hydroponic – Page 3 – Hydroponic Economics

Introduction to Drip Systems

Drip systems are an extremely important component to any top level gardener using soil or top feed systems. Drip systems can be used outdoors to irrigate small or large gardens and lawns. They are a great investment for indoor gardeners because it takes the manual labor out of watering and feeding. It also benefits your plants by ensuring they receive water every day in proper amounts. The extra time will allow you to create a bigger garden or simply spend less time with your garden for the same benefits. Indoor gardens must consider the gardener and the plants needs because the relationship is dependent on each other. If someone feels they are spending too much time in the garden for little reward they may be discouraged and give up the greener lifestyle.

Submersible pumps like this one have rubber suction feet to stick to the bottom of your water or nutrient reservoir I’ll start by explaining the heart of the drip system. The most expensive part of your drip system is the water pump. There are submersible and non-submersible water pumps. Small gardens and reservoirs will usually use a submersible pump. If you are setting up your first drip system a small submersible pump should be enough. Water pumps in the US are rated by Gallons Per Hour(GPH). The GPH rating of your water pump will come into play when you are deciding what size water pump you will need. I’ll explain how to calculate the necessary GPH for your drip system in a later article. The thick blue storage tote is the container or reservoir for the water. Creativity might be handy when deciding what to use for a water reservoir. If you are at all concerned about your health, and you most likely are if you have decided to grow your own food, you should try to stick to food grade plastics for all the parts in your garden setup. You can buy reservoirs at hydroponic shops, but they can have a high ticket. It is easy to find something around the house or at local department stores to use as a reservoir. You can also go to US Plastics to order food grade plastic. A bigger reservoir can mean a longer span in between reservoir changes and topping off with water to compensate for evaporation. I always get reservoirs with lids or make my own. Lids will help to prevent algae from growing in your water. It can also keep pests and other contaminates out of your solution. The next important piece of the drip system is the air pump. The air pump brings fresh oxygen from the room through an air tube and out of a submerged air stone. The air stone will help to keep the reservoir full of oxygen. The water will bubble and agitate the water so it does not become stagnant. Drill a hole through the reservoir wall towards the top so you can put tubes and cords through it. If you are making a home made drip system, you will need 1/2″ tubing for the water to transfer from your submersible pump through the drip lines. Use a hole puncher made for drip lines to poke perfect holes in the 1/2″ tubing. The holes are for connectors to be put in to make bridges between 1/2″ tubing and 1/4″ tubing. Most drippers connect to 1/4″ tubing. The great thing about homemade drip systems is you can customize them to your hydroponic setup. No matter what type of garden you have, a drip system should be your next upgrade. If you already have a drip system than be sure to watch for the upcoming articles about building bigger and more advanced drip and top feed systems. The air pump delivers fresh oxygen via air tubing to the water or nutrient reservoir You can get all sorts of connectors to for the tubing so anything is possible. When the 1/4″ tubing is secured to the connectors attached to your 1/2″ tubing you are ready to add drip emitters, drip lines, or sprayers. Whatever you choose as your water delivery method, make sure there is somewhere for it to drain off. In recirculating systems the run off goes back into the water reservoir to be used again. It’s more economical this way for water and nutrients if you are using them. The other option is a run to waste option. I have also put a guide up for building a simple run off table. Its a very simple design that anyone can build. Homemade hydroponics can be easy with the right knowledge and the right set of tools. Refer to the pictures below for more details and if you would like to know more about drip hydroponics check back in the next few weeks to get some in depth knowledge. Sign up for the RSS to get the articles sent to your favorite feed reader or email address! Inline drippers have 1/4" tubing on both ends so the drip line can continue running to the final destination. The Red dripper will drop 1/2 gallon of water per hour into the medium while the pump is on. The open ended 1/4″ tubing will deliver the most water per hour, but small pumps have a hard time holding a steady stream for multiple 1/4″ tubes. Distance also slows down the performance of the pump
: Stakes are used to hold the drip lines in place. Make sure the medium is secure around the stakes. Try not to damage roots when placing stakes in growing medium.

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.

AzaMax: Hydroponic Solutions for Pest Control

AzaMax by General Hydroponics has a lot of different uses and applications. Today I will be focusing on the reservoir applications for recirculating and run to waste type systems. The amount of AzaMax to use depends on the size of your hydroponic system and type of infestation you are dealing with. For a minor to severe spider mite infestation, only the weaker end of the product recommendations are required to eliminate the problem without over affecting crop quality. Believe me, I’ve seen a few different pest control options, a lot of the products do work like they say, however you may have to live with the slight taste of bug spray on your prized fruits and veggies. AzaMax is one of the few hydroponic solutions that is safe for the reservoir and can be mixed right in with the nutrient solution. When the plant absorbs the solution this way, it pest proofs the plant from the inside out. The inside out method is useful because the solution can be applied at any time without getting residue on fruits or veggies close to consumption. It also ensures there will be no light burn on the leaves from the water magnifying the light.

Be warned – The AzaMax solution may change the color of your water a bit to a more milky color. This is natural and also happens when you mix it with water for foliar applications. Since AzaMax has the nice little measurement cup added to the bottle you can squeeze up the same amount or a semi precise amount without busting out the glassware. For my reservoir applications I try about 5 ML of AzaMax for every 5 or so gallons of water. That is about 1 Ml per gallon of water which is about .034 fl oz. The solution I use ranks below the lowest end of the spectrum according to AzaMax’s chart that comes with the bottle. Remember, those tables are guides and your application may vary from what others use. The solution I mention is what I use as my preventative measure! If you notice pests for weeks after your initial application, try adding more AzaMax on your next reservoir change.

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

Stay tuned on pest control with HPE – I’ll be posting more articles about AzaMax and its many uses in the future. I’ll also be posting some good home made natural pest remedies soon. If you have any comments or questions about AzaMax feel free to email me or reply with a comment below. Stay Green!

Hydroponic Cloning Tips

If you have wilting clones there could be a number of issues with your hydroponic cloning method. Make sure to have a thermometer to measure temperature and humidity accurately throughout the day. You can find digital ones at a department stores or hydro shops that will tell you the current and high/low temps and humidity throughout the day. The digital ones aren’t expensive in comparison to the knowledge you’ll have. If you are using a metal halide or other high powered lighting system, the clones must be a few feet away so they receive minimal light. If they get too much light they will try to work too hard with roots they don’t have.

If the temperature is getting to be in the 80’s F move the lights up more or add a circulation fan on a timer so the humidity stays high. Having a fan on for an hour at a time 2 or 3 times a day will really help to move the hot air. Try to use cool burning bulbs like fluorescent tubes so your temperature will stay down. A high humidity of 90% or higher will help your fresh cuttings more than anything else. Spray the walls of a clear container with water and put it over your cloning system. You can also attach spray emitters to a small water pump to spray water automatically for the first few days to ensure success rate. The humidity needs to be high so the leaves of the cutting can absorb water from the air because it does not have any roots to do that job yet. It may need a small hole or two for air flow so the temperature stays low and the cuttings have access to as much oxygen as they need.

Use an aeroponic or deep water culture method with aerated water to keep the roots or stems in a 100% humidity environment until they are established for transplant. You can find cloning systems at your local hydroponics store, online, or even build your own! Hardware stores and hydroponic shops should have pretty much everything you need to build your own.

Preventative Pest Control is the Best Pest Control

Pest control is often a topic shrugged off by novice indoor gardeners. You might think, oh its indoor, there are no bugs in here. WRONG. You cannot assume things like this when it comes to indoor gardening. It is better to plan for gnats, flies, aphids, spider mites, and other plant eating bugs before they wipe out your crop with out you noticing. Don’t underestimate the damage a bad pest infestation can cause. It may seem like they are only eating a few leaves or slightly discoloring leaves. The point is all that degradation adds up and what do you have to show for it? Worse crops, bug infested food or flowers, and lower yield! The point of indoor gardening is to control for a better grow. Be preventative in your pest control and you may never have to worry about an infestation.

Try using an organic garlic spray to ward off bugs. Post up yellow sticky paper to catch flying insects. The yellow sticky paper is great almost anywhere you put it. I have put them under the lips of containers to catch fresh gnats in the soil. If you place them up higher you may catch bigger flies. Try to use organic and natural pest control so you don’t affect the quality of your crops. Hydro shops also sell predatory bugs that will eat your pest infestation and then eat themselves. This is a method I have not had to use, but it is one of the most natural pest controls. Buying live lady bugs or placing them in your garden when you find them around the house will help eliminate small bug populations.

Another method of preventative pest control for an indoor garden is an enclosed growing environment that pests cannot get into. People may not realize the importance of closed chambers, but they can certainly help isolate a pest problem. If you anticipate a possible aphid or spider mite problem try a very light solution of a spray like AzaMax to ward off any pest infestation attempts. I’ve wiped out whole aphid colonies with only off-brand Neem before as well, but I’m sure that won’t work for all.

Green Moral of the Story: Preventative pest control can save you many headaches from dealing with nasty bugs and sprays. Preventative pest control can also ensure your crops will stay healthy and yield at their highest potential, and that’s what we’re after.

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

Another Reason Hydroponic Gardening is Important

One of the main reasons I chose to start an indoor gardening project was to produce my own fresh, good-tasting, safe food. Some stores sell fresh produce, but my area lacks in availability for year round fresh fruit. Strawberries were one of the first things I tried to grow in a hydroponic system. Once you learn the basics of hydroponics you could set up a system to grow tropical fruit inside your house! If you have a big back yard you could even create a tropical green house with the sun and the addition of high power grow lights. Once you are familiar with all the equipment available you can create any environment for any plant. You can tend to plants with very delicate environmental needs.

If you do not trust the source or are unsatisfied with the quality of your local produce then start a hydroponic or indoor gardening project to perfect the fruit of your dreams! Anything is possible if you learn enough about the plant requirements. I try to find books on Amazon.com about organic gardening and plant care. The books on Amazon don’t cost very much and are usually pretty detailed. Buying a book centralizes large amounts of information for you to consume. Searching on the internet for the information you need is fast, but sometimes it is not detailed enough if you are just beginning. If there is a topic you are confused about or don’t know where to start, try getting a book to get your feet wet. On the other hand experience is the most valuable knowledge you can get. Good luck green thumbs!

Product Review: AzaMax – Controlling Spider Mites

Lately I’ve had a pretty bad infestation of spider mites and aphids and I have been looking for the best solution for my plants without getting into nasty chemicals that will affect the taste of my food at harvest. Gnats are another common indoor gardening pest I have had trouble with. A simple solution for gnats is the yellow sticky paper that you can put along the walls and on posts in the containers of your plants. Spider mites however don’t really fly around or get attracted to the bright yellow colors. They seem to just be attracted to the pretty green leaves of my plants! Flattering… except spider mites are gross and I would not like to eat them, regardless of how much they want to eat the leaves of my plants.

I tried spraying some solution of Neem PY onto my plants and it takes a few days to kick in but it slows down the infestation for sure. Neem makes the bugs slow and frankly just plain stupid. The bugs aren’t killed instantly, so don’t feel like you’ve been cheated because all your bug problems are still there. The neem makes the bugs not hungry and unable to reproduce. The bugs will eventually starve to death and the babies will hatch damaged or will eat the neem on the leaves right away and become affected. The Neem PY wouldn’t stop the infestation completely but it certainly crippled them. No matter how much neem I used the spider mites kept coming back. One time I used too much neem too close to harvest and I could taste its tangy flavor on my food. It wasn’t as horrible as a I thought and was better than eating mites, but I would rather have the best food possible not just “okay” food. Thats why I grow my own!

To get the infestation in check I picked up some of General Hydroponics’ AzaMax because two other indoor gardeners recommended it to me. I figured it would work like Neem PY but it was actually amazing how much stronger it was. I foliar fed the AzaMax to my plants and than poured some solution into my hydro reservoirs to ensure the plants would be bug proof. After about two days it seems like almost all the spider mites have died or stopped moving. It definitely helped control the gnat problem too. I have not harvested the food the AzaMax has been applied to since it is new but I will be sure to write about how it has affected the food flavor and aroma if at all. If you decide to go and try AzaMax I would try foliar applications at first to see if you can rid the problem that way. This is especially good if you are still in the grow phase and the fruits you will be eating or picking have not started to form yet. AzaMax is a little pricey for how much it recommends to use but I promise it does work well. I will most likely continue to use Neem PY and AzaMax as a preventative and reactionary pest control solution.

Another good feature of AzaMax is that it is OMRI (Organic Materials Review Institute) approved. Sometimes labels can be questionable since any company can label their products “organic.” Look for the OMRI or other official organic labels. Make sure to look up and research any product you think is suspicious or may be claiming to be organic. You can take a look at the OMRI web site here. Even though some forms of hydroponic systems use inorganic parts, I still think it is best to get the closest thing you can to organic every time. I believe this can yield a more natural and usually sweeter tasting fruit or vegetable.

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

Do I need a Nursery or Hydroponics Shop?

A common confusion can arise about the difference between a nursery and hydroponics shop. A nursery will sell things geared mostly towards outdoor gardening and flowers or trees and shrubs. These shops usually will carry things like simple trays, drip pans, some pest control, moisture meters, shovels and gardening tools. Nurseries will also have things like trellis, trimmers, stakes, gloves, soil, and usually low quality fertilizers. Although some nurseries carry very high quality nutrients for outdoor gardening.

A hydroponic shop carries the most advanced gardening tools available. A hobby indoor gardener would get most of their supplies at a hydro store. Hydroponic stores carry the best tools for indoor gardening and hydroponic setups. Hydroponic stores will have high quality hydroponic nutrients, water pumps, air pumps, carbon filters, inline fans, circulation fans, cloning supplies, Co2 enrichment supplies, grow lights, timers, and full hydroponic systems. A lot of this stuff is usually on display so you can see how it works before you buy. Never be shy to ask questions. The clerks at the shop should be happy to explain the products to you to make sure you get the most efficiency out of your indoor garden.

The possibilities at hydro shops are endless. If you have no intentions of setting up a hydroponic garden there are still things at the shop you may find interest in that you could not get a nursery. For instance if you know you are going on vacation for a week or more but don’t want to lose your beautiful hard work to a drought – your solution may be a hydroponic based solution. At the store you may want to buy a water pump and tubing to set up a hydroponic drip system for your outdoor garden, indoor garden or even your window garden! The folks at the hydro shop should be able to point you to what you need to set up an automated watering system. An automated watering system means less time needed by you for the care of your plants. That allows you to free up time for more plants or less time per day in the garden. I’ll be posting some articles about hydroponic drip systems in the future.

Hydroponic Systems as Scientifically Perfected Nature

Hydroponic systems are able to increase plant yield and in some cases plant quality because the plant’s growing conditions can be controlled closer to the plants optimum growing conditions. A few of the conditions that benefit from hydroponic systems are:

Roots – Roots can not only be seen in some hydro systems but they are able to grow in a high humidity conditions.

Water – The plants water needs are met more often and systematically than hand watering or outdoor growing with the rain and good ol hose! Hand watering a large container garden can be very time consuming. Attention to detail may be beneficial during watering because drowning the plants feeder roots with too much water at once could be harmful to the plant. Hydroponic systems usually are characterized by automated waterings and feedings which could reduce the stress of constant human handling not to mention the convenience factor. It’s not always convenient to water your whole garden by hand when your plants need it, humans have lives to fulfill and water as well!

Nutrient content – Nutrient content is one of the best features of hydroponic systems because of the precise control the grower can manipulate. However, nutrient control is an art form that must be tailored to every hydroponic set up and plant selection.

The goal of hydroponic gardening is to increase yield and plant vitality. Hydroponic growing can be very simple or very complicated, the beauty is in the versatility of hydroponics. Look for more to come on how hydro can outgrow soil.

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.