CO₂ is Carbon Dioxide. Basically it is made up of one carbon molecule and two oxygen molecules that are in a gaseous form at standard conditions for temperature and pressure. But enough of the elementary science – how is it important to hydroponics?  The role of CO₂ in your hydroponic system is not a complicated one to understand – photosynthesis is a process that all plants use to converts carbon dioxide into organic compounds, especially sugars, using the energy from light.   Now what this means to you is that your plants require CO₂ to make food for themselves, pretty simple. Not so fast.

Where is it?  In the very air you are breathing right now.  With that being said, why would you need CO₂ in your hydroponic system at amounts greater than what is in the air?  Good question.  Let’s break the explanation down. (more…)

What are they?

Now it may seem that these solutions must be some strange scientific process, however the basics are quite easy to understand. Growing mediums do not contain any nutrients on their own and obviously plants need food to live.  In hydroponic systems this need is dealt with by using nutrient solutions. A solution is a homogeneous mixture of two or more substances, which may be solids, liquids, gases, or a combination of these. In other words it’s a mix of a variety of nutrients in water.

Why is it important?

Plants require different proportions of nutrients during vegetation and flowering stages. Current nutrient products are more advanced than earlier counterparts and now allow precise adjustments based on these growth stages. This means you can get a bigger bang for your buck by increasing yields in your produce crops with a little research. (more…)

pH Testing invokes this image of a mad horticulturalist muttering an arcane ritual over a set of vials when nothing could be further from the truth.  pH testing is simple and easy to understand.

First off – what is pH?  It stands for the rather cumbersome potentiometric hydrogen ion concentration. Simply put, it is a measure of the acidity or alkalinity of a solution.  The pH scale is from 0-14 and pure water has a neutral pH of 7.  Anything that would be considered acidic is rated lower than 7 and anything considered alkaline is rated higher than 7. Pretty simple. (more…)

Imagine being retired. No daily grind of the 9 to 5.  Now imagine being in a retirement home. Do you have images of a regimented, somewhat institutional environment?  Now imagine being in that type setting growing strawberries or roses or fresh herbs?  Seems impossible or contradictory? It is entirely possible with Hydroponic Gardening. (more…)

What makes hydroponic systems different from traditional in-ground gardening is a soil-less growing medium. No dirt! All plants require support, to be held up. This basic requirement is dealt with by soil-less growing mediums which are inert, mostly non-organic materials.  Non- organic refers to the medium not being derived from living organisms (unlike soil- which is). There is a perplexing jumble of growing mediums available. Generally speaking, these mediums are porous, light, and coarse, allowing oxygen and nutrients easy access to the plants roots. Some of the most common are:

Coconut coir

This is produced from the husk that surrounds the coconut shell. Made up of millions of tiny micro-sponges, it can absorb and hold up to eight times its weight in water. It lasting three times as long as peat moss so is fairly sturdy. It is also called palm peat, coco, or just coir.  Some of the advantages are better water retention and aeration.  The disadvantages of coconut coir are its breakdown after several uses and some drainage issues.  It is often mixed with other media to improve drainage in hydroponic systems. (more…)

Hydroponic gardening for later years in our lives makes a lot of sense. With hydroponic gardening, you don’t have to worry about weeding around your plants or watch for insects attacking the leaves and roots because you are not growing in soil.

This may be a new technique for you to learn since you’ve always gardened the traditional way.  However, hydroponic gardening has been around for many years. There are a lot of Seniors who are using this method for growing their plants these days. Also, it’s perfect for people who can’t be around herbicides and insecticides due to breathing problems.

For Seniors and physically challenged people who are unable to get down on the ground or bend very well, the shelves that the plants sit on can be set at a comfortable level to work with. The hardest activity you would have is harvesting your fresh vegetables and picking a bouquet of flowers.

If this method of growing interests you, there is an abundance of information about hydroponics for Seniors you can look into. It may fit in with your lifestyle very well. There are many different hydroponic systems available for all budgets and available spaces.

You can grow hydroponic lettuce in every variety that we would normally find at the supermarket or in a seed packet. It is one of the fastest growing plants to experiment with.

First, you will want to have a hydroponic nutrient solution that provides everything that a lettuce needs to grow and thrive.

Next you need to support the plants as they grow.  For this, you may want to use perlite, which is the most highly recommended substrate for the growth of hydroponic lettuce. For other types of hydroponic plants, you can use gravel or rockwool but perlite has proven optimal for lettuce. Hydroponic plants grow very fast so you will be able to replant as soon as you take the harvest.  If you don’t need a whole lettuce head at once, just cut a few leaves off the plant and leave it growing.  You will be able to repeat the crop over and over again without risk of rot, mold, or disease.

Even though the idea of hydroponics and hydroponic grow cabinets can sound very high-tech and rather out of reach for most people, the basic concept is grounded in simple good gardening practices. Hydroponics grow boxes allow us to imitate nature and they are becoming more and more affordable.

What does a plant need in order to grow and thrive in a healthy manner?  It is simply four things: light, heat, water and food.

The modern Hydroponic Grow Cabinets make it possible to provide these things in virtually any environment. At the same time, giving complete control of these elements to you, the hydroponic gardener. It is no coincidence that the U.S. National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) is incorporating hydroponic cabinets into the design of outer-space living accommodations.

Isn’t it wonderful to hear about the spreading popularity of Community Gardens?  What are they? A community garden is a garden that has members of the community participating in planting, weeding and maintaining a piece of the land.  This may be community owned, owned by an organization, or even a privately owned site shared with others. It is often set up where each gardener has his own individual plot for growing, or it can be one large garden, with participating gardeners sharing the harvest as well as the work. Maybe one day this will include a community “hydroponic garden” where we can all gather together and keep gardening all through the winter as well.

More than 10,000 cities in the US have set aside spaces for the residents to garden and grow their own food. Participating residents share in the planning and overall management of the garden, giving them a sense of community, a learning experience they can share with others and their children, as well as fresh nutritious food that they can take pride in growing. It is a growing trend all over the world.

Do you know about Lemongrass? It is a tall, hardy plant which grows in clumps up to a height of about three feet.  It is known for its fragrant flavor that makes it a popular herb in Asian cooking. It is also an effective remedy for various ailments including fever, stomach cramps and arthritic pain. I heard about someone who saved the life of a seriously ill street cat with juice extracted from lemongrass.

This popular tropical grass is very easy to grow and a novice gardener can grow lemongrass without much problem. It is perfect for a kitchen garden and can also be planted in pot or tub in semi-shade conditions. Generally the plants prefer full sunlight so this make it ideal for growing in hydroponics.

The easiest way to propagate the plant is to cut a few stalks of fresh lemongrass and put the slips in water for about 10 days. Prune off the long leaves but make sure that a short stump of the rhizome remains at the end of the slip. Roots will emerge and then the slips can be planted right away.