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Article 1-1 Caring For Cuttings

Once cuttings are planted and watered, place them under a flourescent lamp where they will stay until rooted. Softwood cuttings require bottom heat of about 21°C (71°F), which is usually room temperature for most propagation areas. Keeping trays of cuttings on cold concrete floors will slow down root development. Avoid high temperatures in the tray as they force the cuttings [ read more ]

Article 6-6 High Performance Lighting

Part 1 – Introduction: High-Intensity Discharge (HID) lighting has formed the core of lighting technology in the horticulture industry for the last 20 or so years. Metal Halide (MH) and High-Pressure Sodium (HPS) lights are the most commonly used variants of the HID family. This is no surprise as HID lights offer the most lumens per watt in practical lighting [ read more ]

Article 6-4 Create Your Own Grow Room

Artificial grow rooms offer a tremendous opportunity to produce maximum yields of selected plants at any time of the year. Although the initial set up cost may seem high the bumper crops you’ll produce will quickly offset the expense. Until recent years, indoor crop production was very restricted.Providing adequate light was the most limiting factor in achieving a viable flowering [ read more ]

Article 5-4 Q’s Nutrient Problems

By Dr. Lynette Morgan Introduction Occasionally problems in a usually trouble free hydroponic system strike most growers, with growth of unwanted algae being the most common, but sometimes the problem can be hidden down in the root zone, where the culprit is not always obvious. Fungus gnat larvae and microscopic nematodes can do considerable damage to a hydroponic crop’s root [ read more ]

Article 5-4 Q’s Liquid Caron & Gas

By Bill Lermer Animals intake oxygen, and exhale carbon dioxide. CO2 is composed of carbon and oxgyen, but plants use far more carbon than oxygen. This is why plants intake carbon, but exhale oxygen. Plants combine carbon with water and fertilizer to produce phosphatides and sugars, two major components of flowers and leaves. It is possible for animals to obtain [ read more ]

Article 5-4 Q’s Eric Fulvic Acids

I was wondering about the article you wrote on fulvic acids and the effect on taste on the fruits after the last week of spraying. Can you please let me know if it will affect the taste on the finishing product or if there is any worry on consumption? Also, how many drops is 1ml? Reason why I ask is [ read more ]

Article 5-3 Yield Predictions

I am working with a family which is raising hydroponic tomatoes (loose, not clusters or cherry). We need to be able to establish a “normal/expected” yield and we do not know where to obtain that sort of information. Can you point us in the right direction? Connie Skinner Connie, Thanks for your question. If growing in a well-managed hydroponic environment, [ read more ]

Article 5-2 Sample Trials

By William Sutherland of Growing Edge Technologies Soilless gardening is the only way to try new products, each plant has its own root zone that should not be contaminated with more than one plant food. Plant foods should be applied to a few plants to a maximum of half your garden. Growth supplements should be applied to some plants, but [ read more ]

Using Rockwool

Rockwool has long been among the most popular growing medium on earth. Originally used as insulation it was called “Mineral Insulation” and was later developed for gardening in Denmark. It is used primarily for drip hydroponic systems. Rockwool is made by melting a combination of rock and sand and then spinning the mixture to make fibers which are formed into [ read more ]

Article 4-6 What The Customer Wants

By Tim Walker What do customers want? That question always comes to mind when evaluating new products. Will this new piece of equipment be in demand, or replace an existing unit? Will the price be in line with products that already are on the market? In my twenty plus years in horticulture, I have seen many fads and trendy products [ read more ]
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