Hydroponics Tuesday

8/26/2008 - Cuttings & Updates

Tue, 26 Aug 2008 07:37:12 GMT

I realize that my posts are usually better when I have more time to research and write. However, this week it's just not going to be that way... The real world has imposed upon my time, and this week's column is going to be rather brief. Regardless, we've got some updates from the growing room.

A few weeks ago, we moved all our strawberries outside into an aeroponic unit. I don't know how long we'll be able to keep them out there, but at this point, I'm hoping for Halloween. The unit that we have isn't heated, but the reservoir is buried in order to give some stability of temperature.

The largest plant is producing lots of runners. We're taken two runner cuttings, and are trying to start new plants from them. Although they don't look all that happy, they are six days from cutting (and still alive). In fairness, I was pretty dumb. I've got cloning gel sitting on the shelf, and I didn't use it. We'll wait and see what happens:

Ok... Time for the orchid. As some of you saw in last week's post, our pet orchid is starting to bloom once again. Normally this takes longer, but in this instance, it's bloomed again after only four months. We're surprised. Although we really like the orchid, none of us are experts on orchid biology.

Our orchid is from a very rare and special orchid nursery. It's a Phalaenopsis, and it comes from the genus Homus Depotus. Yes. That's right. Home Depot. We get questions all the time about where we get our plants. In all truth, this fellow was just picked up at Home Depot. It didn't do very well, and was about to die. Since we didn't have anything to lose, we tossed it in the Ebb & Flow system, just to see what happened. It's been a few years now, and hydroponics is the best thing to ever happen to it.

Here's the latest bloom photo:

Lastly, we need to discuss the cantaloupe...

It's pretty big these days. Since we don't have a "proper" support system for such a viney plant, we've just trained it around the light stand. It's cohabitating with a tomato plant under a 400W HPS light.

It's really turning into quite the wall of biomass. We've got lots of flowers, many of which we've already fertilized. Here's a closeup of the future... Future cantaloupe.

8/19/2008 - Return of the Phalaenopsis

Tue, 19 Aug 2008 07:28:54 GMT

We have some interesting news to report this week regarding our Phalaenopsis orchid. It's getting ready to bloom once more...

This is both interesting and mildly amazing. It bloomed for almost six weeks back in March. Normally, we wouldn't expect it to bloom again quite so soon. However, we've had great success with this little orchid. I guess we shouldn't be so surprised.

For those of you that haven't heard the story... This orchid was nearly dead when we first got it. We decided to "toss it" in the hydroponic tank as a last chance. We didn't know if orchids would tolerate growing in a hydroponic system. We gave it a shot, simply because the plant was already considered lost. The little orchid really took to growing in our MegaGarden. In fact, it's grown to be quite happy and healthy. We've fed it a combination of Technaflora and House & Garden throughout it's life. Both have been very favorable. I can't site any scientific reason for the nutrient switch... I'm simply all out of Technaflora, but still have plenty of House & Garden in stock.

Here's a fresh photo of our little fellow:

Also, I've got a followup to previous posts... We've mentioned STG (Sure To Grow) in earlier articles. STG is a relatively new lightweight growing medium. They sent us some samples for evaluation, and we've been playing with it in the growing lab.

It's been long enough now that I feel comfortable commenting on it. We've been trying it as an aeroponic medium using both cantaloupe and tomato as sample plants. It's worked really well. We didn't know how it would react in an aeroponic environment; so we tested it the old fashioned way.

I'm really pleased with the results. It's stable, strong, and working very well. Here's a photo from the base of our tomato plant:

The STG has kept the water contained nicely. The top always stays very dry, and there isn't any sign whatsover of algae. It's really working well. The tomato was started in a "small block" (roughly rockwool sized). Once it took root, the "small block" was placed into the center of a "larger block". The plant expanded into the larger block. Finally, we placed the entire larger block into a 6" net pot for the aeroponic unit. We simply filled the remainder with their "loose fill" version of STG. It plugged the gaps really well. We're pleased with the results.

8/12/2008 - The Ever-Expanding Cantaloupe

Tue, 12 Aug 2008 07:11:28 GMT

Since most of our growing systems are currently down for maintenance, this week's post will be a bit shorter than usual...

As I'm the first to admit; cantaloupe is a new experience for me. Thus far, it appears to be very low maintenance, and is growing at a very rapid rate. As of this week, it's crossed the light stand completely, and is working it's way back again. I'm pretty impressed with the progress. Here's a photo to put it all in perspective:

Additionally, the cantaloupe has a ton of flowers. We're fertilized a good bit of them, but haven't gotten them all yet. At this point, it looks like we'll be having lots of fruit in the coming weeks and months. Also, although I don't have the science to back it up, the cantaloupe's reservoir has been very pH stable. Admittedly, I used House and Garden Nutrients (in my opinion, they are the most pH stable). However, I literally haven't made an adjustment in weeks. I'm impressed.

Also, I'd like to revisit the topic of outdoor aeroponics. We ended up moving all of our strawberry crop outside. I've got mixed feelings on the experiment. The plants are doing much better than I expected. It looks like root-zone temperature isn't as critical as I once believed. However, some of them do have problems; and the insects are always a trouble. I'm not sure if I recommend it, but here's how it looks today:

Please note... I don't know how long we'll "get away" with outdoor aeroponics in the fall. At some point, we'll be forced to bring the plants back inside. Hydroponics Tuesday originates in Delaware. Our winters are fairly long and cold.

8/5/2008 - Maximum Yield Expo Writeup

Tue, 05 Aug 2008 07:05:08 GMT

This week, we've got a trip report from our own Max Parker. He's recently returned from the MaximumYield expo, and he's got a lot to tell us. For those of you unfamilar with Maximum Yield, it's a magazine which happens to host some of the largest industry events. I visited the convention in Orlando, FL last year, and met with great success.

Ok. On to the report.

"I've had a really busy weekend. I've seen so much new technology and met a variety of people. I'm confident I've made some very good friends.

The 5th annual San Francisco Indoor Gardening Expo featured many new companies and technology.

I visited every booth I could for two days and I came out with a load of new information and contacts.

General Hydroponics

The FloraNova line is a highly concentrated line of nutrients, including both FloraNova Grow and FloraNova Bloom. Both grow and bloom are easy to use one-part nutrients which are [Paraphrased] "Given the strength and concentration of dry nutrients but the ease of liquid form."

KoolBloom Combo consists of Liquid KoolBloom and Dry KoolBloom. Liquid Koolbloom promotes good flowering, fruiting, and production of many other blossom boosters. Dry Koolbloom is used in the final stages of flowering and fruiting to promote healthy, aromatic and fat fruit. It promotes flowering late in the stage, as well.

Subculture B is a bacillus root-inoculant. It's a wonderfully rich blend teeming with beneficial bacteria and microorganisms. The bacteria, fungi, and microorganisms colonize root-zone and media to promote healthy root-growth which helps with the uptake of nutrients to the plant.

Botanicare

Liquid Karma is a "Bio-catalyst Plant Stimulant" which means it activates steady and accelerated growth because of it's high metabolic activity.

Pure Blend Pro Grow/Bloom is a one-part grow and bloom nutrient containing a large number of main, minor, and trace minerals and other essentials for good growth.

HydroGuard is a biological water treatment used for the purpose of deterring and resisting Damping-off.

Clearex is a salt leaching solution which binds with excess salts, leaching them from the growing medium.

Cal-Mag Plus is a concotion of Calcium, Magnesium, and Iron. These three elements are some of the most important factors in a plant's health and vitality. From Botanicare

Sweet is a supplement containing carbohydrates and other elements to sweeten the flavor and aroma of fruit.

Humboldt Nutrients

Humboldt Grow, Bloom, and Micro are a line of standard nutrients for all stages of a plant's life. It's designed for use in all growing mediums from hydroton to soil to coco.

Humboldt Roots is used for the expansion, health, and vitality of a plant's roots during critical growth stages.

Big Up Powder is designed to give your plants one last boost in the flowering stage for extra energy.

Prozyme is a concentrated mixture of 80 beneficial enzymes. Enzymes break down organic matter for later absorption.

Grotek

VitaMax is a B vitamin supplement for healthy root system, big blooming, flowering, and fruiting. It can be used for rooting, cloning, and transplanting, similar to regular B1.

Solotek is an organic-based, one-part, any media nutrient. It comes in both Grow and Bloom, both containing high NPK content.

Bloom Fuel gives plants a push in the right direction by signaling them when it's time to flower.

Heavy bloom contains Amino Acids, Carbs, and other goodies to increase the weight, density, and lusciousness of your flower and fruit.

Monster bloom lengthens the period in which a plant can flower and helps a plant to bud, flower, and set fruit. It has a number of uses which aid plants during the flowering cycle.

Blossom Blaster aids bud development. By adding it before flowers bloom, it provides them with essential nutrients, resulting in large, healthy blossoms.

Cutting Edge Solutions

Grow, Bloom, and Micro are all part of a nutrient line developed and tested to function flawlessly in Northern California despite "A wide range of water-quality issues and diverse microclimates." These conditions make it very difficult to grow hydroponically and these nutrients have been acclimated to work under a number of different difficulties and problems.

Uncle John's Blend. This definitely came from the Grateful Dead! It's used as a stress reducer, to boost flower and fruit production, and alleviate nutrient deficiencies.

Plant Amp is a pure Calcium chelate, chelated to improve a plant's ability to abosrb the Calcium itsself. Calcium helps the development of the cell wall and cellulose, and to amplify hormone signals, resulting in better growth response.

Mag-Amped is pure Magnesium chelate, which, like Plant Amp, is chelated for better absorption. Magnesium is used mainly in the production of chlorophyll, but far too often Magnesium causes lockout of other elements. Magnesium should be used when a plant isn't receiving enough light.

House & Garden (Van De Zwaan)

Aqua Flakes A&B help keep the nutrient water of your system clean and pure while the balanced nutrient levels ensure maximum nutrient uptake. The purity of these nutrients help keep PH balanced and nutrient fallout at an incredible low.

Drip Clean bonds with excess nutrient salts to keep them from clogging your system and harming your plants.

Top Booster is used for the flowering stage. It tricks the plant, making it think it's close to the last stage of it's life cycle. What then happens to the plant is it flowers and fruits quickly and efficiently, thinking it has to produce seeds to ensure survival by reproducing.

Shooting powder starts a new flowering cycle after the regular one which can increase output by up to 20%. It can create a whole new layer on top of the existing fruit.

Magic Green is a foliar spray which, when used, creates a waxy film coating on the leaves which can prevent damage from many different pests and mold.

Bud XL uses a plant's own sugar to sweeten the blossom and fruit. Bud XL uses enzymatic process to extract sugar from the bract which is late stored in the fruit.

Multizyme strengthens a plant's immunity and makes the growing process simpler for a plant.

Roots Excelurator promotes explosive root growth, fixes a number of root problems and diseases, and will help a root system with nutrient uptake.

DNF

Grow A&B/Bloom A&B are base nutrients developed for symbiotic use with additives and enrichment. Naturally, the first part of each is weaker than the second. Successive nutrition is the key to these nutrients.

Technaflora

PuraVida Organic Nutrient Grow/Bloom are an organic nutrient for use in any media. It's supposedly fixed many of the problems with organic nutrients, such as Fallout, clogging, and "organic" smells. I hope that these claims are more than just claims.

Editor's Note: This is especially interesting to me, as there are very few totally organic nutrients in the marketplace. I discussed organics back in February, and the selection was tiny. I've always been a big supporter of Technaflora, and I'm really excited to see this addition to the line.

MagiCal is a Magnesium, Calcium, and Iron solution. Used with a regular growing schedule, these elements can help fix numerous nutrient deficiencies.

Dyna-Gro

As stated here, Dyna-Gro is apparently the only "complete" nutrient on the market. What this means is that it contains all trace elements beneficial to plants, without any lockout in the bottle.

Grow/Bloom are formulated in a very special way. A plant can only absorb a certain amount of nutrients, and there can only be a certain amount of nutrient before there's nutrient lockout. These nutrients are made with the perfect amount for a plant to absorb and just enough before there's any lockout.

K-L-N is a rooting concentrate that can be used for a variety of different root purposes.

Protekt is a silicon solution used for thicker cell walls and better cellulose production. If used regularly, it will protect your plant against pests and disease quite well.

3D

Rx Grow/Bloom are relatively new organic nutrients. They come in dry form, and are designed to eliminate problems associated with organic nutrients, such as fallout and clogging.

FoxFarm

Open Sesame, Beastie Bloomz, and Cha-Ching are organic based soluble granular bloom-nutrients. They are all used for the flowering stage of a plant, and they all have different but important purposes. Open Sesame is for the early blossoming stage, Beastie Bloomz for heavy flowering and juicy fruit, and Cha-ching is the late flowering stage nutrient to get the most out of your blossoms and fruit.

Peace of mind is a tomato and vegetable slow-release fertilizer. It contains a lot of goodies and can do veggies a lot of good.

PlantLife Products

Suck it up is a penetrating agent with a color pH indicator. While some products force open the Stoma of a leaf allowing pathogens in, Suck it up allows absorption through the space in epithelial cells.

Prop-o-Gator is used to increase the success rate of newly-rooted clones. Apply as soon as a root appears and you will see explosive root growth.

BioBizz

Bio Grow and Bio Bloom are standard grow and bloom nutrients containing amino acids, micronutrients, and soil bioactivators.

Sure To Grow

We've discussed Sure To Grow several times in the past. It's a sterile, inert, pH neutral seed-starting media. It has uses for seed starting, sprouting, and as a growing media.

Grodan

Coco-Dan Coco Mix is a high quality coco coir enhanced with worm castings. It is young, has small fibers, and is rinsed with fresh water to remove salt.

Coco-Dan Coco Croutons are a coconut-husk alternative to hydroton or rocks. They provide excellent organic aeration, drainage, and mulching properties. They are low in salt and their porous structure will allow roots to grow into them.

Super Starts

Plant Tissue Culture is incredibly underrated, and I'm extremely interested in it's practice. I received a common pitcher plant growing in tissue culture substrate. Tissue culture allows a plant to be cloned from a small segment of plant tissue.

Summary

This expo displayed an abundance of new technology and nutrients. After speaking to several people stationed at different booths, all I can say is that there's a lot to come in the world of indoor gardening.

Unrelated followup...

Back in the grow room, our cantaloupe is doing just fine. We've gotten our first flowers this week. Since it's just not Hydroponics Tuesday without a picture, here's one of the new flowers:

7/29/2008 - The Endless Cantaloupe

Tue, 29 Jul 2008 07:49:00 GMT

Sadly, it's going to be a short post this week. We've got a good portion of the growing units out-of-commission, so we don't have all that much to report. However, we do have some good news to report... Our own Max Parker has returned from the recent Maximum Yield expo. We'll be posting a full write-up in next week's post. We're still gathering our material.

However, we do have some news from the garden this week... I'm the first one to admit that I have no experience with growing melon; so this is all new to me. We're growing a cantaloupe at the moment, and it's really growing. It's growing about 9" each and every day. I never knew that cantaloupe was a climbing vine... Shows what I know. Take a look at this fellow climbing the light stand:

I'm not sure how far it's going to go... We're training it along the light stand, and then across some support twine. Here's a shot from a different angle:

As you can see from last week, it's gotten to be a very big plant in a hurry. Updates to follow. I expect that next week should be pretty busy.

7/22/2008 - Tomato & Melon Progress

Tue, 22 Jul 2008 08:08:47 GMT

We don't have anything earth shattering to report this week... Rather, we simply have stable progress to show. If you're read our previous posts, you may have seen our recent experiments with STG (Sure To Grow) media. At the moment, we have a tomato and a cantaloupe growing in the media as an experiment. Both plants are growing aeroponically, in our own home-built units.

When compared to last week, you can see that our cantaloupe has grown quite a bit:

Also, the tomato is progressing as well...

We're growing both plants in independent reservoirs. Both plants are using House and Garden nutrients. I've always been pleased with House and Garden. It has very little "fall out" when compared to everything else (except possibly Technaflora). House and Garden and Technaflora are the best on the market, when it comes to "staying in solution".

The photo above gives a good detail of the Sure to Grow media... We've packed the fluffy "loose fill" media around one of their standard cubes. Thus far, it's been very good as an aeroponic medium. The top stays dry, and the plant seems happy with it.

I took a quick look under the hood, just to show the root growth thus far... Take a look:

The small white roots are growing down into the chamber. Despite appearances, the "loose fill" has done a really good job at staying in position. We can't offer a full report yet, but thus far, we've been pretty happy with the results.

7/15/2008 - Further Experiments with Sure-To-Grow

Tue, 15 Jul 2008 07:28:45 GMT

I've recently become intrigued with STG (Sure To Grow) media. It's been featured in the last few posts. Interestingly enough, it's the primary focus of this post as well. Thus far, our results have been good. We're trying something totally new this week. As far as I know, we may be the first people using Sure To Grow as an aeroponic growing medium. We've set up two single-site aeroponic units, both loaded with Sure To Grow media. Here's a photo of a little tomato, nested in Sure To Grow:

The tomato plant started in a very small cube, which in turn was placed into a larger (roughly 3"x3" cube). We've placed the larger cube into the aeroponic pot, then filled the surrounding space with Sure To Grow's loose-fill media. The loose media works well as a filler in the pot, and has worked well thus far. It's lighter weight than hydroton by a good margin. Additionally, it doesn't put off any of the "sand" associated with hydroton. Hydroton is a clay media. When hydroton is disturbed, it sheds a sandy clay from rubbing.

Here's a closer view:

Here's the really interesting part... The top layer of the Sure To Grow has stayed completely dry... Although the lower part is continuously sprayed, the top is dry. The tomato seems happy. So far, so good.

Our second plant is a baby cantaloupe. I'll admit that I have absolutely zero experience with cantaloupes, but we're giving it a try anyway. Our second unit is a DIY aeroponic system, prepped for a single site. We've followed a very similar process... The cantaloupe is planted in a large cube. The large cube is placed in the net pot, surrounded with the loose fill material. The loose fill has contained the water nicely.

No signs of algae yet... We'll see what happens as the plants grow up. Both plants are under an 400W HPS light at the moment. They should probably be under a Metal Halide, but since I don't have any available at the moment, HPS will have to do...

The growing room is up to full power again... We're pulling a LOT of amps.

7/8/2008 - Further musings on Sure-To-Grow

Tue, 08 Jul 2008 07:33:19 GMT

I've been working with STG (Sure To Grow) media lately, and I have a few new thoughts to relay on the subject. For those of you not yet familiar with Sure To Grow, here is a brief introduction:

Sure To Grow is a growing medium for hydroponics that somewhat resembles a cross between cotton and fiberglass insulation. It comes in a variety of shapes and sizes, but all of them are fundamentally the same material. It is somewhat unique in construction. Although it is dense enough to retain water, it still has a large amount of air-space in the medium. It's interesting stuff.

A few weeks ago, I started some seeds in the small (roughly one inch) cubes. They work similarly to rockwool. In fact, I'd suspect that rockwool is the biggest competitor for Sure To Grow. Just recently, we've transferred the small cubes into larger cubes. Sure To Grow offers a unique "stepping" size. Take a look below for an example. The small cube in the center is where each plant was started initially. These days, the roots are speading into the larger blocks.

The larger blocks behave a bit differently than their smaller counterparts. The larger cubes manage to retain water in their lower half, but the top remains dry. For reference, my samples are sitting in an ebb & flow system with a one inch flood. I like that the top stays dry. This should cut down on any algae growth.

The larger cubes have a "hole" in the center. This makes it very easy to move a small cube into a larger home. Although it's not as obvious as I would like, you can see the small cubes in the center. The new generation Sure To Grow has a denser construction, and is much improved from the first version.

In other news...

I've recently finished a minor modification to the DIY aeroponic system. This isn't a replacement as much as a new variant. The sprayer system is simpler to construct than the previous version; and the overall cost should be roughly equal. This one is intended to grow four relatively small plants in a compact unit.

You may notice that the color of the unit is "whiter" that in many previous pictures. There's a very good reason for this look... I've done some painting. In an attempt to keep out more light (and in turn prevent algae growth), the exterior of the reservoir (and lid) has been sprayed with a plastic-bonding paint. I'm pretty happy with the results.

We used some Krylon Fusion paint that we purchased at Home Depot. It lives up to it's name. We're very pleased with the way it bonded to the plastic of the Sortera container.

Upcoming Event: The Maximum Yield expo will be in San Francisco on July 26th and 27th. It's a very educational and useful show, if you happen to be in the area. We'll be sending a correspondent, and details will follow after the expo.

7/1/2008 - A Week In Pictures

Tue, 01 Jul 2008 07:06:23 GMT

As you will soon see, I spent some time with the camera this week. We've got some new items and some followups this week. I'll start with a followup to an existing experiment.

I've been toying with outdoor aeroponics this season. I'll admit that the first attempt was a dismal failure. I attempted to start the season too early, and cold-shocked (and killed) most of my strawberry plants in the process. Not to be deterred, I made a second attempt (with a single plant) to see if it could survive. My original theory was that the overly warm reservoir would be detrimental to the plant's health. I still think that's true. However, the plant is still alive. It's a life, but not a good one. Take a look at the following photo:

Initially the plant seemed to suffer a fail amount of damage from the shock of the reservoir temperature (or so I believe). At this point, it seems to have acclimated to the environment. However, it's really suffering from pest damage. Here's a closer look at the leaves:

The insects are literally eating it alive. Although it looks like a strawberry will be forming shortly, it's having a hard time in the outdoors. Perhaps my results would be better in a greenhouse... However, that isn't the point. The goal of this experiment was to see how well "tube" systems would work outdoors. The goal was to make a very inexpensive growing system for the summer. Although it's subsisting, I'm not overjoyed.

Secondly, we have a followup to the DIY aeroponic system. I'm working on a slightly modified version now, which will house four small plants (I'm thinking about lettuce and basil). It's built from the same Sortera container, but with a different drilling pattern. Here's an overview of the new unit:

If you're wondering why it's "whiter" than the original Sortera containers... There's actually a good reason. Following the advice of some regular readers, I've decided to try an experiment. The new reservoirs have been spray painted with white plastic-bonding paint. They transmit much less light than the stock containers, so algae growth should be much more limited.

Additionally, the sprayer system is similar, but even more simple than before. The new spray system consists of a single "stalk" with double sprayers on the end. Interestingly enough, I've found that the 180 sprayers are much more powerful than the 360 sprayers. I think that the 180's are drilled out more than the 360's, and they allow much more water flow. As usual, the holes are drilled and tapped at a 10-32 thread size to fit the threads of the sprayers.

Here's a shot of the PVC cap, with the sprayers installed. Note the arrows on the sprayers. The arrows indicate spray direction. I've found that placing two 180's opposite directions will cause much more flow than a single (or even double) 360 sprayer.

Ok... Last we have a followup on our testing of the STG (Sure To Grow media. We've germinated seeds in the small cubes. They seem happy enough, so we've placed the small cubes into the larger rooting cubes. The new STG product is much more dense than the original version. It really does retain water very well. Because it is very white, you should expect to see algae growth on it, as it's always retaining nutrient enriched water. I suspect that stops being much of an issue once the plant in question has grown a canopy. This is how it usually works with rockwool. Normally, rockwool will get a small amount of algae on the top of the cube. This algae tends to get killed off when the canopy cuts off it's light source. I'd expect the same would be true with the STG.

The plant in question is a cantaloupe (in between two unrelated strawberry plants). The cantaloupe germinated without any complications. Although I mentioned it previously, the new "denser" version of STG is much better than the old formulation. The new version doesn't "float away" anymore in the ebb & flow system. I've been pretty happy with it. I'll post new updates as we proceed. Although I'm not able just yet, I'm planning on performing some STG vs. rockwool side-by-side tests at some point in the future.

On a side note, we hope to be expanding the hydroponics lab in the future. At the moment, we are constrained by space. If things work out, we should have more space available in the next six months or so. Until next week...

6/24/2008 - Emptiness in the Grow Room

Tue, 24 Jun 2008 07:43:18 GMT

Since we've recently concluded the CO2Boost Study, there is a remarkable emptiness in the grow room. We've in the process of preparing for our next round of experiments. However, in the meantime, things look pretty bleak:

All three eggplants have been taken down to make room for new experiments. One important thing to know... Some breeds of eggplant have thorns! Black Beauty eggplant thorns are very unpleasant. They are very tiny, hard to see, and very sharp. You don't notice until they get you in the fingers. They are surprisingly difficult to remove. I highly recommend gloves.

It's surprising how much the eggplants weighed. They were really quite large. It took longer than I'd care to admit taking them down. Also, I will confess that I didn't save the 6" net pots for reuse. They were so embedded in the root system that extraction just wasn't practical. The root system actually had to be "torn apart" just to remove the eggplants from the aeroponic units. I felt bad taking down perfectly good plants; but sacrifices much be made...

On a lighter note, our MegaGarden provides something much more attractive for photos...

The strawberries are continuing to thrive. No complaints there. We've removed a few of the new sprouts, as they've been moved to new homes. In the left-hand corner you can see a herd of little lettuce sprouts. The lettuce sprouts are about a week old, and they look quite happy and healthy.

As a followup to our earlier post... We've started testing STG (Sure To Grow). Our first-round test is very basic... We planted three types of plants (cantelope, basil, and tomato) to see how they germinated. Thus far, it all looks like a success. I'm much more impressed with this second generation product than the original Sure To Grow. This new generation is more "dense". It holds water more readily and is less likely to "float away" like the earlier generation. We'll probably start trying some one-on-one comparisons with rockwool once we have some more room in the MegaGarden.

Everything looks really happy in it. I'm pleased. We'll post more in-depth opinions as we proceed further.

6/17/2008 - Questions Answered, Questions Raised

Tue, 17 Jun 2008 07:06:55 GMT

This week, we see the close of the CO2Boost side-by-side experiment. I'm surprised at the results though... As it turned out, the control plant outperformed the supplemented plant. Both plants were healthy, but the control plant was larger and produced more fruit. For me at least, this seems counter-intuitive. I would naturally expect that additional CO2 could only help a plant. In theory, even if the CO2 generator weren't working at all, you would expect a more equal result.

I have one issue with the study, but no real way to resolve it. A sample size of 1 is never acceptable in good science. There could easily have been a genetic difference in the plants that accounted for the differences. However, with with such a small sample size, there is no way to tell. Realistically though, we have limited space and limited resources. An "ideal" study would have contained several plants in each catagory. If we're speaking about ideal comparisons, I would have joined all the plants to a single reservoir (to avoid the careful equalizing each day). Additionally, I would add airtight CO2 containment for a more controlled environment. Although these changes would improve the scientific quality of the study, they would carry with them some significant expense.

In other news, we have some preliminary results from our outdoor aeroponics experiment. The perfectly healthy plant that we placed outdoors last week isn't looking so good anymore. The water chemistry for the outdoor unit is perfect. My theory is that an uncooled outdoor reservoir is simply too hot to support aeroponic plants in the summer. Although our plant is still alive; it's not looking as good as it once did.

This example doesn't necessarily defeat outdoor aeroponics, but it does show the need for greater reservoir control that we have at the moment. In our climate, we don't typically have long periods of 60-70 degree weather, so reservoir cooling would almost certainly be required for any degree of success.

Also, we have just been provided with a stock of sample products from STG (sure to grow). For those of you unfamiliar with STG, they manufacture a line of seed starting mediums. Some of their products are direct competitors to rockwool, others are new and unique (like their roll-mats for growing wheatgrass and such). We're starting testing. At the moment, we're attempting to germinate three different kinds of plants in their "starting cube" product. If we meet with success, we'll try some direct comparisons against rockwool next.

Lastly, we're working on an update to the do-it-yourself aeroponic units. We're making a small multi-site unit. Updates to follow.

6/10/2008 - Outdoor Aeroponics, Attempt #2

Tue, 10 Jun 2008 07:29:34 GMT

Our first foray into outdoor aeroponics didn't end very well, and most of the blame resides squarely with me. I'll admit that I put the young strawberries out into the cold world a few weeks too early. We lost most of those first-round plants. However, we did learn a few things from the experiment.

We have a few more strawberry plants now, and I thought it was time for a new experiment. I've taken a single healthy strawberry plant, and placed it back outside in the tubular aeroponic unit. Here's a photo of the little guy in his new home:

In the past, I've always heard that root-zone temperature is critical for strawberries to survive. This experiment will serve as a test. For reference, we've had a real streak of hot weather lately. Our daily high temperatures are between 95 - 100F each day. The water temperature is about 85F, as the reservoir is buried about 18 inches into the ground. I'd like to see how strawberries survive with such a warm root-zone. We'll find out shortly. Admittedly, if they survive at all, they will likely require frequent hydrogen peroxide cycles to keep down the extra bacteria growth.

On to other issues...

Our "food" eggplant continues to thrive. Here's a photo of one of the upcoming fruit. None are ready for harvest yet, but about five are in the works.

The "food" eggplant has been great. No complaints at all. It's doing very well, living in the original DIY aeroponic unit.

Also, the CO2Boost Experiment is still underway. At this point, both plants are roughly equal size (but different shapes). It looks like the control plant will be the first to deliver fruit, but the supplemented plant isn't far behind. Be sure to take a look for the latest updates.

Lastly, a brief discussion of our strawberries and their runners. Here's a quick photo for reference:

That confusing jumble of strawberries actually serves a very valuable purpose. Our Fort Laramie strawberries produce runners (much like any strawberry that I've ever met). These runners typically don't find many places to root in a hydroponic system, so we give them a little assistance. When we see a runner begin to produce roots, we place the little fellow into a rockwool cube. We leave the runner connected to the parent plant until roots have fully formed (and begin to escape through the edges of the cube). Once the runner plant has roots, it's strong enough to be cut free from it's parent plant. The process is much easier than cloning, due to the naturally convenient habits of strawberries.

We've got a list of people waiting for the little fellows, and I expect that we should begin deliveries sometime in July. The runners reproduce fairly quickly, and all seems to be going very well.

6/3/2008 - Outdoor Strawberries of the soil variety

Tue, 03 Jun 2008 07:03:32 GMT

I'll be the first to admit that this week's post is a complete digression from our usual discussion of indoor gardening. This week, I've decided to mention something that doesn't get a lot of coverage around here... soil gardening.

Admittedly, we don't do a lot of soil gardening anymore. We've switched to almost exclusively hydroponic growing... With one notable exception. We have a strawberry patch on the property. It's fairly old at this point (about five years). Additionally, the plants are very strong and rooted. Most people don't think that strawberry plants can survive the winter; but this myth is highly overrated. Our strawberries winter every year. For reference, we live in Delaware. Delaware is a small northern state. Although our winters aren't Siberian, they certainly aren't Florida either. Freezing temperatures are the norm, with lows in the single digits.

Valiently, our strawberries return every year. We really don't make a lot of accomodations for them. They stay in place, uncovered, through the winter months. The only real attention that the strawberries receive is some hydroponic nutrients and some sugar precursors (Sugar Daddy) to make the fruits sweeter.

Here's a recent photo of some of the fruit, taken by the wife:

Additionally, one more angle:

Do remember though... Soil gardening isn't without troubles. Thus far, our two biggest problems are slugs and small dogs. Our dogs have decided that they like strawberries, and sadly, our dachshund lives at exactly strawberry level.

A photo of the usual suspect:

Lastly, I've recently added a new article... Wheatgrass Yield Calculations. If you've ever wanted to know how much you need to plant; this one's for you.

5/27/2008 - Disaster, Recovery, and Eggplants

Tue, 27 May 2008 07:04:58 GMT

This week met with some disaster and some progress. I'll start with the bad news, and some friendly advice.

We've discovered a rather critical weakness in the do it yourself aeroponic system. The system has spray-heads that are threaded into place. Normally, these spray-heads are directed at the roots of the plant. However, we've made an unfortunate discovery recently. Under constant pressure, one of our sprayers eventually rotated a wee bit. This rotation caused the spray to sneak through a gap in the lid of our Sortera (the body of the DIY unit is an Ikea Sortera). This was no fun at all, as it put about two gallons on water onto our bamboo floors. Don't run your hydroponics on hardwood floors unless you're brave or stupid. I'm a little of both.

Our disaster did lead to a discovery though... A plastic washing machine tub (bought at Home Depot) is an almost perfect fit. Take a look at the trays underneath our two experimental eggplants:

The trays provide a level of safety that I now feel is critical. We've always used large black rubber-backed commercial rugs; but they have an admittedly limited capacity. The new trays are a great way to go. They've slightly larger than we need, but they're a commodity item purchased from Home Depot. Thankfully, the entire light stand fits inside them pretty easily.

Disaster behind us, we've got some tasty news to discuss. Our eggplant in the original DIY aeroponic system has just given us it's first eggplant. It's spectacular. It's absolutely perfect. In fact, I liked it so much that I decided to turn it into a white-matted stock photo. I thought it was the perfect specimen; so I spent about an hour on the following photo:

Sadly, perfection has it's price. It has departed this world, after such a short career. Here's the last known photo of our beautiful eggplant:

Silliness aside, this plant is a great succeess. I'm very happy with the flavor of the eggplant, and I'm looking forward to the other ones (which are still babies). The House and Garden nutrients did a great job, and it ended up with a very smooth and mellow taste. I'm really pleased, as some other nutrient solutions have given eggplants a bitter taste during previous trials. I've been rather lax in my attention to the "food" eggplant, but the results are still great. I'm going to start using House & Garden more frequently in the future, as it's very effective. My greatest praise for House & Garden is the pH stability. I'm not sure how they do it, but I barely ever touch the pH in the solution. Truthfully, I don't even measure it very often anymore, it's so stable.

5/20/2008 - Outdoor Aeroponics, Revisited

Tue, 20 May 2008 07:11:38 GMT

As some of you may recall, we tried a new experiment a few weeks ago... Outdoor aeroponics, mounted on the outside of one of our sheds. We have good news and bad news. However, the bad news is mostly due to me being too aggressive.

I'll readily admit that I started the experiment too early in the spring. Additionally, the plants that we used were too young. No excuses here... I blew it. The temperature swings have been too severe. Originally, I'd intended on heating the reservoir; but it never materialized.

Here's a photo from this morning:

Although most of the strawberries are still alive, they're not in good shape. They are certainly not as healthy as their indoor brothers. The indoor plants might go outside eventually. However, Fort Laramie strawberries are difficult to obtain. For the moment, I'll be using them for breeding purposes primarily. Here's a closer view of the sad outdoor strawberries:

Although my personal stupidity has caused the experiment to be... less than satisfying... all is not lost. We've learned a lot from the experiment thus far. Here are the observations:

The unit itself is performing wonderfully. We have been able to run it for weeks using the smaller ActiveAqua PU550. We're not losing much water at all. The return-drain is working very well.
The nutrient mix has been very stable.
It's certainly not as convenient as the indoor gardens. Perhaps it's just me, but I end up spending less time on this unit. Out of sight, out of mind.

Back to the indoor experiments... Our eggplant in the original DIY aeroponic system has grown qutie massive. It's got loads of flowers, and one really beautiful eggplant going. Here's a very close photo, at roughly life-size. It looks a bit orange, as the HPS lights are very intense. It's really shiny and very healthy.

5/13/2008 - Events Indoor and Outdoor

Tue, 13 May 2008 14:07:44 GMT

Sadly, this week offers more questions than answers. We've got a number of experiments going at the moment, with some puzzling conclusions.

The CO2Boost Experiment has taken a very surprising turn. The control plant is now larger than the supplemented plant. I'm not sure how to explain it. However, I'll give it a shot... As much as I attempted to keep the experiment fair and balanced, there is a difference in the plants. When the experiment started, we grew 12 seedlings. From the 12 seedling, we selected the two that were the most equal. Although these plants were as similar as possible, the difference may be explained by the variations in the plants themselves. Additionally, I've got one other unproven theory... I don't know enough about eggplant biology to say for certain, but I suspect that eggplants may not get much extra growth from CO2 supplementation. My "food" eggplant (in the "mark 1") is doing very well, without any CO2 supplementation of any kind.

Secondarily, the outdoor strawberry experiment isn't going very well. I didn't take any pictures, but things aren't pretty. Most of the plants are very weak, and don't seem well acclimated at all. I don't have a better explanation at the moment, but my theory is that they are too young to tolerate the temperature swings in the cold nights. Their indoor brothers are performing much better. Here's a photo of the indoor group:

Lastly, here's a quick photo of the "food" eggplant in the "mark 1". It's performing very well, with lots of fertilized flowers. It's huge, and very happy. I think I'll be using more House and Garden (Van de Zwaan) nutrients in the future.

5/6/2008 - Eggplant Exposure

Tue, 06 May 2008 08:15:45 GMT

I've recently made a new discovery about the "mark one" aeroponic unit... It's rather tall height makes lighting a bit more complicated. Take a look at the photo below for reference:

Our eggplant is flowering now, and it's grown pretty tall. The added height from the aeroponic unit brings it closer to the light than I would prefer. Although our lights run somewhat "cool" for high intensity lights, I've found that you want to keep the lighting reflector at least 18" from your plants. If you position the light closer than 18" from your plants, you're very likely to burn the leaves with the heat of the light. Don't forget... Reflector type makes a big difference.

A HydroFarm Radiant reflector distributes heat much better than the smaller Hydrofarm Daystar. Both the larger size and different shape allow the Radiant to distribute heat more widely (unlike the Daystar's "death ray" heat pattern.

Regardless, our eggplant is growing larger than I would prefer, and it's closer to the light than is probably good. However, we're limited by our ceiling; so we've got to make the most of the situation.

Now, for something completely different...

I'm puzzled by the CO2Boost Experiment... Although I don't have a justification, the "control" plant has gained a lot of ground on the "supplemented" plant. I need to do more research on eggplants. I'm not a plant biology guy... For that matter, I'm not a biology guy at all. All I ever took in school was chemistry and physics. My running theory is that an eggplant may not respond to CO2 supplementation... We'll be bringing in some sophisticated testing gear later in the week, so we'll have fresh information for the next post.

4/29/2008 - Aeroponics Sprayers and Eggplant Roots

Tue, 29 Apr 2008 07:35:25 GMT

We just finished performing a water change, and we've made an unexpected discovery... When I looked at the pump-return on our large eggplant, I didn't see much flow. However, I did see a large mass of roots. I thought that the roots might have overgrown the drain. This has been known to happen, so we watch out for it. Here's a photo of the big guy:

We decided to take a look under the hood, at the root system beneath. We released the latches on the top bucket, then lifted the lid (and whole eggplant with it). Take a look what we found:

The odd-looking shape is perfectly understandable. The roots grew until the filled the entire bucket. Next, they started to form a root-mass on the bottom of the bucket. Finally, they discovered the drain into the reservoir (the tube-shape on the bottom). The roots literally grew "down the drain". I've never seen roots that are so uniformly white and healthy. I'm really starting to love House and Garden (Van de Zwaan). Their stuff is really spectacular.

Secondly this week, I'd like to answer an ongoing question from several of our readers. Frequently, I'm asked about aeroponic sprayers and nutrient clogging. I'm amazed that people ask so much, as I've never had a problem. I frequently use products from Botanicare, General Hydroponics, House and Garden, Technaflora, DNF, and Grotek. None of them has ever given me a problem at all.

I just changed out the aeroponics sprayers in my the CO2Boost Experiment, which gave me a unique oppotunity to show you the sprayers. These sprayers were photographed about two minutes after them left service. They had been spraying an 1800 PPM mixture for 29 days, under 24 hour spray.

The sprayers only show very slight and superficial nutrient. None of the "working" surfaces had any buildup at all. I'm genuniely not sure why other people are having the clogging problems, but none are happening here.

4/22/2008 - Outdoor Aeroponic Strawberries

Tue, 22 Apr 2008 08:18:17 GMT

The new strawberries have been moved into the new outdoor aeroponic system. In the process, I've learned some things:

I was a fool to use regular white caulk to assemble the outdoor aeroponic unit. It didn't hold up well against the constant water, and made a mess. I have resealed it entirely with aquarium sealant, and have learned my lesson.
The smaller PU550 is performing even better than expected. The larger (1/2" hard PVC) feed line allows to use the smaller PU550 rather than the larger PU850.
Bending down to service an in-ground reservoir is just as uncomfortable as you'd imagine.

The strawberries seemed to have something bacterial going (they were purchased as rootstock, so I don't know their origins). At the moment, the outdoor aeroponic unit is running with clear water and hydrogen peroxide (35%, at a 1/3 tsp / gallon mixture). I'll probably add the nutrients tomorrow morning. Hopefully, they should acclimate to the new environment.

Here's a photo of the strawberries in their new home:

Here is a closer view on the plant on the closest end:

Also, the ongoing CO2Boost Experiment is showing interesting results. The supplemented plant is clearly pulling ahead. It's larger and fuller. Take a look for the ongoing results.

I've finally managed to obtain some of the 180 degree aeroponic sprayers as well. I'll do a formal write-up, just as soon as I have time. Sadly, my real life inflicts imposition on my hobbies.

The eggplant in the Mark 1 single-site unit is really quite happy. I'm very pleased with the House & Garden nutrients that we're feeding it. Normally, I'd show a photo here. Sadly, I now realize that I didn't take one. Shame on me.

Sorry that this week's post is so short. For a bit of insight into our life, we're in the early stages of moving. We'll be listing our home for sale later this week, which means that we're in a mad packing / painting frenzy. Hopefully, we will return to some level of normalcy in the next ten days or so.

4/15/2008 - Outdoor Aeroponics, Generation #1

Tue, 15 Apr 2008 07:41:12 GMT

First and foremost, we have some unfinished business to attend to this week...

We need to announce the winner of the Fix My Stuff, Win A Prize contest. This contest was inspired by the Do-It-Yourself aeroponics plans that I published a few months back. I wanted to encourage participation by the group to improve the plans for all of us. The contest's winner is Red Icculus. Red made several very practical suggestions for subtle improvements to the desigh:

Red recommended that the sprayers be replaced with 180° units, rather than the 360° sprayers that I used in the original.
Red also recommended that the system be sealed with weatherstripping. After some experimentation, I settled on 1/4" wide self-adhesive rubber weatherstripping. It works wonderfully.

As the proud winner of the contest, Red will receive a random assortment of Hydroponics Tuesday swag.

Ok. On to the regularly scheduled blog post.

Firstly, we start with a retraction this week... Last week, I mentioned that we would be receiving some new LED-based lights to test. After speaking with the manufacturer, they expressed that they need more time for research, development, and refinement. We will probably get to test them at some point, but for the moment, we are delayed.

The arrival of the Fort Laramie strawberries has caused me to get my act together regarding outdoor aeroponics. I've been thinking and planning for a long time, but this last weekend, I made the all-important transition to actually making it happen.

Fair Warning: This is entirely experimental. I haven't published plans yet, and for good reason. This is completely untested and unproven. Here's what we've put together, and the basics of how it all works:

We purchased PVC fence post material from our local Lowes. Fair warning: Home Depot doesn't carry the right stuff. We used the larger size PVC, rather than the smaller stuff (that fits overtop a 4x4). This stuff is commonly called the 6" PVC, even though the measurement isn't really more than about 5 1/2". Before I bore you with more details, here's the first photo:

We drilled the PVC section several times for all the plant sites. Important tip... When you're making your own "small plant" aeroponic units, you should use the Botanicare net pots, not the General Hydroponics ones. There is a huge difference. For more details, look here. We used a drill press, but you could do it with a regular drill just as well. When using the Botanicare pots, a 2 3/4" hole saw does a really nice job. Take my word for it on this one... Buy the right tool. Don't try to muddle your way through without one. It's totally worth it, as the pots form a very tight seal in the holes.

The photo below gives a better view of the feed and return system.

The first site in the system is used for the feed. I took a 1/2" "bulkhead" fitting, mounted it inside a Botanicare "filler" plug, and made a really nice modular hookup. Although I cannot find a good photo of one at the moment, Botanicare makes wonderful plastic "plugs" that fit the 2 3/4" holes perfectly. The bulkhead fitting is mounted into the plug, and you have a watertight 1/2" passthrough. I bought the bulkhead fitting through Grainger, but you can easily get them at a decent aquarium shop. The bulkhead fitting pictured isn't exact, but it's close enough.

Here's why the larger PVC is important... It's just large enough to mount a plastic sink drain (purchased at Home Depot) as your water return. All that white PVC that you see is just standard plumbing, bought at the local Home Depot. It leads back to the reservoir.

A closer look at the hookup:

The black vinyl tubing that you see on the left is the pressurized feed line. The white PVC fitting is just an elbow with a hose-barb on it. The feed line is connected to a long piece of 1/2" hard PVC pipe which runs underneath all the pots in the large tube. Sprayers are positioned every 7" (the holes are drilled 7" on-center), so that a sprayer is directly between each pair of pots. This design makes disassembly fairly easy (as the plug / bulkhead can be popped up and unscrewed). The feed is positioned directly above the drain, so that all our "water" is run to one end of the unit.

The reservoir is mostly buried in the ground. We buried it in an attempt to stabilize the water temperature, and hopefully to get some free cooling in the coming summer months. To save space, the whole unit is supported by ladder-brackets on the side of our smaller shed. This keeps it off the ground, and at a convenient height for berry-eating. Although the entire unit looks level, it's actually offset by about 1/2" from end-to-end. This causes the water to fall towards the return drain naturally.

The whole system is powered by an ActiveAqua PU550 pump. As I've stated many times before, I love ActiveAqua pumps. They are strong, reliable, and inexpensive. At full retail price, this pump is $32. The pump is immersed in the reservoir. I use a 1/2" ID hose for the feed. It's more than enough.

In theory, this should be our last cold week of the year. If this holds true, I'll migrate the strawberries into the new outdoor aeroponic unit sometime next weekend. I hope it works, as this design would be pretty easy to duplicate. Although I haven't done a writeup yet, I estimate the cost to build this unit at about $100. If I remember correctly, I spend about $25 on the big PVC, $30 for the pump, $10 for the reservoir, and about $30 on plumbing.

That's it for this week's DIY installment. I'll post updates as I make new discoveries.

If you haven't been watching the CO2Boost Study, it's an interesting read. The CO2 supplemented plant is really starting to get a lead on the control plant.

Last item of business for this week, a quick photo of our rapidly-expanding Black Beauty Eggplant (in it's own private aeroponic unit):

4/8/2008 - Movements in the Garden

Tue, 08 Apr 2008 07:22:27 GMT

The Fort Laramie strawberries continue to surprise me. This week, they managed to do it twice. Firstly, I'm proud to report that they have started flowering. Secondly, I'm even more proud to say that they have already managed to self-pollinate. Strawberries are already on the way. It's remarkable. They are just freshly out of dormancy, and they're already hard at work. Take a look at the blooms on this fellow (the bottom one has already shed it's leaves and started a strawberry):

The plant pictured above is the largest and strongest of the batch. However, this doesn't mean that the rest of the group aren't doing very well also. Here's a quick photo of the rest of the MegaGarden:

I really can't wait to get the strawberries going outdoors. At this point, I'm thinking that we may try it in about two weeks. It it gets too cold, we can always bring them back indoors for a bit.

Also, our eggplant seems quite happy. It's much larger than last week. It seems to be taking well to the House & Garden nutrients that we've been feeding it. Strangely, House & Garden recommends a relatively low PPM. Regardless, I cannot argue with results.

We've steadily posting updates to the CO2Boost Side-By-Side Study, each and every morning. It's just starting to get interesting. If I had to choose, I'd say that the supplemented plant is starting to gain a lead. It's slightly taller, but it's leaves are much fuller. Perhaps the results will be more pronounced in the next week. Here is a side-by-side from the last photo session (all study photos are taken on Sundays):

Lastly, we have a bit more exciting news... I've been contacted by an LED manufacturer in China. They have developed a new type of LED-based hydroponic lighting. Thus far, they haven't made any claims about their product. Rather, they asked me if I would be willing to perform a test. I'm always willing to test new hydroponics gear.

I'd be overjoyed if their LED lights work well. I'd love nothing more than a way to grow plants without such huge energy usage (at the moment, I've got (3) 400W systems and (1) 125W system running. That's a lot of power.

Theoretically, LED's are the plant lighting of the future. However, thus far no viable LED-based lights have been available. Lots have been on the market, just none have worked very well. I'm hoping that these fellows can break the streak. I'll post further updates when possible.

#12	Bambino Baby Eggplant	Removed on 03/30/2008. The Bambino was a monster. It is the singular reason for our designing a "single-site" aeroponic unit. It's monopolizing our TurboGarden. Large plants need their own space, otherwise they become bad neighbors quickly.
#18	Black Beauty Eggplant	On 03/30/2008 this fellow finally got a private home. It now lives in the first generation DIY aeroponic unit, under the 400W HPS lighting system.
Unnumbered Seedlings	Black Beauty Eggplant	On 03/30/2008, two of the seedlings were selected for the CO2Boost study. The others are still hanging around, as we don't have a place for them just yet. They may find a home outside, as we currently have three eggplants in our growing room.

4/1/2008 - Interesting Developments

Tue, 01 Apr 2008 07:10:02 GMT

First up this week is a followup on our Fort Laramie strawberries...

I'm downright amazed at how well they're doing. It's really quite remarkable. They were sad-looking little things last week; now they're real strawberries. Every one of them has green leaves, and they all appear healthy. It's wonderful. Their root systems are apparently much healthier than I had originally thought. Here's a photo of one of the little fellows:

I'll be the first to admit that I was disappointed by the poor customer service at Henry Fields, but the plants are of excellent quality. I really never expected them to wake up from dormancy so quickly. It's not too late, you can still score some of these for spring planting. In theory, we'll be moving a bunch of ours ourside in an outdoor aeroponic experiment.

Also, we've done some major rearranging in the growing room this week. Our monster Bambino eggplant has departed our company, and we have some new action growing. Removing the Bambino was much more difficult than it sounds. It had an incredibly large root system. The root mass was at least 14" in diameter. It had roots throughout most of the TurboGarden. In fact, it took me almost 20 minutes of "demolition" just to remove it from the TurboGarden. I didn't even attempt to salvage the 5" net pot that held it. It wasn't worth the effort. It took a long time to clean up the TurboGarden. It's sitting empty for the moment, waiting for the next project.

The removal of the Bambino eggplant left us lots of room. That's a good thing, as we needed some. We've set up the original DIY aeroponic system under the 400W HPS light system. We've placed a Black Beauty eggplant that we're been growing into the individual system. It's on it's way to becoming a big plant.

Additionally, Jessawick's orchid is now in full bloom. It has 10 individual blooms, and it looks amazing. It really took well to life in the ebb & flow system. It's had a very favorable response to Technaflora nutrients. Here's a photo that we just took of it during bloom:

Lastly, we have a big announcement this week...

As you may have seen, we've been building a lot of new toys lately. It's time to announce the purpose. We've doing a side-by-side growth study using a CO2Boost carbon dioxide generator. We're going to be running this study for approximately 3-4 months, with daily statistics and weekly photos. We hope to show an objective difference in plant growth between our supplemented plant and our control plant. We'll be using Black Beauty eggplants.

Here's a photo of the twin aeroponic systems, with the plastic barrier in place:

Although it's not easy to see in the photo, there is a two-layer plastic divider between the two systems. The system on the left is supplemented with carbon dioxide from the CO2Boost bucket. The system on the right is used as a control. Both reservoirs are carefully monitored to be as equal as possible.

More details are available in the article itself. It contains all the background and methodology used in the process.

The complete article is available during construction. Fair warning: It's being edited daily as the study progresses.

#12	Bambino Baby Eggplant	Removed on 03/30/2008. The Bambino was a monster. It is the singular reason for our designing a "single-site" aeroponic unit. It's monopolizing our TurboGarden. Large plants need their own space, otherwise they become bad neighbors quickly.
#18	Black Beauty Eggplant	On 03/30/2008 this fellow finally got a private home. It now lives in the first generation DIY aeroponic unit, under the 400W HPS lighting system.
Unnumbered Seedlings	Black Beauty Eggplant	On 03/30/2008, two of the seedlings were selected for the CO2Boost study. The others are still hanging around, as we don't have a place for them just yet. They may find a home outside, as we currently have three eggplants in our growing room.

3/25/2008 - Arrival of the Fort Laramie Strawberries

Tue, 25 Mar 2008 08:10:52 GMT

Finally, our new Fort Laramie strawberries have arrived. It took much longer than expected, but they are finally here. They arrived last night (03/24/2008).

We unpacked and planted them immediately. We've got them in hydroton, sitting in the MegaGarden. We'll plant them outdoors as soon as the weather gets a bit warmer. Although Fort Laramie are rated for cold weather, these fellows are just young rootstock, and I don't want to push my luck.

Luckily, we have enough room in the MegaGarden to have a home for everybody. I don't have extensive experience with rootstock plants, but these guys transplanted without any trouble. Hopefully they will be happy in the MegaGarden. I hope to plant them outside sometime in May. I'm considering using a heated reservoir to get them outdoors a bit sooner.

If you're wondering where we got them... We bought them from Henry Fields. Although the plants we received appear healthy and in good condition, I have mixed feelings about Henry Fields. Throughout the process, I was unhappy with their service. The initial shipment that they sent me was quite incorrect. My package was labeled as strawberries, but contained Blue Flax.

Ok. Everyone makes mistakes. I can understand making a packing error. However, they expected me to ship back the Blue Flax at my own expense before they would send me the strawberries that I ordered. Additionally, it took them over a month to ship my replacement strawberries.

Also, should you choose to deal with Henry Fields, be warned. They will literally bomb the crap out of your email. I get one of their "special offers" almost every day. It's really quite unnecessary, especially considering that I requested to not be contacted. Although their plants appear to be healthy and in good shape, I doubt that I would do business with them again.

In theory, we should have a lot of new strawberry developments over the next several months. I've spent more time working on the PVC "tube" gardens, and they will be ready for planting (just as soon as the weather gets a little warmer). We'll be doing the PVC gardens entirely outdoors this year, as our growing room has gotten quite crowded in recent months.

The Bambino Eggplant is still on reprieve. We're eventually going to replace it with strawberries, but it gets to live for the present. Here's this week's photo of the monster:

#12	Bambino Baby Eggplant	The Bambino is, as always, a monster. It is the singular reason for our designing a "single-site" aeroponic unit. It's monopolizing our TurboGarden. We'd like to replant it, but after looking at the root-ball (it's more like a root-basketball), we're quite certain that replanting is not a possibility. We'd destroy is just trying to get it free from the TurboGarden. It's safe for the moment, until we decide to reclaim the TurboGarden for strawberries.
#18	Black Beauty Eggplant	Roots are protruding far beyond the pot (it's sitting in the MegaGarden). As soon as we figure out where to put it, we've got a single-site aero on standby.
#20-#25	Alexandria Alpine Strawberries	Sadly, I decided to get rid of this batch of seedlings. I just didn't have a place for them, and I've got a ton of other strawberries that need homes.
Unnumbered Seedlings	Black Beauty Eggplant	We've planted 12 seeds for plants that will be used in an upcoming experiment. Planting date: 02/08/2008. They are at different stages of growth. Some have sprouted, others not. We'll be choosing the two that are the most "equal" for our experiment.

3/18/2008 - Collapsing Eggplants & Dissected Timers

Tue, 18 Mar 2008 07:10:52 GMT

I learned an important lesson this week: Provide your plants with more support than they require. Sadly, this lesson was learned in retrospect. The large eggplant has a branch collapse under it's own weight. Eggplants really aren't self-supporting, not even the dwarf "Bambino" variety that we're growing at the moment. Add support lines are you plant grows. This is the reason that we always make cage-style lightstands... They give plenty of places to attach support lines.

Also...

I've just posted another writeup in the reviews section of the website. It's possibly everything you've ever wanted to know about those inexpensive timers you always see at the hydroponics store. They're slightly more interesting than you'd think. I ended up opening up one of mine in a failed experiment. I was trying to find an inexpensive way to create a aeroponic cycle timer. I had hoped to find a way to "speed up" the timing mechanism of the timer. Sadly, these timers are totally analog. Circuits are so much easier to play with than pesky gears. Ah, well.

We should be ready to start our side-by-side study next week. More details on that later.

I'm still working on a new way to photograph things. Here's the new angle this week:

#12	Bambino Baby Eggplant	The Bambino is really producing. It's become so heavy with fruit that it cannot support itself (even on the peripheral branches). Sadly, I may need to remove it, just to make room for the soon-to-arrive Fort Laramie strawberries.
#18	Black Beauty Eggplant	This sprouting has been transplanted into a 6" net pot (with hydroton). Roots have started to protrude outside the pot. I'll really need to move it soon. However, space is limited, as we have a study starting soon.
#20-#25	Alexandria Alpine Strawberries	A young batch of seedlings. I'm not sure their destiny at this point.
Unnumbered Seedlings	Black Beauty Eggplant	We've planted 12 seeds for plants that will be used in an upcoming experiment. Planting date: 02/08/2008. They are at different stages of growth. Some have sprouted, others not. We'll be choosing the two that are the most "equal" for our experiment.

3/11/2008 - Light Stands, New Articles, and Orchids

Tue, 11 Mar 2008 07:23:28 GMT

We've got a lot happening this week, and even more on the way. Let's get right to it:

I've posted two new articles this week. The first one is all about our Hydrogen Peroxide in hydroponic gardening. I hope it's of some help to all you with bacteria in your reservoirs. Hydrogen Peroxide is a great way to perform a bacterial reset in your reservoir. It kills off all the bacteria in your water, then breaks down into water and oxygen. It's really great stuff. Check out our new article, Hydrogen Peroxide: The Bacterial Reset Button.

Our second article is a follow up on our do it yourself aeroponic system from a few weeks ago. Since you're likely to want a light stand for your aeroponic system, I thought it would be a good idea to show you how to make one. It's the most inexpensive way that I know, and will also provide support for your plants as they grow. These two projects will give you a really solid growing system. Additionally, it's the best way to grow "one big plant" in an aeroponic system. As you may have seen in my photos, an eggplant has the capacity to grow quite large. In my case, it conquered my entire TurboGarden. In the future, I'll be growing eggplants in their own single-site units, as they tend to have a very large canopy. I think the single-site aeroponic unit serves this need well (not to mention, I don't know of any single-site commercial units).

Also, we've done a bit of rearranging this week. The whole hydroponics room got turned upside-down when we made room for the new aeroponic units. Take a look at the new layout:

It took some work to make room for the new arrivals. However, I'm overjoyed at the new layout. You'll notice that there are two identical units on the far wall. This is going to be very important in the future. We're going to start performing comparative side-by-side studies. Since these units were built to be identical, we'll be able to perform some really legitimate comparisons. Both units on the far wall are the do it yourself aeroponic system, with the matching light stand. They are equipped with brand new lighting systems. The lights consist of LumaTek 400 Watt Ballasts (capable of running High Pressure Sodium or Metal Halide) and HydroFarm Radiant reflectors. We should be starting our first comparative grow in the near future.

Also, to make room, we moved the "nursery" to the other side of the room. All the babies start out in the MegaGarden. The MegaGarden is also the home of Jessawick's phalaenopsis orchid. Take a look at the newly moved setup:

Since I've been getting a lot of emails from readers asking about the orchid, I thought I'd post a closer view...

Not all the flowers are open yet, but we're getting more by the day. There is a fourth flower on the "back" side, but it's hard to see in the picture. I don't have a particular time-frame, but I'd expect the rest of the blossoms to open in the next week or so.

In other news, things are happy and stable. The eggplant is still a monster. It's still dominating the TurboGarden, and doesn't seem to be slowing down. It's about seven months old now, and it doesn't seem to realize that winter just isn't going to happen. Although I hate to admit it, I may have to kill off the eggplant in a few weeks. Once my herd of Fort Laramie strawberries arrive, I may need the TurboGarden's 14 sites to be available.

Regarding the Do-It-Yourself department... I've been working on the PVC tube gardens once again. I've almost finished a 14-site (10 foot) 4" tube. I've managed to get it running using an ActiveAqua PU550. In theory, I hope to use it for outdoor strawberries this year. I think the long tubes are unwieldy, and would be hesitant to recommend them for indoor use (long and thin is really a pain regarding lighting).

I'm afraid that I won't be able to post the typical "overview" photos of the TurboGarden anymore... The new layout of the room doesn't give me the angle with the camera anymore. I'll need to invent a new angle for showing off the baby plants.

#12	Bambino Baby Eggplant	The Bambino eggplant grew beyond all expectations. Thus far, I've been able to give it the run of the entire TurboGarden. However, I may need to remove it, just to make room for the soon-to-arrive Fort Laramie strawberries.
#18	Black Beauty Eggplant	This sprouting has been transplanted into a 6" net pot (with hydroton). Although it's still living in the MegaGarden, it's ready to move to an aeroponic system when it's large enough.
#19	Black Beauty Eggplant	This seedling was never strong, and has still not sprouted secondary leaves. I'll be removing this one in the near future.
#20-#25	Alexandria Alpine Strawberries	A young batch of seedlings. I'm not sure their destiny at this point.
Unnumbered Seedlings	Black Beauty Eggplant	We've planted 12 seeds for plants that will be used in an upcoming experiment. Planting date: 02/08/2008. They are at different stages of growth. Some have sprouted, others not. We'll be choosing the two that are the most "equal" for our experiment.