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. 

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... 

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.

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):

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.

Admittedly, it's taken longer than expected to finish the new Do-It-Yourself plans for a homemade aeroponic unit.  Today, I'm pleased to announce that the wait is over!  Additionally, we've got our first challenge to the community.  Read on for details.

I'm really pleased with how this project turned out.   It's everything that I originally hoped.  For those of you that missed the earlier posts, here's the history behind the project:

I've always been a fan of building your own gear.  I build aeroponic units frequently.  Based on some recent experiences with our TurboGarden (a 14 site unit built by Botanicare), I realized that a single site unit was needed.  (We've recently had an eggplant grow much larger than expected. It displaced everything else in the TurboGarden, and is now a single plant in a 14 site system).  Nobody manufactures single site aeroponics units.  I wanted to design something that would be easy to build, inexpensive, and easy to care for over the long term.

I'm pleased with the results.  I think you will be too. Check it out.

Additionally, finishing this project has given me an idea for the site... It's time for community participation.  Anyone who builds an aeroponic system based on this design is welcome to send us a photo of their creation.  We'll make a gallery of community-built systems somewhere on the site.

Since we're on the topic of building your own systems, I have another announcement for everyone in the Hydroponics Tuesday community.  I'm not sure if it's fair to call this our first contest, but it's definitely a challenge to the entire community.  A bounty, if you will...

If anyone in the community can improve on design of our latest DIY aeroponic system, it would benefit the community as a whole.  If anyone has improvements to the design, send them into to me (with pictures, if you've got them).  I'll set a reasonable ending date for this first contest... Say 04/15/2008.  Whomever sends in the best improvements to the DIY Aeroponic System will be the proud recipient of some official swag from the Hydroponics Tuesday gear closet.  Additionally, we'll publish all the good improvements on their own page, with credits.  To everyone in the community... Fix my stuff, win a prize.

Ok.  Back to business as usual.  Our eggplant is the sole inhabitant of the TurboGarden.  It's really doing quite well, with no signs of stopping production.  We're still getting lots of little eggplants (it's a Bambino, the fruits are like ping-pong balls).

Depending on my lighting setup (with the pending rearrangement), we may be running several independent aeroponics systems for the several Black Beauty eggplants that are still young.

Here's the photo for this week: 

Lots has happened this week.  Some good, some regrettable, some interesting...

Firstly, we decided to take care of some overdue maintenance in the garden.  We hadn't been trimming as often as we should, and we made a sad discovery.  It looks like we found the start of an insect infestation.  We found both thrips and leafcurlers starting to set up shop on our eggplant.  Here's a very close macro photo of one of the leaves:

We've taken dramatic steps to fix the situation.  We've trimmed back all the leaves that showed any insect presence.  Additionally, we've hosed the entire plant down with a Neem oil mixture.  Neem oil is a great all-natural pest control.  It's safe for your vegetables.  With the exception of a strong odor, it's the perfect insect controller.  Additionally, we performed a "shock" of 35% hydrogen peroxide in the water, just to kill off anything that might have set foot in the reservoir.

Don't take this post the wrong way.  Our eggplant is still very healthy, and is fruiting regularly.  We're taking steps to prevent a larger problem, but all is still well.

Additionally, we've ended the growing cycle for our Alexandria Alpine strawberries.  Since we have a new shipment of Fort Laramie strawberries on the way, we wanted to make room.  The eggplant had been dominating the TurboGarden anyway.  You'll see a lot more space in the overview photo this week.  When we removed all the strawberry plants, we got to see exactly how large the eggplant's root system has grown.  It's big.  Really big.  It's taken over all the surrounding "sites" in the TurboGarden.  It looks like a giant mass.  Strong roots.  I have no idea how we'll eventually remove it from the TurboGarden when the cycle is over.

Regarding the DIY projects...

I spent some more time working on the PVC tube garden this week.  Truthfully, I'm not overjoyed at this point.  Here are the latest thoughts on the "Aeroflo-style" PVC garden:

• It takes a rather large pump to achieve enough pressure to drive the 15 sprayers in my PVC garden.  I originally tried an ActiveAqua PU550, but it wasn't enough.  I had to step up to the more expensive PU800 in order to get enough mojo for the jets. (Mind you, the ActiveAqua line is very reasonable when compared to competitive units)
• I'm not overjoyed with the spray-pattern of the jets.  They just aren't getting the coverage that I would like.  The project isn't complete yet, so I hope to make further revisions.

Also, we'll soon be posting the plant for a new DIY aeroponic unit.  This one will be less expensive than the last model, and even easier to build.  The key is a new reservoir that Jessawick discovered while shopping.  Here's the best tip I can ever offer:

The Ikea "Sortera" is perfect for making both a reservoir or a compact aeroponic unit.

Take a look at the Sortera (look at the larger one) on Ikea's site.  It's just perfect.  It's large enough for a reservoir.  It's got a great lid that gives you access to your water, and it's tall enough to build into a single-chamber aeroponic unit.  I'm still refining it before publishing, but the core of it is a Sortera and a PU250.

Also, while we're on the topic of constructing aeroponic units, I'd like to talk a bit about net pots.  Your choice of net pots will have an impact on your project.  As I've learned over the past few months, all net pots are not created equal.

Here are some photos of commonly found models:

3" net pot, manufactured by General Hydroponics

3" net pot, manufactured by American Agritech (Botanicare)

As you can see from the photos above, there are some striking differences.  The pot made by General Hydroponics is roughly cast, with lots of imperfections and "tags".  Additionally, it's netting is much "looser".  This forces you to use a larger breed of hydroton when using them for planting.

The American Agritech pots are better item.  Their netting is tighter, which will allow you to use smaller hydroton for your plantings.  For small plants, smaller hydroton will be a big help.  Additionally, do you notice the solid "ring" around the top of the American Agritech pot?  This ring is extremely important if you're building your own system.  The pot is designed in such a way that it will sit cleanly in a 2 3/4" hole.  This matters a lot, as it will give you a clean and tight seal.  This keeps your water in the reservoir, and off your floor.  The "ring" at the top forms a tight "cork" in the hole.  It fits well.  Highly recommended.  It's easy to make exact 2 3/4" holes with a hole saw.  You don't even need an expensive hole-saw.  Plastic is soft, so expensive carbide hole-saws are unnecessary.  Buy the cheap high speed steel ones if possible.  I think I spent $11 for mine.  Money well spent.

You'll notice that the eggplant is all alone in the aeroponic TurboGarden this week.  Truthfully, we've been really surprised with how it's grown.  We never expected it to dominate the garden.

We've got some interesting and unexpected news to report this week...

Recently, we've been contacted by a manufacturer of hydroponics equipment.  They would like us to perform and document side-by-side testing of plant growth both with (and without) their product applied.  We will likely be starting the study in the coming weeks.

Sadly, the PVC aeroponic units are not complete yet.  We've been distracted by another DIY project.  We're working on a new home made aeroponic unit, which has fewer parts and lower cost than our last unit.  We found a perfect reservoir container, so we'll be building some new aeroponic units in the near future.  Ikea offers a plastic container that's ideal for a reservoir.  We'll post a photo soon.

As always, here's the overview photo of the week:

Many things are pending and progressing this week.  Here is the first bit of news...

We've just published a review of the book How-To Hydroponics. In short, it's a great little book.  The information is relevant and current.  It's a short book, but a good one.

Secondly, an update on the new home-made aeroponics system:  As much as I hoped to announce it's completion this week, construction has been delayed.  The original model was going to be built from 4" square PVC.  However, after much consideration, I've decided to start over using larger 5" square PVC.  This should allow more room for irrigation and roots.  I think the larger diameter is worth the effort.

For those of you considering building your own "Aeroflo-style" units, here is a bit of preliminary advice:  Home Depot only seems to stock the smaller 4" stuff.  However, Lowes stocks both the small 4" and the larger 5" stuff.  We spent quite a while cutting and fitting the smaller stuff.  Now we're going to start over with the larger stuff.

Additionally, if you're building your own aeroponic unit...

• Make sure to buy Botanicare's brand of 3" net pots.  They are much better for aeroponics than the more cheaply-made ones from General Hydroponics.  The ones made by Botanicare have a "solid ring" around the top, which will give you a much better water-seal around the pot.

I'm not sure yet what size pump will be required.  Truthfully, I've already got a PU250 from ActiveAqua sitting around, so I'm going to see how many aero sprayers it can power before becoming overwhelmed.  I don't expect that the PU250 will be enough pump for this project, but I'd love to know exactly how many sites it can power.

Also, in unrelated news...

I've been reseaching better varieties of strawberries to grow.  Please do not take this as anything but rabid speculation.  After doing a bit of reading, I'm looking forward to experimenting with Quinault variety strawberries.  Quinault is a fairly recently developed hybrid strawberry, which is said to produce large yields.  It's everbearing and self-pollinating.  Self-pollinating is becoming increasingly interesting to me, as we garden indoors extensively, and pollination via paintbrush is quite tedious.  We'll post results when we have some.  Expect it to be about a month, as we haven't even ordered any yet.

Jessa's exotics are doing very well in the MegaGarden. 

We are continually trimming back the Bambino Eggplant.  We're getting about 10 little fruits each week.  This will probably be the last time that I run eggplant and strawberries in the same reserveoir.  I'd prefer to control the solution independently next time.

As always, here's the overview photo of the week: