Did You Know ...
In hydroponics, plant nutrients are dissolved in the water and are mostly in inorganic and ionic form, although many organic liquid nutrients have come to the forefront as of late.
Primary among the dissolved cations (positively-charged ions) are Ca2+ (calcium), Mg2+ (magnesium), and K+ (potassium); the major nutrient anions in nutrient solutions are NO3− (nitrate), SO42− (sulfate), and H2PO4− (phosphate).
Numerous 'recipes' for hydroponic solutions are available. Many use different combinations of chemicals to reach similar total final compositions. Commonly-used chemicals for the macronutrients include potassium nitrate, calcium nitrate, potassium phosphate, and magnesium sulfate.
Various micronutrients are typically added to hydroponic solutions to supply essential elements; among them are Fe (iron), Mn (manganese), Cu (copper), Zn (zinc), B (boron), Cl (chlorine), and Ni (nickel). Chelating agents are sometimes used to keep Fe soluble.
|
|
|
Ins and Outs
The following is a diagram representing an example of autotrophic metabolism. Understanding the 'ins' and 'outs' of plant life is the first step in realizing that the quality of inputs completely influences the quality, quantity, and succulance in the life of the plant.
Fruits & Flowers, Herbs & Vegetables
The following guide represents spectrums or ranges of values. These values are useful to determine what types of crops you can grow together. Plants that share broad groupings of low, medium or high nutrient electroconductivity can be grown together, providing that a middle ground nutrient strength is adopted. (cF is EC times ten) |
|
|
source: "Hydroponic Gardening" - Steven Carruthers - National Library of Australia |
|
Feeding Programs and the Grow Journal
The following are examples of two different types of feeding schedules.
A feeding schedule allows the gardener to better understand the different life cycles and optimum feeding patterns.
Coupled with a proper grow journal, the hobbyist will be able to better pinpoint the starting point of any negative effects/symptoms, find the cause and choose the proper remedy.
A Grow Journal should include as much information as possible; however constraints may force you to pick and chose a few from the list as some are obvious and are only needed if your have multiple crops, different varieties, or various systems.
A sample log could include any variation of these categories.
|
Crop:
Variety:
Crop duration:
Growing system:
Date planted:
Date harvested:
pH range:
EC/TDS/PPM/cF range:
Water temp:
Planting density: (total # of plants)
Yield: |
Daily Checks:
-
pH =
-
EC/TDS =
-
Water temp =
-
Observations =
|
|
Comments: Include anything out of the ordinary, like unusually dry or moist conditions, misplaced or out of position fans, reminders of up coming tasks.
Writing creates a visual memory on top of the mental reminder, which makes the task easier to remember. |
Weekly Checks:
-
Nutrient change with formula
-
Pest Verification
-
Prunning, Trimming, or Pinching |
Light insight
source: "Gardening Indoors with H.I.D. Lights" - George F. Van Patten and Alyssa F. Bust - 1997
Insect Inspection
Informational Links
Visit the Indoor Gardener magazine / Jardinier d’intérieur for great information on the obvious.
Visit Grodan's hydroponics101.com, Here we will give you the tools to succeed with your Grodan® garden. You will learn how to raise all sorts of plants from Arugula to Zinnias- all without soil! We invite you to explore the fascinating products offered, such as Grodan® Growcubes, which was featured on the Discovery Channel.
Visit Maximum Yield, the #1 indoor gardening site on the web and gain access to featured products, in-depth articles and how-to videos on MaximumYield TV.
This resource is full of information, with in-depth explanation of how to grow your indoor garden. Your complete guide to home food production. Written by growers, read by growers.
Pictured here is a Brassolaeliocattleya Setting Sun Orchid. We will have a page dedicated to Orchid growers soon. Until then if you have any desire to simply learn more about orchids, visit The Orchid House. It has very well founded, university researched information on various topics including artificial lighting, plant nutrition, Orchid FAQ, and even pronunciation!
|
Did you Know ...
