Tag: hydroponics

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!

It Starts with Good Genetics

Have you ever started a batch of seeds and had a really top notch plant that just seemed better than the rest?  Have you ever been to a friend’s place and seen an interesting plant you would like to add to your collection?  It is actually relatively simple to do these things without going out and buying another version of the same plant.  When a cutting is taken from a ‘mother plant’ and dipped in rooting hormone, roots will form and it will become a new plant.  The new plant will be exactly like the old one in every way.  That is the reason you hear people talking about cloning plants.  There is no top secret cloning machine that pops out perfect plants ready to flower every time.  Although. . . that would be nice… but that takes the method out of proper clone taking practices.

If you get a seedling that is just plain better than the others or is one you would like to keep for your next crop, keep it around.  Once its established you can cuttings from strong stems to become healthy new plants.  There is sacrifice when you give up your best plant, but it more than pays its self back.  Your next harvest could be a set of clones from your strong mother plant.  That means every plant will be as strong as the strongest one on your second round and however long you keep the mother thriving.  You can take clones of clones for up to 20 generations.  There are limitless ways to keep genetics around.  Sometimes after so many cuttings are taken, the plant may become weaker and grow slower than it originally was.  That means its time to get out the seed starting kit and look for a new mother.

Soil-less Growing – Happy Medium

Soil-less growing is the alternative to growing in soil or hydroponics.  Some soil-less grow systems could be considered hydroponic.  An example would be a top feed system in rockwool cubes placed on rockwool slabs.  I would also consider a container plant using hydro clay as the medium would be a soil-less grow.  These systems can be easily maintained using a  water pump to feed water and nutrients to each container or plant.

There are a multitude of reasons to choose a soil-less grow over a soil grow and vice versa.  First, soil can be VERY messy.  Accidentally knocking over a container that is pre-filled with dirt for a fresh transplant costs minutes of cleaning and a loss of soil.  You can also contaminate your soil with whats on the floor if you try to put it back in the container.  Soil is also a nesting haven for a lot of different bugs like gnats and crawling insects.  Gnat nests buried in soil can be hazardous to your plants.  The bugs can eat at the roots of your plants without you even knowing.

Simply switching the growing substrate to hydroclay or hydrorocks can help to control the problem.  There are a wide variety of mediums to choose from when growing soil-less.  There are also rockwool grow cubes, coco coir, and perilite.  You can always mix a variety of things to create your own soil-less mix to create the environment you want for your plants root system.

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.

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.

Hole from above
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.

GUIDE: Setting Up A Simple Drain Table Part 1

This guide is as detailed as possible so that people that are just starting with hydroponics can understand it.  There are ALOT of pictures – You were warned.

Left side – Soil container strawberries Right side – Rockwool cubes waiting for fresh clones

It is very easy to go to a hydroponics shop and just pick up a drain table and an assembly for it to sit on.  This may also include a $100 reservoir to go with the system.  Hydroponic parts add up fast and thats where Do it yourselfers try to save.  By building your own simple drain table you may be able to save money on your hydroponic setup.  The saved money can be used to get bigger containers and more medium for your roots.  The type of table I am going to show you how to build allows you to freely move your plants around in their containers.  This table is useful for soil and hydroponics alike because it allows the excess water and nutrient run off from watering/feeding to drain into a run off container that can hold many gallons so it rarely has to be changed.  It can greatly reduce the amount of maintenance needed daily in between harvests.

Blue tub is for the water to drain into after it goes through the plant.
The clear tray is like a table for your plants. The lid of the container is what the tray sits on, on top of the blue tub from the previous picture.
The blue tub from the first picture can fit two of the clear trays which have about 6-8 inch tall walls.
Another view of previous image.

This is a variation of the table I am making for people with less space. For this version the lid of the blue container would be latched on and the clear tray would sit on top with a drain going to the blue tub.

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Continue reading this guide: Part 2

Recent Inactivity – West Coast Hydroponics Shops

Its good to be back!  I recently visited California to meet up with some other indoor gardening enthusiasts and check out some west coast hydroponics stores.  Sacramento hydroponics stores are on point!  I visited a couple different hydro shops in the Sacramento and San Francisco area and every shop that I went into had good prices and a good selection of hydroponic equipment.   The ‘vacation’ is what has kept me from posting new articles so I’ll be sure to post some good information tonight to make up for it.  Be sure to check back through the next week to see my hydroponics DIY guide.  I’ll be posting a pretty detailed guide on how to construct some simple and cheap hydroponics systems.

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.