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…)

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…)

Fresh air is at the centre of successful indoor gardening. Outside, air is abundant and almost always fresh. C02 levels in the air over a field of rapidly growing vegetation will vary on how still the air is. Being outdoors, and subject to the warming and cooling of the day, the wind blows in fresh air. Rain will cleanse the air of dust and pollutants. The outdoor environment is always moving. Plants grown indoors do not have the natural balance that is present out of doors and must be achieved indoors by way of fresh air ventilation or CO2 enrichment.

So you have decided to add CO2 to your hydroponic systems. Great! Welcome to the wonderful world of bigger yields.  Now having said that, there is a caveat – like all good things – there can be some events to watch out for.  For our purposes we will be dealing with the increases of humidity in a CO2 enriched environment. (more…)

Everyone’s getting in on the act!  I love it.  The more we eat locally grown food containing all the nutrients we need to keep healthy, the less money will have to go to reacting to ill health.

By Siobhan Connally
The Record

CASTLETON — Mark Dausch loves salad. The Castleton resident and hobbyist gardener, however, didn’t love the anemic greens, often trucked in from California and Mexico, he was finding at his local grocery store.

“I have 36 acres and have gardened for years,” said Dausch, who decided to come up with a home-grown solution to his salad dilemma. Instead of tilling the soil, however, he started plowing through research.

Eighteen months later, he’s gearing up to sell his own locally produced greens to Hannaford in Kinderhook as “Better Nature Produce.”

“My perspective in this was also about the environment and how to save energy,” said Dausch, who has his undergraduate and graduate degrees in chemical engineering as well as a PhD from Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute. Dausch also works full time at GE and teaches a course in engineering at the state University at Albany.

“I just did some research on hydroponics and started a small system in my living room of about 20 plant sites last summer.”

Read more……..

When setting up to grow with hydroponics, the pH of the water to be used should be tested before you add the plant food – nutrients. pH Testing Kits are readily available online or at your gardening store. You can also use Nitrazine paper which is very inexpensive.  It really is an important step to grow the best plants.

Apparently, an aspirin can be used to lower the pH level or even a small amount of distilled white vinegar. I’ve never tried these myself.  For raising a low pH, you can add either potassium hydroxide or sodium hydroxide to the water.  However, both of these chemicals are very dangerous and really to be avoided.

As you can see, there are problems with trying to use the cheapest methods for testing and you would do much better to put out an extra couple of dollars and get a proper pH adjuster kit made for hydroponic growing. You will have a better chance of accurately adjusting your pH for successful growing.

It is wise to keep in mind the growing conditions a particular plant needs to survive and thrive. Poor choices for hydroponic-style gardening are succulents, because they will only thrive in dry conditions and you are attempting to grow plants in the medium of water.

Water-loving plants love to grow in hydroponics because they will be growing in water. Melons are a good example of a fruit that grows well in this circumstance. Watermelons, cantaloupe, strawberries, blueberries, blackberries and raspberries can all be grown successfully hydroponically because they are all water loving plants and can thrive in this sort of growing medium.

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.

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.

I’m considering growing my own hydroponic strawberries. They are delicious and I hope to make money from them. Here are some of the reasons why hydroponic strawberries beat traditional soil grown strawberries.

No matter where you live you can grow strawberries in an hydroponic system.  So even if you live in a crowded city centre apartment block, you can still grow them. Because you are not using soil, no soil borne diseases will be passed on to the plants. There will be no need to eliminate any soil loving pests. You will have no need to use any expensive or controversial pesticides.

Once you have your strawberries growing, your running costs will be around 20% lower compared to soil based gardening. You can grow more hydroponic strawberries in a smaller area. This is due to the decreased size of the roots as they do not have to spread out to find nutrients. So you will be able to grow more in your growing trays.

Maintenance time is greatly reduced from as soon as your system is set up. There is no need to water your strawberries as they will already have access to all the nutrients. There is also no weeding involved as there is no soil. All you really need to do is pick the strawberries as and when they are ready.

The strawberry yield will be year round. You control their environment and you will have everything set to their optimum growing conditions so they will continue to produce 365 days a year.

You can grow hydroponic strawberries anywhere; greenhouse, cellar, kitchen, conservatory, rooftop, window ledge, living room or in the garden. Th strawberries grow on average 40% larger than their soil born brothers. This is because you have created their ideal growing environment and they have full access to all the nutrients they need. Could be money in the bank!