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hi Scott I have been growing hydroponics basil in summer for years now, but unfortunately after a very successful first crop I now have a brown tip burn looking spot on most of the leaves. My nutrient levels and pH levels have not changed at all, could you tell me of any other deficiencies in basil it could be? thanks for your time - J

Hello 

Nutrient strength is the key to the burning of the tips of the leaves. 

Calcium is taken up by the roots faster if the nutrient is weak. 
Higher strengths will slow the calcium uptake. 

Now, I am sure you are saying, my nutrient strength hasn't changed. 

So... nutrient uptake is not only controlled by strength, it is also controlled by transpiration. 

Transpiration is the rate the plant "sweats" out the moisture and causes that suction in the stem to oppose gravity. If there is less wind, the transpiration slows, the nutrient uptake slows, and calcium uptake slows. Other effects are a noticeable drop in growth rate, and shorter distances between leaves and branches (internodal length) You counter that by dropping the nutrient strength to increase the transpiration ( in this case by osmotic pressure on the roots) 

If the wind picks up, more moisture is lost through the leaves, and the nutrient uptake increases. If nutrient uptake is not adjusted the plants will grow faster, and "stretch" between internodes. You counter this by increasing the nutrient strength. 

If the temperature gets hotter, then transpiration will increase, but not if the humidity increases, then the transpiration will slow.... 

If there is evaporation from growing media the nutrient could be building up and leaving residual nutrient in the root area (higher nutrient strength)

Sorry to get confusing. 

So lets make it simple. 

Flush the plant with plain water if you get tip burn, (which reduces nutrient strength dramatically temporarily) then start back on normal nutrient. The flush will drop the nutrient strength for a few days, allowing plants to get more calcium, but feel free to use 25% less nutrient strength until the problem goes away. 

Make sure your nutrient is fresh if recirculating. Changing every 7-14 days stops calcium depletion. 

Brown blotches all over the leaves is usually fungal problems, but less likely. 

Maybe you could let me know when the plants look better, or get back to me if they don't start improving. 

Scott

• Avoid nutrient getting too strong. Lettuce will give you tip burn easily, and should be grown on half strength nutrient. If the nutrients are too strong the plant usually has brown tips that make it unsightly and usually the lettuce is bitter to the taste.
• Pick Leaves early, and leave the plant growing. Fresh leaves, especially young leaves taste better. COS lettuce you have chosen can be cut off near to the base and will regrow leaves. A good choice!
• I like loose leaf  varieties like mignonette and butter crunch, as I have a hot climate and these resist bolting. That is when light levels or heat stresses the plant, they get "afraid" and try to produce seed to make their species survive. Heating varieties are nice and crunchy, but I grow these in cooler months here. Bolting or flowering is when they grow a stem and get bitter. Want to collect seed? Keep them growing then.
• Flushing your system (pouring fresh water through the media and letting it run out) will ensure the root zone nutrient strength is what you put in the tank. Make sure that the tank is not evaporating. (How? If its hot then it will be evaporating a little. Bring a sample to our shop to test for strength if you like (free).
• Try red and green varieties, coral, loose leaf and hearting, as well as baby spinach (great for stir fries as well as salad), endive (for sharpness), rocket (add spice), salad burnet (its leaves taste like cucumber), sweet basil (for zing) and other leafy crops for a great salad.
• Don't forget the GOLDEN RULE: If the plants don't look perfect, talk to us. By doing this you learn how to make it easier to get a great crop. Once you know what to do, we have another grower spreading the word on how great hydroponics is!
• Have a look around for some great salad dressings on cooking sites on the net. Then you can make your own dressings quickly out of fresh ingredients you make yourself.

I have started my first small hydroponic bubble system and I am running into a problem with algae forming at the water level on the net pots. The plants are not growing, and I do not know how to get rid of the algae. I have flushed the system with fresh water for 24 hours, but the algae is still there. Please help if you can. Thanks!

Hello.

A bubbler system usually means that you are growing in the water and attempting to keep the roots aerated with the bubbles. Although growers often get some results with this system, its not actually very high performance, and is not widely sold due to it causing root rot in many cases. Most people like it because it looks technical. So here are some pointers

• The Air is at the surface. The bubbles don't dissolve oxygen in the nutrient (otherwise they would disappear wouldn't they!) The bubbles lift the roots and keep the roots near the surface where the water is oxygenated because the water is moving. If the roots are not near the surface, or not being lifted into the air zone (approx 20-30 mm or 1inch) then root rot will likely happen with many types and varieties of plants. 
• Some plants cope better with water than others. Sometimes we get, "my mate had great results so I copied his system and it doesn't work for me". Plant variety is important. Some plants will not tolerate growing in water. 
• Environment is important too. Between 20-30 degrees Celsius air and especially water temperatures is critical.
• Nutrient must be changed regularly or mineral deficiencies in the nutrient solution will occur as well as root rots, bacteria levels etc will build up 
• Algae means you must be using containers that allow light into the root area or onto the nutrient. Put something like black plastic film or similar to blackout the nutrient and root area and the algae will die off and disappear. You can use Hydrogen Peroxide (Hydroshield is our brand with silver) to kill the algae. Add at a safe rate every 2 days until algae disappears.

Hope that helps. I have had to assume this a basic bubbler system. If this is not the system you are using, let me know.

Scott

Hi Scott, Congratulations, You are a No.1 in this Science! Thanks for sharing some of that knowledge with us all. 

I would like to ask you about your Network Systems. Is it possible to link many cells (approx 25 300mm) to the one nutrient reservoir?

Yes No problems

Wouldn't the "mixed" solution get a film of "slime" or go stale sitting "still" for long periods of time, Especially if there's a heat issue in the room?? 

We haven't had any problems with 'stale' nutrients. Nutrients go green if the algae which is in tap water gets enough light and nutrients. This doesn't happen unless you expose the nutrient to sunlight/growlights. Low oxygen levels are not a problem since they grow in the Perlite which is well aerated, and only draw their nutrient from below.

Could you tell me about introducing seedlings to the main lights? 

As long as the light is 1meter away or more there is no need for shadecloth, which is the alternative.

Temperatures and there effect on nutrient uptake? 

Passive systems always have the inability to control temperatures, so you need to control the environment with a greenhouse/growroom ventilation. between 20 degrees and 30 degrees is fine.

Is there a happy medium nutrient strength to handle temperature fluctuations if they occur??  

Just use normal strength - see my catalogue at www.hydrocentre.com.au/catalogue on nutrient strength charts and levels. About 20CF is safe. See my guidelines though.

Thank you for your time and i look forward to your reply. Rob

Scott

can you tell me what natural everyday products I can use to REDUCE the ph levels in a hydro system???? I am running at 7.0 to 7.2 and I need to reduce this level. I have been told a few different things to try such as bicarbonate of soda , vinegar etc.... can you help regards B

Any acid will drop the pH and any alkaline with raise the pH.

The problem is what else will be added to the solution.

The only 3 substances that do not produce by-products are:-

1. Phosphoric acid which adds phosphorus only

2. Nitric Acid which adds nitrogen only

3. Potassium Hydroxide which adds potassium only

Strengths are an issue, as the reaction with sulfates as well as other molecules can break down the solubility of a solution. When you add pH adjustment solutions and you see precipitates (cloudiness) you are watching nutrients turn into insoluble powders, and the nutrient is damaged.

Phosphoric acid and Potassium Hydroxide need to watered down before pouring into the nutrient to avoid knocking nutrients out of solution.

Nitric Acid is way way too strong to use usually, and is not generally available.

To answer your question, yes you could adjust the solutions pH, but usually the damage produces worse nutrient deficiencies than if you had let the pH drift (which I usually do). Other compounds which can do the job often are so weak that you use litres of it to get even a marginal change e.g. citric acids, other foods and it doesn't really help. Heaps of lemon juice will change the pH but so many compounds cause problems, like sugar feeding root disease and algae... Its all too hard.

Like most things in life, if it could be done, you'd find it easy to find the information.

Scott

i am a first time hydro user. I am wondering if there is any nutrient I can use that could be found around the house. if not what do you suggest as a good nutrient. I am growing capsicum, opal basil and grape tomatoes. and will soon be doing more tomatoes and herbs. thanks Patricia - Mornington Peninsula  Vic

Patricia, Sounds like a great garden. Love those grape tomatoes! Soil fertilizers wouldn't be suitable. The nitrogen is rarely high enough in nitrate, and the calcium and/or trace elements missing. Check the yellow pages for a nearby Hydroponic Supplier or I can send some to you. The powder nutrients are the cheapest, the liquids tend to perform better. Good luck

Scott

Hi Scott, We have been researching the growing of parsley, we have decided to use a media as we hope this will give us a buffer zone against disaster. Can you offer any suggestions on what you would start with. Sand is one of our options, someone suggested using 50/50 of sand with coal-ash how common is this mixture. Husbands preference is potting mix. With Thanks Lisa

All of those will work. I suggest you look at the results by making a test out of garden pots and media samples, putting in some parsley seedlings, and watering with nutrient. You would be looking for growth primarily, but also how much sinkage in the media will happen over the weeks. Potting mix and sand may collapse further and coal ash may keep the drainage and root zone aeration higher. You need to look for Air, and water holding, and try to get both at high levels - which are opposites I know. Expanded medias like perlite hold their water in the granule, not in the gaps between the media granules, which allows air between and water within. (they are also sterilised by the heating process)

Solid medias like gravels drain well but have little to no water holding.

As I said, a test is very important, as we need to be sure of the ability to provide health (air) and water for the plant as well as those magic liquid nutrients.

Remember the warnings they put on the labels of potting mix about using gloves and masks to prevent Legionella and other bacterial/virus problems. You should never put your health at risk. Be careful, soil is not safe. After working in nurseries, I'd rather work with asbestos really as people take appropriate care. Out of 25 workers we never had everyone at full health, and they wouldn't wear masks and gloves because 'its only soil'

sand can contain other materials so check that the supplier is clean and has standards. Washed course river sand is good. Any contaminants can ruin the whole system

Coal ash seems to be fairly popular, I heard that the water holding can change from batch to batch. Mixing sand and coal ash may have been an option to reduce that issue and increase water holding a bit.

I will be supplying a brand new type of commercial pot system that will cost around $4 per pot suitable for large plants soon, and the reason I say that is that it is easier to modify to many different medias. I have also accessed a new type of channel system that will be very inexpensive.

Scott

I have been researching aeroponics systems for our space science education programs in the US, and like the sound of the Aero-Gro unit, but I cannot find one in the US. Do you distribute these units internationally or know of a US distributor?

Aeroponic units are readily available everywhere. Our units are fairly inexpensive. Since Australia is generally about 5 years ahead of the rest of the world in Hydroponics we discarded ultrasonic technology a while ago for the reasons that it demineralised the nutrients, especially iron, was prone to overheat the nutrient, was very unreliable and failures were way too common. there are some simple points to note 1. There is no advantage over size of droplet from mist to spray 2. High pressure systems are more prone to fail than low pressure sprayers 3. low pressure systems are cheap and easy. 4. each plant should have two sprinklers that service it, e.g. a 3x6 plan system could have 4 sprinklers in a pattern to cover all plants with at least two sprinklers. This will stop any plant damage due to sprinkler blockage 5. a $5 filter will filter out everything above 50 micron Anything else you read indicates these are problems with spray type systems.

here are some sites to look at in USA for aeroponics http://www.google.com.au/search?q=aeroponic+USA&ie=UTF-8&oe=UTF-8&hl=en&btnG=Google+Search&meta=

Scott

Good Sir, I think this is a naive question from an orchid grower (hobbyist). Believe it or not but I have simply screwed FOGGER nozzles into poly pipe and my town water supply (through a garden tap) supplies enough pressure to allow fogging system to work. I want to control the time that water flows from my tap AND I want to be able to have it set up to allow the water to flow and stop according to TEMPERATURE. Could you help me ,please Ray

Hello Yes you would go to an irrigation supplier and ask for a 240Volt AC solenoid (12 Volt DC is ok if you can find 12Volt DC thermostats), place it between your irrigation system and the tap, and plug the solenoid into a thermostat (I can get them in standard and waterproof models with a built in or separate sensor) When the set temperature is reached, the foggers would come on. I suggest you also make sure all electricity is isolated and water proofed and a safety switch (earth detection switch) is fitted to the house supply to ensure safety. Correct setup could allow you to connect insulated heating cables for when the temperature drops below a figure for winter if desired too.

Hope that helps

Scott

We live in Darwin where it is hot and humid for 4 months of the year. Can we still grow vegetables in this climate. Do you know of any web sites that specifically discuss hydroponics in the tropics? I appreciate your assistance. Jill

I know what you mean. One commercial grower grows commercial lettuce up there under shade cloth. That's not really done down here except by hobbyists. So I believe that like Asian and other tropical growers you need to consider your situation. If above 25 degrees, choose a system that keeps water readily available. If above 30 degrees, then use some light shade to cool it down. If there is still heat you can put more shade cloth layers to protect during hottest times, e.g. maybe the north side during summer, and also ensure venting of heat, and catching any breezes. The humidity may provoke mould and fungus if above 60% in a warm climate, so use some microkill or other beneficial bacterial spray (prefer microkill) or a fungicide like fongarid to protect the plants. If you want to go technical and use fans to vent and circulate air, this can be lots more fun and very productive.

As for websites, I wish there was. Let me know if you find them, as I am way too busy on this website and could do with the help answering questions. ~smile~

Scott

My problem is I don't have the faintest idea on how to calibrate the CF Truncheon meter. Can you help?

You should have a conductivity calibration solution to check a CF meter. So if you know what to do for a CF truncheon, it is easy. The meter is pre-calibrated, and the solution is to check to see it is clean and that the batteries are fresh. If the reading is not correct on the CF scale, then leave the meter in the solution for 1 minute just in case the temperature of the probe is different to the calibration solution. If the reading is still incorrect then something may have fouled the probe. 

If something was to reduce the ability for the probe to make contact with the water, or if something is creating a conductive bridge between the two electrodes; causing it to under or over read respectively. Pull off the plastic shroud and clean the tip with Jiff or similar cleaner. Avoid Lemon scents as the oils from the lemon may create more fouling as oil may coat the electrodes. Rinse and retest. Batteries should last over 6 months, and symptoms of bad batteries is under reading usually. 

Please let me know if you have any problem. Thanks

Scott

How often for nutrient changes?
27 Jun 2003

G’day people how often should the nutrient solution be changed in a hydro setup I will be running a 8 pot satellite setup and just wondering how often should I change any ideas would be great cheers

Change it about every time you have to.

How do you work that out? Some Hydro stores will think, as often as possible, and that will sell a lot more nutrients. My idea is to keep an eye on their feeding.

The first method is water consumption. If I assume you are not using a CF Truncheon or similar nutrient tester, we look at the rate of water usage to get a guide on how often the nutrients are running out. My guide is this, if you have a 60 litre tank, with say, 50 litres in it, and we replace 2 litres a day when they are little, the nutrients are lasting around 15-30 days. You should change them before 30 days, but they’ll last at least 15 days. During this time, all you need to do is top up with plain water when the water is dropping. When 50% to 100% of the water has been replaced, you are in the nutrient replacement zone. If you keep an eye on the system, as the plants grow, the tank will empty faster. Say they are using 5 litres per day now. The tank will be replaced over 10 days. Between 5-10 days a nutrient change has to happen. More often will help the plants keep healthy and strong. Longer will create some minor deficiencies or weak spindly plants.

You could also use a larger tank.

Second idea involves a CF truncheon/meter. When we come to set up our system, we can measure the nutrients, and add concentrate/s until the nutrient strength reads the desired reading. Lets say we want to have a general-purpose strength around 18CF – good for in the sun in Queensland in the summer…. In 2 days I test the solution and find the strength higher, but after replacing some water, the reading has dropped to 14CF. I add single capful/s of solution until the CF meter says 18CF again. Over 1 week, I have replaced 7-8 CF, so I can continue till about this time next week, before the nutrients have become imbalanced. I usually feel that you can recirculate longer with the CF truncheon, however, you do get stronger healthier plants, even if you let them go longer.

If we use these methods, we can find a happy medium. Some growers find that they can go even longer before any ill-effects are seen in the plants, but the nutritional value of the vegetables etc will go down if not kept up. Plants will look healthy-ish even if the nutritional value has gone down.

And all you wanted was a simple answer…. – err. Sorry ‘bout that

Scott

Tomatoes and stuff in a Network system
26 June 2003

Hi Scott

I would like some help with my Tomatoes that I am growing with a 'Network' system that you sold me a while ago.  My problem is that my plants are dieing, but they are not all dieing together.  The plants have grown from seedlings and are over a metre high with plenty of flowers and some small green tomatoes.  The plants seem to wither on some leaves and then go brown on the edges and die off then the whole plant withers but stays green.  I have been told that my pH was to high so I drained the tank and emptied the pots then flushed the plants with water but the plants are still dieing.  However I may have caused the problem as I have three plants to a pot and when I took the dead ones out of the perlite the roots were all clumped together and starting to go through the holes in the bottom of the pot.

Don't worry if you don't have a solution, as I will try again with seeds and limiting to one plant per pot.

P.s.   When the plants were thriving I showed the system to a couple of friends and they were very impressed and nearly set to order a system

Sounds a bit strange.

Brown tips are nutrients too strong or building up. Try using half strength solution for a week. Wilting occurs if it is too dry, too wet (like soaking), stressed by something, or has root rot. Too dry would be if the system ran out of nutrient solution

Too wet would happen if the valve controlling it overfilled. This happens if the water level is too high, and indicates that the valve was lifted clear of the solution and put down again, which causes it to reset and fill again.

Stress is anything like roots choking, no oxygen around roots, or bad pest infestation, or some heat/cold, any major problem - just have to identify it to solve it.

Root rot is usually accompanied by brown or black slimy roots, and/or yellowing of oldest leaves. (Oldest leaves are where the plant stores nutrients, like we store fat. If our body needs reserves it burns fat. Plants with poor root conditions sacrifice the oldest leaves, taking all the nutrients out of them.)

pH problems would show up as leaves that look a little weird, blotchy, or wrong colours. Usually a soil expert will tell you to grow at 5.5pH or something critically wrong in Hydroponics, and plants will get sick fast. Safe zone is 6.0 to 7.0 - ideal is 6.3

Once the plants got big they got sick. I might guess, not being there that is, that the roots are a bit starved for air.

One modification I am thinking of making is to put a tap between the tank and the valve. By turning off a system to let the perlite dry even more might be a little scary for a basic grower, but experienced growers might be able to get some extra growth by keeping the Perlite a little drier every now and again.

Also lifting a pot out of the system and allowing it to drain completely for a few hours might make it happier.

Can you let me know if any of this makes any sense given your situation?

Scott

is hydro or aero better?why is it better???i m from singapore here...i really need it for a project asap...plz

Hydroponics is the group of techniques for growing plants without soil - Aeroponics is one of those.

As for if its the best, it depends.

Good points:

• High growth rate
• Fairly low root rot risk
• easy to use
• Fairly low running costs
• Small tanks required

Bad points

• Can't grow root crops
• Can't grow bulbs usually
• difficult root support setup - usually means a small basket with balls, which eliminates direct seed sowing
• plants have little anchor against wind
• root zone can become over heated or cold quickly. Avoid very hot sun or very cold climates unless heating/cooling put into designs. Note that its still easier than NFT to adjust temperature.
• Startup cost can be higher (depending on size of droplet) than some systems (Our 6 plant kit at AUD$145 is moderately expensive for a hobbyist but competitors set up elaborate systems over AUD$500 to achieve the same growth rate.)
• Large root zone depth required uses up height and puts plants higher than normal.

Is it better??? Depends on what you need. Sorry - Aeroponics exists because it suits some situations. Very few commercial installations succeed. Israel run these systems. Asians run a lot of Deep flow beds, where roots float on water as many systems can't keep the root zone temperature down enough. Australia uses a lot of (gravel / scoria / coal ash / sawdust / or Perlite) drip systems and NFT channel systems. Americans try anything. Europe uses a lot of Rockwool slabs and occasionally NFT. This proves that some systems suit different environments and you should never get into a basic assumption like one is better than another.

Scott

Does growing plants hydroponically save water? Is it more efficient, cost effective and water smart during droughts?

Against typical field agriculture and horticultural techniques yes.

One test they did grow a field of plants, and also a hydroponic system. The Hydroponic system out performed the soil system and would have used a fair bit of water, but produced more. Because the test was to see if it was water saving they weighed the produce against the amount of water used. To produce traditional crops in soil, it took 80 litres of water for 1 kg of vegetable matter. The Hydroponic system used 3litres per kilo of vegetable matter. That's saving 97% in water usage. Pretty good huh!

Scott

Hi I am emailing on behalf of my father, who has retired and taken up hydroponic gardening as a hobby. He recently bought a custard apple tree. It's a grafted Hillary White. He washed all the soil from the roots and set in vermiculite. He gives a daily nutrient mixture, Optimum Grow [40mL each of A and B to 40L water]. But , unfortunately its lower leaves are turning yellow and dropping off. The whole tree is looking very poorly. He wants to know is he doing something wrong? Is it possible to grow custard apple trees Hydroponically? What about edible figs [as this is his next project]? Can he save his custard apple tree? If you have any questions please email me at the following address. Thank you, any help will be gratefully received.

Cheers

Every plant can be grown Hydroponically. Methods vary, but there is always a way.

Simply put he is killing it. The brown coloured Vermiculite is too wet for growing plants and should not be used in Hydroponic Systems without expert advice as it usually is so wet it kills plants. Transfer the plant into Perlite immediately.

If the media you meant is Perlite (White granules) that's ideal, and I will now tell you how to get better results.

Don't feed it daily, feed it when it is dry and needs water. Hydroponics is actually growing in AIR not growing in WATER. The Perlite is too wet, the roots are soaking and drowning. The condition he has is root rot, and its easy to avoid.

However, since he has root rot, using some Hydrogen peroxide in each watering will help kill off the root rot fungus.

The plant will recover if you give it a chance to become dry, and air around the roots encourage new roots to grow to replace the old rotted ones.

The plant can also recover faster if you use 1ml of A and 1ml of B Optimum nutrients per litre and spray over the leaves each afternoon just before the sunsets to get some of the nutrients into the plant through the leaves until the plants roots start working again.

Nutrient strength should be 1/2 strength for now, 60ml of A and B each per 40 Litres, and raise that to 120ml per litre when the plant recovers. Water only if its dry.

I would recommend using a powder like ozimagic next time he buys nutrient as a $50 pack (5kg) will give him over 3000 litres of nutrient. Much more inexpensive. (I find that 3ml/litre works best with that nutrient, so don't follow the 5ml on the label)

Scott

Hi I am an orchid grower and I find that the expanded clay balls used in hydrophonics is ideal media for the epephites because it does not break down with time and does not stay waterlogged.

I want to recycle the clay balls and was wondering what you would recommend to sterilzie them with.

Edited from "washing clay balls August 9 2001" below

I've got some clay balls and want to wash them so I can use them again. What works the best?

Washing the clay balls before reusing is important 

If you have had any sick plants growing in the clay previously, then some of the problem may still be in the clay balls. It's best to throw them out if this is the case. Usually this won't apply because your plants will have produced a great crop. 

If reusing the clay balls, then the idea is to remember there are some old root particles, old nutrient and general tap-water nasties that have been in them, so rinse well. 

Other options include Bleach - do a dilute bleach and rinse very very very well to kill bugs. Any trace of bleach will burn roots and/or lock up nutrients, so rinse rinse rinse! 

Hydroshield - Use in nutrient solution while plants are growing to kill any nasties. (6% H2O2 with silver particles) 

Pythoff - Monochloramine. Very effective - use as with hydroshield but Never with hydroshield as they will kill each other first. (two tough guys in the same room) 

Hydrogen peroxide - Thats an overview. 

You must remove all old root material by rinsing. Since the balls will float mostly, use a large bucket and scoop off the clean balls. Bleach - Read directions - use more dilute than normal. I have used a capful of bleach to every 50-100 litres, you will need to rinse the balls, around 7 times to get it out. If you plants have sluggish growth, or burnt roots, you didn't get all the bleach out. Use a double dose of Hydroshield which will neutralise the bleach residue by turning the bleach into chlorine gas. 

Use water and a dissolved salts meter to check that there are no more nutrients leaching out of the media if you have a meter.

Scott

Hi Scott 

Kim here from Grass Valley,CA. Retired chemical engineer now environmental activist interested in getting into supplying environmentally friendly agricultural products here locally in Northern CA.. 

Very familiar w/hydrogen peroxide and colloidal silver for human health....been using both for years w/great success for ourselves, family, and friends. Your Hydroshield product sounds awesome for plant health. What sort of levels of h2o2 and ppm silver does your concentrate contain? Also, what dilution ratio would you suggest as a general purpose foliar feeding spray? BTW, the combo of h2o2 & CS used in a nebullizer is dynamite for impored health. 

My first visit to your site...when time permits, will thoroughly peruse. Actually have a green house on our farm which is currently not in use....maybe I can get something going Hydroponically. I really like your site and your helpful attitude. Hope you can answer my question about the h2o2/cs use levels. Thanks so much . All the best, Kim Ireland PS Got a brother who lives in Mooloolaba...is that anywhere nearby? He wants me to come visit!!

Hello Nice to hear from you. Good on you for the fight to clean up these humans messing up this planet. We use 5.75% hydrogen peroxide and silver ions below 50 micron. Colloidal silver doesn't seem to help plants as much as the silver ions. We dilute that at 2ml per litre in the tank for a preventative, and dose every second day if there is a fungal infection. Foliar sprays at 2mls per litre shouldn't harm the plants if there is nothing to react with. The problem is if you have x amount of problem, you need x amount of Hydroshield. What is x? Excess h2o2 can damage tissue as there is nothing to react with, and too little has no effect. So 2ml per litre would be fine even if there was nothing to kill. If you had some bacteria, fungus, algae etc, more would be used and effective. So use as much as you feel might help. 

I used to use a lot of silver and h2o2 for health, but found something better in glyconutrition see http://www.glycoscience.com/glycoscience/section_viewer.wm?SECTION=NUTRITIONALS&MAIN=glyconutritionals  

Been amazing - cures cancer, AIDS, Downs Syndrome, any disease whatsoever will have a positive effect. I don't need silver and h2o2 anymore Let me know what you wish to achieve with the greenhouse. Maybe we can design a system that runs by itself. Mooloolaba is about an hour to and hour 20mins away. My parents live about 15 mins away in the hills at Malaney Hope to see you one day. Got to see this awesome country! Scott

G'day, I've been researching Aeroponics and it seems that maintenance is a big downside i.e.. replacing blocked misters Is there some way to prevent this or minimize it.

If you have been doing research I am sorry to hear that. So much of the information on Aeroponics indicates that is difficult or complicated. So here is my summary of truth (and myth)

1. Aeroponics does not need complicated timers. 15 minutes on and 15 minutes off works and is an inexpensive timer.
(Myth: Must be on and off for 1 minutes etc.)
2. Aeroponics works whether you use a small droplet or a large droplet like a simple spray. We have tried both side by side with no difference in plants size or results. Once we got to a complete fog, the nutrients were distilled by the fogger which failed under stress from the high nutrient strength.
(Myth: needs to be a mist to work)
3. Aeroponics will not clog if you use my special low pressure sprayers- $4AUD, and a 50 micron filter - $5AUD 
(Myth: needs to be high pressure, clogs up sprayers, needs constant maintenance)
4. Aeroponic systems like my 6 pot kit are easy and are $80 plus pump$45, $55 or $75, timer $35 and tank $10-15 dep. on size. 
(Myth: Aeroponic systems need expensive timers, big expensive pumps and are hard to use.)

Scott

can Perlite if drained into a Koi pond kill fish

Hello Fish will be fine if nutrient level is normal. It works in the same way as salt. High levels of salt will upset fish, low levels can be beneficial by keeping bacteria and fin rot down. If evaporation makes the pond much stronger fish could be sick. There is no advantage to using nutrients except to plants grown in the pond. Algae may grow more strongly.

Perlite itself is an abrasive mineral, and if allowed to be eaten by fish it could make them sick or hurt them. I would recommend a strainer such as shade cloth, fly screen mesh or similar to strain out any Perlite that comes through. Perlite is not poisonous.

Have fun

Scott

Hi Scott - thanks for the quick reply, am I correct in assuming that you would use Rockwool and clay balls in a system that has a drip feed ? Just trying to sus out what the best way is.

No - Rockwool holds too much water - use Clay

Thanks for the info - I started using the 2x10" autopot setup a while back with good results - I then used the smart valve in my own tray (75cm x 40cm x 10cm) with no channels - and four to six 6" pots. Again - good results - no effort, I cannot say enough about the smart valve. In my first 2 attempts I did not use any PH measurements at all (I will this next time though). If my plants started looking worse for wear I would flush them and clean the residue out of the tray (I don't use an inline filter) then refill my tank using fresh mix of nutrients. The plants came back and started racing once again. The growth was amazing with a 400Watt light. When I first started looking at the different systems I wanted something simple to start with - I was not too interested in results as I knew that they would come with time and experience. Now that I getting used to the system I was looking at moving to a more "pro" setup (i.e.. NFT, or bubbler). After looking around at the costing vs. the results for different systems I will be sticking to the smart valve to do all the work, I don't really have the time to fiddle around every 2nd day, and I certainly cannot afford to be dumping nutrient every week. The smart valve also allows me to have a life and relax on weekends, confident that my system is doing it's job. How often do you recommend flushing the pots ?

Every time they need it. If a hot area/growroom add 500ml of fresh water into the top of pots to mini-flush every week. If not hot, just 1 or 2 times per month.

Should I check the PH and nutrient strength in the tray as well as the tank ?

No - tank is fine

Scott

Hi there just looking at the network system - couple of quick questions. Is the control valve in this system similar to the smart valve? Is there a (recommended) limit to the number of pots that can be networked per control valve ? (for expansion later). Can i use rockwool starter cubes and clay balls in this system instead of perlite ? (any disadvantages) Do you recomend an airstone in the tank or can you get by without? Thanks for your time

Yes, Control valve is the Smart Valve 100 pots seem to work fine. used a 10x10 grid. Flow is not a big problem, but larger hose can supply more with less resistance. You must use Perlite but Rockwool cubes in the Perlite are fine. Up to 25% Clay could be mixed in for lower moisture content. 100% Clay has no capillary action. Airstones are not required in the tank. Thanks for the Question

Scott

G’day Scott, Automatic Dosing Systems I am confused by the various (some outrageously expensive) auto-dosing systems currently available. Take, for instance, the Dosamatic pH and nutrient controller. How reliable in operation? And is the cost assumed reasonable value for what features? Where are the test reports? Which bits and pieces would be needed to keep pH, Salinity, constant? (and possibly a temperature controlled fan). How can one justify paying several thousand dollars for a couple of injectors and a handful of basic electronic circuits? Surely there must be available circuit diagrams, books, or magazine articles covering a tried and tested DIY project in this area. Regards, Ray

G'day there! I agree - cost is stupidly expensive. As a large part of the cost would be the development, and the small market (compared to cans of coke) I guess you pay for them to delvelop them as well as make them. Well, the options are Dosatronic, for around 3000litre tanks, need pH and CF. A Maestro is $1499 and does pH, and CF for up to 200-300litres A smaller CF only version for up to 60litre is $499

How reliable? Most of these things are designed for more control, not peace of mind. I wouldn't put one on a farm unless you really wanted it. Its not required. Hardly any farmers have them. I have a maestro on display, and you have to work them. Its a tool. Say I keep the CF exactly at 24 for 2 weeks and notice that my tomatoes are needing an extra 2-4 CF to keep the stems thick and strong. I dial it in, and the growth can now be observed at 27CF. If I adjust every day or two, and set it at 26, it runs down to 23 or 20 once during a cold week, and sometimes it needs no adjustment... well any growth I think is occurring at 26 is only an approximation, and I can play with the type of growth a little but its not completely scientific or accurate. The controller is that kind of tool, not a fill up and forget it tool. Just imagine if noone checked the calibration!?!!

As for other circuit designs, here is the problem... the CF probe with temperature compensation will cost about $100 to make, a pH probe around $150+ to buy, solinoids at $10 will ensure plant death, so you need to spend at least $60-$200 each. This is before you have created the electronics, programmed a temperature and muliprobe compensation (as the CF probe interferes with the pH probe) and considered all the Artificial intelligence programs to make the computer anticipate when CF and pH movement will occur, or else spend all day compensating over and under without makeing the correct CF or pH stick to one figure. Then some sort of interface for programming the pH and CF levels, a readout, hardware for output. This is a fairly general way of discussing it, but you get my meaning...

One idea would be that you can get a CF and pH monitors (not dosers) with probes for $199 each with a serial output (see NZ Hydro 'maestro' on my site) and probably use an old PC to interface, build up some output device to open good solinoids.

As for there must be..., I don't know of any DIY projects, it is simply too small a market. My engineer told me to forget going into that field as it really is too heavy on production costs, will take a long time to confirm the correct programs, and ensure the safety of the hardware. I think it is too hard.

I think on a Hydroponic forum Rob Smith from NZ Hydro actually wrote an article on how to build a CF meter. It made me want to give up there and then. It is possible, but takes a lot.

On the other hand I can tell you how farmers are doing it for less than $300 They use a CF truncheon and add the nutrient by hand, every 24-48 hours, and have a float valve top up the system with water from a reserve tank. Using a pH meter see which way it is going and dose the refilling tank with a slightly acid or alkaline water supply to stabilise pH - adjusting occasionally.

Hope that helps Tell me if you have more questions Scott

Scott

What's the cheapest way for me to test and measure TDS, PH and EC?? is there a cheap tester that does all??

sean

Yes its an age old problem. Cheaper pH and nutrient testing.....

pH can be tested with a colour test for $10 either a liquid dropper type (1000 tests) or a 2 colour test tape (100 tests) pH meters are not much more accurate, but adding a little pH down, then another test, more pH down, another test, pH up, another test etc, can be quite time consuming. A pH meter you just add a splash of diluted solution at a time, stir a bit, until the pH meter shows the desired setting. Using a pH meter will cost about $115 if you include calibration solutions. Cheap ones is like having a cheap fuel gauge - eventually it will tell a lie and you have to face the consequences of sick plants.

Measuring dissolved solids at the 1% level and below requires more accuracy than a colour test could give. Electronically, the water conducts more electricity the more dissolved solids are used. A modern nutrient tester is a calibrated, temperature compensating multimeter, that measures how much electricity flows between two points in a liquid. Some people have successfully used a multimeter, but it needs so much mucking about its more as a challenge than a good idea. If you wanted to give it a go, I can tell you the tricks. We sell the CF truncheon for $135, and its waterproof and gives us a good reading every time.

Note TDS = Total Dissolved Solids, or Conductivity, or Electro conductivity (EC), or Conductivity Factor (CF) or parts per million (ppm). I prefer CF to talk about nutrient strength.

Note on ppm and TDS:- TDS is measured in the scales of 10CF = 1.0EC = 500-700ppm The ppm differs because different nutrient components conduct electricity differently, so ppm on a tester is only exact if there is only one mineral dissolved not 12+
So if you use a (say) 10CF solution, and multiply it by 65 to adjust the meter to 650ppm, or 70 for 700ppm or 50 for 500ppm it doesn't matter if you follow the equivalent CF by multiplying the desired CF to get the ppm the same way. If you use the recommendations of a friend, or a book, to a certain ppm, you better find out what comparative ppm they used, or you might as well not know what ppm to grow at for the benefit of an unknown number.

Without a tester, mix up to pack directions. If your tank is recirculating nutrients through the system, then as the water level drops, because the plants are using more water than the dissolved nutrients, the tank nutrient strength is getting stronger. You should only add plain water to top up a tank. At the end of about a week (more if using large tanks) you should dump the tank and put fresh nutrient into the tank. Why not bring a sample to your Hydroponic store (or some pool suppliers can give you pH and CF/EC/TDS/ppm ) see how the nutrient is first. 

Some water supplies have a pH that changes often. On the Gold Coast here, it is rare, if ever, the pH is out by much. So many growers need to use pH testing, some will never have to use it. Everyone should check it once at least.

Scott

hello, I just started sprouting my seedlings by soaking them in cotton wool buds, now, I haven't gotten my rock wool or any of that yet, but I was wondering if it is possible to grow the seedling in cotton wool and then place that into a larger rock wool.

I just need a bit of help, I want a setup that can hold about 10 herbs and veggies with a pump pumping the water and nutrients and it draining down into a supply tank. I will be buying a HPS light from you guys.

now what exactly should I be growing these plants in, (e.g., what size rock wool, and is the rock wool in a bucket) I'm just a little confused on what the plants will grow in. I understand the rest about the pump and piping.

Any help would be muchly, muchly appreciated, and I guess ill hopefully be seeing you guys soon. cheers

Hello, Please don't use cotton wool buds. It is really likely to stay too wet, and will often produce a collar rot and damping off when the plant is growing. At least use dirt! Its a lot safer. Use Rockwool or Perlite, or seedling soil mix. I prefer Expanded Clay beads for the system you describe with something like www.hydrocentre.com.au/satellite Note that rockwool in this type of system tends to get too wet in anything other than a very dry environment like Adelaide.

Have a look at www.hydrocentre.com.au/satellite_instructions to get some more ideas and give me a email or a call.

Scott

message Hi, I am thinking of using Coco Fibre for my plants. I want around 12 medium-large plants. What would the cost of the set-up be if I wanted that?. hi, Can you give me an estimate of what this would cost if I was to buy as many as possible ingredients off you 8 - black or white buckets 8 - lids (Home Depot or other local hardware store) 2 - rolls of Aluminum tape or other tape for blocking light. If you found black buckets buy 1 roll of tape. 14 - straight 1/2" barbs. (hydro store or Home Depot) 14 - 1/2" rubber grommets (hydro store) 7 - airstones (Wal-Mart or pet store). I usually buy twice as many. 40ft - 1/2" black vinyl tubing (hydro store) 1 - 7/8" wood cutting drill bit 7 - dual outlet airpumps. (Wal-Mart or pet store) 7 - 6" Orchid pots or other suitable net pot. (hydro store) Geolite or hydro clay. Enough to fill all 7 net pots. Silicone tubing 1/4". Amount will vary depending on placement of airpumps. 1 – reservoir large enough to hold 32 gallons. I use a 45-gal Rubbermaid tub. 1 - Water pump. I recommend a pump with a rating higher than 300gph. A faster pump will drain the buckets much quicker. I currently use a Mag Drive 9.5 (950gph). I've also used a Maxijet 1200 which took 12 to 15 minutes to drain the buckets.

Coco comes in bags 30litres per bag $16.50 which will do about 2x300mm pots Coco in bricks is $3 for a brick making 9litres but is not as fibrous, containing a lot of soil sized grit which make it harder to get air into the medium

For the kit you mention, www.hydrocentre.com.au/satellite is a better way to grow. Also try the Aeroponic spraying systems. on the products pages. My policy is to never quote on a BAD SYSTEM. The chances of failure in a water culture system is high in Australian water. Some of the ideas in the list are ridiculously out of date, but since Australia is so far ahead of the rest of the world - it doesn't surprise me at all.

Scott

There are lots of pictures because there are lots of types of moulds and Fungi. 
If I tried to post them we could be here all day but I have a suggestion
Try a www.google.com.au search like the one below I did. 
Use different key words. Mould and Fungi are different. click below to see a search

http://www.google.com.au/search?hl=en&ie=UTF-8&oe=UTF-8&q=picture+of+mould+on+leaf+of+plant&btnG=Google+Search&meta=

Not that this was a bad question but I got sent this email after asking my IT Guru a bad question the other day. 
(It amuses me. It might be subject to copyright - if so, I will delete it)

Scott

Hi Scott

How are you going? I was hoping you could help me with a problem I am having with my plants. My plants wilt severely in my dark cycle, but in my daylight cycle look very healthy. I am in my flowering period. I had bugs that Guardian would not kill and had to use the scarid fly drench. The bugs are dead but the problem with the wilting still persists. I think I've tried every watering cycle imaginable. I have a flood and drain table with rocks. They like being fed for 15 minutes every 3 hours during the day. If I change the fed time to every 2 hours they wilt slightly. At night I have tried more, less and even no feeds. Do you have any suggestions about what I should do? If they only wilted a bit I won't bother but its bad and I don't think there going to perform as well with this problem.

Thank you for your help Scott

Hello Its a bit weird, wilting in the night not the day. If the fungus gnats gave the plants a disease you can kill it with fongarid. That's what it probably is. Remember to keep the plants ventilation up during the lights off cycle.

Scott

Just wondering if you guys sell any kind of heating mats. i was looking for one with a thermostat if possible. e-mail the prices to me if you stock them. thanks.

Our single heat mat has a thermal switch that heats to 26degrees, then switches off till 21 degrees. $55 - we have these in stock very good value

Not in stock until winter are:- Our single heat mat with thermostat is $145 Our double is $245 and quad is $355

Of course our automatic propagators such as the aero propagator can have their nutrient heated with aquarium heaters, the flood and drain Rockwool propagator is due for release end of April.

Scott 

l / We attended your basic level course outline and started growing snow peas and tomatoes from seed using the wick method.
The snow peas are doing great but the 2 varieties of tomatoes are not thriving.
Could you give us some idea on what's wrong with our tomatoes.
The seedlings are about 3 cms high to the snow peas 8/10cms high and don't seem to be growing.
No sign of disease.
We used the same food mixture for all (bought from you shop).
All seedlings were in same area.

Well, great to hear you are getting started and hope we can get those tomatoes going.

Here are some things to consider.

Light levels
too bright or hot? or too little light?
Tomatoes generally tolerate a lot more than snow peas, so might not be an issue.
My tomatoes have got really stretched from bad light this few weeks, and its been a little cold with a bit of cold rain spray on them.
Everything else hasn't done as much growing as they should - due to cloudy low light days mostly, and an empty tank I forgot about because it was raining and I didn't want to get wet...

Moisture levels
Tomatoes like wet feet, other plants such as the snow peas generally not as much, If it was really dry the tomatoes might not grow much at all.

Temperature.
If its cold tomatoes might slow up, where I think that snow peas might not mind as much.

nutrients too high
This would affect the snowpeas with tip burn more than tomatoes would. I don't think that would be it.

transplant shock
When plants roots are transplanted, sometimes one or two plants will out perform the rest while some stay in shock initially, then get going. Not so much as they are in trouble, just that plants have personalities, and want to be a pain in the *garden* occasionally.
Did you wash off much roots in the soil you washed off?

seedlings root bound
Some seedlings have been in their little punnets at the nursery for a decade or two.
Were the root small or really big and hard to wash the soil out of?
A good tip is not buying the largest seedlings in the display.
The small ones are fresher.
If this was the case, the plant may have gone off growing for a little while,
but singing to it might help.
or not, it always helps me...
anyhow, a little patience might be the answer here.
If it is the problem, generally, plant a seed right now and the seed would grow a plant to beat a rootbound seedling plant to harvest

Maybe think about these, move them around if possible, and see what happens.
If they get worse, call me.
If they get better, tell me what it was.
If nothing happens in a few days of this added care, let me know and I can throw some more ideas at you.

Scott

We are looking to move into a hydro system for growing lettuce. We understand that with the new technology one can grow lettuce totaly on a water base. Please forward information to xxx@xxx much thanks

Please have a look at the systems on www.hydrocentre.com.au , pictures, question pages, etc. 

Generally lettuce likes half strength nutrient and plenty of air around its roots. Water culture where the roots are suspended in the tank are floating in bubbles which force the roots near the surface so the roots have air and nutrients available. We find this system fairly difficult and you will not find any information on the site - however many easy systems will give you ideas.

Scott

Hi, I am building my own NFT System out of 4"x4"x36" square tubes. I ran into a problem as I don't know how to make the drain. I have to make it so the solution goes straight into a drain tube, and remains leak proof. How do I go about doing that? thanks

Unfortunately there is no real way to drain properly without either a fitting, or using a heat gun and a gutter.

So the square tubes are 100x100 will only grow small plants, and I assume it isn't a hydroponic channel. So you use the heat method. Use a heat gun (paint stripper heat gun - like a really serious hairdryer) and heat up the end of the channel so it is soft. Take the end and form it into a spout. Then run another gutter underneath the ends to collect the nutrient as it pours out. If you don't bend it into a spout it will drip and run up under the channel and drip all over the place.

If you have a problem, let me know and I'll try some diagrams.

Scott

Scott: Simply rinse then soak through with fresh water. Give a bit of a squeeze to remove the excess water.
I have often heard that soaking in a pH of 5.5 is better, but rinsing seems to be enough.

Scott

I have a Bijo Greenhouse ( semi-submerged, i.e. 2 foot into the ground) 32' x 8' x 8' approx) I have two troughs 15' x 30" x 8". I use the NFT system on one side & aeroponics on the other. My problem ,of late, seems to be pollination of flowering plants, tomatoes & cucumber. What is the best way to pollinate? Should I introduce bees? I am not commercial. Regards Ken My Email :- budnken@optusnet.com.au

Scott Says: Try having sex with them yourself. What I mean is, be a bee!

We pollinate using cotton buds/cotton sticks, or soft art brushes, then going through the flowers and touching every flower, and then doing it again, to crosspollinate every flower. Its really easy. Bees will be a fairly difficult way to do it, as well as troublesome if you want to move their hive later. - Scott

I have stored some left over food nutrients in my garage during winter time. Most of my liquid nutrients are obviously frozen. Can I still use these food nutrients? Is there a specific Expiration date for most these nutrients?

Ah yes. I am sweating here and thinking of going to the beach, and you are freezing over there. liquids are useless once frozen and reliquified. Powders, if dry, should be unaffected by low temperatures. Condensation of moisture in powders can damage them as well.

Expiration is fairly indefinate, but you shouldn't need to use nutrients over 12 months old. Light affects liquid nutrients, as does extreme heat and cold.

Scott

can u help me with who are the best wholesale suppliers of Perlite in either NSW or QLD

Hydroponic Stores are the best source of high grade Perlite. Quantities attract price benefits. As for Wholesale suppliers, I can only answer that if you are part of the Trade. Please contact me direct on 5527 4155 or scott@hydrocentre.com.au If you do not meet their criteria, then the wholesaler will refer you back to us or a retailer like us.

Scott

African Violets are generally regarded as being sensitive to top watering, and watering from beneath can help. Not all growers believe this to be true, but I'd err on the side of caution and go from a wick system myself.

We could make them using wicks and pots, but I'd recommend you to try a garden centre selling wick pots like Decor self-watering. Then you just fill up the base with water/nutrients. The advantage is they are attractive and can come in lots of colours. Use Perlite if Hydroponics is your preference and a general purpose nutrient at half strength, or an African Violet mix.

Scott

I recently decided to try a different brand of nutrient from my usual. It's a standard 2 part mix, but also uses a third part as an optional extra. The third part is apparently an amino acid based solution called Bio Earth Sea Acid. The problem is, that when Bio Earth Sea Acid is added to my nutrient tank it becomes plagued by pythium. Within 10-12 hours, enough mycelium has formed to sink a small ship (not to mention my hopes). Is there any known 100% proof method of eliminating this pathogen ? Growing system is flood and drain. (outdated I know, but I like it :-)

Scott> I like Flood and Drain, it isn't really outdated, its just out of fashion. It will come back and you'll be a trendsetter!

Bio Earth Sea Acids would not be the source of the bug, but would be feeding it. The problem with making a 100% fix is knowing how much pythium is in the tank. So to kill 10 units you need 10 units of problem solver, and to kill 100 units, you need 100 units of solving stuff.

My 2 favourite ways are to add Hydroshield at normal strength (6-12% Hydrogen Peroxide and silver ions<50microns) until a problem is seen (units added are not enough for the units of pythium)

Then use double doses re-dosing every 2-3 days. The units added are now higher than the problem, and when the problem goes away, then you can return to standard dose.

If you have a bad infection it should be fairly safe to use a 4x dosage once to start. I brush my teeth with it and there's very little wrong with me, so they say....

The second idea is more radical. A small aquarium Ozone unit bubbles Ozone (O3) gas through the nutrients continuously. It is a very low level of Ozone, but as a gas it will kill nasties and then escape as a gas. It rarely build up in the water so as long as it contacts the pathogen/pythium it will kill it.

Remember to clean out pumps and tanks regularly, replace media and hose lines every crop to ensure no nasties in the system

Scott

I just bought SUPERBUD, a product of Dutch Master. The instruction said: Apply superbud within the first 2 weeks of "reducing light cycle" Can u explain what does it mean "reducing light cycle"

Scott responds

Yes Superbud can be used in many ways. Some people use it when the light cycle is changed, and the product will initiate fast, and intense flowering/fruiting. It is important if using this method to grow the plant to a decent size as the plant will grow no bigger (1 inch at most!!!)
Most people wait until flowering and when the flowers/fruit are fully formed. Then there is no decrease in yield because the plant is already the right size. The intensity of flowering then improves yields.

Scott

Hi Scott, A recurring nightmare in the form of spider mites are a concern. Predators, Sprays, Fumigation???? I would appreciate your help with this one mate!

Scott Responds

Holy Spider-mites Batman!!!!

Little Buggers are immune to a lot of things since Dicofol and other chemicals mutated them years back. They are NOT a natural bug. We created these super bugs. The eggs are impervious to most sprays, so spraying twice a day for weeks might be required to beat their breeding program. I have found only one thing you can use, that kills them with one spray and kills their eggs as well, with only a 3 day withholding period.

The product is Vertimec, and costs about $200 per litre. (1litre makes 1000litres) It is NOT available from Garden Centres, and is a Commercial Spray, for farmers only. You can get it from Agricultural suppliers.

If you want some I have it in stock and can be encouraged to lend you some as a sample if you are in store. I cannot send out samples.

Predators are a long term solution that will cost a lot, because the numbers of mites to predators have to have a balance to keep the predators alive. As a result often they wipe themselves out by eating all the mites, and then the mites come back. Some people have good results with them, but its harder than a spray. 

In between crops try bombing the room with a cockroach and flea bomb. Clean any Hydroponic system and remove before bombing.

Good Luck,

Scott

Would one see an increase in yield if switching to a active system. Hand watering vs. ebb and flow

Scott:

The roots need to be between moist and dry. The more air around the roots, the more they uptake nutrients so if you can get a balance with moisture/air then any system will work better. 

So yes, a recirculating system should work better. It also flushes the roots in the process. Although most stores will recommend set and forget timing systems, the moisture level at the roots must be monitored. Too much water and your system will slow right down.

Because the plants moisture levels *might* be better taken care of in a hand watered system, the opposite might be true in some cases. (usually compared to unmonitored flowing systems)

Scott

Scott responds

Plants wilting seems strange to some people. It would seem that the lack of water would cause a plant to lose its elasticity and go stiff. It’s not related to that at all unfortunately.

Plants are mostly water just like we are. The actual water pressure from the roots to the top of the plant provides the rigidity. Its like a balloon filled with water if you like.

A plant loses water through transpiration through its stomata (breathing holes under the leaves). When a plant has no water to refill itself from its roots, the plant will have less internal pressure, and will begin to lose its ability to stand up normally.

The approximate terminology is the Osmotic pressure around the roots is not sufficient for the plant to absorb water and replace that fluid lost through transpiration and thus the plant loses its structural strength.

Good enough answer to a simple question?

Scott 

What is a Magnatron?
Saturday, 01 February 2003
Schematic of how a Magnatron works?  

As far as I know, there is no use for a magnatron in hydroponics.

Perhaps you mean something like http://www.quantumponics.com.au which uses quantum force to increase yields.

There is many ways under research for increasing plants yields from magnets, electrical and other sources. Most of these strip the iron from the nutrients and/or the plants.

Scott 

We built a tank out of 10mm glas:1.8mX600x700 and would like to know if a person could use a sand filter, similar to a pool filter, on freshwater fish (koi & comets).

Scott responds

If you mean as part of a Hydroponic System??
I think a sand filter might not be an ideal filter for your bacterial levels. For the benefit of people who don't know fish, levels of fish waste must be broken down by large amounts of aerobic bacteria. The resultant nitrates should be used by plants. Sand has good filtering but may not provide the aerated filter mediums that the bacteria grow well on. You might end up with an anaerobic bacterial colony instead and this is not desirable. Some sort of foam, ceramic, bioball, or similar open filter system is good for bacteria, and some dacron (upholstery and furniture manufactures fill cushions with this) is good for a large particle filter.

However, if the nitrates produced by the fish is more than the number of plants the system will need to dump regularly to keep from toxic levels of nitrates. Other major, minor and trace elements must be added so this is more complicated than just see what happens. A nutrient solution must be based upon expected nitrate and other levels in the tank. If you are specially interested in fish, and plants are an unimportant byproduct, then any plant showing a slight deficiency can be corrected with some foliar spraying.

Aquaculture is a very involved business, and success and failure can be balanced on a knife edge. Your greatest tool will be your eyes, so watch the plants to see what the nutrient levels are. The plants will show you what is wrong, you have to work out what to do.

Good luck...

Scott 

Hi Scott, great site.

I have two plants growing under lights in an auto pot, both are flowering, one is going great but the other's leaves are just beginning to yellow at the edges. Some leaves seem to be burnt as well, the other plant has no sign of it though.

Personal reply sent - scott responds here too;

Leaves burnt and yellowing edges? I'd say go for a check through everything. If its really hot, raise your light to cool them, add a fan to blow air onto them and cool them down, if outdoors, you would find some shade. Give the plants a flush with plain water until water runs out the bottom, then put them back into the system. If its a nutrient deficiency from evaporation making nutrient too strong this can help. Without knowing a bit more might be difficult to nail down, but try this and it should help. If they don't come good in 2 days call me, or email me at scott@hydrocentre.com.au and I'll help work it out.

Scott 

About how many cuttings/clones at a time can be taken from a donor plant/mother plant? Is there a percentage of growing tips that can be taken all at the same time without killing the donor plant/mom?

You can cut the plant back for a lot of reasons and the plant comes back stronger. The parent needs to have some leaves on it to get energy to get growing again. 

If you are trying to avoid stress so you can cut cuttings from it again and again later on, maybe avoid taking too much, say 1/4 (25%) of the total plant mass in one session. Sometimes it is safer to use a cutting/clone and grow it back to replace the mother plant to avoid the cumulative stress and heavy wooded effect of old plants.

It is unlikely you will kill a plant by pruning it heavily, but stress and infections could kill a plant in 5% of cases if you were unlucky/particularly vicious. 

Remember one simple unbreakable rule for plant growing: If you had a sick child and didn't take them to the doctor, and they die, they call it murder. If you plant gets sick and you don't contact someone and it dies....you murdered it! So if the plant doesn't look perfect, call me, email me, send smoke signals, do something! 

It really stuns me how many people say to me, my plant died. My response is, When did it get sick, I don't remember hearing from you, how can you learn how to solve that problem without calling me.

And off my soapbox, sorry about that. Had one of those frustrating days. Don't mean to take it out on anyone. Hope that top information helps...Happy Cloning! Have a great day!

Scott with his clones

Recycled plastic crate for a system controller/brain? How bad is it to use the fish bins. Just pulled a bad crop; would this cause that. 

Also does recycled plastic brains cause high pH levels

Scott responds;

Recycled plastics can be anywhere between normal to toxic. Growers I know have used them and had no problems, used the same crate a crop later and had everything drop dead. An example is when a grower sent just a corner cut from a tank away to a laboratory, the first thing that the laboratory report said was "don't handle that crate with your bare hands". Apart from Arsenic at deadly levels, it had lots of other toxins, the worst being lead. 

The fillers used also break down. Do you remember the taste of water you get from a hose on a hot day. Plastic and terrible. If you recycled water through that hose over an over the plastic taste would get much stronger. 

Its not worth the risk. The first indication that there is a problem is the pH goes out most of the time, and you can't work out why.

Don't confuse this with reground plastic containers, where new (never used) plastic containers are ground into bits and re melted into something else. These are usually fine.

Scott 

how

Scott laughs:

This is the most common question I get, but everyone never actually grows them, they just want to know how.....

Potatoes in a dark humid spot will throw a root out, and you can plant the whole spud, or just cut that part of the potato with the root and plant it.

Using Perlite, I grow them in a deep container, 30cm to 50cm deep, and put around 10cm of Perlite, then the potato, then another 10cm of Perlite. Water them until moist with nutrient.

When the plant is green and healthy above, you can add more Perlite at 10cm at a time and cover up the plant to have more Potatoes growing. By making the Perlite deeper, more spuds can grow. Keep adding. You can rob the potatoes often, by digging down in the Perlite, and feeling for them. When the plant turns brown and dies, this means the potatoes are at harvest. Don't misinterpret this that there is something wrong with the plant, as it is natural.

Scott 

Open to suggestions to combat white fly, using pyrethrum at present with limited success. I'm a newbie and think your site will be a great help.

Scott Responds: 

Yes White fly is a problem, and to defeat them you need to understand their life cycle. They live lay eggs and die in a short period, say around 24 hours.

So if I gave you a spray to kill them, and you sprayed the white fly would die, then tomorrow, the 10-20 eggs laid will have hatched, and you would say, "Scott is an idiot, these White fly didn't die."

In fact the ones you sprayed would be dead, and their babies are now doing an impersonation of their dead parents. To kill them, you need to kill them before they lay more eggs.

So using something fairly simple, I use Mortein House and Garden Aerosol or most White fly sprays will do. Pyrethrum is a little harsh because of its oiliness, it can burn the leaves a little.

Use the spray morning and night for about 2-3 days then spray daily for a few more. You will quickly see a reduction because they can't breed faster than you are spraying.

Use the White fly Yellow Sticky Trap ($3 each or 4 for $10) to catch any new white fly and alert you before they get enough numbers to breed.

If you see on the yellow traps that there are new white fly, then you start to spray 2x per day for 2-3 days and they are all gone again.

Hope that answer wasn't too long.

Hope you enjoy the site and ask me anything you like

Scott 

Tuesday, 14 January 2003 03:14 PM

Of how much benefit is it to feed foliage by spraying it with nutrient solution? How often should I do it ( if at all!)?

Scott Responds

Great Question!

Technical answer: 

Most Broad acre crops in agriculture are sprayed by overhead sprinklers and sometimes by air. The reason is that the researchers find yields are much higher if you can hit the leaves, and the runoff fall into the soil. How much, they say up to 25%. So my opinion is yes, and it is justifiable with that research, however you must keep in mind, the figure includes the runoff, which doesn't benefit the hydroponic system like soil.

I think you will see a benefit from foliar spraying, and if you do;

• you must avoid spraying when humidity is very high as mould can develop
• you must avoid spraying if droplets appear on the leaves. Droplets sitting on the leaves can act like small magnifying glasses, magnifying light on the leaf and burning the leaf tissue. Spray just before sunset/lights out, or use a wetting agent to aid uptake and stop droplets forming on the leaves
• Just make a side note that oil based insecticides like pyrethrum will burn because of light and oil, and a wetting agent wont help. Spray just before dark to avoid burning

You can buy foliar sprays or you can make one.

Making a foliar spray;

• strength - use your normal nutrients. 1/4 nutrient strength of lower. If usually it is 5ml per litre try 1ml per litre. 
• frequency - 2-3 times per week in dry environment, once per week if hot and humid, and discontinue if any mould/mildew
• Add a drop of vitamins like Nutriboost or superthive
• Use a wetting agent, or a 1-2 drops of dishwashing detergent (must no have lemon or other scents - these are oils!!!)
• You can replace the nutrients with an additive test - say someone at a store tells you this yaks toe extract is fantastic, use some on a leaf or two as a foliar spray before putting it all in the tank, and subjecting your entire crop to your experiments.

  Scott 
  

I am repeating this reply for everyone

I have just taken a look at your site (again) and noticed your Aeroponic propagators. I have never seen one before. It looks very impressive, particularly when you consider you can keep the cuttings in there after they take root.
 
Just 2 questions. First, if it is my usual practice to grow for only 2 to 3 weeks before turning to 12/12, could I keep the plants in this system until they are ready to turn? i.e. from cutting to the end of grow period. 
You are limited by lighting levels. Growing needs more professional light than rooting. 
The system will work well until roots are around 10-15cm long, 
then they are in the tank, and that's still okay, because you can trim the roots if required. 
 
Second, are the usual fluro light systems used with this system as with any other propagation system or would it require stronger lighting? 
Fluro cool whites for rooting, good fluros (ACTIVA 172 98% colour rendition or similar ) will keep them growing slowly.
A 68 Watt Metal Halide is $199 and can really do an excellent job up to 6 weeks until system is ready to accept clones.
A 400W is good also, but can require a lot of ventilation and is too bright/hot for rooting. (use in conjunction with fluro etc)

Hope that helps 

Scott 

If I grew 11 plants in 11 different 2 liter bottles that were cut in half would I have to transplant the plants to a larger container? I'm using a flood hydroponics system.

Scott Responds

Maybe, Maybe not. I'd say anything bigger than a 1 foot high plant might have some problems with roots, and you would have to keep an eye on the drainage being sufficient to keep the roots from staying too wet. Better to transplant I think.

Scott 

1st January 2003

Scott I recently changed my nutrient to Nulife Power Grow. Since then I have been experiencing a major drop in PH levels i.e. start at 6.3 in 24 hours the PH drops to 5 or lower? I am using a flood system & running that for the full 18 hours during the vegetive stage. I am using a tank with a capacity of approx 40 litres

Scott Responds

What the...? Sounds very weird...... If the plants look okay, don't panic. If the plants look terrible, then its okay to go ahead and panic..... its the correct reaction to sick plants. Remember that the plants appearance over-rides pH and CF testing equipment results. If the meter tells you its bad and the plants look good, and you adjust your nutrients so the meter looks good and the plants look bad, then the plants were right and the meter wasn't....

1. Check pH testing equipment is accurate and/or batteries are fresh.
2. Check the pH of the tap water (or other water) and see if the pH is around 7 to 7.5
3. Check the nutrient strength and find out what is happening. Is the nutrient being consumed, or is it getting stronger?
4. What sort of temperature is occurring, extreme temperatures can affect pH
5. The plants could have some sort of lockup of nutrients occurring, discontinue any additives, and see if that helps.
6. Recycled plastics can sometimes release chemicals back into the nutrient. We only recommend virgin food-grade plastic containers. If using a recycled tank think about how water out of a garden hose tastes on a hot day. Sort of plastic and toxic. That effect on your plants could.

Your Flood and Drain system should run about 15 minutes every 2 hours approximately, with a few extra floods during hot periods of the day, and maybe a missing one during the night. A small tank will change pH faster than a larger tank, because it is bit like a buffer to any pH change. It takes longer to change the pH of 60litres than 40 litres. Consider a larger tank, especially if you are having to refill it very often.

If those don't sort out the problem......? Please call me or email me at scott@hydrocentre.com.au and we will try something else.

Scott 

More Information: 

I thank you for your quick response. My plants look quite good. Since I sent you my question I have changed my PH meter batteries which made a world of difference (the meter is only about x2 months old & why I didn’t consider it before. However the PH levels are still dropped from 6.3 to 5.8 overnight. One thing I believe I was doing wrong was adding PH up directly to the nutrient tank without diluting in a litre of water (stupid).

Scott: Yes that might cause a lockup of nutrients

Water temp remains around 22-25oC, room temp from 29-34oC & the humidity 25-60 %. I was using the watering times as you have suggested but was told to apply continuous nutrient during the growth stage. I changed my tank to a 60 litre capacity (only filled with 40 litres) from a 100 litre tank because of convenience & cost effectiveness when changing the water & adding nutrients. I will try adding more water to tank.

Sounds good

Even More Information: 

Firstly I omitted to tell you the normal tap water PH levels for this area has always been below 7.0. It measures around 6.4 at present but is usually about 6.8. 
A simple test to see if this is the problem, is adjust the water to 7-7.5 before adding nutrient. Then the water would be similar to so called normal water, and you can usually have less problem. You will find that it will be a certain amount each time, say 1ml to x litres of water, so it could be quite quick to fill a bucket, add the dose, and then use this to top up tanks/ add nutrients etc.

After making the suggested adjustments it has improved slightly but I am still having to raise the PH level daily! The nutrient level this morning had actually gone up from 24CF to between 26-28CF.

Had the water level dropped? If so, then add water first before testing. Perhaps start at 20CF and allow it to rise to 24CF

The plants still look OK but the edges of the leaves look like the serrated edge of a saw if you know what I mean. Some of the top leaves are ever so slightly wilted (but not too bad).

hmm, I think pH and stress may be the cause and should correct itself.

Do you think I need some other type of additives? I have only ever used nutrient + PH up & down & nothing else.

The pH situation only requires the pH adjusters. I think it may help to use some vitamins, but you can read more about this at http://www.hydrocentre.com.au/additives/index.htm

The problem has seemed to have been fixed thanks to your kind assistance. This morning the PH level had only dropped 6.3 - 6.1, the plants are using nutrients & look much better. A couple of things I believe helped, firstly I was adjusting PH before adjusting CF & I wasn't diluting the PH up when adding to tank.

Good luck
Scott 

Lately my lettuce seems to have leaf areas that appear "leathery or cracked. Other parts of the same leaf are still smooth. The leaf margins are "tight" looking in the vicinity of the affected areas. The areas are a dark green. I adjust my pH to 5.5 and run an EC of 1.7. I also have seen some browning of roots-perhaps a separate problem? thanks for any help ROB

Scott Responds

[1] you need to change seed. I believe you have a virus. Not your fault, all lettuce have a virus that is passed on through the seeds, and when it gets bad, just change variety. It looks like a problem like veins in the leaf.

[2] the pH is very low. I am very surprised. I never grow below pH6.0 because major elements like phosphorus are just not very soluble below 6.0. Lettuce generally is grown on farms at 6.3pH, but I suggest hobbyists use anywhere in 6 to 7pH range.

[3] The EC should be around 0.8 to 1.0EC (8-10CF) more than that usually gets a tip burn from calcium being unavailable. The plants would grow very slowly if you use too high a nutrient strength. Read http://www.hydrocentre.com.au/phcf/index.html  as it describes growing with low nutrient strength speeds the plant up, and raising the nutrient strength slows the plant down.

[4] Root rot is when roots have too much water and not enough air, the roots get weak and are affected by fungal pathogens, which turn the healthy roots brown, black and usually slimy. The roots fall off when touched, as the plant tissue is rotten and decayed. 

You must treat the cause and should treat the problem. 
The Cause is too much water, and not enough air, without knowing your system it could be too fast a flow rate, too deep a nutrient flow, too wet a growing medium, etc.... depending on the system. 

The problem should be treated to keep from the infection taking over. Sometimes the plant can recover slowly by itself. The infection is the fungal rot, and a treatment like Hydroshield (Hydrogen peroxide and silver particles), Pythoff (Monochloramine) should kill the fungus, and healthy roots shoot grow quickly to replace them. Discontinue any nutrient based additives like vitamins and stimulants as they help strengthen the bugs you are trying to kill. Vitamins can be beneficial as the plants are under stress, and should only be applied by foliar spray. 

Plants that have had root rot may have oospores from the fungus in the plants, and as such are prone to re-infections if the roots become weakened by over watered conditions. Any cuttings or clones may have these spores also, and as such should be treated with care as these cuttings have oospores and are more likely to get root rot than plants raised from seed.

Hope that helps you. The long winded answer is for the benefit of all readers.

Have a great Christmas!

Scott 

As a first time grower "Is a stupid plant in need of full strength (20m A & B "Plantastic nutrient"), or only half? Are they considered "heavy growth"? From Dumb Bum.

Scott Responds 

I am not entirely sure what you mean but my advice is use full strength on all adult plants according to nutrient instructions (the only exception being half strength for lettuce, and the odd specialty plant like orchids and african violets - just ask about anything that is generally grown by a growers clubs as a specialty). 

Note: Young plants should get half strength until they begin more rapid growth rates.

Scott 

Anyone have any advice on results using perlite versus grodan wool? I seem to get good results using perlite with the silica based rocks mixed through. but havn't used the other...

Scott responds

Perlite is very easy to use. Grodan works well if you can keep root rot out of it. In a cold climate root rots are rare, and Grodan comes from a cool climate. In the hotter areas, the rockwool must be kept fairly dry to get good results. Of course some varieties (minority) like wet feet and never seem to get root rot, but yields can be down over less tough varieties. There isn't any right or wrong, just yield and ease of growing.

Silica based rocks means opelCT known as Versarock and other names. The silica is not very soluble, but the rock is a nice absorbant medium. remember to wash them well. 

All these medias work well. The real question is when adding one with another, sometimes its harder to predict how much and how long to water for.

Scott

how do I build a simple wick system?

Response by Scott

Wick systems use a material to draw the nutrients from a tank into a growing container. It is usually an absorbant material, and one end is in the growing container, and the other end hangs in a tank of nutrient.

click on picture for full size diagram of wick system

First you need to get some sort of material for your wick. It must be absorbant, and not fall apart like some materials. Rope can be good (not nylon), but I use a wick made from cotton waste called capillary mat. (If you fill a tube with perlite or rockwool and it is open at both ends that can work too)

The tank full of nutrient should be below the growing container. Test to see your wick can draw from the bottom tank to the growing container and still be fairly wet. Our wick will draw up to about 20cm, so height is important. The Perlite is  poured into the growing container and because the Perlite is in contact with the wick, the perlite can get its moisture from the wick.

A simple design would be to get two plastic food containers which can stack on each other. Put a hole in the bottom of one and allow your wick through the hole. THe hole should be big enough for the wick, but too small for Perlite to fall through. Allow the wick to lie into the bottom tank and fill with nutrients.

Our commercial design is on this page. http://www.hydrocentre.com.au/planter/index.html 

Happy designing. Hydroponics is only limited by your imagination. Send me a picture of your system if you can.

Scott

Hello, I was wondering where I can buy a strong metal table stand and its parts to connect them together. Just like the ones in the pictures (or the table from American Hydroponics Veggie Table System). I need it to put a table or gully channels on top, which will be heave since I plan to grow tomatoes. I live in the US. I looked everywhere and couldnt find it. Any suggestions welcome. Thank you very much.

response from Scott

We use 1 inch box section aluminium as you can get 3 way corners and 4 way corners etc...  Very easy just cut to length and use a mallet to knock the corner pieces in. The main distributors for this stuff also distribute security screens, and aluminium tracks and so forth. Try there.
Other wise go to an engineering firm with measurements and a diagram and get them to weld one together for you. You might be able to bolt it together if they want to design it in a helpful way. 
Click on the picture for an idea of the frame and how it goes together. We charge AUD$5 per meter and cut to length, and the corners come in 2way, 3 way, 4 way, 5 way and cost AUD$2.50 each. Ends are AUD$1 
Use that as a guide, but I might find it difficult to send anything over 1 meter long to USA, as it is then regarded as commercial freight, and won't go through the mail.
Good Luck

Scott

I have 2 types of valve, earlier & later models I guess. How can they be tested, is there any info on them. One I have has a float in front & a single internal float. The other has a system of tubes & 2 internal floats.

Response by Scott

The two internal float system used to block up and was upgraded to the mark two which has the float on the front and underneath. I can test them or you can too. The only test I do is connect them up and try them. The main fault is it keeps flowing so watch out if you don't want it all over your floor! I now stress that not using a 4mm filter will usually mean a blockage at some time. Rinsing your valve will help also, to wash away any dried up nutrient around the float inlets. Failure is also caused when the valve is immersed or flooded with water, and the water gets into the floats (somehow??) causing a weight imbalance. If you shake the valve and hear sloshing water in the unit, try to get it out by putting the valve in a warm sunny spot, and angling it to drain if possible. Therefore, when rinsing a valve, do not put the valve under water.

for those of you who don't know this valve,
 
This is the mark two valve = Click picture for larger image.

 
This is one of the systems you can use an autopot valve, and more information can be found at our information page, or go straight to automatic systems

I have also invented a really exciting new way to use this valve to make a truly automatic system which is expandable, so I will have more info soon. email me at scott@hydrocentre.com.au if you would like some information on expandable automatic systems.

Scott

Hi there.

The other day I went down to your shop and had a look around and liked what I saw.
I am deciding to buy one of your hydro kits but because I'm a first time grower I am not sure which one to buy. I don't have that much money right now so I am only getting the basics. These are the systems I was looking at buying;

the satellite System with the 6 cell and all the equipment for $175

the automatic system with the smart valve and the 6 pots and 3 trays for $250

to start off I'm growing by using the sun but maybe in 1month I' ll be getting some lights and probably move the plants into my room or closet which of the 3 systems do u recon is the best for me?????

Response by Scott

Great to hear. No problem starting off on a budget. Starting somewhere is a good idea.

> the satellite System with the 6 cell and all the equipment for $175

Good, easy beginner system, moderate cost.

> the automatic system with the smart valve and the 6 pots and 3 trays for $250

Good system, very easy, moderate cost.

> the aeroponics system kit for $145

Advanced system, fairly easy, can confuse first time growers a little bit. Generally the increase in performance keeps people interested who like to really be involved with their growing.

Try this also:
6x 300mm Pots, with Saucers, Nutrients, Perlite, Instructions, for $100 

You water with nutrient until Perlite is moist, and then add nutrient to the saucers until full. When Perlite and Saucers are dry, do this again. Very Easy. More inexpensive, if that helps. Might get you into the lights and so on earlier...

Impossible to say which is easiest or suits you best. All systems suit different people, and that is why they were invented by someone at some time, and why there is so many systems.

The System should suit how you want to take care of it. 

The automatic system is fill and forget. Check tank every week. Easy 

Satellite system, refill tank twice a week with water, dump tank every 7-10 days. More performance, by 25-50% 

Aeroponics, check daily, adjust timing, refill with water, dump tank every 7 days. 

Perlite in Pots, check every 2 or 3 days, water with nutrient most times, flush pots with plain water each month.

Does this help? If not let me know 

Unfortunately, it really is a decision on what you feel is best for YOU. 

You have to take care of it. You get the rewards too!!!!!

Happy Growing

Scott

Scott I order the wick system of you about 1 month ago I planted a roma tomato in the system. 

I have also been experimenting as well I added 30ml of seaweed extract to the mix per 9 litres of water and the plant seam to be more responsive to the fertilizer a horticulturist that I meet at a family bbq said that this would help the plants perform much better and it works.

As this is my first time with hydroponics' I don't know if the yields has been increased but I will do some research and let you know.

But I can tell you that the roma plant once the seaweed was present the plant went crazy and more flower buds appeared and the plant seamed to look more stronger and a better colour and smell.

i want to try other system in the future when the winter season approaches in Sydney under lights so i will get some grow lights of you in the near future. which are the best lights to buy.

Response by Scott

Yes, we put seaweed extracts into the mixes. Its great stuff. Here's some info to keep things in perspective. 

The only problem with seaweed and many Organic fertilisers is that the nitrogen is not in nitrate format, it is in ammonium format. The plant requires bacteria to break down ammonia into nitrates. As there aren't any bacteria to do this in Hydroponics, the other 90% the plant can get from the seaweed is benefiting it. At the same time the ammonium levels begin to rise and may eventually poison the plant. 

That is why I would ask you use it only as an occasional boost, not as a regular nutrient, as once the plants have ammonium toxicity, the plants are very sick, and take some time to recover. The nutrients benefit from the seaweed because of natural growth stimulants, and the organic chemical structure which aids uptake of minerals. 

We have seaweed in Home Nutrient, Hypergrow, and Powergro, but at low levels, and it is added all the time. One of my favourite organic additives is Humic Acid, but alas, it also has high ammonium levels. So I use it as a booster every 3rd or 4th nutrient fill, and give the Perlite a good flush to remove any build up. Congratulations on experimenting and developing your hobby. 

In terms of lighting, the 400 watt Son T is the best but only covers around 1m x 1m. It requires some ventilation. around 4c per hour to run. currently starts at $179 new. None in second hand at the moment. More popular is a 600 Watt GE which covers 1.5m x 1.5m and requires good ventilation. around 6c per hour to run. Currently starts at $270 new. I have second hand 600's at $170 with a second hand bulb. 1000Watters are very hot, and if you want to do a big area, get two smaller lights, as it is easier. Have a look at the rest of this question/answer page for lots of questions answered on lights. also try http://www.hydrocentre.com.au/gardeningunderlites/index.htm 

Scott

I have found these insects congregating around the water inlets and grow wool and are not sure what they are or how to get rid of them. Any help would be appreciated thanks.

Response #1 October 28 2002

i forgot the name of the nutirent or chemcal but u can get rid of them no worries.ask ya hydro shop there called scarab flies

Response by Scott  October 29 2002

Yep, 3 products, 1 is guardian, it is a 24 hour insecticide, so mix it up and apply it. There will be no trace in 24 hours. 2nd product is a Drench that is really Sheep dip. Its the most toxic stuff in the world, as it even kills ticks! You put it in your root zone and then flush it after an hour or two. And you pray your plants don't suck much up. The root bugs roughly amount to thousands of species of local insect most of which haven't even got a name. The main thing is not all eat your roots. Kill them anyway with Guardian. Those bugs that do eat your roots are killed by guardian, except a few super bugs that seem to be half bug half kryptonite proof! Use the dip, or toss the plants when they die. Either way, use guardian, then if they are still moving get something stronger.

If Guardian doesn't work, Customers have told me that Diazamin at 1ml/10litres (3 drops per litre) watered into the root system for 24 hours then flushed (24 hours only) kills the bugs. If you leave it longer it makes many plants sick, however, some customers report 2ml/10litres works. might be different types of plants.

Answers: 

The small unit will do about 1 light area, and there are none available in Australia for another 2-3 weeks The larger unit will do up to about 12 lights and are in stock now

Safety is governed by simple detection by smell or by the tingling sensation in the corners of your eyes, throat and after a while chest as well. If you detect these and stay in the area the ozone will dry out these areas, and start oxidising them, by which time you would find it hard to breathe without coughing etc. I have not encoutered anyone who has run the ozone units for hours with no ventilation and then done this, but that is why there are safety disclaimers on the units. They use low levels of ozone in Hospitals to sterile air, and I believe that no harm will come to anyone within 80% of normal intelligence.

In a small system, either would work, the larger unit I could put a money back guarentee on it! Always do the job properly to avoid disappointment. Cheers Scott

I wanted to grow carrots and wanted to know if they can be done hydoponicilly? Thank You Carrots grow in 20cm + depth August 2 2002 at 4:25 PM Scott Scott

Response to How would you grow carrots?

Carrots need 20cm or more in depth of a moist medium like Perlite. I have grown them in Soil and Perlite in Crates that were about a foot tall so about 30cm in depth. The perlite was wet down with nutrient when nearly dry. The soil similarly. The soil ones were small and pitiful by the time I had eaten all the Perlite grown Carrots, and they weren't dirty, but almost sweet, they tasted really nice. Worth doing I think! I am growing Pototoes in a similar system, and Onions and root crops would grow well in that system. Keep smiling and growing!
Scott

I just received my autopot system from australia... well..It is a kit with all the things that you needed except the seedlings.I will be growing tomatoes..I followed the guides in mixing the solution but i noticed the EC to be quite high compared to what i do with conventional hydroponics..i.e. NFT, aeroponics etc..It is very hot down here in the Philippines I am afraid it's going to burn my seedlings.Is there an optimum EC for the autopot system?...or it is not important? I'll just mix it up according to the instructions and wait for the result...Any tips and hints in growing the autopot?..Thank you

Response 

G'day Autopots are a great system, and should work well in the Phillipines as the valve should compensate well for heat and humidity fluctuations. The EC you mentioned, I suggest anywhere from 1.5 to 2.0EC should work, with everything except lettuce which I'd use 0.8EC. If there is tip burn then flush the perlite with fresh water. The main thing is evaporation from perlite may make the nutrient too strong. If tip burn is repeated mix about 0.2 lower than previously. Tomatoes will be good to go a bit higher when fruiting, up to 2.6EC, as long as you don't burn the tips, they should produce heavier. The down side to high EC nutrients for tomatoes is possible blossom end rot which is calcium deficiency from too high nutrition. Beware any signs during fruiting and flush with water if problems identified. Otherwise, use 0.2EC higher for colder situations, lower by 0.2EC for hotter, and read the CF and pH guide on http:\\www.hydrocentre.com.au For reference 1.0EC = 10CF Let me know how your results go! Been to the Phillipines - very nice place... 
Scott

i am looking for a nutrient for my herbs can anyone tell me which is a good one. I am growing chives basil borage rocket

need more info February 14 2002 at 10:44 AM Scott Scott

Response to herbs

Quickly - What country are you in? I can work out brands from that Also, if not on town/tap water need to know that too.

Scott

nutrients March 18 2002 at 9:48 AM Scott Scott

Response to herbs

Just to clarify, most nutrients will grow herbs. You would use a grow formula for leafy vegetation type growth, and a bloom/flower formulation for crops where the "fruit" or "flower" of the crop is the harvested part such as tomatoes. If you get a cheap and nasty nutrient from a nursery you may develop problems, as many of these are developed by food or fertiliser companies and they test the nutrients for content, not for solubility and availability. A Hydroponic Shop can supply a general purpose nutrient. If its cheap, only use it on the soil plants not Hydroponics. Hydroponic Plants only have you to rely upon. Scott

I have experenced a problem, when i grow my larst plants they grew well untill half way throw flouring they started to die. First the large sun leaves started to turn yellow and go crunchy then slowly the whole plant died. can you please help

sounds like overwatering March 15 2002 at 10:52 AM Scott Scott

Response to plants dieing

When roots stop working, the first thing plants do is steal their food. If they can't get it from their roots they steal food out of the oldest lowest leaves, and they go yellow from lack of food, and eventually wither completely. I think its overwatering, or drowning causing this, coupled with potential root rot. As I don't know your system, it is a matter that the roots are unable to breathe and get oxygen, and are drowning. Hand watered systems should be moist and get dryer before rewatering. Pumping systems, well if its aeroponics use a timer and back off the number of feedings, Trickle feeding, same idea, less feedings, water culture, use more air or additional airpumps, channel systems, use a timer or reduce flow rate, avoiding more that 15 minutes without water and keep water going during hot periods of the day, and if is is anything else, get back to me, and I can sort it out. It is good to be cautious. Root rot can set in, then you need to treat it with hydroshield or similar water sanitants. Root rot is when the roots go brown or black, neucrotic (plant tissue turns to mush), and plants wilt or yellow from the bottom up. I would appreciate any further info to be able to identify problem..... Scott

Hi my husband & I are very new at this - I have done a lot of reading while he's working - I havn't found much on root veggies though, only one person who tried carrots, radishes & onions..... can you grow potatoes, beets, or any others? Thanx - Mimi

root crops March 15 2002 at 10:40 AM Scott Scott

Response to root veggies

Using Perlite, we are growing potatoes here in the store. You wait for the potato to sprout, then cut the potato to get one shoot, and place in a pot. THe pot will need to be tall. You put the potato seed on about 3-4cm of perlite and cover the seed over. Keep moist with nutrient. Add more Perlite and keep covering over every 1-2 weeks, and build up the depth to get more potatoes. When the green shoots die off that is harvest time (not panic and call scott time!) Carrots, Onions etc all grow well in Perlite, at least 20cm deep. Keep moist not wet, with nutrient. This should answer some questions. Probably creat some new ones. Hava a go, and keep in touch is the best way! Have Fun! - Scott

maybe someone growing in rockwool could tell us how they get good results. Slabs growers and loose rockwool floc growers would both be interesting.

thanks for contributing Scott

rockwool October 12 2000 at 3:50 PM guess

Response to rockwool growers

i tried every way to use rockwool the best is to handwater it until a little comes out the bottom of the pot. i dont use slabs anymore i dont use pumps anymore i dont reuse nutrient anymore i just water them when theyre nealy dry util it flows out a bit i throw out the excess

only problem I get is bugs in the roots? anyone work out how to get rid of them

The stuff is magic February 8 2002 at 9:19 PM Rockwool Rocks

Response to rockwool

If using rockwool when sowing the seed use smallest size 1" blocks. Best to use a 2lt coke bottle cut in half. You can make great custom greenhouses for each one, and sit in the sun.In a few days (if that)the water leaves appear, transfer to under a normal 40W fluro. When a few leaves appear and the little sucker is ready to go, put under a 400W HID Agro lamp. No matter what they say, 400W never gives drama. Rockwool works best with expanded clay, which should be washed a few times before use. A re-cycling system is the way to go with rockwool.I have grown monsters in a tray under 400W HID with expanded clay pellets. If not using a water conditioner, water should be changed weekly. We had a constant water flow which drained through the holes in the tray, back into the bucket, Then pumped back up to plants. They say roots in water is bad. I say that ours did that and I have never seen flowers as big, and plants as healthy. Its all just theory really. Practice makes perfect!

How can you tell if you have mite problems? Someone told me I should look for them everyday and stop them before they become a problem. Is this right?

yes check for mites January 30 2002 at 3:53 PM scott scott

Response to mites

Yes, Mites are everywhere. You should look for a bug around the size of a pin head. Very small. The damage is a small dot of green being drawn out of the leaf, then thousands of little dots as they graze around and multiply. Then you should expect to see small webs, especially if any moisture is sprayed onto leaves. The leaves will eventually fail, go brown, and crumble. Once enough of the plant is affected, the plants will die. New strains are too small to see, its only by the damage that you will be able to detect them. The treatment I recommend is a spray called Vertimec, which kills their eggs. Since their eggs are not killed by any other spray, you have to spray toxic poisons several times to eradicate them. mites come in on cuttings, clothing, transferred from your hands from plant to plant. Commonly found on lawns and bushes, you should wash your hands between any outdoor gardening and your hydroponics indoors as their are no predators indoors to keep numbers down. They can multiply and kill a crop in 7 days. If unsure, describe any damage to us for more advice.

they are 2 weeks old and hanging in well...they are left fully open to the air permanently now...I checked today but they still have no roots to speak of...maybe very slightly...other than that they are hanging in fine...what do I do now ???

watch October 17 2001 at 7:20 PM scott scott

Response to what to do with my clones ?

Clones will start to grow when they have enough roots and want more. Give them some nutrients by foliar spraying a quarter strength solution on their leaves, or a normal clone nutrient, and when they start doing something, you'll notice the roots will be too. You can transfer then, but watch out for excessive light or heat over first 2 days. Remember that gardening may be scientific, but you still have to use a bit of common sense and adjust for whatever happens. Let me know how it goes SCOTT

washing clay balls August 9 2001 at 11:02 AM peter

I've got some clay balls and want to wash them so I can use them again. What works the best?

Peter

depends on.... August 13 2001 at 3:53 PM Scott Scott

Response to washing clay balls

washing the clay balls before reusing is important

If you have had any sick plantsgrowing in the clay previously, then some of the problem may still be in the clay balls. It's best to throw them out if this is the case. Usually this won't apply because your plants will have produced a great crop.

If reusing the clay balls, then the idea is to remember there are some old root particles, old nutrient and general tap-water nasties that have been in them, so rinse well.

Other options include Bleach - do a dilute bleach and rinse very very very well. will kill bugs. Any trace of bleach will burn roots and/or lock up nutrients, so rinse rinse rinse!

Hydroshield - Use in nutrient solution while plants are growing to kill any nasties. (6% H2O2 with silver particles)

Pythoff - Monochloramine. Very effective - use as with hydroshield but Never with hydroshield as they will kill each other first. (two tough guys in the same room)

Hydrogen peroxide in nutrient solution

Thats an overview. Let me know what you want to do and I can tell you more about that technique

Scott

Washing options September 6 2001 at 10:48 AM Scott Scott

Response to washing clay balls

YOu must remove all old root material by rinsing. Since the balls will float mostly, use a large bucket and scoop off the clean balls.

Bleach - If you use a capful of bleach to every 50-100 litres, you will need to rinse the balls, around 7 times to get it out. If you plants have sluggish growth, or burnt roots, you didn't get all the bleach out. Use a double dose of Hydroshield to neutralise the bleach resedue.

Hydroshield - This sterilised the media and water on contact. Use normal strength unless a problem then double or triple the dose until improvement.

"Phythoff" - For problems after poor rinsing. This is Monochloromine witch you keep at 80ppm with test strips. Very good for sterilising, but could reduce dissolved oxygen at the root zone.

Usually I rinse several times with water, and always use Hydroshield. Its important to disolove and wash away any residue from nutrients too. Use water and a dissolved salts meter to check that there are no more nutrients leaching out of the media

Any more idea? - be interested in hearing

Scott

I have two questions about clones. 1, What is the best hormone rooting material,gel powder, paste etc.(or INDOLE-3-BUTYRIC acid + vit B)

2,With clones in plastic pots of perlite,should they sit in 1/2 inch of weak liquid solution or in a dry tray?

Your help appreciated. Al.

clones December 2 2000 at 10:12 AM jack

Response to Clones ?

Cloning powders work as good as anything most times. Clone gels are good if plants are hard to root. So I use gels when I want the best strike

Can you put fish in a nutrient tank?

fish in tanks October 30 2000 at 9:43 AM scott scott

Response to Fish

Yes you can put fish in tanks keep an eye on temperature, pH of the nutrients, and only use freshwater fish.

Be careful of any fish treatments you use, and change tanks regularly. Just don't toss the fish out with the nutrients - lol

More info if you need it, in Practical Hydroponics - come and see me if you need it

Scott

I can't seem to get rid of mites. What is the best spray for them and is their an organic spray? Could you tell me soon because they are bad already!!

mite sprays October 20 2000 at 5:13 PM Scott Scott

Response to Mites

there are very few domestic sprays that still work on mites.

most mites are very resistant to kelethane, rogor, omite and others. You can see me for a special treatment I have.

If you are within 2 weeks of harvest, the sprays that will keep them from getting out of control, Beat a bug (garlic, chilli, pyrethrum), terminator organic spray, or natrasoap.

Mites come into a growing area because we carry them or ants carry them. Spray your growroom entrances and fan inlets with surface spray before growing. wash up and change clothes before going into the plants. Mites are small cannot travel far on their own. always treat other peoples cuttings or plants they give/sell you. They may have mites on the plants.

And summer mites are worse than winter mites. Check for mites with a magnifying glass 2x per week minimum in summer.

catch ya later Scott

I was going to grow some strawberries in hanging bags but someone told me this is not the way what is the right way?

strawberries October 18 2000 at 3:20 PM Scott Scott

Response to system

Strawberries grow well if given good light and good nutrient. They are prone to "crown rot" which is the strawberry plants "stem" if you like. Just avoid too much water sitting around their base.

As for systems, bag culture can build up nutrients, and although saves space, can reduce the light hitting the leaves if using more than one bag. (Southern Hemishere: always face plants north in a vertical system to catch most sun)

NFT is alright, as long as there is more drainage than normal.

I like Perlite, and Flood and Drain Clay Systems. Drip systems work, but keep drippers away from their crown roots.

THere is no right or wrong usually, in choosing a a system. Usually, there is "easy" and "not so easy"

Happy Gardening

Scott

I have new Atman pumps in stock 500Litres per hour $30 800LPH $40 1000LPH $50 2000LPH $70

will let you know of the feedback - RIO still my preferred pumps at this stage

Scott

new pumps ok October 9 2000 at 10:27 AM Scott Scott

Response to new pumps

its ow october, and since may, have had no atman pumps returned. seem to be quite reasonable, but they lack the lifting power of RIO pumps. good alternate though... scott

OZONE MACHINE - Odour control 1000mg/hr model now in stock. very powerful unit is corrosion resistant stainless steel all electronics are sealed in resin for added reliability. GREAT PRICE - Price will be just under $500.oo Equivalent output units retail $1300- $1500 each call for more details

also small water sterilization unit now available from $160! keep root rot at bay!

have a good one!

Scott hydrocentre.com.au phone 5527 4155

new price October 6 2000 at 12:20 PM scott scott

Response to new ozone machine

Ozone unit 1000mg/hour very reliable now down to $395! great price money back guarentee (conditions apply) so there you go! Scott

I am building a large planted aquarium.

I was wonder ing if i could add a hydroponics setup over the tank to grow strayberries or cherry tomatoes.

I don't want to add anyting to the water that would harm the fish.

With the tank water be nutritious enough to grow the friut?

Any suggestions as to setrup?

tank July 18 2000 at 3:11 PM scott scott

Response to garden out of fishtank?

here's a couple of thoughts

1 the tank would be big enough if there are at least one fish per plant. 2 plants would need sunlight or artificial light to grow effectively 3 plants don't have to be above the tank. This may help as a tank in sunlight tends to go very green with algae. 4. A good bacterial filter is required to build up the good (aerobic) bacteria. we have bottled bacteria for this. the bacteria breaks down the wastes into a plant food. 5. a simple nutrient test at a hydroponic store can tell you if the water has enough 'plant nutrients' in the water - best to try that first before running the system.

can you tell us how big the tank is, how many fish, and how many plants you want to grow.

scott

I've always had good results growing in Perlite and Pots with A&B nutrients. I was thinking of going to a pump and rockwool or clayballs any thoughts. I want to get more simple and I want to be faster.

perlite June 3 2000 at 2:18 PM hippie

Response to Perlite

I use clayballs. nothing simpler than perlite baut the balls will give you more though maybe you want one or the other simple or good?

What is the best ozone machine? I need to get the smell down a bit..... Help please.

ozone machines April 7 2000 at 2:06 PM Scott Scott

Response to ozone

I am trialing 3 different machines at the moment. Use a Vapourtek or Airsponges and I'll get back to this list when I have a really reliable machine.

Simple problem is that the ozone turns the moisture in the air into nitric acid and the ozone generator is corroded by the acid until it stops working.

the 3 new units use an acid proof or non acidic system.

I will advise soon - thanks - call me if you like....;) Scott

good ozone unit arrived May 13 2000 at 11:23 AM scott scott

Response to ozone machines

May 2000 new ozone units arrived about $450 for the 1000mg/hour unit a smaller unit is on its way too!

Scott

if you are spraying flowers with weak nutrient how often do you need to do it. how much is too much? how much will sprays help?

Spraying Plants September 16 1999 at 7:27 PM Scott Scott

Response to flowering sprays

Plants benefit from foliar sprays as long as they can absorb the nutrition as well as the water. As a guide, don't spray in direct sunlight/growlighting - as this can burn plants. The water can form beads of moisture which can ast like small magnifying glasses.... also, as the water will evaporate quickly in full light, the nutrients will be left on the leaf which will appear as a filmy coating (depending on strength). You should spray just before sunset/or before the lights go off. You could shut off your lights for a couple of hours without harm if you are indoors. Just long enough to absorb the food. Secondly the strength should be low - plants don't usually take in food through their leaves - thats what roots are for! So keep the strength down to at maximum 1/4 normal strength for that plant. As for how often, once per week is often enough - over spraying can lead to mildew..... Results that are tabled by scientific bodies usually quote an increase in yields, certainly enough to be worth doing. As long as its done with lighting and strength in balance, the quoted figures (depending on variety) have been 10% to 35% increase. Thats worth it. Keep up the sprays and it will pay off. If this is a hobby for you, I highly recommend leaving one plant unsprayed so you can judge the improvement for yourself. Satisfaction is the key to enjoying your hobby. Good Gardening.... Scott