Hydroponic Economics – Advanced efficiency for the Indoor Gardener.

Molasses as a Nutrient

Sometimes it is best to look at a few pieces of old knowledge and some old school techniques to find some new ideas for enhancing your garden. I have recently come across some mentions of using molasses as a natural fertilizer in your garden and I wondered if it could be used with hydroponics. Let’s take a look.

There are rumors about adding sugar to the soil of your garden to increase the sweetness of the fruits of your plants. This may be a bit of a myth and I have not been able to confirm this yet, but I have been checking out the nutrient content of the molasses and I am impressed. There is calcium, magnesium and a bunch of other great stuff in there.

The biggest advantage of using molasses is that it supports a healthy microbial ecology in your hydroponics system. This is one of the biggest difficulties that we, as hydroponic gardeners, can face. You will want to get un-sulfured molasses as the form of sulfur they use is a preservative meant to stop microbial activity. We are trying to encourage those microbes and this would be highly counter counter-productive.

The best way to use molasses is to get some black strap and mix it with water in a ratio of 1 part molasses to 100 parts water. This is the absolute maximum concentration that you want to use. Any more than this and your risk causing root rot or slime in your hydroponics system. You also need to make sure that you fully dissolve the molasses or you are risking clogging your system. IT can gum up your growing medium, pumps or sprayers and be very difficult to clean out. For this reason, I suggest adding the molasses to boiling water, mixing it in completely and then letting it cool before using it with your hydroponics.

Container Gardening vs Hydroponics

What is Better for Your Indoor Garden?

There are a few factors for you to consider when setting up your indoor garden. You must first decide if you are going to be using soil or hydroponics. If you are new to gardening, I suggest starting with soil until you learn the effects of your fertilizer on your plants. If you are growing a variety of plants, I highly recommended starting with soil. You can work your way up to hydroponics by building your own drip system for your indoor garden.

Read the Introduction to Drip Systems and then come back here. If you are ready for hydroponics read this: Guide: Circulating Drip System and then come back.

Benefits of Container Gardening

-Easy to get started

-Easy to maintain

-Little gardening knowledge required

Modifying the Circulating Drip System for Soil Container Gardens

To make the Circulating Drip System into a regular drip system for your container garden, you will just need to take the containers off the reservoir and into a Drain Table. There is a guide for building a homemade drain table here. It is for small plants, if you fill it with large containers it will tumble over. For bigger containers, you can buy a strong drain table or just sit them on something you can drain every day.

Benefits of a Hydroponics Garden

-Higher Yields

-More control of what goes into your plants

-Automation

Germination Techniques Video

Guest Post by: Mister H. of Frugal Hydroponics

After getting several germination questions I decided to create a quick video on some techniques and tips I have learned over time. It is important to point out that nature makes germination a simple process. A warming ground, increasing light, available moisture, and a medium to allow roots to expand and anchor the plant all combine to set the seed in motion to create a new plant.

With that being said, there is no “best” method, but the simple basics will almost always allow success. I present a method and a few products that economically fit my goals and current growing systems. I will “up-pot” the starts destined for outdoors soil in coir as it is sterile and will do well in soil. Those will be germinated in peat pellets or under paper towels. All plants going into hydroponic systems (indoors or outdoors) will be germinated under paper towels or in rockwool. They will then be”up-potted” into silica stone grow media.

The methods I outline allow me to “up-pot” into both soil based raised
beds and containers or hydro media with a consistent method and products (peat pellets / rockwool) while using a common lighting system and 1020 trays. My goal of a completely “soiless” environment in my basement start and hydroponic grow room is achieved.

I also posted this under the youtube channel “Misterhalfwaythere1” along with the rest of the hydroponic growing videos at the Mister Halfway Youtube Channel Don’t forget to subscribe!

About Mister H: I journal my hydroponic growing endeavor in my blog at Frugal Hydroponics. After prompting from friends and family and seeing a need to better record my results, the blog has proven a great platform for videos and photos of my progress, techniques, and of course results. Hydroponics is highly efficient and a great complement to our soil-based containers and raised beds.

How Long Does It Take Azamax to Work?

Azamax is an OMRI Certified Organic Pest Control solution. You simply mix a little bit with water and spray it on your plants to provide a pest and fungal barrier.

How Long Does It Take Azamax to Work?

7-21 days.

The first week of Azamax applications will pretty much stop the reproduction of your spider mites, aphids, or other pests. You need to reapply Azamax to your plants every 7-14 days.

You will still see the bugs, well what looks like bugs, but you will notice they aren’t really moving. Their dead bodies will still be on the leaves of the plant so make sure to spray your plants before harvest, and then give them a good rinse after harvest. You don’t want to be eating dead bugs!

If this sounds gross to you, think about what commercial farmers have to deal with. Now do you understand why they just use harsh pesticides to wipe out all the insects. If you grow your own food, you can be sure you are not ingesting harmful chemicals. Not to mention your food will taste and smell better. There are plenty of advantages to using Azamax over a harsh chemical pesticide.

Where is the Best Place to Get Azamax?

Get the best prices on Azamax at Amazon. You can also find the perfect hydroponic nutrients on Amazon. If you are interested in learning more about hydroponics or gardening in general, search through some of the 100’s of books Amazon has. I’ve picked up three or four used books from Amazon and they were all in perfect condition. They seemed brand new! Don’t be afraid to make purchases at Amazon, they have great customer service.

You Need a 30 Amp Timer Box

What a Lifesaver and Timesaver this box has been! What does it do you ask, what doesn’t it do? First it lets you plug straight into your 30 Amp Dryer Socket. So instead of trying to plug in your HID lights straight into the wall in your room, your using the higher amperage dryer socket instead! No more tripping your breaker when you plug in your second 1000w light.

Specifics

This particular model allows you to run up to 4 1000w lights and up to 10 amps of accessories from the same timer. The 4 1000w lights are run off of 20 Amp Breaker and 240V receptacles instead of the traditional 120V. The benefit of this configuration is that a 1000W HPS running at 240V (4.3Amps) runs at half the amperage then if plugged into 120V(8.9Amps). Essentially this will run 4 1000W lights for the costs of 2!

I also run my fans that cool my Air Cooled Hoods through this box. Another electricity saver; When my lights turn off, their cooling fans turn off. The box is controlled by a single 120V Trigger cord. I have mine connected to a digital timer which makes it nice and easy to control it and see what is happening. Make sure the timer will carry the load of whatever you have plugged into it, safety is always the most important thing. Never plug more then One 1000w Light into a standard timer.

The Amp Timer box saved me so much time and money. Its costs around $300 and compared to the several hundred dollars more it would have cost to higher an electrician to come in and do the work it was worth every penny. Not to mention how much lighter the electric bill will be in the future.

You can get the 30 Amp Timer Box at Amazon. Click here to read more.

Kevin

Product Review: Annie Haven’s Natural Moo Poo

Every gardener is always looking for new nutrients to try. If you prefer real natural fertilizer, Annie Haven’s Moo Poo is for you. Moo Poo is an all natural soil conditioner made from life stock manure. It is also known as manure tea.

The Moo Poo comes in tea bag sized pouches that you let seep into water for a few days before use. It is a really simple process for some really strong organics.

One tea bag can make as much as 5 gallons of nutrients. If you are using a hydroponics system, I suggest using one tea bag for 10 gallons or more. You can really make these go a long way.

The natural tea is perfect for all kinds of plants. You can use it indoors or outdoors. It is good for container gardens, outdoor gardens, and even hydroponics.

Hydroponic gardeners will be able to get 90+ gallons of fertilizer out of the 9 pack which is only $22. Thats the same price you are paying for nutrients now.

There are three types of manure tea from the ManureTea.com shop. You can choose from horse or cow manure for your vegetable garden. There is also an alfalfa mix for roses.

Click here to learn more.

Plant Growth: How Do Plants Grow?

How DO plants grow? Did you ever stop and think about it? When you notice little movements from day to day, you know your plant is growing. It seems like those leaves just pop out of no where doesn’t it?

Today you are going to learn a little horticulture 101. You are going to find out exactly how plants grow. Plant growth is an interesting topic, because before we had microscopes, there was only speculation on how plants grew. There are a few key terms we must define:

Horticulture: “A process by which a plot of soil is prepared for the planting of seeds, tubers, or cuttings.” About.com Archaeology. We are going to let horticulture encompass all of hydroponics as well.
Meristem: The Meristem is the part of a plant that is capable of cell division.
Cell Division: The process by which cells multiply. The cells multiply by constantly dividing. (No pun intended).

Where Does Plant Growth Happen?

Plant growth can only occur where there is cell division. Cell division occurs at the Apical Meristem. You can think of this as the top node. It is the node that is just popping up. If you have ever topped your plant to bush it out and spread the top nodes, you cut the apical meristem.

Apical Meristem

The apical meristem can be cut to make two new top branches. The meristem doesn’t physically split into two branches. The two shoots below the apical meristem, both become apical meristems. It is actually a cool trick for the plant to make two apical meristems, because if another one got cut or damaged, it could continue growing. You’ll find that if you chop off both of the other two apical meristems, you will have four apical meristems.

Make sure you sign up for the email newsletter to get exclusive information not presented on this website. Happy growing!

Does Music Affect Plant Growth?

When I saw people were searching for this on Google, I just had to write a post about it. Below is an excerpt from Suite 101 about Early Research on Plant Growth and Music.

Early Research on Music and Plants

Dorothy Retallack, a researcher at the Colorado Woman’s College in Denver, published her work on music and plants in 1973 in the book The Sound of Music and Plants. In one experiment, Retallack found that plants thrived when she played a tone intermittently, but died when she played the same tone constantly. In another experiment, she found that plants grew better when she played “soothing” music on the radio, whereas rock music affected plant growth negatively.

Another of Retallack’s experiments sought to discover what kind of classical music plants liked best, finding that plants exposed to North Indian classical music leaned towards the speakers, while plants exposed to the modern, dischordant classical music of composers such as Schoenberg leaned away from the speakers — but not nearly as much as the plants exposed to harsh rock music.

Read more at Suite101: Does Music Affect Plant Growth? http://www.suite101.com/content/does-music-affect-plant-growth-a282993#ixzz1D7pmfkaJ

Isn’t that interesting? I didn’t find the study report, just the reporter’s view on it, but nonetheless, its interested to hear a scientist make claims like this.

What do you think?

You could try your own experiment or research more about the topic. I figured it would be insignificant gains at best, but anything is worth a shot! Here is a link to a experiment you can do yourself.

Leave your results and thoughts in the comments below. I can’t wait to hear what you have to say!

Spring Garden Planning: When to Start Seeds

Are you preparing for your Spring Garden? Do you know when to start your seeds or is that why you’re here? Its a common question/anticipation between gardeners everywhere. When should I start my seeds?

You can closely watch your weather forecasts and plan the frost dates of your zone, but it takes a lot of time. Time that a lot of you don’t have. I’ve found an easy solution to the age old Spring Garden planning dilemma.

Do you want to know what it is? GrowVeg.com

What is GrowVeg.com?

GrowVeg.com is a Garden Planning service. You sign up for an account(Free 30 Day Trial) and plan out your garden. You can choose the type of plants you are growing and set up automatic reminders for yourself.

Why Should You Care?

You can plan out the varieties of plants you want so you don’t forget any. GrowVeg also allows you to setup automatic reminders, so you can plant varieties on the exact days you want. GrowVeg will adapt to your zone and tell you when to plant your seeds. You will get a reminder saying when its time to start seeds.

GrowVeg also remembers your garden for next year. You won’t have to replan your garden. When Spring time comes around, planning your garden will be a piece of cake.

What are you waiting for? Give it a shot for Free here.

Free Food Grade Plastic Containers

The following post is inspired by a thoughtful contributor at the Helpful Gardener Forums. You can view the original thread about free/inexpensive plastic containers here.

Plastic containers are a crucial component of most home hydroponics systems. They can be used as plant containers, reservoirs, rain barrels, and even humidity domes.

Plastic buckets for home hydroponics systems can be expensive and counter productive to the project at hand; saving money and eating healthier in the process. If you are willing to ask around you can probably find what you need for free.

5 Places You Can Ask For Plastic Containers

1. Deli – Have you thought of using pickle jars or other deli containers?

2. Grocery Store – Sometimes the different departments of the grocery store will be tossing out buckets, see if they can be tossed to you.

3. Ice Cream Shop – 5 gallon buckets of ice cream.

4. Fish Restaurant – They may keep different kinds of food in plastic containers.

5. Various Mom and Pop Restaurants – These places may be more willing to help out local gardeners.

When you are out there, don’t forget, it never hurts to ask. Good luck Green Thumbs!