoor gardeners are concerned about the environment and wan’t to reduce their carbon footprint. Growing your own food at home is a great way to be green. Gardeners don’t want to be consuming more than they have to because that would be completely counter productive. There are ways to get your water for free and recycle at the same time. You can use any sturdy food safe container that can withstand your area’s outdoor conditions as a reservoir for rainwater.

Depending on when it rains in your area you may need to plan to catch the rain water during its season. Collecting rainwater is easy and even though it may not cover all your water uses, it will certainly reduce the amount of water you pull from your city or well. You don’t have to be an indoor gardener to have uses for rain water, although you should run your water through a reverse osmosis system to make sure its clean. RO water is better gardeners anyway because you know exactly what you are putting in. If you would just like to go buy a water collection system your local hydroponics shop should have something you can use. The water barrels at the hydroponic store are usually 55 gallon barrels with a lid.

I plan to write a detailed guide in the near future on how to start your own homemade rain collection system. In the meantime, Hydroponic Economics will be accepting pictures of anyone else who has started a rainwater collection system. Send your pictures to mailbox@hydroponiceconomics.com and you may be featured on the website!

Choose Forgiving Nutrients in a New Hydroponic System

When you buy a new hydroponic system or build your own, you have to be careful and observant the first time you use it. Since you are not familiar with how your plants will grow in your new system you have to be extra careful to make sure you do not push them too hard. Many things come into play when trying to figure out how much to feed your plants. The first season you have with your system will most likely be the worst one. Once you get a feel for your system you realize where you can make adjustments. The next season will be much better because you already know what to expect. Nutrient burns and salt lock ups are very common mistakes made by new indoor gardeners trying to push their plants too hard before finding out what they are actually using. In my opinion, it is safer to diminish your overall harvest weight for the sake of quality. If you cut back on the feeding regimen before there is salt lock up or over fertilization, you will end up with a better quality food product.

You should always stay on the light side of a nutrient solution when using a hydroponic system for the first time. To dilute your solution you just add plain water. Use hydroponic fertilizers that are water soluble so the nutrients will soak into the water in your reservoir. When oxygen is being delivered to the reservoir you will get much better results with your nutrients. The aerated nutrient delivery is a much more efficient way to feed plants over traditional watering practices. Usually OMRI listed nutrients are safer and more forgiving. If you have questions about a specific bottle just ask the person working at the hydroponics shop. They will be more than happy to show you which nutrients are more forgiving. I suggest using only half what the bottle recommends for the first run. When you start to see signs of over fertilization you know your solution is too strong. If your plants are showing signs of nutrient deficiencies you may need to strengthen your nutrient solution. PH and Electrical Conductivity (EC) meters can help keep you in the safe range, but they are not always necessary if you can’t afford them. Of course there is much much more to nutrient solutions, but it cannot be covered in one post. These guidelines will help you stay out of trouble and keep your plants healthy until you fully understand YOUR hydroponic system.